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USS Lansdowne (DD-486)
Encyclopedia
USS Lansdowne (DD-486), a , is the only ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Lieutenant Commander
Zachary Lansdowne
. He was awarded the Navy Cross
"for distinguished service ... as one of the crew of the British airship R34, which in July 1919, made the first successful nonstop passage from England to the United States."
Lansdowne was laid down 31 July 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey
; launched on 20 February 1942, sponsored by Miss Peggy Lansdowne, daughter of Lt.Cmdr. Lansdowne; and commissioned on 29 April 1942, Lt. Cmdr. W. R. Smedberg III in command.
, antisubmarine, and escort duty, and attacked an enemy submarine
off Cape Hatteras
on 3 July. Following a severe depth charge
attack, large quantities of oil bubbled to the surface and it was presumed the submarine had been sunk. Arriving at Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone
, 13 July, the destroyer was sent to a position where PC-458 had located an enemy submarine. Upon arrival, Lansdowne launched a depth charge attack. Large quantities of oil rose to the surface, and the forward motion of the submarine ceased. Postwar records established that U-153 was sunk by these attacks.
On 21 August, Lansdowne transited the Panama Canal
and headed for the South Pacific
. En route to Tonga
, she rescued the pilot and radioman of a splashed observation plane from .
Arriving Nukualofa Bay on 6 September, the destroyer joined Task Force 18 (TF 18), under Rear Admiral
Leigh Noyes in . On 15 September 1942, Wasp was torpedo
ed and heavily damaged by gasoline fires. Lansdowne narrowly avoided one of the submarine Type 95 torpedo
es that missed Wasp and later hit . Lansdowne rescued 447 of Wasps crew when the burning carrier was abandoned. As the remainder of (TF 18) moved on, Admiral Noyes ordered Lansdowne to sink Wasp and stand by the carrier until she was sunk. Lansdownes Mark 15 torpedo
es had the same unrecognized flaws reported for the Mark 14 torpedo
. The first torpedo was fired at a range of 1000 yards and set to run 15 feet under Wasps keel for maximum damage with the magnetic influence exploder. When no result was observed from an apparently perfect wake, a second torpedo was fired at keel depth from a range of 800 yards. Once again, an apparently perfect shot produced no results; and Lansdowne had only three more torpedoes. Lansdownes torpedomen disabled the magnetic influence exploders and set depth at ten feet. All three torpedoes detonated, but Wasp remained afloat in the orange flames of a burning pool of gasoline and oil. Lansdowne nervously zig-zagged silhouetted in the fire's glow until Wasp sank by the bow at 2100.
Lansdowne, with Task Group 64.1 (TG 64.1), took part in the occupation of Funafuti
, Ellice Islands, 2 October, then escorted aircraft ferry to Espiritu Santo
. From 13 October, the ship screened various task forces, groups, and units in the British Solomons, escorted damaged ships to safety, and an 30 November sighted and bombarded a large group of Japanese landing barge
s, sinking several and scoring direct hits on a beached enemy ship east of Cape Esperance
. She also shelled shore installations from Bahl to Visale
.
On 30 November, Lansdowne made three attacks against a submerged target west of Koli Point, bringing diesel oil, slabs of cork, and air bubbling to the surface. In December, she made an escort run from Tulagi
to Sydney and Auckland
, returning to Nouméa
.
on 26 February, and sailed on 11 March for repairs at San Francisco.
From May to July, the ship operated in the Aleutians, bombarding Kiska
on 6 July. She headed back to Espiritu Santo from Pearl Harbor
20 July, and joined an antishipping force off Vella Lavella
on 2 September. Escort duty in the Solomons and to Fiji
continued until 29 October.
Lansdowne then screened fast carriers as they attacked Buka-Bonis (1 to 2 November) and Rabaul
(5 and 11 November). While covering landing operations at Empress Augusta Bay
28 November the ship repelled an enemy air attack, and two days later, bombarded Bougainville
, which she hit again late in December.
