View source for USS Naifeh

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Aerial starboard view of USS Naifeh (DE-352) underway off Nantucket August 1944 (80-G-245454).jpg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1960}}
|Ship name=''Naifeh''
|Ship namesake=[[Alfred Naifeh]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Consolidated Steel Corporation]], [[Orange, Texas]]
|Ship laid down=29 December 1943
|Ship launched=29 February 1944
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=4 July 1944
|Ship decommissioned=17 June 1960
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 January 1966
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sunk as a target 11 July 1966
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|John C. Butler|destroyer escort}}
|Ship displacement={{cvt|1350|LT|0|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|306|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 boilers, 2 geared turbine engines, {{convert|12000|shp|abbr=on}}; 2 propellers
|Ship speed={{convert|24|kn}}
|Ship range={{convert|6000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=14 officers, 201 enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament= {{John C. Butler class destroyer escort armament}} 
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Naifeh'' (DE-352)''' was a {{sclass|John C. Butler|destroyer escort}} in service with the [[United States Navy]] from 1944 to 1960. She was sunk as a target in 1966.

==History==
USS ''Naifeh'' was named for Navy [[Lieutenant (Junior Grade)]] Alfred Naifeh (5 January 1915 – 16 October 1942) who died when the [[destroyer]] {{USS|Meredith|DD-434|6}} sank during the [[Solomon Islands campaign]] of [[World War II]].  Lt. (j.g.) Naifeh was posthumously awarded the [[Navy and Marine Corps Medal]]. ''Naifeh''{{'}}s was [[keel]] was laid down on 29 December 1943 at the [[Consolidated Steel Corporation]] shipyard in [[Orange, Texas]]. The vessel was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 29 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Rathia Naifeh, mother of Lt. (j.g.) Naifeh; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 4 July 1944.

=== World War II ===
After commissioning, ''Naifeh'' trained and conducted shakedown off [[Bermuda]], then had training ship duty out of [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. The ship departed [[Brooklyn, New York]], on 6 October 1944 on the first of 2 voyages escorting [[convoy]]s to Europe and [[North Africa]].  ''Naifeh'' departed [[New York City|New York]] on 13 January 1945 and steamed via the [[Panama Canal]] to the [[Pacific]], arriving at [[Manus Island]], [[Admiralty Islands]] on 20 February.

The destroyer escort was assigned to the [[Philippine Sea]] Frontier, and was based at [[Leyte Gulf]]. She was primarily occupied in convoy duty until the end of the war, escorting [[tanker (ship)|tanker]]s and other auxiliaries to [[New Guinea]], [[Ulithi]], [[Palau]], [[Guam]], [[Manila]], and [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]].  ''Naifeh'' performed other duties such as weather ship, [[search and rescue]] work, and carrying mail.  Once she displayed the three star flag of Commander Philippine Sea Frontier as [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]] Kauffman was embarked on an inspection tour of the islands.  She rescued the crew of {{SS|Glenns Ferry}} on 10 October 1945 after the merchantman had grounded near [[Batag Island]], [[Philippines]].  ''Naifeh'' stood by with a watch set on the grounded ship until a [[Marine salvage|salvage]] crew arrived from Manila.

She was detached from the Philippine Sea Frontier on 27 November 1945 and proceeded to [[San Diego]], California, arriving there on 17 December. She decommissioned on 27 June 1946 and entered the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]] at San Diego.

=== Korean War ===
With the start of the [[Korean War]], she recommissioned on 26 January 1951. ''Naifeh'' left San Diego on 16 April, assigned to the [[United Nations]] Escort and Blockade Force. She took station off [[Songjin Harbor]], [[North Korea]], on 28 June.  The next months were occupied in shelling [[Communist]] military and [[logistics]] facilities, along with patrol action to clear the area of floating [[naval mine|mine]]s, junks, and possible [[submarine]]s.  She then screened [[escort carrier]] {{USS|Sicily|CVE-118|6}} and {{HMS|Glory|R62|6}} off the west coast of Korea.

''Naifeh'' returned to [[San Francisco]] in November 1951.  From early March 1952 to July, she was engaged in training exercises off the West Coast. In early July, the destroyer escort sailed from San Diego for Korea to rejoin [[Task Force 95]], Blockade and Escort Group.  ''Naifeh'' was assigned to the northeast coast of Korea in the Songjin-[[Chongjin]] area.  Here she fired on enemy shore positions, [[railroad]]s, and industrial targets.

