Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
United States Navy — Destroyer DD-522

USS Luce (DD-522)

Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Luce (DD-522)
Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo NH 51451 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — DD-522 The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Luce (DD-522) off Hunters Point, San Francisco, California (USA), on 26 August 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 18D.

Service

  1. United States Navy as Luce21 June 1943 — 4 May 1945683 days of the war
Full service history About 708 words
Fletcher-class destroyer Particulars
Name
USS Luce
Pennant / hull number
DD-522
Namesake
Stephen B. Luce
Builder
Bethlehem Mariners Harbor, Staten Island
Laid down
24 August 1942
Launched
6 March 1943
Commissioned
21 June 1943
Fate
Sunk by kamikazes, 4 May 1945
By aircraft (1945)
Status
Wreck

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
336
Main gun
127 mm (5 in)

(DD‑522: dp. 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 39'4"; dr. 13'9"; s. 35.5 k.; cpl. 329; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 8 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Fletcher )

Born 25 March 1827 in New York, N.Y., Rear Adm. Stephen B. Luce was one of the Navy's outstanding officers in many fields, including strategy, seamanship, education, and professional development. Entering the naval service 19 October 1841 as a midshipman, he served with the Atlantic coast blockaders during the Civil War, and commanded the monitor Nantucket at the siege of Charleston, S.C. In 1862, while serving as head of the Department of Seamanship at the Naval Academy, he prepared one of the first seamanship textbooks used by the Academy.

After the war Luce organized the Navy's apprentice training program to prepare seamen and petty officers for fleet duty. From 1878 to 1881 Captain Luce was inspector of training ships and, as commodore, he commanded the U.S. Training Squadron from 1881 to 1884.

Continue to the full service history About 708 words

From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Luce II (DD-522)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 60,000 shp (45 MW); 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

148 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from USS Luce (DD-522) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Service history reproduced verbatim from Luce II (DD-522) , Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships — public domain, a work of the United States Government.
  • Photograph: Unknown author — U.S. Navy photo NH 51451 — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons