DeHaven (DD 727) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 12 text:

LCDR E. DeHaven became a Well- known explorer through his wide travels and expeditions. Appointed Midshipman on 2 Oct. 1829, he was commissioned Lieu- tenant on 8 Sept 1841. His early service was recorded in the West Indies and in South America onboard the ships NATCHES, ERIE, and the LEXINGTON. After a tour of shore duty in New York and Baltimore, Lt. DeHaven was transferred to the FALMOUTH in the Pacific and in 1839 to the USS VINCENNES, flagship of the U. S. Exploration Expedition under Charles Wilkes. On this vessel, Lt. DeHaven made his cruise to the Atlantic and among the Pacific Islands. He was transferred to the USS PEACOCK in October 1840, which continued with the expedition in surveying portions of the Pacific and the North American Court near Puget Sound. On 18 july 1841 the PEACOCK was Wreck- ed in the mouth of the Columbia River, and Lieutenant Commander DeHaven finished the cruise of the expedition on the OREGON. During 1843 he served aboard USS TRUXTON and in january 1845 was transferred to the USS SOMERS. The SOMERS was active in the Gulf of Mexico during the early part of the trouble with Mexico, and participated in the first ex- pedition against Alvarado. On 3 May 1850, LCDR DeHaven was placed in command of the Grinnell Rescue Expedition to search for Sir john Franklin and to make further scientific expeditions. Two ships of the expedition, the brigs ADVANCE and RESCUE, were caught in the ice West of Greenland in September and drifted for nine months. The Expedition failed to find Franklin, but discovered and named Grinnell Land. Lieutenant Commander DeHaven retired on 6 February 1862, and died on 1 May 1865. UNDER CONSTRUCTION COMMISSIONING CEREMONY I I I I I I 1 I I I I l 1 I I I 1 I I 1 I -I1

Page 11 text:

A LOOK INTO HISTORY The United States Ship DE HAVEN QDD- 7275 was commissioned in March 1944 as the second destroyer to bear the name of Lieutenant Commander E. I. DeHaven, an early arctic explorer. The first DE HAVEN QDD-4967 was destroyed and sunk as a re- sult of enemy action in 1943. The present DE HAVEN also saw action in World War II in operations at Leyton Gulf, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. DE HAVEN was on station in the Far East when South Korea was invaded in 1950. She assisted in the evacuation of American Na- tionals from Inchon on the second day of the war. Her crew received the honored Navy Unit Commendation Medal for action in Inchon in support of amphibious operations. Throughout the Korean War the ship com- pleted four combat tours and participated in carrier operations, amphibious support, coastal blockade, and naval gunfire support of troops at the front. Since the Korean conflict, DE HAVEN has continued to play an active role in PACIFIC FLEET operations. She has been awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for operations in the Que mon-Matsu area, the Taiwan Straits and Vietnam. DE HAVEN has participated in carrier task group operations and performed radar picket and surveillance tracking assignments throughout the Western Pacific. During the Vietnam crisis, DE HAVEN has served as a Naval Gunfire Support Unit in I, II, III, IV Corps and Rung Saat Special areas. She has served as a Search and Rescue Unit on North SAR Station, on Sea Dragon operations off the coast of North Vietnam, and as rescue destroyer on attack carrier operations. In this time DE HAVEN has fired over 22,000 naval gunfire rounds in support of friendly troops and in North Vietnam. The ship has also participated in the rescue of four pilots downed off the coast of North Vietnam. A SUMNER-class destroyer, DE HAVEN has a displacement of 2670 tons, a length of 376 6 and a beam of 40 6 . She went through the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization Program QFRAMD in 1960, resulting in a greatly increased anti- submarine capability. In addition to her main battery of six 5 38 guns, she now carries eight ASW torpedo tubes, and two Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopters QDASHD. She can steam 8,000 miles without refueling and, with a total horsepower of 60,00o, is capable of a maximum speed of 33 knots. Ill Ill THE FIRST DE HAVEN QDD-4965 just four months and eleven days after she was com- missioned on September 21, 1942, the United States Destroyer DE HAVEN QDD-4967 was part of Captain Briscoe's Cactus Striking Force escorting LST's to a landing at Verahue Beach. On February 1, 1943, they were discovered by a group of enemy aircraft. The force lacked fighter cover of American planes and were exposed to a cyclone of enemy planes. The ship's clock timed the attack at I457. Down came the lightning as six of the planes plummeted on the target destroyer. DE HAVEN's antiaircraft batteries rattled, banged, and flamed, smearing the sky with flak. The ship was able to stop 3 of the bombers, but was hit squarely with three bombs. The planes winged away to report another United States warship on the bottom of Ironbottom Bay . A total of 167 of the ship's company perished with the ship, including her Captain and ten of her Officers. The USS DE HAVEN CDD-4967 was the 15th destroyer to be lost in the Guadalcanal campaign.

Page 13 text:

WORLD WAR II DE HAVEN was on radar picket station on I5 August 194.5 when the Iapanese accepted unconditional surrender. On 1 September she embarked Rear Admiral John Shafroth for transportation to Tokyo Bay, and the next day anchored 1500 yards off the bow of the USS MISSOURI during the signing of the surrender. PRE-PRAM-FLEET REHABILITATION AND MODERNIZATION-1960 The PRAM modernization program increased the ships ASW capability by adding torpedo tubes amidships and DASH-drone antisubmarinebhelicopters.