View source for USS Camp

{{Short description|Edsall-class destroyer escort}}
{{No footnotes|date=April 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS Camp (DE-251) off the Boston Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts (USA), on 25 April 1945 (NH 91559).jpg
| Ship caption = USS ''Camp'' after refit with two 5"/38cal guns
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1971}}
| Ship name = 
| Ship namesake = Jack Hill Camp
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Brown Shipbuilding]], [[Houston]], Texas
| Ship laid down = 27 January 1943
| Ship launched = 16 April 1943
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 16 September 1943
| Ship decommissioned = 1 May 1946
| Ship reclassified = DER-251, 21 October 1955
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 30 December 1975
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship honors = 
| Ship fate = Transferred to [[South Vietnam]], 13 February 1971
| Ship status = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = title
| Ship country = South Vietnam
| Ship flag = [[Image:Naval ensign of South Vietnam.svg|60px|Naval Ensign of South Vietnam]]
| Ship name = RVNS ''Tran Hung Dao'' (HQ-1)
| Ship namesake = [[Tran Hung Dao]]
| Ship acquired = 13 February 1971
| Ship commissioned = 
| Ship decommissioned = 
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship honours = 
| Ship fate = Escaped to the Philippines and transferred to the [[Philippine Navy]], 5 April 1976
| Ship status = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = title
| Ship country = Philippines
| Ship flag = [[Image:Flag of the Philippines.svg|60px|Flag of the Philippines]]
| Ship name = [[BRP Rajah Lakandula (PF-4)|RPS (later BRP) ''Rajah Lakandula'' (PF-4)]]
| Ship namesake = 
| Ship acquired = 5 April 1976
| Ship commissioned = 27 July 1976
| Ship decommissioned = 1988
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 1988
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship honours = 
| Ship fate = 
| Ship status = Was in service in 1999 as a [[barracks ship]], probably sold as scrap
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = {{sclass|Edsall|destroyer escort}}
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|1253|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
*{{convert|1590|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
| Ship length = {{convert|306|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|36|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|10|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = *4&nbsp;[[Fairbanks-Morse|FM]]&nbsp;[[diesel engine]]s
*4&nbsp;diesel-[[Engine-generator|generator]]s
*{{convert|6000|shp|MW|abbr=on}}
*2&nbsp;screws
| Ship speed = {{convert|21|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = {{convert|9000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|abbr=on}}
| Ship complement = 8 officers, 201 enlisted
| Ship sensors = 
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armament = {{Edsall class destroyer escort armament}}
| Ship armor = 
| Ship aircraft = 
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
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}}
|}

'''USS ''Camp'' (DE-251)''' was an {{sclass|Edsall|destroyer escort}} built for the [[U.S. Navy]] during [[World War II]]. She served in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and in the [[Pacific Ocean]] by providing destroyer escort protection against [[submarine]] and air attack for Navy vessels and [[convoys]].

==Namesake==
Jack Hill Camp was born on 27 August 1916 in [[Jennings, Louisiana]]. He enlisted in the [[United States Naval Reserve]] on 20 January 1941 and was appointed a naval aviator on 29 December 1941. Attached to [[VPB-44|Patrol Squadron 44]], [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] Camp was killed in action 7 June 1942 during the [[Battle of Midway]].

==Construction and commissioning==
''Camp'' was launched 16 April 1943 by [[Brown Shipbuilding]] Co., [[Houston]], Texas; sponsored by Mrs. O. H. Camp; commissioned 16 September 1943 and reported to the [[United States Fleet Forces Command|United States Atlantic Fleet]].

== World War II North Atlantic operations ==
After duty as [[school ship]] for pre-commissioning crews for other escort vessels, ''Camp'' cleared [[Norfolk, Virginia]], 14 December 1943, escorting a convoy bound for [[Casablanca]] 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 City|New York]] 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]], 9 July 1945 for the Pacific, and after serving as a training ship at [[Pearl Harbor]], proceeded to [[Eniwetok]] for occupation duty. She supervised the evacuation of the Japanese garrison from [[Mili Atoll|Mili]], then took on air-sea rescue duties off [[Kwajalein]] until 4 November, when she sailed for home, arriving at New York 10 December.
[[File:USS Camp (DER-251) underway at sea, circa in the 1960s.jpg|left|thumb|''Camp'' postwar]]

== Conversion to Radar Picket Ship ==
She was decommissioned 1 May 1946 and her [[U.S. Coast Guard]] 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 [[BMEWS|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]] as part of ComCorTron 16, 19 February 1957 and operated from that port to [[Argentia, Newfoundland]] 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]]ese waters for coastal patrol and interdiction by the U.S. Navy ([[Operation Market Time]]).

On 7 August 1967, ''Camp'' was notified that the [[Viet Cong]] were overrunning the [[Republic of Vietnam Navy]] Naval Junk Base 16 on the [[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 [[Patrol Craft Fast|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]] to relieve the {{USS|Wilhoite|DER-397|6}}. After setting up her patrol barrier in the Formosa Straits, ''Camp'' found it necessary to head north at flank speed to avoid [[1967 Pacific typhoon season#Super Typhoon Carla (Trining)|Typhoon Carla]]. Running into {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} seas and {{convert|70|kn|mph km/h|lk=on|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} 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 {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|6}}. 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 [[Victoria Harbour|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!]]'', the interior scenes of the {{USS|Ward|DD-139|6}} were shot aboard the decommissioned {{USS|Newell|DE-322|6}}, 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]] {{ship|RVNS|Tran Hung Dao|HQ-1}}, 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]] which acquired the ship later that year. Formally transferred on 5 April 1976, former ''Tran Hung Dao'' was commissioned into the [[Philippine Navy]] 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)|BRP ''Rajah Lakandula'' (PF-4)]]. Struck from the [[Navy List]] in 1988, she was still in use as stationary [[barracks ship]] in [[Subic Bay]] in 1999. Probably sold as scrap.

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c2/camp.htm}}
USS Camp Cruise Books; 1967–68, 1968–69

==External links==
* {{navsource|06/251}}

{{Edsall class destroyer escort}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp (De-251)}}
[[Category:Edsall-class destroyer escorts]]
[[Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Vietnam Navy]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Houston]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]