USS Colhoun (DD-85)

Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship careerTemplate:Infobox ship characteristics

USS Colhoun (DD-85/APD-2) was a Template:Sclass in the United States Navy during World War I and later redesignated APD-2 in World War II. She was the first Navy ship named for Edmund Colhoun.

Launched in 1918, she remained on convoy duty for the final few months of World War I, and she then operated out of the Atlantic for several years until being decommissioned in 1922. Returning to service in 1940 as a high-speed troop transport, Colhoun was dispatched to support the Guadalcanal campaign early in World War II. While unloading supplies to the island on 30 August 1942, she was attacked by aircraft of the Empire of Japan, and sunk with the loss of 51 men.

Design and construction

Colhoun was one of 111 Template:Sclasss built by the United States Navy between 1917 and 1919. She, along with 25 of her sisters, were constructed at Fore River Shipyard shipyards in Quincy, Massachusetts, using specifications and detail designs drawn up by Bethlehem Steel.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

She had a standard displacement of Template:Convert an overall length of Template:Convert, a beam of Template:Convert and a draft of Template:Convert. On trials, Harding reached a speed of Template:Convert. She was armed with four [[4"/50 caliber gun|Template:Convert/50 caliber guns]] and twelve [[Mark 15 torpedo|Template:Convert torpedo tube]]s. She had a regular crew complement of 100 officers and enlisted men.Template:Sfn She was driven by two Curtis steam turbines powered by four Yarrow boilers.Template:Sfn

Specifics on ColhounTemplate:'s performance are not known, but she was one of the group of Wickes-class destroyers designed by Bethlehem Steel, built from a different design than the 'Liberty type' destroyers constructed from detail designs drawn up by Bath Iron Works, which used Parsons or Westinghouse turbines. The non-'Liberty' type destroyers deteriorated badly in service, and in 1929 all 60 of this group were retired by the Navy. Actual performance of these ships was far below intended specifications especially in fuel economy, with most only able to make Template:Convert at Template:Convert instead of the design standard of Template:Convert at Template:Convert.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The class also suffered problems with turning and weight.Template:Sfn

Colhoun was the first commissioned in the U.S. Navy named for Edmund Colhoun. The second Template:USS was a Template:Sclass commissioned in 1944.Template:Sfn

Service history

File:USS Colhoun (DD-85).jpg

Colhoun is seen in dazzle camouflage while escorting troop transports in mid-1918

Colhoun was launched on 21 February 1918 from Fore River Shipyard and sponsored by Helen A. Colhoun, the daughter of Edmund Ross Colhoun. She was commissioned on 13 June 1918.Template:Sfn Reporting to the United States Atlantic Fleet, she was assigned as a convoy escort between New York City and ports in Europe, escorting ships carrying troops and supplies supporting World War I from 30 June and 14 September 1918.Template:Sfn On 18 November 1918, she reported to New London, Connecticut, to assist in tests of sound equipment which was under development at the time. On 1 January 1919, she was rushed to assist the troop transport Template:USS which had run aground off Fire Island, New York. Colhoun assisted in transporting 194 of the troops off of the ship, who had been returning from Europe, to their destination port in Hoboken, New Jersey.Template:Sfn

On 1 December 1919, she was placed in reduced commission at Philadelphia Navy Yard, and then underwent an overhaul at Norfolk Navy Yard.Template:Sfn Between 1919 and 1922, Colhoun remained assigned to the Atlantic Fleet on reserve status, based out of Charleston, South Carolina. She took part in sporadic fleet exercises and large maneuvers, as well as taking several midshipman cruises through the Caribbean and along the east coast. In mid-1922, she returned to Philadelphia Naval Yard and was decommissioned on 28 June.Template:Sfn

Colhoun was towed to Norfolk Navy Yard on 5 June 1940, and began conversion to a high-speed transport. She was recommissioned into the fleet on 11 December 1940, and received the hull classification symbol of APD-2. Following this, she underwent a year of training exercises between Norfolk and the Caribbean, where she was during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the entry of the U.S. into World War II.Template:Sfn

World War II

File:USS Colhoun (APD-2) off Guadalcanal 1942.jpg

USS Colhoun (APD-2) off Guadalcanal, in August 1942.

With the war underway, she sailed for the Pacific to join the U.S. Pacific Fleet. There, she joined Transport Squadron 12 based out of Pearl Harbor, and began conducting anti-submarine warfare exercises there for a time.Template:Sfn She arrived in Nouméa, New Caledonia on 21 July 1942.Template:Sfn With a shortage of combat ships at the beginning of the war, Colhoun served a dual role as both a high-speed transport and an anti-submarine warfare vessel. In this role, she began preparations for the invasion of the Solomon Islands. On 7 August 1942, she carried units of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion in the initial assault landings which began the Guadalcanal Campaign and continued to serve as both transport and antisubmarine vessel in support of the invasion.Template:Sfn

On the morning of 30 August 1942, Colhoun ported at Kukum Point and unloaded stores for the U.S. Marine Corps garrison on Guadalcanal, and then exited the harbor to undertake anti-submarine patrols. Just before 12:00, an air raid siren was issued and Colhoun moved out to sea. A second alert was received at 14:00.Template:Sfn Shortly thereafter, a lookout spotted a formation of Japanese aircraft approaching using the sun as cover.Template:Sfn The Japanese aircraft, using clouds as cover, dove and released three bombs against Colhoun, two splashing nearby and one striking the after searchlight platform and a nearby boat. The bomb blew the after davits down and forward, blocking the after engine room hatches, and starting a fire from the diesel oil spilled by the boat.Template:Sfn

Colhoun attempted to return fire with her anti-aircraft batteries, but the Japanese aircraft remained obscured by clouds. A second dive launched five or six bombs on her starboard side, knocking down the foremast and blowing two Template:Convert and one Template:Convert gun off the ship. A lubrication oil cooler pump in the after engine room was blown through the bulkhead into the forward engine room. Another two bombs scored direct hits on the after deck house, killing all of the men there. An order was given to abandon ship, and several tank lighters arrived quickly from Guadalcanal to assist in taking in survivors. Colhoun sank at Template:Coord. Fifty-one men were killed and 18 wounded in her sinking.Template:Sfn She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 September 1942. She received one battle star for her service in World War II.Template:Sfn

References

Sources

Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• NavSource Photos
• Roll of Honor