USS Newell (DE-322)
Encyclopedia
USS Newell (DE 322) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort
built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoy
s. Post war, she served in various capacities before being finally decommissioned.
She was named in honor of Lt. Comdr. Byron Bruce Newell who was killed during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
. She was laid down 5 April 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Texas
; launched 29 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Byron B. Newell, wife of Lt. Comdr. Newell; and commissioned 30 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. Russel J. Roberts, USCG, in command.
out of Bermuda
. Newell then sailed, via Charleston, South Carolina
., to Norfolk, Virginia
, to train pre-commissioning crews for sister ships of her division. Two weeks, later , , Newell, , , and had assembled and the first convoy voyage began. The division safely escorted a convoy to Casablanca
and back.
. Two days past Gibraltar
, during a twilight alert 20 April 1944, German planes hit the convoy with a torpedo
attack. At 2100 five planes were reported about six miles distant dead ahead. Four minutes later a terrific explosion occurred in the center of the convoy. At the same time three planes came in at about 40 feet above the water, cutting between Newell and . All starboard 20 millimeter guns and the 40 millimeter gun opened fire. Three of the 20s and the 40s were hitting the after plane repeatedly and it swerved off to port and probably exploded, as two German aviators were picked up in this area.
Gun number 3 observed planes coming in aft and opened up, immediately followed by the 40 millimeter gun. The planes were driven off to Newell's port.
and Menges picked up 119 survivors. The ships then searched the area for additional survivors for three hours.
Many members of Newell's crew went over the side to bring on board survivors too weak to swim to the ship.
The ship with three other DE's then towed merchant ships to Algiers
, where the survivors were discharged. The escorts then caught up with the convoy, which had proceeded to Bizerte
.
.
, for special duty in the Operational Training Command, Atlantic Fleet. She tested sonobuoys, determined the minimum speed possible for DEs while dropping various types of depth charges, and trained newly commissioned officers.
In April, Newell steamed to Florida
, where she acted as escort and plane guard for a carrier training pilots. During this period, the ship recovered six downed pilots from the water. This assignment lasted until she sailed for New York 3 June.
Newell sailed to Panama
on 18 June, where she helped train submarines and remained on this duty through the summer and the Japanese
surrender. On 20 October orders arrived sending the destroyer escort to Charleston, South Carolina
., where she decommissioned 20 November 1945 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
for shakedown, then transited the Panama Canal
and proceeded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard
for post activation overhaul and conversion to a WDE-type ship for ocean station search and rescue duty. Yard work completed, she steamed to Hawaii
for operational training. She arrived on her first ocean station 27 April and for the next year and a half operated out of Pearl Harbor
in the northwestern Pacific, ranging north to the Aleutians and west to Japan. Following first phase inactivation at Pearl Harbor the DE arrived Long Beach, California
, 21 February 1954, decommissioned 31 March, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
nuclear tests. On 15 April 1965, Newell departed Pearl Harbor for her 28th Pacific Barrier patrol, the last picket ship to steam for the Pacific Barrier which Newell helped to formally terminate in a ceremony at Midway Island 1 May. The radar picket
escort vessel then returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for a WestPac deployment.
via Guam
, Subic Bay
and Hong Kong
. On her first Operation Market Time
patrol, just north of the Mekong Delta
, she searched many junks and several steel hulled vessels to help stop infiltration of arms, ammunition, and supplies into South Vietnam
to support Viet Cong forces. After upkeep at Subic Bay
, her second patrol took her between Da Nang
and Nha Trong. She worked closely with Vietnamese junk forces, Vietnamese Navy Sea Forces, U. S. Coast Guard cutters and other American Navy sea and air forces. On her third patrol, she operated between Vũng Tàu
and An Thoi; and her guns destroyed a Viet Cong shelter on the Island of Phu Quoc. Her fourth and fifth patrols took her to the coast between Nha Trang and Da Nang. While on patrol off Viet Nam, she spent 155 days on station, detected 6,905 wooden hulls, inspected 2,472, and boarded 631. She detected 384 steel-hulled ships, inspected 67, and boarded 6.
