USS ''Mullany'' (DD-528), a ''Fletcher''-class

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, was the second ship of the

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to be named for Rear Admiral James Robert Madison Mullany (1818–1887).

Construction and career

''Mullany'' was originally ''Beatty'' (DD-528) but was renamed on 28 May 1941. Laid down 15 January 1942 by

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Co., Union Plant, San Francisco, Calif., she was launched 10 October 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Elton W. Grenfell; and commissioned 23 April 1943.

Service in the United States Navy

After shakedown and training off

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and escort duty in the

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, ''Mullany'' joined the 7th Fleet in the southwest Pacific in December 1943. Her first action came 2 to 4 March 1944 when she protected minesweepers clearing the approaches to Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, prior to the amphibious landings on

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, the island forming the northeastern side of the harbor. Attracting

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ese gunfire, ''Mullany'' silenced the Japanese harbor defenses with 5 inch fire, enabling the minesweepers to complete their vital mission. For the next 2 days ''Mullany'' fired to support American troops fighting ashore. Screening 7th Fleet

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during the invasion of Leyte Gulf, ''Mullany'' fired to help drive off nine separate enemy air attacks from 20 to 29 October, then sailed for overhaul at San Francisco. After training near

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in January 1945, she joined Task Force 54 (TF 54) for the

invasion of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA ...

, to which she escorted troop transports. After firing in the preinvasion bombardment, she supported troops landing and fighting ashore, hitting caves and machinegun nests on

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19 February. While on anti-submarine picket duty guarding the Okinawa invasion force on 6 April 1945, ''Mullany'' opened fire 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 ...

plane at 17:45. A few seconds later the fighter was smoking from numerous hits, but somehow managed to stay together. Skipper Comdr. Albert O. Momm ordered the ship to turn out of the kamikaze's path, but couldn't get out of the way in time. The plane slammed into the aft deckhouse. Before damage control parties could remove all the wounded from the twisted metal and exploding ammunition, the ship's

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s exploded. In the next 20 minutes three more enemy aircraft attacked stricken ''Mullany''. Her forward gunners downed two and drove the other away. USS Mullany (DD-528) off the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California (USA), on 6 January 1945

USS Mullany (DD-528) off the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, California (USA), on 6 January 1945

An hour later, Momm received a report that the bulkhead of one of the aft

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s was hot and an explosion was apparently imminent. Many of the ship's officers had seen the disastrous consequences of a magazine explosion, and at 18:29 Momm gave the order to abandon ship. stood by to take on survivors while her rescue and assistance team continued to spray water on ''Mullany''. The rescued 70 members of the Mullany crew from the water. The ''Execute'' then came alongside and helped fight the fires. In the next hours came alongside the burning ship and extinguished the flames. Since the expected explosion had been prevented by punctured fuel and water tanks flooding the compartments above the hot magazine, Commander Momm took a skeleton crew back aboard at 23:00. After the fires were extinguished the ''Execute'' attempted a tow using her sweep gear. At first the ''Mullany'' was in tow at low speed. With an increase in speed the sweep cable snapped and the tow attempt was discontinued. The ''Mullany'' crew then succeeded in lighting off one boiler, and ''Mullany'' limped off on one shaft for

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and San Francisco, arriving 29 May. Courage and determination had saved their ship, but 21 of her crew were killed, nine missing, and 36 wounded. Completely repaired, ''Mullany'' put to sea 25 September for the

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and duty with the Atlantic Fleet, until decommissioning 14 February 1946 to join the

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Recommissioned 8 March 1951, ''Mullany'' rejoined the Atlantic Fleet and by January 1954 had made three deployments to the

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to join in the peace-keeping missions of the 6th Fleet. With her squadron, Destroyer Squadron 18 (DesRon 18), ''Mullany'' departed

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1 December 1954 for San Diego, where the squadron was redesignated DesRon 21 for service in the Pacific Fleet. In the next 10 years, ''Mullany'' served eight times in the western Pacific with the 7th Fleet, joining in patrol and training operations essential to the protection of freedom in

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USS Mullany (DD-528) and USS Stoddard (DD-566) at Pearl Harbor c1960

Veteran ''Mullany'' returned to combat during her ninth cruise to the coast of Asia, screening carrier in flight operations off

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in 1965, as well as serving as harbor defense ship at

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. On 6 July 1965, ''Mullany's'' five-inch guns were

fired in anger {{Short pages monitor {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullany (DD-528) Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships built in San Francisco 1942 ships World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Vietnam War destroyers of the United States Heng Yang-class destroyers Maritime incidents in April 1945 Maritime incidents in 2001