USS Claxton (DD-571)
Service
- as USS Claxton8 December 1942 — 18 April 1946999 days of the war
- as Zerstörer 416 December 1959 — 1981
- Name
- USS Claxton
- Pennant / hull number
- DD-571
- Namesake
- Thomas Claxton
- Builder
- Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas
- Laid down
- 25 June 1941
- Launched
- 1 April 1942
- Commissioned
- 8 December 1942
- Decommissioned
- 18 April 1946
- Struck
- 1 October 1974
- Fate
- Transferred to Greece as spares donor ship
- Status
- Unknown
Specifications
- Displacement, standard
- 2,050 long tons (2,083 t)
- Length
- 114.6 m (376 ft)
- Beam
- 11.89 m (39 ft)
- Draught
- 5.18 m (17 ft)
- Speed
- 35 knots (64.8 km/h, 40.3 mph)
- Range
- 6,500 nmi (12,038 km)
- Complement
- 329
- Main gun
- 127 mm (5 in)
Thomas Claxton, born in Baltimore, Md., entered the Navy as a midshipman 17 December 1810. He was mortally wounded after gallant service in the Battle of Lake Erie 10 September 1813, dying at Erie, Pa., 17 October 1813.
The second Claxton (DD-571) was launched 1 April 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Orange, Tex.; sponsored by Mrs. A. D. Bernhard; and commissioned 8 December 1942, Commander H. F. Stout in command.
In March 1943 Claxton patrolled briefly in Casco Bay, Maine, awaiting the possible sortie of German battleship Von Tirpitz from Norwegian waters. After one convoy escort assignment to Casablanca, she sailed from Charleston, S.C., 17 May to join the Pacific Fleet.
Continue to the full service history About 668 words
From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Claxton II (DD-571)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 60000 shp ; 2 propellers
- Armament
- 5 × single Mk 12 5 in (127 mm)/38 guns
- 5 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors AA guns
- 7 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns
- 2 × quintuple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
- 6 × single depth charge throwers
- 2 × depth charge racks
Sister ships
- USS Abbot (DD-629)
- USS Abner Read (DD-526)
- USS Albert W. Grant
- USS Ammen (DD-527)
- USS Anthony (DD-515)
- USS Aulick (DD-569)
- USS Bache (DD-470)
- USS Beale (DD-471)
- USS Bearss
- USS Bell (DD-587)
- USS Benham (DD-796)
- USS Bennett
- USS Bennion
- USS Black
- USS Boyd
- USS Bradford
- USS Braine
- USS Brown (DD-546)
- USS Brownson (DD-518)
- USS Bryant
- USS Bullard
- USS Burns (DD-588)
- USS Bush (DD-529)
- USS Callaghan (DD-792)
Sources
- Facts harvested from USS Claxton (DD-571) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Service history reproduced verbatim from Claxton II (DD-571) , Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships — public domain, a work of the United States Government.
- Photograph: Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo 19-N-66231 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons