USS Niblack (DD-424)
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USS ''Niblack'' (DD-424), a , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for
Albert Parker Niblack Albert Parker Niblack (July 25, 1859 – August 20, 1929) was a United States admiral who served during the First World War. In 1940, the USS ''Niblack'' (DD-424), sponsored by his widow, was named in his honor. Biography Niblack was bor ...
. Niblack became the Director of Naval Intelligence 1 March 1919, and Naval Attache in London 6 August 1920. As vice admiral, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces in European waters from 15 January 1921 to 17 June 1922. ''Niblack'' was laid down 8 August 1938 by the Bath Iron Works Corp. Bath, Maine; launched 18 May 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Albert P. Niblack, widow of Vice Admiral Niblack; and commissioned 1 August 1940. On 10 April 1941 ''Niblack'' dropped
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s aimed at a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
U-boat, the first hostile action between American and German forces during World War II.


Service history


Service in the Atlantic, 1940–43

After
shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...
and training in the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, ''Niblack'' made her first convoy trip to
NS Argentia Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941 to 1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Provinces and territo ...
,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. In July 1940 she escorted the task force which landed the American occupation troops in Iceland. However, before the actual landings, ''Niblack'' made preliminary reconnaissance. On 10 April 1941, as she was nearing the coast, the ship picked up three boatloads of survivors from a torpedoed merchantman. When a
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
was detected, the division commander, Denis L. Ryan, ordered a
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
attack which drove off the . This bloodless battle apparently was the first action between American and German forces in World War II. On 1 July 1941, ''Niblack'' sailed from Argentia with the occupation force, arriving on 7 July. The destroyer continued escort duty and, with four other destroyers, was escorting a fast convoy across the Atlantic when, on 31 October 1941, a German U-boat's torpedo struck blowing her in half — the first United States naval vessel to be lost in World War II. Only 44 survivors were picked up. After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor pushed America officially into the war 7 December 1941, ''Niblack'' continued to escort North Atlantic convoys to Reykjavík, Iceland,
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
, Northern Ireland, and
Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...
, Scotland. In July 1942 she was transferred to the Caribbean for temporary duty at the height of the U-boat campaign there, resuming northern duty in August. In November 1942, she escorted the first support convoy to
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
after the Allied landings on the Moroccan Coast. The ship then performed coastal convoy escort duty until departing early in May 1943 for Mers-el-Kébir, Algeria.