On New Year's Day
, 1966 Newell departed the "Market Time" area and sailed via Subic Bay and Japan, for home, arriving Pearl Harbor 3 February. After operations in Hawaiian waters, she headed back to the western Pacific 6 June. In addition to "Market Time" duty she supported smaller Coast Guard and Navy ships. On her third patrol she guarded the 17th parallel to stop infiltration from the North. She departed Vũng Tàu on the last day of 1966 and sailed via Japan for Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor 19 January 1967.
Underway 6 July for her third WestPac deployment. Newell spent much of July and August on Taiwan
patrol before turning toward Vietnam on the 27th. She arrived "Market Time" Area 11 on 30 August and departed on 19 September for Kaohsiung
, to resume Taiwan patrol. She headed back toward the Vietnamese coast on the last day of October and relieved on Market Time Area II, 2 November. Newell departed Vietnam for the last time on the 28th, and steamed for Hawaii via Hong Kong; Subic Bay; Sydney, Australia; and Suva
, Fiji Islands arriving Pearl Harbor 29 February 1968.
23 September 1968.
.
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and provided destroyer escort protection against 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...
and air attack for Navy vessels and convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s. Post war, she served in various capacities before being finally decommissioned.
She was named in honor of Lt. Comdr. Byron Bruce Newell who was killed during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
. She was laid down 5 April 1943 by the Consolidated Steel Co., Orange, Texas
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
; launched 29 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Byron B. Newell, wife of Lt. Comdr. Newell; and commissioned 30 October 1943, Lt. Comdr. Russel J. Roberts, USCG, in command.
World War II North Atlantic operations
The new destroyer escort got under way 17 November 1943 for shakedownSea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
out of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. Newell then sailed, via Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, 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...
., to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, to train pre-commissioning crews for sister ships of her division. Two weeks, later , , Newell, , , and had assembled and the first convoy voyage began. The division safely escorted a convoy to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
and back.
Attacked by Luftwaffe planes
Her second transatlantic voyage took Newell to BizerteBizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
. Two days past Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, during a twilight alert 20 April 1944, German planes hit the convoy with a 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...
attack. At 2100 five planes were reported about six miles distant dead ahead. Four minutes later a terrific explosion occurred in the center of the convoy. At the same time three planes came in at about 40 feet above the water, cutting between Newell and . All starboard 20 millimeter guns and the 40 millimeter gun opened fire. Three of the 20s and the 40s were hitting the after plane repeatedly and it swerved off to port and probably exploded, as two German aviators were picked up in this area.
Gun number 3 observed planes coming in aft and opened up, immediately followed by the 40 millimeter gun. The planes were driven off to Newell's port.
Rescuing survivors from the water
At 2114 planes were sighted dead ahead. Guns 1 and 2 opened fire along with the forward 20 millimeter guns, blanketing the incoming planes which turned sharply northward. At 2118 while Newell was closing the convoy, Lansdale broke in two and sank. NewellNewell
-Places:United States* Newell, California* Newell, Iowa* Newell, Pennsylvania* Newell, South Dakota* Newell, West VirginiaAustralia* Newell Highway, New South WalesCanada* Newell County, Alberta-Other uses:* Alton Newell, inventor of the Newell Shredder...
and Menges picked up 119 survivors. The ships then searched the area for additional survivors for three hours.
Many members of Newell's crew went over the side to bring on board survivors too weak to swim to the ship.
The ship with three other DE's then towed merchant ships to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, where the survivors were discharged. The escorts then caught up with the convoy, which had proceeded to Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
.
German torpedoes sink ships
After ten days in Bizerte, the convoy started the long trek home. On the second night underway, Menges was torpedoed while tracking down a target, and on the next night Fechtler received a torpedo hit amidships, sinking her. Menges was towed to port and received another stern. The ship then made two more round trips to Bizerte and two to OranOran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
.
Assigned special duty
In February 1945, after the last of her six convoy trips, Newell reported to Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, for special duty in the Operational Training Command, Atlantic Fleet. She tested sonobuoys, determined the minimum speed possible for DEs while dropping various types of depth charges, and trained newly commissioned officers.
In April, Newell steamed to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where she acted as escort and plane guard for a carrier training pilots. During this period, the ship recovered six downed pilots from the water. This assignment lasted until she sailed for New York 3 June.
Newell sailed to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
on 18 June, where she helped train submarines and remained on this duty through the summer and the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
surrender. On 20 October orders arrived sending the destroyer escort to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, 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...
