USS Barton (DD-722)
Encyclopedia
USS Barton (DD-722), an Allen M. Sumner-class
destroyer
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Rear Admiral
John Kennedy Barton
.
; sponsored by Ms. Barbara Dean Barton, granddaughter of Admiral Barton; and commissioned 30 December 1943, Commander
J. W. Callahan in command.
batteries in the Bombardment of Cherbourg
on 25 June, Barton was slightly damaged while delivering effective gunfire support.
Returning to the U.S. on 10 July, Barton soon departed Norfolk for the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor
on 2 October. She then steamed westward to take part in the capture of Leyte, including the Ormoc landings (9 November – 8 December), Mindoro landings (12-18 December), Lingayen Gulf landings (4–21 January 1945); Iwo Jima invasion, including the 5th Fleet's supporting raids on Honshū and the Nansei Shoto (10-19 February, 25 February – 1 March); Okinawa invasion (21 March – 30 June), and the 3rd Fleet raids on Japan (10-24 July).
where she participated in Operation Crossroads
(15 June – 10 August). Returning to the United States, she continued operations off the west coast until 22 January 1947, when she went out of commission in reserve at San Diego.
On 11 April 1949, Barton was recommissioned and joined Destroyer Division 201 (DesDiv 201). She operated with the Pacific Fleet until 11 July, when she got underway for Norfolk, arriving on 5 August. For the next three years, she operated along the eastern seaboard, made two cruises to the Caribbean: and one cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.
On 15 May 1952, Barton departed Norfolk via the Panama Canal
for Korea
, Commander Harvey B. Seim in command, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan on 18 June. She Joined Task Force 77 (TF 77) as a member of a hunter-killer group for operations along the east coast of Korea. On 10 August, while silencing enemy batteries on the island of Hodo Pando, Barton was hit on her number one stack by a 105 mm (4.1 in) shell from an enemy shore battery. Two men were wounded. Sailor Dale P. Gray, BM3, was killed.1952 USS Barton World Cruise Book. Repair party member MMFN Anthony Palm (Johnstown, PA) was dispatched to assess the extent of damage caused by the incoming round. His initial report of “. . . it’s a small hole, about 18” in diameter”, grossly underestimated the actual size of nearly 4 ½ feet. After a short repair period at Yokosuka (25-31 August), she returned to Korean waters.
While operating with TF 77, she was struck by a floating mine on 16 September, and had five men missing and seven wounded. The five sailors who died were Russell J. Graf, Harold J. Savoie, John M. Sherry, Walter E. Thierfelder, Jr., and black crew member, John L. Walton.1952 USS Barton World Cruise Book. Effective damage control by her crew enabled her to reach Sasebo for temporary repairs (29 September – 19 October) and then Norfolk, via the Suez Canal, for permanent repairs. She arrived at Norfolk on 12 December. Repairs completed on 15 August 1953, Barton spent the remainder of the year operating along the east coast and in the Caribbean.
On 4 January 1954, the destroyer headed for the Far East once again for another tour of duty with the 7th Fleet
. After several months patrolling the waters between Okinawa and Taiwan and participating in hunter-killer exercises with , Barton steamed around the southern tip of Africa—making stops in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, and Trinidad along the way. She moored in Norfolk on 10 August.
Barton began a schedule of training exercises and Atlantic Fleet maneuvers out of Norfolk, generally operating in the Virginia capes area and the West Indies. Following an overhaul in the Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1955, the destroyer rejoined the Atlantic Fleet for three months of hunter-killer anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) training in preparation for a Mediterranean cruise.
On 28 July 1956, the destroyer departed Norfolk and entered the Mediterranean Sea on 7 August. After participating in NATO Exercise "Whipsaw", Barton and Soley steamed to Port Said, Egypt, to escort a convoy through the Suez Canal and into the Persian Gulf for a routine six-week patrol with the Middle East Force.