, Bougainville, and Green Island, and conducted antishipping sweeps between Buka
and Rabaul. On 18 February the destroyer bombarded and torpedoed shipping at Koravia Bay in the first surface action against Rabaul. Numerous fires were started ashore and on the shipping. On the night of 24/25 February, Lansdowne sank a 6,800-ton Japanese cargo ship about 20 miles (35 km) north of New Hanover
. Early the following morning, she opened fire on shore emplacements and shipping at Kavieng
, silencing a large coastal gun and several other batteries and sinking one ship while setting fire to two others.
After operating northwest of the Admiralties
, Lansdowne joined TFs 77 and 78 for the initial landings in the Aitape
–Hollandia
–Tanahmerah
area of northern New Guinea
and launched air attacks on Palau
, Yap
, Ulithi
, and other enemy bases in the Central Pacific on 3 March through 1 April. The ship then returned to Pearl Harbor for refit, arriving 18 May.
Lansdowne arrived at Majuro
on 5 June, and the next day, joined TF 58
for the Marianas
operation through June and July, thus participating in the raids on Bonis on 15 and 16 June, the Battle of the Philippine Sea
19 and 20 June, and the assaults on Guam
and Tinian
. On 30 July the destroyer sailed for overhaul at Bremerton, Washington
, returning to Ulithi on 29 October.
until 5 May 1945, she then steamed to the Ryūkyūs
for duty off Okinawa. She patrolled anti-submarine stations around the island complex, gave fire support, and screened aircraft carriers.
Lansdowne next operated with the 3rd Fleet off Japan
screening logistics groups and fast carriers launching strikes against the enemy homeland. The ship was detached from the task force 20 to 23 August to transport the Atomic Bomb Investigation Group to Okinawa and then proceeded to Sagami Wan, arriving 27 August.
On 29 August, Lansdowne escorted battleship
, Admiral Chester Nimitz
’ flagship, into Tokyo Bay
, and then operated with units of the Allied Prisoner of War
Rescue Group evacuating prisoners from camps in southern Honshū
. The ship was detached on 2 September 1945 to transfer Japanese emissaries from Yokohama
to the battleship in Tokyo Bay for the official surrender
ceremonies, returning the party to Yokohama the same day. She operated out of Yokohama until sailing on 15 October from Wakanoura for the United States
via Singapore
, Colombo
, and Cape Town
, arriving at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
on 6 December 1945.
, on 17 January 1946 and decommissioned to enter the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there 2 May 1946. On 10 June 1949 the ship was transferred to the Turkish Navy
which she served as TCG Gaziantep (D 344) until 1973.
Lansdowne received 12 battle stars for World War II
service.
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 Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Zachary Lansdowne
Zachary Lansdowne
Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne, USN Navy Cross was a United States Navy officer and early Naval Aviator who contributed to the development of the Navy's first lighter-than-air craft...
. He was awarded the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
"for distinguished service ... as one of the crew of the British airship R34, which in July 1919, made the first successful nonstop passage from England to the United States."
Lansdowne was laid down 31 July 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
; launched on 20 February 1942, sponsored by Miss Peggy Lansdowne, daughter of Lt.Cmdr. Lansdowne; and commissioned on 29 April 1942, Lt. Cmdr. W. R. Smedberg III in command.
1942
Lansdowne first operated along the Atlantic seaboard on shakedownShakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
, antisubmarine, and escort duty, and attacked an enemy submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
off Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
on 3 July. Following a severe depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
attack, large quantities of oil bubbled to the surface and it was presumed the submarine had been sunk. Arriving at Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, 13 July, the destroyer was sent to a position where PC-458 had located an enemy submarine. Upon arrival, Lansdowne launched a depth charge attack. Large quantities of oil rose to the surface, and the forward motion of the submarine ceased. Postwar records established that U-153 was sunk by these attacks.
