USS Camp (DE-251)
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USS ''Camp'' (DE-251) was an built for the U.S. Navy 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 served in the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and provided destroyer escort protection against
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.


Namesake

Jack Hill Camp was born on 27 August 1916 in
Jennings, Louisiana Jennings is a city in, and the parish seat of, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. The city is 68 percent white. Jennings is ...
. He enlisted in the
United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...
on 20 January 1941 and was appointed a naval aviator on 29 December 1941. Attached to Patrol Squadron 44, Ensign Camp was killed in action 7 June 1942 during the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
.


Construction and commissioning

''Camp'' was launched 16 April 1943 by
Brown Shipbuilding The Brown Shipbuilding Company was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1942 as a subsidiary of Brown and Root (now KBR) by brothers Herman and George R. Brown to build ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II. Brown Shipbuilding Company ranked 68th ...
Co.,
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. O. H. Camp; commissioned 16 September 1943 and reported to the
United States Atlantic Fleet United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
.


World War II North Atlantic operations

After duty as
school ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
for pre-commissioning crews for other escort vessels, ''Camp'' cleared
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 ...
, 14 December 1943, escorting a convoy bound for
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
with men and supplies for the operations in Italy. ''Camp'' returned to Norfolk 24 January 1944 to begin a year and a half of convoy escort operations from
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 * '' ...
to ports of the United Kingdom, guarding convoys whose ships brought troops and mountains of equipment and supplies for the buildup and support of the assault on the European continent. Fighting the foul weather common in the North Atlantic, ''Camp's'' alertness against submarine attack and diligence were rewarded by no losses in any of the convoys she accompanied. A collision with the tanker ''Chrysler's Field'' off the south coast of Ireland on 16 November 1944, in which one of ''Camp''s crew members was killed, required a repair period during which ''Camp'' received a new bow and acquired 5" guns; otherwise her escort duty was uninterrupted until 19 June 1945.


Transfer to the Pacific Fleet

''Camp'' cleared
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 ...
, 9 July 1945 for the Pacific, and after serving as a training ship at
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, proceeded to
Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
for occupation duty. She supervised the evacuation of the Japanese garrison from Mili, then took on air-sea rescue duties off
Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...
until 4 November, when she sailed for home, arriving at New York 10 December.


Conversion to Radar Picket Ship

She was decommissioned 1 May 1946 and her
U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
crew was removed. She was reclassified DER-251 on 7 December 1955, ''Camp'' was recommissioned 31 July 1956 for duty as radar picket ship in the early warning system. At this time, her two 5-inch 38 guns were replaced with two 3-inch 50's. She reported 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, ...
as part of ComCorTron 16, 19 February 1957 and operated from that port to
Argentia, Newfoundland Argentia ( ) is a Canadian commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula and defined by a triangular shaped headland which re ...
and into the North Atlantic through 1962. In 1962 and 1963 the Camp operated out of Greenock, Scotland. During picket duty in the Irish sea she broke off a large section of external bilge keel. Emergency repairs were made at sea to stop the fuel oil leak. In 1964 & 1965 she served off of Cuba as a Radar Picket Ship tracking Russian Convoys and rescuing Cuban refugees that had fled the island.


Vietnam

In 1965, ''Camp'' was sent to
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese waters for coastal patrol and interdiction by the U.S. Navy (
Operation Market Time Operation Market Time was the United States Navy, Republic of Vietnam Navy and Royal Australian Navy operation begun in 1965 to stop the flow of troops, war material, and supplies by sea, coast, and rivers, from North Vietnam into parts of Sout ...
). On 7 August 1967, ''Camp'' was notified that the Viet Cong were overrunning the
Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...
Naval Junk Base 16 on the Song Trà Khúc River. At flank speed ''Camp'' sped to the aid of the Vietnamese and an American Adviser. ''Camp'' was directed to assume the duties of Operational Scene Commander and provide gunfire support as required, Arriving on the scene within the hour, ''Camp'' was unable to fire as spotters were not available and targets unidentified. As it was tactically infeasible to support a counter-offensive, ''Camp'' directed PCFs to enter the river and evacuate wounded personnel. For the next three nights, ''Camp'' provided star shell illumination to the base as it braced itself against further attack until its defenders had adequately rebuilt their defenses. At dawn on 7 August 1967, ''Camp'' was off the mouth of the Song Trà Khúc . A PCF made ''Camp''s starboard side, her decks crowded with wounded Vietnamese. As one PCF patrol boat raced to the ship, a Vietnamese woman gave birth to a child; ''Camp'' treated 15 wounded Vietnamese including a U.S. Naval Advisor and a tiny Vietnamese baby. Camp called U.S. Army medical helicopters to the scene for evacuation of all wounded. Controlling the helicopters which hovered over the fantail hoisting aboard the injured was a delicate operation as the wounded were evacuated to a U.S. Army hospital in Quảng Ngai. In addition to the evacuated patients, ''Camp'' directed PCF's to take 25 other evacuees to Chu Lai. Assigned to Taiwan Patrol duties in late September 1967, ''Camp'' proceeded to
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
to relieve the . After setting up her patrol barrier in the Formosa Straits, ''Camp'' found it necessary to head north at flank speed to avoid Typhoon Carla. Running into seas and winds which remained unabated for several days, ''Camp'' suffered total destruction of the forward gun shield and loss of the fire control radar system. Subsequent high seas washed the remnants of the gun shield over the side and reduced the remainder of mount 31 to mere junk. After the typhoon, she was directed to Sasebo, Japan for emergency dry-dock repairs, where an section of her hull was found nearing failure. The enclosed rear gun mount 32 was moved forward and replaced with an open gun mount from a decommissioned ship. After the repairs, she returned to Vietnam and resumed duty which included escort support to the battleship . She displayed the Naval symbol for excellence, the "E" on her bridge, for achieving high marks in all categories. By 1968 her radio center had been rebuilt more than once to improve communications efficiency. ''Camp'' gave gunfire support when needed, provided "mothership" services to River Patrol craft and assisted Naval Operations when burial at sea or escort details were requested of her. Her communications center, which was rebuilt in 1968, became so efficient that she could hold simultaneous communications halfway around the world at the same time her local service was in heavy demand. She was used as "Station Ship" in Hong Kong harbor taking on the radio guard for all US Navy ships pulling extended stays. During the shooting of the film ''
Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' ( ja, トラ・トラ・トラ!) is a 1970 epic film, epic war film that dramatizes the Empire of Japan, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard Fleischer, T ...
'', the interior scenes of the were shot aboard the decommissioned , while the brief at sea gun fire and depth charge scene was actually the ''Camp'' (note the open rear gun mount in the film sequence).


Transfer to South Vietnam Navy and service with the Philippine Navy

She was transferred to South Vietnam on 13 February 1971. Renamed
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
, the ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 December 1975. Following the surrender of the South Vietnamese government on 29 April 1975, ''Tran Hung Dao'' escaped to the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
which acquired the ship later that year. Formally transferred on 5 April 1976, former ''Tran Hung Dao'' was commissioned into the
Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...
as frigate RPS ''Rajah Lakandula'' (PS-4) on 27 July 1976. In July 1980, she was renumbered and reclassified as BRP ''Rajah Lakandula'' (PF-4). Struck from the
Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...
in 1988, she was still in use as stationary
barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...
in Subic Bay in 1999. Probably sold as scrap.


References

* USS Camp Cruise Books; 1967–68, 1968–69


External links


NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive - USS ''Camp'' (DE 251)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp (De-251) Edsall-class destroyer escorts World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Vietnam Navy Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy Ships built in Houston 1943 ships