Service in the Mediterranean, 1943–44

During the invasion of Sicily she performed escort duties and screened the minelaying operation near Gela. She escorted troop ships into
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
harbor the day after British troops captured the city. During this operation German torpedo boats attacked ''Niblack'' and ''PC-556'' under cover of a dense smoke screen. The American ships drove off the E-boats by gunfire after the enemy craft had fired three torpedoes which missed and exploded near the harbor breakwater. The destroyer supported the advance of the Allied ground forces across Sicily and entered
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
Harbor following its capture. Shortly after the rout of the Germans across the Strait of Messina, ''Niblack'', with , , , , and sortied from Palermo on the night of 17/18 August 1943, and proceeded at high speed to the Italian coast for the first bombardment of the Italian mainland by U.S. Naval Forces. The ship took part in the
landings at Salerno Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, bu ...
on 9 September 1943. She served at first in the screen, but when the situation ashore became desperate, she joined the fire-support destroyers. On 16–17 September she conducted eleven call-fire support missions. American forces advancing after the bombardment sent back reports of the complete destruction of enemy men and material in ''Niblack''’s target areas. Later in the Salerno campaign the ship screened cruiser ''Philadelphia'' during the radio-controlled bomb attacks which damaged ''Philadelphia'' and . On 27 October ''Niblack'' and bombarded enemy coastal guns far behind the front lines in the
Gulf of Gaeta The Gulf of Gaeta is a body of water on the west coast of Italy and part of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is bounded by Cape Circeo in the north, Ischia and the Gulf of Naples in the south, and the Pontine Islands in the west. The gulf is named for th ...
, Italy, to pave the way for Allied ground forces. On 11 December 1943, ''Niblack'' joined in a search for a German U-boat whose torpedoes had sunk several freighters off Bizerte the day before. struck first however, and blew up ''Holcombe'' with an acoustic torpedo. ''Niblack'' rescued 90 survivors and transferred them to an Army hospital ship that night. During the transfer, she spotted antiaircraft fire from the submarine against a British patrol plane and directed and to the scene, where they sank ''U-593''. Four days later, when a Liberty ship was torpedoed near the harbor entrance at Oran, ''Niblack'' and searched for the submarine. They had narrowed down the search to a small area when they were relieved by the , , and , who subsequently sank . After a month in Task Force 86, the ship was ordered to support the landings at Anzio. During this invasion the ship commanded the beachhead screen, and fought off simultaneous attacks by dive and torpedo bombers, E-boats, and human torpedoes. From 22 to 29 January 1944, the ship repulsed repeated attacks by enemy aircraft and received credit for destroying one plane and probably splashing two others. During one attack, two ships of her division, DesDiv 13 were put out of action, ''Plunkett'' by a bomb and ''Mayo'' by a mine. In February, ''Niblack'' returned to New York for a brief overhaul, but was back on duty in the Mediterranean in May. The enemy driven from Sicily, North Africa, and Southern Italy intensified his submarine and air attacks on Allied shipping along the African Coast. One of the U-boats made the mistake of firing at a
hunter-killer Hunter-killer may refer to: Military terminology * Hunter-killer team, a team that separates the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" to two or more individuals * Hunter-killer armored-vehicle team, scout vehicles and tanks operating in concert as "hun ...
group which had just finished off another enemy U-boat. These American ships had begun the work of rooting the sub out, but were soon relieved by ''Woolsey'', , ''Benson'', , and ''Niblack''. ''Niblack'' and ''Ludlow'' worked together in the hunt, which began 18 May 1944. British planes picked up the sub by radar at 02:40 the next morning and ''Niblack'' and ''Ludlow'' raced to investigate. Establishing sonar contact, the two destroyers dropped eleven depth charges, forcing the sub to the surface. As she started down again both ships opened fire, while the planes dropped bombs close aboard. When the target had gone under again, ''Niblack'' rushed in to hit her again with ten more ash cans. Coming up once more, turned nose down and made her final dive, leaving 20 survivors who were promptly captured. The summer months of 1944 were spent in fighter-director training. ''Gleaves'' and ''Niblack'' qualified as the only two fighter director destroyers in the
8th Fleet The United States Eighth Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy established 15 March 1943 from Northwest African Force. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II with a main mission of amphibious warfare, and then wa ...
, and directed French and British planes in repelling the intense German torpedo plane attacks against Allied convoys during the invasion of Southern France. The initial landings on 15 August 1944 met little resistance, and for several days the ship controlled the routing and dispatching of all outbound convoys, taking her place in the outer screen at night. On 20 August she joined the inshore screen for , and during the siege of Toulon. She was frequently taken under fire by the large coast defense batteries of St. Mandrier and St. Elme and escaped damage from several near misses. Following the capture of Marseille and Toulon, she was assigned to Task Force 86 and later to "Flank Force," the Allied Naval forces which provided fire support for the
1st Airborne Task Force The 1st Airborne Task Force was a short-lived Allied airborne unit that was active during World War II created for Operation Dragoon–the invasion of Southern France. Formed in July 1944, under the command of Major General Robert T. Frederick ...
on the Franco–Italian frontier. During the periods 4 to 17 October and 11 to 25 December 1944, the ship completed numerous fire support missions, operating under the constant threat of explosive boats, human torpedoes, and floating mines. The ship also sank 43  mines, destroyed one German MAS boat, and damaged four others in the harbor of San Remo, Italy.


Service in the Pacific, 1945

''Niblack'' next returned to
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
to serve as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
for Commander, Destroyer Squadron 7, (Commander Destroyer 8th Fleet), returning to the Boston Navy Yard in February 1945. After serving in various antisubmarine groups and as an escort for one convoy from England in April. She transited the Panama Canal on 3 July 1945 and proceeded to Pearl Harbor via San Diego. Following a training program, during which hostilities with
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ended, the ship escorted the occupation group which landed at Sasebo, Japan, 22 September 1945. She then escorted
landing forces A landing operation is a military action during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibious forc ...
to Matsuyama, remaining in the Western Pacific for further duties during the occupation period. By a directive of June 1946, the ship was decommissioned; and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. She was subsequently transferred to Philadelphia where she remained until struck 31 July 1968. ''Niblack'' earned five battle stars for service in the European, African–Middle Eastern Areas.


Convoys escorted


Notes


References

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External links


navsource.org: USS ''Niblack''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niblack (DD-424) World War II destroyers of the United States Ships built in Bath, Maine 1940 ships Gleaves-class destroyers of the United States Navy