., where she decommissioned 20 November 1945 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Temporary duty with the Coast Guard
Newell recommissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard 20 July 1951, steamed to Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
for shakedown, then 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 proceeded to Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
for post activation overhaul and conversion to a WDE-type ship for ocean station search and rescue duty. Yard work completed, she steamed to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
for operational training. She arrived on her first ocean station 27 April and for the next year and a half operated out of 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...
in the northwestern Pacific, ranging north to the Aleutians and west to Japan. Following first phase inactivation at Pearl Harbor the DE arrived Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, 21 February 1954, decommissioned 31 March, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet.
Converted as a radar picket ship
Fitted out with the latest electronic equipment, manned for the first time by a Navy crew and reclassified DER–322, Newell recommissioned at Long Beach 20 August 1957, and steamed to her new home port, Pearl Harbor. She soon took up station on the Pacific Barrier, the westward extension of the DEW Line. For over seven years she alternated duty at Pearl Harbor with patrols on the Pacific Barrier. During this period she also served in operation Cosmos, the escort line for President Eisenhower's flight to the Far East in the spring of 1960; and provided weather surveillance for Johnston Island/Christmas IslandChristmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
nuclear tests. On 15 April 1965, Newell departed Pearl Harbor for her 28th Pacific Barrier patrol, the last picket ship to steam for the Pacific Barrier which Newell helped to formally terminate in a ceremony at Midway Island 1 May. The radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
escort vessel then returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for a WestPac deployment.
Vietnam Crisis operations
Newell got underway 17 May for VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
via 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...
, Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. On her first Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy’s effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing by sea from North Vietnam to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
patrol, just north of the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
, she searched many junks and several steel hulled vessels to help stop infiltration of arms, ammunition, and supplies into South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
to support Viet Cong forces. After upkeep at Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
, her second patrol took her between Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
and Nha Trong. She worked closely with Vietnamese junk forces, Vietnamese Navy Sea Forces, U. S. Coast Guard cutters and other American Navy sea and air forces. On her third patrol, she operated between Vũng Tàu
Vung Tàu
Vũng Tàu is a city in southern Vietnam. Its population in 2005 was 240,000. The city area is including 13 urban wards and one village. It is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and is the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam. It is also known as one of the most beautiful cities of tourism...
and An Thoi; and her guns destroyed a Viet Cong shelter on the Island of Phu Quoc. Her fourth and fifth patrols took her to the coast between Nha Trang and Da Nang. While on patrol off Viet Nam, she spent 155 days on station, detected 6,905 wooden hulls, inspected 2,472, and boarded 631. She detected 384 steel-hulled ships, inspected 67, and boarded 6.
On New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, 1966 Newell departed the "Market Time" area and sailed via Subic Bay and Japan, for home, arriving Pearl Harbor 3 February. After operations in Hawaiian waters, she headed back to the western Pacific 6 June. In addition to "Market Time" duty she supported smaller Coast Guard and Navy ships. On her third patrol she guarded the 17th parallel to stop infiltration from the North. She departed Vũng Tàu on the last day of 1966 and sailed via Japan for Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor 19 January 1967.
Underway 6 July for her third WestPac deployment. Newell spent much of July and August on Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
patrol before turning toward Vietnam on the 27th. She arrived "Market Time" Area 11 on 30 August and departed on 19 September for Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
, to resume Taiwan patrol. She headed back toward the Vietnamese coast on the last day of October and relieved on Market Time Area II, 2 November. Newell departed Vietnam for the last time on the 28th, and steamed for Hawaii via Hong Kong; Subic Bay; Sydney, Australia; and Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
, Fiji Islands arriving Pearl Harbor 29 February 1968.
Final decommissioning
After operations in Hawaiian waters, Newell departed Pearl Harbor 6 August for WestPac, but three days later received orders to return for inactivation. She decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 21 September 1968, and was 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...
23 September 1968.
Hollywood operations
Subsequently the ship's engines were removed and her hull was used by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 22 January to 15 April 1969 during the filming of motion picture Tora! Tora! Tora!Tora! Tora! Tora!
is a 1970 American-Japanese war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and stars an all-star cast, including So Yamamura, E.G...
.