Farenholt (DD 491) - Naval Cruise Book

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SHIP S HISTORY Durmg war years one of the fleet s fastest and hardest punchlng hghtwerght destroyers the USS FARENHOLT IS today decommrssloned and 1n reserve at Charleston S C Hrgh on her dlrector neatly scored 1n sllhouette and hash marks are five Japanese planes three shlps five shore batterres and mne shore bombardments the palnted resume of more than three years of tedlous punlshrng warefare durrng thrrteen credrted engagements from Guadalcanal to the heart of the Japanese Emprre TIIIS trrm grey destroyer does not have one story It has hundreds one for every man and officer who hved and fought her Some pralsed her some cussed her A few dled aboard her This cannot be the story of a Shlp It 1S only a shell of a story 1nto whlch each man can fill hrs own experlenccs the real story The USS FARENHOLT was commrssloned Aprrl 2 1942, m the Brooklyn Navy Yard N Y Lt Comdr E T Seward USN commandlng After a crulse to Portland Me New port R I and Norfolk Va the untrled 1 630 ton t1n can headed for the beleaguered P80150 where a v1ctor1ous Japanese Navy held the OITGHSIVC Accompanylng shrps lncluded the USS Wasp USS Qumcv IJSS North Carohna USS San Juan USS Iang USS Terrett and USS Wllson The task group stopped brrefly at San Drego Cahf rn June 1942 was Jomed by trans ports and then shoved off for the Tonga Islands east of the FIJI Islands By th1s trme a fast burldlng US Navy and lVIar1ne Corps were ready for a gamble on Guadalcanal Just another lsland 1n Pacrflc gazetters untll August 7 1942 The men of the FARENHOLT were there that day just as they were for almost every httle sand sp1t rsland rn the Solomons The staff of COIHDCSROH Twelve headed by Captarn R G Tobln USN was also now on board The F 1ght1ng F made her debut Wltll a carrrer task force remalnlng at sea forty five days before retlrrng to Noumea New Caledonla Much needed an support for the Guadalcanal operatron was supplled Re enterrng the costly campargn the FARENHOLT agaln wlth the flat tops learned the elementary lessons of battle whlle plcklng up one hundred thuty three surv1vors from a once powerful ca1r1er the USS Wasp The Elhce Islands were next on Oct 3 1942 Thls was not as dangerous but no 1n VdS10ll IS a PICIIIC for all units lnvolved Srnce there was no such overused word as rehabrlltatlon ln 1942 on the erghth the FARENHOLT USS San Franclsco USS Helena USS Salt Lake Clty USS Bolse USS Buchanan USS Laffey and USS Duncan were ordered to lntercept the strong Nlp task forces supplylng the enemy troops on Guadalcanal Whlle engaged 1n th1s duty on the nlght of October 11 12 the FABENHOLT narrowly lnlssed belng wrltten off the records It was a helhsh forty mlnute nlghtmare of flame shrap nel and exploslon officlally named the battle of Cape Esperance The Duncan was sunk the BOISC and Salt Lake C1ty hrt and the FARENHOLT left behrnd dlsabled and barely afloat The remalnder of the task group left her behlnd th1nk1n her sunk as the result of four SIX rnch shell hlts It was the followrng afternoon before communrcatrons were re establlshed and the crew accounted for three dead and twenty five wounded Nrne Japanese shrps were sunk two heavy crulsers one hght crulser one transport and five destroyers accordlng to Admlral Nlmrtz Arded by the USS Aaron Ward the FARENHOLT slowly steamed to ESPIIIIU Santo New I'Iebr1des then to Noumea and finally to Pearl Harbor T H where battle damage repalrs were effected Seven I .9 . 9 1 . n o' 0' , 9 - ' 9 1 n u h 9 9 U .0 I 0 9 9 - 9 . ' o . . . . 9 9 a Q . 11' 1 I . . , . U I 0 ., . 9 9 . . . 0 O, O 0 0 I 9 9 0 9 l, - . . . . I. - 9 9 99 9 -9 9 9 . . . . 9 ,9 ' 9 9 1 9 9 . 9 '9 9 ' 9 - ' U 9 ' or 9 U 9 - . 9 ' 9 9 9 9 9 . GG 10- 0 ' . I s a U U - 9 . . . .g 7 Q K - ' 9 9 1 V 9 - 9 . . , . n I I Q Q 7 I 7 - l I ' 9 . . . , 9 9 9 9 9 ' 9 ' 9 . . - 9 . . 0' . L . 7 - A. . 1 0 9 9 9 n Q 1 . 1 9 , . . Of. 0- 9 5 ' . . . ,1 , . 9 9 ' 9 9 , . , . . 9 9 9 9 7 9 '9 I 0 'v

