USS Sigsbee (DD502)
| Navy | US Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | Fletcher |
| Pennant | DD 502 |
| Built by | Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (Kearny, New Jersey, U.S.A.) |
| Laid down | 22 Jul 1942 |
| Launched | 7 Dec 1942 |
| Commissioned | 23 Jan 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 29 Apr 1946 |
| End service | 29 Apr 1946 |
| Lost Crew | 23 on the 14 Apr 1945 |
| History | |
| On 16 February 1945, the
task force launched air strikes against Japan and Okinawa in support of
the landings on Iwo Jima. On 14 March, the fast carriers and Sigsbee
again steamed out of Ulithi for air strikes against the Japanese home
islands to neutralize the airfields in preparation for the forthcoming
assault on Okinawa. The destroyer then joined the radar picket ships off
that island and remained there until 14 April. On that date, the destroyer
was struck aft of her number five gun by a kamikaze suicide plane. The
port engine was knocked out of commission, the starboard engine could only
be run at five knots, steering control was lost, and much of the main deck
was awash. Twenty-three sailors perished, but Sigsbee's skipper,
Cmdr. Gordon Pai'ea Chung-Hoon did not give up the ship, saving it. Sigsbee was towed south to Guam (out of the battle area) where she was sufficiently repaired for the long tow back to Pearl Harbor (via Eniwetok). The destroyer arrived there on 7 June 1945 and had a complete new 60-foot stern installed. Ready for sea again, the ship sailed out of port on 28 September en route to the east coast of the United States. On 22 October, she arrived at Philadelphia. The following week, the ship moved to Charleston to prepare for inactivation. On 1 May 1946, the destroyer was placed in commission, in reserve. On 31 March 1947, Sigsbee was placed in reserve, out of commission, with the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Decommissioned 29 April 1946. |
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