USS Eaton (DD-510) underway at sea in September 1964 (NH 107258).jpg
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USS ''Eaton'' (DD-510) was a in the service of the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946. She was recommissioned from 1951 to 1969 and sunk as a target in 1970.


World War II

The ''Eaton'' was launched 20 September 1942 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. Mary Eaton Phillips, great-great-granddaughter of General Eaton; and commissioned 4 December 1942. It was named after
William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to: * William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars * William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner * William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...
(1764–1811), an American soldier involved in the First Barbary War.


1943

''Eaton'' departed
Casco Bay, Maine Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...
, 6 February 1943 for duty in the Pacific. Arriving at Efate, New Hebrides, 7 March, she patrolled with Cruiser Division 12 between Efate and the Solomons. She also escorted convoys from Espiritu Santo and Nouméa to
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
. After 10 August, from a new base at
Port Purvis A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
,
Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...
, she supported landings at Rendova, Vella Lavella, and Baracoma. In September, she rejoined Cruiser Division 12 for sweeps against
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese shipping in " The Slot", sinking many barges. The ''I-20'' Type-C Japanese submarine was sunk on the surface at Vella Lavella on 01-10-1943.USS Eaton DD-510 Guestbook 1997 – 2002
/ref> After a dash to Auckland, ''Eaton'' embarked
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
G. H. Fort and staff on 26 October and served as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
for the landings on Treasury Island the following day. Prior to the landings at Empress Augusta Bay, she led fast minelayers USS ''Tracy'' (DM-19) and ''Pruitt'' (DM-22) through
Bougainville Strait Bougainville Strait separates Choiseul Island, part of the Solomon Islands from Bougainville Island, the next to the northward and part of Papua New Guinea. The first European to pass through the strait was Louis Antoine de Bougainville in 1768, wh ...
s to seal off the eastern approach, on the night of 1/2 November. She continued to patrol from Port Purvis to Bougainville. On 13 November she rushed to help screen the crippled ''Denver'' (CL-58), damaged in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Relieved by ''Dyson'' (DD-572) the following day, she continued to escort resupply convoys to Bougainville, Treasury, and Vella Lavella, as well as to bombard coast batteries and hunt Japanese ships.


1944

She took part in the landings on Green Island on 15 February 1944 and on Emirau Island on 20 March. ''Eaton'' sailed 4 May 1944 for the Marshalls, arriving at Majuro on the 7th. Between 29 May and 2 June, she joined ''Greiner'' (DE-37) and ''Sanders'' (DE-40) in reconnaissance and bombardment of Kusaie Island in the eastern Carolines. On 11 June, she left Kwajalein for the invasion of
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, which began four days later. ''Eaton'' provided fire support, including harassing and illumination fire, against Saipan and Tinian and captured three Japanese aviators from a raft. On 12 August she sailed from Saipan for overhaul at Mare Island. ''Eaton'' joined the covering force for the Leyte operation at Leyte Gulf, 25 November 1944. She sank an enemy freighter on 1 December and bombarded Ormoc Bay as she headed to cover the Mindoro landings in December.


1945

Returning to Manus two days before Christmas, she was up in
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, on 9 January 1945 for screen and patrol duty. During the assault, the following night her crew destroyed an enemy suicide boat only 25 yards from the ship. The explosion killed 1 and wounded 14 of ''Eaton''s men. She escorted transports in ballast from Lingayen to Leyte in January, bombarded
Corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
in February, and returned to Leyte Gulf on 1 March. Through May she continued in the liberation of the Philippines, in the landings at Mangarin Bay, Mindoro; on Panay, and on Mindanao. Sailing from Subic Bay 7 June 1945, ''Eaton'' covered the landings at Brunei Bay, Borneo, on 10 June, supporting minesweeping operations, and providing fire support for the invading Australians and underwater demolition teams. Next came invaluable aid to
the assault ''The Assault'' (original title in Dutch language, Dutch: ''De aanslag'') is a 1982 novel by Netherlands, Dutch author Harry Mulisch. Random House published an English translation by Claire Nicolas White in 1985. It covers 35 years in the life o ...
on the great oil entrepot of Balikpapan, on 1 and 2 July. She returned to San Pedro Bay, 5 July, and her base for operations until the end of hostilities. ''Eaton'' went north, 28 August 1945, to support minesweeping operations in the Yellow Sea off Jinsen ( Inchon) in preparation for landings the following month. From 6 September to the end of October, she directed sweeping the Yangtze River approaches and acted as harbor entrance control vessel at Shanghai for the Yangtze River Patrol Force. On 9 September, five Japanese vessels attempting to leave that port were intercepted and boarded by a party from Eaton; a prize crew remained on board ''Medium Landing Ship No. 5'' for nearly a month. Joining the South China Force, ''Eaton'' was based at Hong Kong and visited ports on the 2,000-mile sweep of Chinese coast, all the way from Haiphong, Indochina, to Hulutao, Manchuria, until 29 December 1945, also participating in the French Indochina convoy that took the 6th Chinese Army to Manchuria on merchant marine ships. Other targets engaged by the ''Eaton'' during the war were eight enemy planes shot down. She arrived at
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
8 February 1946 and the following month sailed to
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, where she was placed out of commission in reserve, 21 June 1946.


