USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697)
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USS ''Charles S. Sperry'' (DD-697) was an in service with 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 ...
from 1944 to 1973. In 1974, she was sold to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, where she served as ''Ministro Zenteno'' (D-16). She was finally scrapped in 1990.


History

USS ''Charles S. Sperry'' was named for
Charles Stillman Sperry Rear Admiral Charles Stillman Sperry (September 3, 1847February 1, 1911) was an officer in the United States Navy. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sperry graduated from the Naval Academy in 1866. In November 1898, he became commanding officer of a ...
, the commanding officer of . Sperry would later attain the rank of
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 ...
. She was launched 13 March 1944 by
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Gov ...
, Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Miss M. Sperry; commissioned 17 May 1944.


United States Navy


World War II

After training in the Hawaiian Islands, ''Charles S. Sperry'' arrived at
Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...
28 December 1944 to join the fast carrier force, TP 38. For the remainder of the war, she sailed in the screen of the third group of this mighty force, variously designated TF 38 and TF 58. She sortied with her group for the first time on 30 December, bound for the areas from which the carriers launched strikes against Japanese bases on Formosa and
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 ...
in preparation for the assault on Lingayen Gulf beaches. Continuing to neutralize Japanese airfields the force moved on to strike at targets in Indochina, on the South China coast, and on
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
before returning to Ulithi 26 January 1945. ''Sperry'' sailed with TF 58 once more on 10 February 1945, as the force began its familiar work in preparation for the invasion of
Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...
. An audacious raid against Tokyo itself was first on the schedule, the first carrier strikes on the heart of Japan since the
Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...
. On 16 and 17 February, planes from the carriers guarded by ''Sperry'' roared over Tokyo, in attacks which inflicted substantial material damage, and great moral damage, to the Japanese war effort. ''Sperry'' forces offered direct support during the assault landings at Iwo Jima. Twice, on 19 February and on 20–21 February, the carrier force came under air attack from the enemy, but antiaircraft fire from ''Sperry'' and the other screening ships, combined with evasive maneuvering and a protective smoke screen, prevented damage to the great concentration of ships. A final round of air strikes was hurled at Tokyo and Okinawa before TF 58 returned to Ulithi 5 March. Once more designated TF 38, the force cleared Ulithi 14 March 1945 for the Okinawa operation, which would keep ''Sperry'' and many other ships at sea almost continuously until 1 June. First came air strikes against Kyushu, for which the Japanese retaliated with heavy air attacks against the carrier force on 19 and 20 March. While was badly damaged in these attacks, ''Sperry'' and other escorts furnished effective antiaircraft fire which pre vented further harm to the force, and she shared in splashing several Japanese planes. ''Sperry'' turned south with her force for strikes against Okinawa. The destroyer joined in a bombardment of the Japanese airstrip on tiny but critically located Minami Daito Shima 27 March. Close air support was provided by TF 38 as the invasion began on 1 April 1945, and ''Sperry'' served as plane guard and radar picket for her force. On 7 April, planes from the carriers she screened joined in sending , her accompanying cruiser, and four of eight guardian destroyers to the bottom. ''Sperry'' herself fired often, aiding in splashing planes of the ''
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 ...
'' strikes hurled at her force on 11, 14, 16, and 29 April, and 11 May. When and fell victim to ''kamikazes'', ''Sperry'' stood by them, aiding in damage control, and rescuing men from the water. The destroyer remained in San Pedro Bay, Philippines, from 1 June to 1 July, and then sailed to support the carriers as they launched the final air strikes at the Japanese home islands. Cover for the first occupation landings and the evacuation of Allied prisoners of war from Japanese prison camps was flown by the carriers, and on 31 August, the great force arrived off Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremonies held on 2 September.


Post-World War II

''Sperry'' remained in the Far East, taking part in exercises, on patrol, and carrying mail, until 30 December 1945, when she departed Sasebo for the east coast, arriving at Baltimore 19 February 1946. For the next year, she remained at Boston with a reduced crew, and in March 1947, reported at New Orleans for duty as a training ship for members of the Naval Reserve until July 1950. After overhaul at Norfolk, she sailed for the Far East, arriving off embattled Korea 14 October 1950.


Korean War

The destroyer operated almost continuously off Korea until June 1951. For her first 2 weeks in action, she fired on shore installations at Songjin, screened shipping, and patrolled areas swept of mines to guard against their remaining. During November and December 1950 she continued her fire support and bombardments, covered the redeployments from Kojo, Wonsan, and Hung-nam, and screened salvage operations. On 23 December, while firing at Songjin, she was hit by three shells returned by an enemy shore battery, but suffered no casualties, and only minor damage, which was repaired at Sasebo early in January 1951. She returned to the Korean firing line to cover salvage operations north of the 38th parallel and conduct bombardments along the coast. As operations leading to the classic blockade of Wonsan began, ''Charles S. Sperry'' entered the dangerous harbor 17 January 1951 to provide interdiction fire, and to cover the landings which secured the harbor islands. She cleared the Wonsan area 5 March for Songjin, where she joined in setting the siege, and until 6 June was almost constantly patrolling and firing on shore installations at Songjin. She then sailed for home, arriving at Norfolk 2 July.


Service, 1951-1974

Taking up the operating schedule of the Destroyer Force, Atlantic, ''Charles S. Sperry'' sailed from Norfolk through 1960. In 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1959 she cruised in the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet. During her 1956 deployment, which coincided with the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
, she escorted the transports which evacuated American nationals from Egypt. Midshipmen cruises and
North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
exercises took her to northern European ports on several occasions, some of them in coordination with her Mediterranean deployments. Late in 1959, ''Sperry'' began an extensive overhaul for rehabilitation and modernization, including the addition of a sophisticated remotely operated torpedo equipped anti-submarine
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
known as Drone Anti Submarine Helicopter (DASH). After completion of this major refitting she operated on the east coast and was located in Newport RI in the late 1960s. In the summer of 1968 she cruised the Caribbean and was in San Juan, Puerto Rico in late June as the U S Navy's representative for the celebration of feast of St. John (San Juan), a national holiday. : '1960-1974''


Chilean Navy

On 8 January 1974, ''Charles S. Sperry'' was transferred to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
by sale. She was renamed ''Ministro Zenteno'' (D-16). After many years of active service in the
Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...
, the old destroyer was finally scrapped in 1990.


Awards

''Charles S. Sperry'' received four
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 service in World War II, and four battle stars for the Korean War.


References

* *
Jane's Fighting Ships ''Jane's Fighting Ships'' by Janes Information Services is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ships' names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc. E ...
1980-81


External links


navsource.org: USS ''Charles S. Sperry''




{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles S. Sperry (Dd-697) Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers of the United States Navy Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1944 ships World War II destroyers of the United States Cold War destroyers of the United States Korean War destroyers of the United States Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers of the Chilean Navy