On 29 October, the two destroyers started south from the vicinity of Abadan, Iran, to leave the gulf, circumnavigate the Arabian Peninsula, and retransit the Suez Canal. Hostilities broke out that same day between Israel and Egypt over Egypt's premature nationalization of the canal. The war closed the canal, and subsequent international military action prompted Egypt to block it with sunken ships. Meanwhile, Barton and Soley anchored in Sitrah Harbor, Bahrein, and stood by in case a need arose to evacuate Americans from the region. Operating from Bahrein, Barton spent the next two months anchored at night and conducting tactical and gunnery drills by day. Finally, on 12 December, the destroyer received orders directing her around the Cape of Good Hope to Norfolk, where she tied up on 5 February 1957.
Following a period of upkeep, Barton prepared to put to sea on 14 March. She and received orders to escort the cruiser as she carried President Eisenhower to Bermuda to confer with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Barton carried members of the press to the ceremony and stood sentry with William M. Wood at the entrance to the harbor. The destroyer then conducted ASW patrol and spent time in Norfolk in upkeep before going into drydock in Newport News for hull repairs. Barton exited Chesapeake Bay on 1 July and set out for yet another Mediterranean cruise. After several weeks of training operations with NATO forces and other units of the 6th Fleet, Barton anchored in Port Said on the night of 20 September. The following day, she and Soley transited the Suez Canal together once again and then headed to the Persian Gulf for a month of operations with the Iranian Navy. Upon relief by , the warship returned to the Mediterranean to participate in three more NATO exercises. She returned to Norfolk on 20 November.
For the next seven years, Barton alternated between training exercises out of Norfolk and assignments with the 6th Fleet. She made four Mediterranean deployments, eight visits to the West Indies, and one voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The warship also qualified as a gunfire support ship in several exercises at Culebra and Bloodsworth Islands. On 5 February 1958, while steaming to Norfolk from the Caribbean, the destroyer received orders to assist a badly damaged Panamanian merchant ship, SS Elefterio. Bartons damage control parties could not contain the flooding caused by a large hole in Elefterios hold, so she embarked the tanker's crew and passengers and transported them to Norfolk. In 1962, Barton covered the Project Mercury space shot carried out on 18 May in which Colonel
John Glenn, USMC, became the first American to orbit the Earth. Late in October, she and the other units of the Atlantic Fleet stood to in order to support the warships engaged in the quarantine of Cuba called for by President John F. Kennedy in response to the siting of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Barton rehearsed with amphibious units at Onslow Beach, N.C., and stood by, ready for immediate action. The ship returned to Norfolk when the crisis ended. At the end of a Mediterranean deployment in August 1963, Barton and made a goodwill tour of the Baltic Sea to support Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's Scandinavian tour. The destroyers held "open ship" for general visiting at Copenhagen, Denmark, and Helsinki, Finland, before heading home on 10 September.
In April 1965, Barton received orders to join Reserve DesRon
30, and she became flagship of the squadron in its home port of Philadelphia. Her underway periods benefitted the reserve units that trained on board the destroyer, and also provided her nucleus crew with liberty visits to such ports as Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, West Palm Beach, and Miami, Fla.; Kingston, Jamaica; San Juan, P.R.; Freeport, Grand Bahamas; Bermuda; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. In July, Barton also steamed to Quebec and Montreal, and continued via the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Cleveland, Ohio, for a month of training combined with public awareness work about the Navy and its mission. During her remaining years in commission, Barton operated primarily between Philadelphia, Norfolk, and Guantanamo Bay.
on 1 October. She was sunk as a target on 8 October 1969.
s for World War II service and two for Korea.
Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, was the second ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to be named for Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
John Kennedy Barton
John Kennedy Barton
John Kennedy Barton was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy in the late 19th century.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Barton graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1873...
.