Post World War II

Reclassified DDE-510, 2 January 1951, ''Eaton'' was recommissioned 11 December 1951 at the
Boston Naval Shipyard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...
, and joined Escort Division 22 at
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, 29 May 1952. She operated as far as the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and made two midshipman cruises in the summer of 1953: the first to England, France and Italy, the second to Halifax, Nova Scotia. She sailed 28 April 1954 for NATO exercises off
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
, followed by a good will tour of ports in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, England, and France before joining the 6th Fleet for exercises in the Mediterranean, including a mock "defense" of Turkey during which she 'sank' the same 'enemy' Turkish submarine twice. After rescuing four survivors from SS ''Mormackite'' on her return passage, ''Eaton'' arrived at Norfolk on 10 October. In the early 1950s the ''Eaton'' collided with a surfacing submarine, but the following destroyer averted a worse collision owing to quick action of the captain. The collision resulted in damage to the submarine's periscopes and conning tower. In early 1956 during ASW exercises ''Eaton'' was involved in a collision with the destroyer USS ''Power'' (DD-839). On 6 May 1956, off the Virginia Capes, the battleship USS ''Wisconsin'' (BB-64) collided with the ''Eaton'' in thick fog while daylight steaming at high speed (20 knots).Taylor, R. L., "The Commodore's Fateful Command," ''Naval History'' (February 2009), 56–59. The collision caused serious damage to both ships, with the ''Eaton'' contacting the battleship's bow on the starboard side forward of the bridge, which crushed to port side and broke the keel. The CPO mess area and mess deck were smashed. The ship's 1st LT saved her by securing bow to stern with anchor chain, and closing the watertight door beside his room. Only one sailor (a cook) was struck unconscious. Commander Richard Varley of the ''Eaton'' was later court-martialed and found negligent. In another accident, the NOTS RUR-4 '' Weapon Alpha'' rocket-boosted
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
projector misfired, with one warhead falling back onto the 01 deck and killing a seaman below. An African cruise between 18 March and 26 July 1957 took ''Eaton'' by way of the Azores to Freetown, Simonstown, Mombasa,
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
, and
Massawa Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...
. She operated through the blistering Red Sea between Aden and Massawa much of May, then on through the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
to Mediterranean ports and Norfolk. A visit to British waters in the fall of 1957 and two to Canada varied Eaton's Atlantic and Caribbean duty through 1960, participating during the Bay of Pigs Invasion events. Later ''Eaton'' towed a disabled US Navy surveillance vessel from the Havana harbour. During the early 1960s the ''Eaton'' was assigned as flagship of Destroyer Squadron 28, serving in Destroyer Division 282 with USS ''Bache'', ''Murray'', and ''Beale''. In 1967–68 she served in Vietnam along the gunline providing naval fire support up and down the Vietnamese coast. On Memorial Day of 1969, ''Eaton'' was decommissioned, and then later towed away, and sunk as a target during gunnery practice in the Atlantic Ocean 90 
nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
s (167 km) off Norfolk, Virginia.


Honors

''Eaton'' received 11 battle stars for World War II service.


References

*


External links


navsource.org: USS ''Eaton''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton Eaton (DD-510) Eaton (DD-510) Ships built in Bath, Maine Shipwrecks of the Florida coast 1942 ships Eaton (DD-510) Maritime incidents in 1956 Maritime incidents in 1970 Ships sunk as targets Vietnam War destroyers of the United States