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SHIPS HISTORY fcontmuedl Damage was so heavy that lt took months to return the shlp to fightmg form Thls was accompllshed ln February 1943 when the veteran t1n can was routed back to the Sol omons belng uncomfortably present for the huge enemy a1r ralds on Slllpplllg ln that area lncludlng the seventh of Aprll 98 plane rald Other shrps mcludlng the orlglnal Aaron Ward of squadron Twelve were not as fortunate as the FARENHOLT whlch was credlted w1th several downed planes A new ComDesRon Twelve Cmdr T .I Ryan USN reported on board for duty In June landlngs commenced on Rendova Island The Japanese reslsted bltterly mount mg heavy plane ralds attacklng w1th submarlnes and shelllng shlppmg w1th thelr shore bat ter1es The FARENHOLT accounted for three planes two shore batterles and attacked a sub It was a hlghly dangerous operatlon, the loss of any one shlp belng a near calamlty Several tlmes the FARENHOLT maneuvered vlolently and successfully to avold aerlal tor pedoes The USS lVlcCawley, a transport, was torpedoed by the ,laps and later sunk by our own forces Admlral Turner who was ln command of the IIIVHSIOII transferred to the FAR ENHOLT and returned to Guadalcanal on board For almost a month the crew slept httle remalned at battle statlons at nlght and ate canned meat and sardlne sandwlches wh11e alternately bombardlng and screenlng off Ren dova Lt Comdr A C1 Beckman the executrve officer became sklpper ln July 1943 In between the lsland 1nvas1ons the next of whlch was to be Vella la Vella the FAR ENHOLT escorted supply shlps to advance garrlsons ran the Solomons Slot w1th other t1n cans many of whose names are best known by the present 2 200 ton destroyers renamed after them It was rug ed duty No one llked lt Many feared lt There was wuld ICJOICIIID 1n mld October when a Sydney llberty was ordered SIX days of everytlun a sallor could ask for and dld Aclmlral Halsey orlglnally granted ten days but cut lt short and rushed the FARENHOLT back to the Solomons for the Treasury Cmdr A A Burke USN 31 knot Burke Squadron Commander smce early summer was 1C11CV8d by Captaln Rodger Slmpson USN Captaln Slmpson boarded the FARENHOLT at sea when the shlp rendezvoused w1th a ca1r1e1 force on 1tS way to strlke Rabaul 1n support of the Bou a1nv1lle operatlon The pllots scored some of the most Cf1.6Ct1VC strlkes of the wal 1n the succeedlng weeks successfully dlsruptlng J ap re enforcements bound for Bougaln v1lle and s1nk1ng at least Clgllt crulsers By comparlson lt was a mllk run and the detachment from the carr1er force to resume the mghtly ralds 1Ht0 Japanese waters was not celebrated Sometlmes lt was a convoy to Bou galnvllle an antl shlpplng sweep above the Solomons a bombardment of Cholseul B0ug31H v1lle or the Shortlands or a radlo decoy operatlon Shore batterles frequently returned the blasts of the PARENHOLT five lnchers and planes loosed bombs overhead or snooped the group by n1 ht Tl11s type of warfale contlnued for months untll after the Gleen Island 1nvas1on At that tlme the USS St LOUIS several thousand yards away caught a bomb losmg twenty five men February 1944 marked another hlgh polnt 1n the FARENHOLT s hlstory t e Rabaul and Kavleng ralds for whlch speclal engagment stars were later authorlzed Rabaul was to the Solomons what Tokyo was to the home lslands It brlstled Wltll fortlflcatlons Troops numbered more than 100 000 Unknown warshlps were present Mme fields and nav1gat1onal dangers were uncharted lt was llttle wonder that the men of the ive raldlng DesRon Twelve destroyers were sllghtly apprehenslve of the outcome The mlsslon had all the elements of a su1c1de run or at the very least lt was belleved to be such by many men and officers Nme , . . . . . . 9 9 ' 0 I I 0 0 I 9 9 . U I 9 I O O 0 I . , 9 9 . , . . . , , . C 0 , ' 4 C 9 9 ' 9 9 9 ' . . . . . . . O ' O I Q R . . . . . . 9 9 9 ' . . . . . . 9 9 . . . . . C . , . . . C. 1 0 0 n 9 , , 0 I 9 9 ' 9 9 ' 9 . . . . . Hg . . . I Q 0 I 1 C 1 Q I ' T 0' n 1. g c , . 0' 9 Island and Bougalnvllle landlngs. , as 79 - ' ' ' - 9 9 ' 9 1 , 9 ' gc . L ' , u u C C s 9 9 ' ' 9 9 9 ' 9 ' 9 ' 4 -' g . , . . 0 9 9 9 9 ' . . . , . . , , 9 ff H - h L L 1 7 . . ' I , D 4 I 0- n . 9 9