Construction
The second Barton (DD-722) was launched 10 October 1943 by Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, MaineBath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
; sponsored by Ms. Barbara Dean Barton, granddaughter of Admiral Barton; and commissioned 30 December 1943, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
J. W. Callahan in command.
World War II
On 14 May 1944, Barton departed Norfolk and arrived at Plymouth, England on the 27th. From 3-26, June she carried out screening, patrol, and bombardment duties in support of the invasion of Normandy. On 4 June, she rescued 31 American soldiers from the sinking LCT-2498. During a brisk engagement with GermanNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
batteries in the Bombardment of Cherbourg
Bombardment of Cherbourg
The Bombardment of Cherbourg was undertaken by ships of the United States Navy and Royal Navy on June 25, 1944 to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg. The Allied force attacked the German fortifications near the city and engaged in a duel with coastal batteries...
on 25 June, Barton was slightly damaged while delivering effective gunfire support.
Returning to the U.S. on 10 July, Barton soon departed Norfolk for the Pacific, arriving at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 2 October. She then steamed westward to take part in the capture of Leyte, including the Ormoc landings (9 November – 8 December), Mindoro landings (12-18 December), Lingayen Gulf landings (4–21 January 1945); Iwo Jima invasion, including the 5th Fleet's supporting raids on Honshū and the Nansei Shoto (10-19 February, 25 February – 1 March); Okinawa invasion (21 March – 30 June), and the 3rd Fleet raids on Japan (10-24 July).
Post-War
After a brief tour with the occupation forces in Japan, Barton returned to Seattle on 6 October. She operated along the west coast until June 1946, when she departed Oakland for Bikini AtollBikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
where she participated in Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
(15 June – 10 August). Returning to the United States, she continued operations off the west coast until 22 January 1947, when she went out of commission in reserve at San Diego.
On 11 April 1949, Barton was recommissioned and joined Destroyer Division 201 (DesDiv 201). She operated with the Pacific Fleet until 11 July, when she got underway for Norfolk, arriving on 5 August. For the next three years, she operated along the eastern seaboard, made two cruises to the Caribbean: and one cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean.
On 15 May 1952, Barton departed Norfolk via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
for Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Commander Harvey B. Seim in command, arriving at Yokosuka, Japan on 18 June. She Joined Task Force 77 (TF 77) as a member of a hunter-killer group for operations along the east coast of Korea. On 10 August, while silencing enemy batteries on the island of Hodo Pando, Barton was hit on her number one stack by a 105 mm (4.1 in) shell from an enemy shore battery. Two men were wounded. Sailor Dale P. Gray, BM3, was killed.
While operating with TF 77, she was struck by a floating mine on 16 September, and had five men missing and seven wounded. The five sailors who died were Russell J. Graf, Harold J. Savoie, John M. Sherry, Walter E. Thierfelder, Jr., and black crew member, John L. Walton.
On 4 January 1954, the destroyer headed for the Far East once again for another tour of duty with the 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
. After several months patrolling the waters between Okinawa and Taiwan and participating in hunter-killer exercises with , Barton steamed around the southern tip of Africa—making stops in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, and Trinidad along the way. She moored in Norfolk on 10 August.
Barton began a schedule of training exercises and Atlantic Fleet maneuvers out of Norfolk, generally operating in the Virginia capes area and the West Indies. Following an overhaul in the Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1955, the destroyer rejoined the Atlantic Fleet for three months of hunter-killer anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
(ASW) training in preparation for a Mediterranean cruise.
On 28 July 1956, the destroyer departed Norfolk and entered the Mediterranean Sea on 7 August. After participating in NATO Exercise "Whipsaw", Barton and Soley steamed to Port Said, Egypt, to escort a convoy through the Suez Canal and into the Persian Gulf for a routine six-week patrol with the Middle East Force.
