Watts (DD 567) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 12 text:

.M-An-f...4..,..

Page 11 text:

WATT? QS S C1919 -567 ' 19515 r, was named lor Captain ' which defeated a French inched December 31, 1943 't the twenty-rtintlt ol April atm Watts. partvseslteld Kurrle Islands, heavy danmge on the air- 'naining in the Kurile area , TH. for much needed re- lmfore heading West. :ed with the task ol helping Six planes were accounted l. :sk force at leyte Gulf was s with the task force at the nced. After remaining as a . sending her homeward on ITS was decommissioned in commissioned and her name - -v it -- ' - ist. Just 25 days after her N 1 1- 1 6 4 0 tiantic Fleet Destroyer Force. It literranean cruise where she Q , Greece and other ports in olk Naval Shipyard, the ship proceeoeo to uuamananio way, cum., .... ..f.........,r training on 23 July 1954. During this period she visited Santiago de Cuba and Montego Bay, Jamaica. She returned to Norfolk on the 13th of September 1954. The WATTS was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in early 1955. The ship arriv- ed at Long Beach, California, her new home base, on 28 January. On her trip to the Pacific she stopped at Guantanamo Bay and Havana, Cuba, and Balboa, Canal Zone. ,

Page 13 text:

9 The U.S.S. WATTS KDD-5671, a 2100-ton destroyer, was named for Captain John Watts, captain of the American privateer Planter which defeated a French privateer in a desperate battle on July 10, 1799. Launched December 31, 1943 the ships was commissioned at Seattle, Washington, on the twenty-ninth of April by Mrs. Judith B. Gardner, great-grand-daughter of John Watts. Her first assignment was the waters off the Japanese-held Kurile Islands, where she pounded the enemy continuously, inflicting heavy damage on the air- Gekds and instaHaHons dotnng the idand chain.. Renianung in the Kurne area untH AAarch,the shnnthen proceeded to Pead Harbor,T.H.forrnuch needed re- pairs. The Watts made one more trip to the Kuriles before heading West. Arriving at Okinawa, the men of the ship were faced with the task of helping ward off the might of the Japanese Kamikaze Corps. Six planes were accounted for by the ship and countless others were driven off. Duty with Admiral Halsey's famed fast carrier task force at Leyte Gulf was the next assignment for the WATTS. The WATTS was with the task force at the entrance of Tokyo bay when the surrender was announced. After remaining as a unit of the occupation force, the ship received orders sending her homeward on November 18, 1945. The following April, the WATTS was decommissioned in Charleston S.C. Five years later, almost to the day, she was recommissioned and her name once more placed on the U.S. Navy Navy's active list. Just 25 days after her second commissioning the WATTS reported to the Atlantic Fleet Destroyer Force. On the 7th of January, 1953 the ship left on a Mediterranean cruise where she visited Gibraltar, Augusta Bay, Piraeus and Salonica, Greece and other ports in Northern Europe. Completing a three month overhaul in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the ship proceeded to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for refresher training on 23 July 1954. During this period she visited Santiago de Cuba and Montego Bay, Jamaica. She returned to Norfolk on the 13th of September 1954. The WATTS was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in early 1955. The ship arriv- ed at Long Beach, California, her new home base, on 28 January. On her trip to the Pacific she stopped at Guantanamo Bay and Havana, Cuba. and 381508. CGM' Zone. ,