Once bracketed by enemy shore fire, she successfully maneuvered out of range. With other assignments, she aided [[Republic of Korea Navy]] [[torpedo boat]]s in interdiction missions against enemy supply lines.  In late fall, ''Naifeh'' was [[flagship]] of the [[Wonsan]] Element Commander, protecting United States and Korean [[minesweeper]]s and firing on shore targets.  When {{USS|Lewis|DE-535|6}} was hit by [[artillery]] fire, ''Naifeh'' provided protective counter-battery fire as she laid a smokescreen to cover her withdrawal. In addition to blockade duty, the destroyer escort fired on North Korean supply movements in the Wonsan area.  She returned to San Diego in December 1952.

=== Cold War ===
''Naifeh'' again deployed to WestPac in mid-November 1953, operating off Japan, Okinawa, and [[Taiwan]]. May 1954 was spent with [[US Marine Corps|Marines]] conducting landing exercises off [[Pusan]], Korea.  She left [[U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]] on 7 June 1954, arriving at San Diego on 26 June for a summer in operational training off the West Coast, highlighted by PACTRAEX and a visit to [[Seattle, Washington]].  ''Naifeh'' left San Diego on 21 November, arriving at [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]] on 9 December for patrol duty off the eastern coast of Korea and [[anti-submarine]] training.  She assisted in the evacuation of the [[Tachen Islands]] in late January and February 1955, and returned to San Diego on 1 June.

[[File:USS Naifeh (DE-352) underway at sea on 28 January 1956 (80-G-689312).jpg|thumb|''Naifeh'' in 1956.]]

In early March 1956, the ship sailed for her fourth WestPac deployment.  Based at [[Guam]], the ship acted as a [[search and rescue]] ready duty ship and participated in five surveillance patrols of the [[Northern Marianas]], [[Bonin Islands|Bonin]], and [[Caroline Islands]] before returning to [[Long Beach Naval Shipyard|Long Beach]] on 24 August. The remainder of 1956 and early 1957 were occupied with training operations off the California coast.

Leaving Long Beach, the destroyer escort once again deployed to the western Pacific, arriving at Guam on 30 April. In the first part of May, ''Naifeh'' made a patrol in the Bonin Islands. She departed Guam on 18 May and sailed for Sasebo, where she arrived on 23 May.  She operated out of Sasebo and [[Subic Bay]] on patrol duties for the rest of her deployment until 12 July, when she departed Yokosuka and sailed to San Diego, arriving there on 28 July.

''Naifeh'' then engaged in coastal operations off the West Coast until 17 June 1960, when she decommissioned at San Francisco. Berthed at [[Mare Island]] until 1 January 1966, when she was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]], she was towed to San Diego in early 1966 for stripping prior to being used as a target to destruction.  In July, ''Naifeh'' was sunk as a target off [[San Clemente Island]] by a combination of naval gunfire and aircraft.

==Honors==
''Naifeh'' received three [[battle stars]] for Korean War service.

===Awards, citations and campaign ribbons===
{|
|-
|[[Image:Combat Action Ribbon.svg|60px]] 
|[[Combat Action Ribbon]] (retroactive)
|-
|[[Image:American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|60px]] 
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
|[[Image:Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|60px]] 
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]
|-
|[[Image:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|60px]] 
|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[National Defense Service Medal]] (with one [[service star]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=60}} 
|[[Korean Service Medal]] (with three [[service star]]s)
|-
|[[Image:Phliber rib.svg|60px]] 
|[[Philippine Liberation Medal]]
|-
|[[Image:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|60px]] 
|[[United Nations Korea Medal]]
|- 
|[[Image:Republic of Korea War Service Medal ribbon.svg|60px]]
|[[Korean War Service Medal|Republic of Korea War Service Medal]]
|}

== References ==
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/naifeh.html}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Naifeh (DE-352)}}
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/352.htm NavSource.org - DE-352]

{{John C. Butler class destroyer escort}}
{{1966 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naifeh}}
[[Category:John C. Butler-class destroyer escorts]]
[[Category:Ships built in Orange, Texas]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the California coast]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1966]]