On 29 October, the two destroyers started south from the vicinity of Abadan, Iran, to leave the gulf, circumnavigate the Arabian Peninsula, and retransit the Suez Canal. Hostilities broke out that same day between Israel and Egypt over Egypt's premature nationalization of the canal. The war closed the canal, and subsequent international military action prompted Egypt to block it with sunken ships. Meanwhile, Barton and Soley anchored in Sitrah Harbor, Bahrein, and stood by in case a need arose to evacuate Americans from the region. Operating from Bahrein, Barton spent the next two months anchored at night and conducting tactical and gunnery drills by day. Finally, on 12 December, the destroyer received orders directing her around the Cape of Good Hope to Norfolk, where she tied up on 5 February 1957.
Following a period of upkeep, Barton prepared to put to sea on 14 March. She and received orders to escort the cruiser as she carried President Eisenhower to Bermuda to confer with British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Barton carried members of the press to the ceremony and stood sentry with William M. Wood at the entrance to the harbor. The destroyer then conducted ASW patrol and spent time in Norfolk in upkeep before going into drydock in Newport News for hull repairs. Barton exited Chesapeake Bay on 1 July and set out for yet another Mediterranean cruise. After several weeks of training operations with NATO forces and other units of the 6th Fleet, Barton anchored in Port Said on the night of 20 September. The following day, she and Soley transited the Suez Canal together once again and then headed to the Persian Gulf for a month of operations with the Iranian Navy. Upon relief by , the warship returned to the Mediterranean to participate in three more NATO exercises. She returned to Norfolk on 20 November.
For the next seven years, Barton alternated between training exercises out of Norfolk and assignments with the 6th Fleet. She made four Mediterranean deployments, eight visits to the West Indies, and one voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The warship also qualified as a gunfire support ship in several exercises at Culebra and Bloodsworth Islands. On 5 February 1958, while steaming to Norfolk from the Caribbean, the destroyer received orders to assist a badly damaged Panamanian merchant ship, SS Elefterio. Bartons damage control parties could not contain the flooding caused by a large hole in Elefterios hold, so she embarked the tanker's crew and passengers and transported them to Norfolk. In 1962, Barton covered the Project Mercury space shot carried out on 18 May in which Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
John Glenn, USMC, became the first American to orbit the Earth. Late in October, she and the other units of the Atlantic Fleet stood to in order to support the warships engaged in the quarantine of Cuba called for by President John F. Kennedy in response to the siting of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Barton rehearsed with amphibious units at Onslow Beach, N.C., and stood by, ready for immediate action. The ship returned to Norfolk when the crisis ended. At the end of a Mediterranean deployment in August 1963, Barton and made a goodwill tour of the Baltic Sea to support Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's Scandinavian tour. The destroyers held "open ship" for general visiting at Copenhagen, Denmark, and Helsinki, Finland, before heading home on 10 September.
In April 1965, Barton received orders to join Reserve DesRon
DESRON
A destroyer squadron is a naval squadron or flotilla usually consisting of destroyers rather than other types of vessel. In some navies other vessels, such as frigates, may be included. In English the word "squadron" tends to be used for larger and "flotilla" for smaller vessels, both may be used...
30, and she became flagship of the squadron in its home port of Philadelphia. Her underway periods benefitted the reserve units that trained on board the destroyer, and also provided her nucleus crew with liberty visits to such ports as Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, West Palm Beach, and Miami, Fla.; Kingston, Jamaica; San Juan, P.R.; Freeport, Grand Bahamas; Bermuda; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. In July, Barton also steamed to Quebec and Montreal, and continued via the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Cleveland, Ohio, for a month of training combined with public awareness work about the Navy and its mission. During her remaining years in commission, Barton operated primarily between Philadelphia, Norfolk, and Guantanamo Bay.
Fate
In August 1968, a board of inspection and survey determined the destroyer to be beyond economical repair. Barton was decommissioned on 30 September 1968, and her name struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 October. She was sunk as a target on 8 October 1969.
Awards
Barton received six battle starService star
A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...
s for World War II service and two for Korea.