On 21 August, Lansdowne transited 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...
and headed for the South Pacific
South Pacific Area
The South Pacific Area was a multinational U.S.-led military command active during World War II. It was a part of the U.S. Pacific Ocean Areas under Admiral Chester Nimitz.Instructions to the senior U.S...
. En route to Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, she rescued the pilot and radioman of a splashed observation plane from .
Arriving Nukualofa Bay on 6 September, the destroyer joined Task Force 18 (TF 18), under Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Leigh Noyes in . On 15 September 1942, Wasp was torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed and heavily damaged by gasoline fires. Lansdowne narrowly avoided one of the submarine Type 95 torpedo
Type 95 torpedo
The Type 95 torpedo was a torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy.It was based on the formidable Type 93 torpedo but had a smaller warhead, shorter range and a smaller diameter...
es that missed Wasp and later hit . Lansdowne rescued 447 of Wasps crew when the burning carrier was abandoned. As the remainder of (TF 18) moved on, Admiral Noyes ordered Lansdowne to sink Wasp and stand by the carrier until she was sunk. Lansdownes Mark 15 torpedo
Mark 15 torpedo
The standard U.S. destroyer-launched torpedo of World War II, the Mark 15 was very similar in design to the Mark 14 torpedo except that it was longer, lighter, and had longer range and larger warhead. 9,700 were produced during the war....
es had the same unrecognized flaws reported for the Mark 14 torpedo
Mark 14 torpedo
The Mark 14 torpedo was the United States Navy's standard submarine-launched anti-ship torpedo of World War II.This weapon was plagued with many problems which crippled its performance early in the war, and was supplemented by the Mark 18 electric torpedo in the last 2 years of the war...
. The first torpedo was fired at a range of 1000 yards and set to run 15 feet under Wasps keel for maximum damage with the magnetic influence exploder. When no result was observed from an apparently perfect wake, a second torpedo was fired at keel depth from a range of 800 yards. Once again, an apparently perfect shot produced no results; and Lansdowne had only three more torpedoes. Lansdownes torpedomen disabled the magnetic influence exploders and set depth at ten feet. All three torpedoes detonated, but Wasp remained afloat in the orange flames of a burning pool of gasoline and oil. Lansdowne nervously zig-zagged silhouetted in the fire's glow until Wasp sank by the bow at 2100.
Lansdowne, with Task Group 64.1 (TG 64.1), took part in the occupation of Funafuti
Funafuti
Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...
, Ellice Islands, 2 October, then escorted aircraft ferry to Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
. From 13 October, the ship screened various task forces, groups, and units in the British Solomons, escorted damaged ships to safety, and an 30 November sighted and bombarded a large group of Japanese landing barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s, sinking several and scoring direct hits on a beached enemy ship east of Cape Esperance
Cape Esperance
Cape Esperance is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. The Battle of Cape Esperance, one of several naval engagements fought in the waters north of the island during the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, took its name from this point...
. She also shelled shore installations from Bahl to Visale
Visale
Visale is a town in the Solomon Islands....
.
On 30 November, Lansdowne made three attacks against a submerged target west of Koli Point, bringing diesel oil, slabs of cork, and air bubbling to the surface. In December, she made an escort run from Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
to Sydney and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, returning to Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
.
1943
Continuing to serve in the Solomons, Lansdowne grounded in the RussellsRussell Islands
The Russell Islands are two small islands, as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands. They are located approximately 48 km northwest from Guadalcanal. The islands are partially covered in coconut plantations, and have a copra and oil factory at...
on 26 February, and sailed on 11 March for repairs at San Francisco.
From May to July, the ship operated in the Aleutians, bombarding Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
on 6 July. She headed back to Espiritu Santo from 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...
20 July, and joined an antishipping force off Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella
Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group...
on 2 September. Escort duty in the Solomons and to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
continued until 29 October.
