USS ''Belknap'' (DD-251/AVD-8/DD-251/APD-34) was a in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was named for Rear Admiral

George Belknap George Eugene Belknap (January 22, 1832 – 7 April 1903) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. USS ''Belknap'' (DD-251) was named for him. Naval career Born in Newport, New Hampshire, Belknap was appointed a Midshipman in 1847. He comman ...

History

''Belknap'' was launched 14 January 1919 by

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...

; sponsored by Miss Frances Georgiana Belknap, granddaughter of Admiral Belknap; and commissioned 28 April 1919. Following her shakedown cruise, ''Belknap'' joined US naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean. After several months she returned to the United States and served with Division 28, Atlantic Fleet, until placed in reserve at

Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

in 1920. She was decommissioned 28 June 1922 at

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...

and remained there until 1940.

World War II

During 1940 ''Belknap'' was converted into a

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

(reclassified AVD-8, 2 August 1940) and recommissioned 22 November 1940. She was assigned to Patrol Wing 5 at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, and remained there until early 1941 when she returned to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. Between May and September 1941 she made three voyages from Newport to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. She remained at

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, Iceland, during September 1941 May 1942 and then went to Charleston Navy Yard for an extensive overhaul From August 1942 to January 1943 she patrolled in the Caribbean and between February 194S and January 1944 she served with the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

s , , and offensive antisubmarine groups in the Atlantic. Reclassified DD-251, 14 November 1943, ''Belknap'' received the

Presidential Unit Citation (US) The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

for her service with TG 21.12 (''Bogue'' group), 20 April-20 June 1943. Following convoy duty along the east and Gulf coasts (February–June 1944), ''Belknap'' underwent conversion into a high speed transport (reclassified APD-34, 22 June 1944). Conversion completed, ''Belknap'' arrived in the Pacific during September 1944. During 18–22 October she served as a screen ship during the

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

invasion and during 3–11 January 1945 as a shore bombardment and beach reconnaissance vessel at the

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, landings. On 11 January she trained all her guns on a Japanese

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

which eventually crashed into ''Belknap''s number two stack, crippling her engines, killing 38 and wounding 49 including the UDTs on board. UDT 9 was on board when she was hit. It cost the team one officer, 7 enlisted, 3

MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

and 13 wounded. The ship remained at Lingayen for emergency repairs until 18 January when USS Hidatsa, ATF-102 towed her to Manus,

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

. Following temporary repairs at Manus, ''Belknap'' proceeded to Philadelphia Navy Yard via the west coast, arriving 18 June. Decommissioned 4 August 1945, ''Belknap'' was sold 30 November 1945 for scrapping. In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, ''Belknap'' received three

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for her World War II service.

References

External links

* http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/251.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Belknap (DD-251) Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United States Seaplane tenders of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1919 ships Maritime incidents in January 1945