Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
United States Navy — Destroyer DD-680

USS Melvin (DD-680)

Fletcher-class destroyer

USS Melvin (DD-680)
USN — Official U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo 19-N-55469 available at Destroyerhistory.org — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — DD-680 The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Melvin (DD-680) underway, circa 1943.

Service

  1. United States Navy24 November 1943 — 13 January 1954648 days of the war
Full service history About 953 words
Fletcher-class destroyer Particulars
Name
USS Melvin
Pennant / hull number
DD-680
Namesake
John T. Melvin
Builder
Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Kearny, N.J.
Laid down
6 July 1943
Launched
17 October 1943
Commissioned
24 November 1943
Decommissioned
13 January 1954
Struck
1 December 1974
Fate
Sold for scrap 14 August 1975 (1975)
Status
Scrapped

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
38 knots (70.4 km/h, 43.7 mph)
Range
6,479 nmi (11,999 km)
Complement
273
Main gun
127 mm (5 in)

(DD‑680: dp. 2,050; l. 376'6"; b. 39'9"; dr. 17'9"; s. 37 k.; cpl. 319; a. 5 5", 10 40mm., 7 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Fletcher )

Lt. (jg.) John T. Melvin, born 16 October 1887 at Selma, Ala., was appointed midshipman 6 July 1907 and commissioned ensign 7 July 1911. Resigning his commission 20 August 1915, he was appointed lieutenant (jg.), 9 February 1917, upon his joining the Naval Reserve. Attached to the patrol boat Alcedo, Lieutenant (jg.) Melvin lost his life 5 November 1917 when that vessel was sunk by a German submarine in the war zone. Alcedo was the first American war vessel to go down in World War I.

The second Melvin (DD‑680) was laid down 6 July 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched 17 October 1943; sponsored by Miss Gertrude C. Bailey, grandniece of Lt. (jg.) J. T. Melvin; and commissioned 24 November 1943, Comdr. Warner R. Edsall In command.

Continue to the full service history About 953 words

From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Melvin II (DD-680)). 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 × 5 in/38 cal (5x1)
  • 10 × 40 mm guns (5x2)
  • 7 × 20 mm guns (7x1)
  • 10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2x5)
  • 6 × depth charge projectors
  • 2 × depth charge tracks

Sister ships

148 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from USS Melvin (DD-680) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Service history reproduced verbatim from Melvin II (DD-680) , Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships — public domain, a work of the United States Government.
  • Photograph: USN — Official U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo 19-N-55469 available at Destroyerhistory.org — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons