Hull (DD 945) - Naval Cruise Book

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Steaming westward again on19 March, the guns test fired satisfactorily and HULL reassumed her shore bombardment station. The continual shooting, day and night, with almost no time for preventive maintenance eventually took its toll and on 27 March the ship found herself without any operable five-inch armament. She was assigned to plane guard duty for the USS RANGER QCVA. 611 on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf for the final four days of the month. Nevertheless, despite considerable problems with the main battery, her gun crews and magazine teams had managed to pump out over 5, 200 rounds during the month. On the morning of 2 April, HULL was released by RANGER and began steaming toward Subic Bay for what would be a lengthy and much needed repair period. She arrived the following day. On 8 April, Captain C. E. MCMULLEN CCOMDESRON 155 shifted his flag to the USS DALE QDLG 191. The following message was received from him as he departed: 1 take great pleasure in commending you for the outstanding support you gave my staff and me during the period you served as my flagship. Most noteworthy was the support 1 received in the area of communications. This performance has been superior to that of any other flagship in which I have been embarked. The profession- alism displayed by your gunnery department and combat information center in delivering high volume, accurate gunfire and your rapid response to counter hostile fire directed at HULL and NEWPORT NEWS was particularly gratifying. The excellence of ship-handling demonstrated during replenishment evolutions was in keeping with the highest standards of destroyermen. Your accomplishments should be a source of pride to all who serve in HULL. It has been a distinct pleasure to have HULL serve as my flagship. The following day, the 9th, Captain J. M. MASON CCOMDESRON 95 shifted his flag to HULL and prepared to assume the duties of Commander Task Unit 70. 8. 9. Repairs were not completed until 22 April when the ship departed the Philippines and headed for a shore bombardment station some 20 miles south of DaNang. On 24 and 25 April she destroyed some 140 Viet Cong targets while working with the Second Brigade, Republic of Korea Marine Corps. On 26 April the ship moved north to once again take station off the DMZ coast. Although she was only on the gun line eight days during the month, the destroyer fired more than 2, 100 rounds from her main battery. As May arrived, the pace, if anything, seemed to become more frenzied. During the twenty-four hour period that made up the first day of the month HULL fired over 300 rounds of five-inch shells at enemy targets in the DMZ, replenished from both an ammunition ship and an oiler, and was attacked once again by a North Vietnamese coastal defense gun. This then, was the tempo of operations. Some days crewmen had to onload as much as 100, 000 pounds of shells and powder during a single replenish- ment from a SEVENTH Fleet ammunition ship. Crew members became very adept at this task. So much so, that the Commanding Officer of the USS PARACUTIN QAE 185 dubbed the destroyer Hustlin' HULL . 133