Lansdowne then screened fast carriers as they attacked Buka-Bonis (1 to 2 November) and Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
(5 and 11 November). While covering landing operations at Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay
Empress Augusta Bay is a major bay on the western side of the island of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, at . It is a major subsistence fishing area for the people of Bougainville. It is named after Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of German Emperor William II.In November 1943, the...
28 November the ship repelled an enemy air attack, and two days later, bombarded Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, which she hit again late in December.
1944
During January and February 1944, Lansdowne covered the landings at TorokinaTorokina
Torokina is a coastal village on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It is located on the western coast of that island, at ....
, Bougainville, and Green Island, and conducted antishipping sweeps between Buka
Buka Island
Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville.- History :Buka was first occupied by humans in paleolithic times, some 30,000 years ago...
and Rabaul. On 18 February the destroyer bombarded and torpedoed shipping at Koravia Bay in the first surface action against Rabaul. Numerous fires were started ashore and on the shipping. On the night of 24/25 February, Lansdowne sank a 6,800-ton Japanese cargo ship about 20 miles (35 km) north of New Hanover
New Hanover Island
New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...
. Early the following morning, she opened fire on shore emplacements and shipping at Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, silencing a large coastal gun and several other batteries and sinking one ship while setting fire to two others.
After operating northwest of the Admiralties
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
, Lansdowne joined TFs 77 and 78 for the initial landings in the Aitape
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...
–Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
–Tanahmerah
Tanahmerah
Not to be confused with Tanahmerah Bay, Tanahmerah is a town on the Digul river within the interior of Western New Guinea. The town acted as a Dutch penal colony during the period when Indonesia was a colony of Holland....
area of northern New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and launched air attacks on Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
, Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, and other enemy bases in the Central Pacific on 3 March through 1 April. The ship then returned to Pearl Harbor for refit, arriving 18 May.
Lansdowne arrived at Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
on 5 June, and the next day, joined TF 58
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
for the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
operation through June and July, thus participating in the raids on Bonis on 15 and 16 June, the Battle of the Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
19 and 20 June, and the assaults on Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
. On 30 July the destroyer sailed for overhaul at Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, returning to Ulithi on 29 October.
1945
On patrol and escort in the western CarolinesCaroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
until 5 May 1945, she then steamed to the Ryūkyūs
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
for duty off Okinawa. She patrolled anti-submarine stations around the island complex, gave fire support, and screened aircraft carriers.
Lansdowne next operated with the 3rd Fleet off Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
screening logistics groups and fast carriers launching strikes against the enemy homeland. The ship was detached from the task force 20 to 23 August to transport the Atomic Bomb Investigation Group to Okinawa and then proceeded to Sagami Wan, arriving 27 August.
On 29 August, Lansdowne escorted battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, Admiral Chester Nimitz
Chester Nimitz
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, GCB, USN was a five-star admiral in the United States Navy. He held the dual command of Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet , for U.S. naval forces and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas , for U.S...
’ flagship, into Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
, and then operated with units of the Allied Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
Rescue Group evacuating prisoners from camps in southern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. The ship was detached on 2 September 1945 to transfer Japanese emissaries from Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
to the battleship in Tokyo Bay for the official surrender
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
ceremonies, returning the party to Yokohama the same day. She operated out of Yokohama until sailing on 15 October from Wakanoura for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
via Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, arriving at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
on 6 December 1945.
Post war
Lansdowne departed for Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, on 17 January 1946 and decommissioned to enter the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there 2 May 1946. On 10 June 1949 the ship was transferred to the Turkish Navy
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.- Ottoman fleet after Mudros :Following the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, on November 3, 1918, the fleet commander of the Ottoman Navy, Liva Amiral Arif Pasha, ordered all flags to be...
which she served as TCG Gaziantep (D 344) until 1973.
Lansdowne received 12 battle stars for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.