Mighty destroyer turns 100
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
They were the greyhounds of the sea, thin-hulled and narrow-beamed for speed, a jack of all trades by design, and the eyes and ears of the fleet.
Photo courtesy of Bill Bigelow Media
U.S. Navy destroyers could take the fight to the air, blasting enemy fighters with their guns, on the surface with torpedoes, and beneath the sea with depth charges. Bigger battleships and aircraft carriers wouldn't venture into enemy waters during World War II without escort from the tough little ships that the sailors called tin cans.
The USS Mustin is among a long line of destroyers, dating back to 1902 when the first such U.S. warship was launched.
"Destroyer sailors have always ranked high among our Navy's heroes," said Adm. Chester Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, in 1942.
This year, the destroyer celebrates 100 years of service to America.
In Honolulu, active-duty and retired destroyer crew-members are marking the occasion with a "DD-100" centennial ball Friday at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
A capacity crowd of 400 is expected for the commemoration staged by Destroyer Squadron 31, which oversees all destroyers and frigates based at Pearl Harbor.
Much has changed with the destroyer since its World War II days, but its versatility and the pride in service on the tin can remain.
The 505-foot USS Russell, DDG 59, one of four Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers with its home port at Pearl Harbor, is 157 feet longer and 20 feet wider than the last Russell, DD 414, which was commissioned in 1939 and earned 16 battle stars in World War II.
The other Pearl-based guided missile destroyers are the Hamilton, Hopper and O'Kane. The fleet's USS Fletcher, DD 992, is a Spruance-class destroyer.
From the 250-foot USS Bainbridge, a torpedo boat destroyer designated DD1 and launched in 1902 — giving the destroyer its name — through Burke guided missile ships such as the Russell, the destroyer always has been at the forefront of the battle.
In the South Pacific during World War II, nine destroyers in Destroyer Squadron 21 were torpedoed three times, hit by mines four times, and were hit by shore batteries four times, with a loss of 372 sailors.
But squadron ships sank or helped sink 10 submarines and many surface ships, shot down aircraft and rescued more than 1,800 sailors and downed aviators.
Photo courtesy of Bill Bigelow Media
Destroyers such as the Russell have carried on the legacy, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iraq to suppress air defenses during Operation Desert Strike in 1996. The Russell was the first Pearl Harbor warship deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Much has changed with destroyers, such as the USS Lyman K. Swenson, since World War II, but its versatility and pride of its crew members remain hallmarks of the warships.
In December, while in the Indian Ocean, the Russell rescued four crewmen from a B-1 bomber that went down off the island base of Diego Garcia.
"The destroyer is just like the jet fighter is to other aircraft of the Air Force," said Cmdr. Hank Miranda, who commands the Russell. "Traditionally, we are the picket ship — the one furthest out (closest to the threat) in the force."
Destroyers retain the ability to defend other ships, but also operate with the Air Force, Marines, Army and land forces, usually as part of an aircraft carrier battle group.
"The role and mission and technological capability put on destroyers now is far-reaching — it's overland now," Miranda said.
Destroyers also are able to do more with fewer people. Twenty-four officers, 30 chief petty officers and 278 seamen sail aboard the Ruvwsell.
A ship the same size in World War II would have had more than 1,000 sailors aboard, Miranda said.
The Navy has 34 8,600-ton Arleigh Burke destroyers, which entered service in 1991 and cost approximately $1 billion.
The ships are named for Adm. Arleigh Burke, the Navy's most famous destroyer squadron combat commander and chief of naval operations from 1955 to 1961.
Burke distinguished himself in Pacific combat in World War II. His ability to lead his squadron in spectacular dashes at high speeds earned him the nickname "31 Knot Burke."
The Navy has 22 of the 550-foot, 9,100-ton Spruance-class destroyers, first commissioned in 1975. The Spruance class is named for Adm. Raymond Spruance, who helped turn the tide of the war at the Battle of Midway and later was commander of the Pacific Fleet.
Burke destroyers carry sophisticated Aegis combat systems, torpedoes, vertical launch tubes with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit targets as far away as 1,000 miles, as well as Harpoon and ASROC anti-submarine missiles.
Weapons storage spaces are much bigger, and veterans are also amazed at the air conditioning — often directed at electronic equipment instead of people.
"Their (World War II veterans') air conditioning was a porthole," Miranda said.
Harold Estes remembers those pre-air conditioning days pretty well.
In 1939, he was assigned to the destroyer base at San Diego, where he helped get the old "four-stacker" USS Meade ready to be recommissioned and delivered to the British as part of the "lend-lease" program that exchanged ships for base rights.
Estes, 87, who now lives in Hawai'i, made the transit through the Panama Canal and up to Nova Scotia on the 314-foot ship, which was originally commissioned in 1919.
Michael Macdonald, who lives in Hawai'i Kai, also served on destroyers, coming through Pearl Harbor for training in the late 1960s on his way to Vietnam.
"I got to do the hula with Don Ho," Macdonald remembers, laughing.
"One of the great things about destroyers back then was, we had about 200 men on the ship, and once you got under way, it was like a small city and everybody knew each other."
Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.