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During the first three days on the gunline, HULL carried outshore bombardment missions against Viet Cong base camps and suspected enemy activity areas along an 80 mile stretch of the coast from Nha Trang north to Tuy Hoa. inflicting considerable damage including ll enemy KIA and 9 WIA. The ship providedidirect support for the 5th Special Foreee Gfgup QAirborneJ. This unit, in appreciation, presented HULL with a submachine gun found in an abandoned position destroyed by her gunfire. Mounted on the weapon was a plaque with the following inscription: From the officers and men of the 5th Special Forces Group QAirbornej in appreciation for a job well done- - -Vietnam 1968 . On 18 February, Captain C. E. MCMULLEN CCOMDESRON 155 shifted his flag aboard. The following day, he assumed duties as Commander of the Naval Gunfire Support Task Unit off Vietnam 'QCTU 70. 8. 91, and HULL's assignment was shifted from the south to the coastal areas along the DMZ. She at once began supporting units of the THIRD Marine Division with round-the-clock bombardment. During daylight hours call-for-fire missions came in from either airborne or shore based spotters. During the night, the ship normally fired at pre-selected targets in an attempt to harass and disrupt enemy operations in the DMZ. On 21 February, while conducting attacks against suspected enemy artillery sites and North Vietnamese army concentrations some five miles south of Cap Lay, the destroyer came under fire from enemy coastal defense sites nearby. No hits were sustained and the ship succeeded in silencing the attacking batteries. Later that night the ship was again fired on but the enemy aim was poor in the darkness and posed no serious threat. Daily bombardment continued and by the end of February, HULL had fired over 5, 000 rounds in support of U. S. and Allied troops ashore. During the first days of March enemy coastal defense activity became increas- ingly frequent. The ship came under enemy fire on the lst, 2nd, and 3rd. Some of the shells landed as close as ten yards off the bow. Through high speed evasive maneuvering the ship avoided incoming rounds while at the same time taking the enemy gun emplacements under fire with her own five-inch armament. On the 3rd, the destroyer also carried out attacks against enemy gun emplacements that had taken the cruiser NEWPORT NEWS under fire. This was an exciting action with Commodore MCMULLEN directing a coordinated attack by the Cruiser and Destroyer on the enemy gun emplacements in the DMZ. On 4 March HULL was directed to return to Subic Bay, Philippines to replace worn gun barrels on her two after mounts. The re-gunning was completed quite rapidly and the warship was back on the gun line four days later. However, mechan- ical trouble with the sophisticated, automatic guns began to plague the ship and on 13 March she again left the coastal waters of the DMZ and returned to the Philippines for repairs to her main battery. 132 .A

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On 13 May the ship's second full tour on the gunline ended. COMDESRON 9 shifted his flag, and the battle -weary destroyer began steaming toward Kaohsiung, Taiwan. HULL arrived in port on 15 May and began a repair availability with the destroyer tender PIEDMONT CAD 175 while her crew enjoyed a much deserved period of rest and relaxation. Two more gun barrels, worn out by the continual shooting, were replaced. On 22 May, the ship sailed out to sea to begin her third and final tour on the gun line. Arriving on station off the coast of the DMZ on 24 May, HULL once again began to bombard North Vietnamese lines of communication, troop concentrations, and rocket and gun emplacements. This patrol, the ship would be supporting the First Air Cavalry Division, l0lst Airborne Division, First Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam as well as the Third Marine Division. On 29 May, the destroyer HARWOOD QDD 8615 while patrolling her gunfire support area some- 3, 000 yards south of HULL was suddenly taken under fire by North Vietnamese artillery on Cap Lay. The destroyer took a direct hit on one of her after mounts while splashes from other incoming rounds surrounded her. Seeing the flashes of the attacking guns on the beach, HULL immediately took the enemy sites under fire with her main battery and laid a sniothering barrage of shells on the emplacements while HARWOOD headed seaward and out of range. This rapid reaction may well have saved HARWOOD from further damage by the enemy artillery. For the time being the coastal batteries were silenced. However, only two hours later, while steaming northward some six miles off the DMZ coast, another enemy shell splashed 100 yards abeam of HULL. Due to poor visibility though, it was impossible to locate the position of the attacking gun. No further incoming rounds followed and no fire was returned. There was some possibility that this round was fired from a battery on Tiger Island but no batteries were known to exist there at that time. At mid-afternoon on 31 May, word was received that an Air Force craft had gone down off the coast of the DMZ in the vicinity of Tiger Island. The pilot had reportedly bailed out. HULL set the rescue detail and began to comb the area in hopes of locat- ing the downed flyer. Several hours later, the search, having proven fruitless, was called off and the destroyer returned to her gunfire support station. lt was learned that the was picked up by an Air Force rescue helicopter. .As May came to a close, it became evident that it had been one of HULL's most active months. She had conducted 21 underway replenishments safely and success- fully. and had fired over 9, 300 rounds into North Vietnamese and Viet Cong targets with excellent to outstanding results. . .an average of nearly 450 rounds per day for each day on the gunline. 134