.gif)
USS Black (DD-666)
Encyclopedia
USS Black (DD-666) was a Fletcher-class
destroyer
of the United States Navy
, named for Lieutenant Commander
Hugh D. Black
(1903–1942), who was killed in action during the sinking of his ship, in February 1942.
Black was launched
28 March 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.
; sponsored by Mrs. H. D. Black, widow of Lieutenant Commander Black; and commissioned
21 May 1943, Lieutenant Commander J. Maginnis in command.
, via San Diego, Calif.
, and reported for duty on 15 November 1943. Shortly thereafter, she steamed to Tarawa
and was assigned screening duty off Tarawa Lagoon entrance. She continued this duty until 22 January 1944, with occasional diversion as escort for transports to the 180th meridian. On 15 January 1944 she rescued 22 survivors of two downed patrol aircraft 50 miles (95 km) south of Jaluit.
After seeing her first combat during the invasion of Majuro
Atoll, Marshall Islands
(29 January–8 February 1944), Black rendered fine service in
The destroyer then returned to San Francisco, Calif.
for repairs which lasted until February 1945.
Repairs completed, she sailed to Ulithi
where, upon arrival on 13 March, she reported to the Fast Carrier Task Force
(then TF 58) for duty. Between 17 March and 30 May Black participated in the 5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of the Okinawa operation
. After a period of rest and upkeep at Leyte Gulf
, Black took part in the 3rd Fleet operations against Japan (10 July – 15 August 1945) and, on 15 August, the day Japan agreed to surrender, was present during one of the Pacific War
's final kamikaze
attacks.
After the cessation of hostilities Black remained off Japan
assisting in the occupation until 1 September when, as a unit of TF 72, she departed with the occupation forces for Inchon, Korea
. She served in the Far Fast on occupation duty until 10 November 1945, when she left Tsingtao
, China
, for the United States. Upon arrival, Black reported for inactivation and was placed out of commission in reserve on 5 August 1946 at Long Beach, Calif.
until 10 January 1953 when she departed Norfolk, Va.
for the Pacific, via the Panama Canal
, on a round-the-world cruise. She arrived off the coast of Korea
on 4 March and two days later commenced harassing fire on the beach. Black continued her Korean operations until 4 June 1953.
On 9 June, Black departed for Norfolk, via the Suez Canal
, arriving on the east coast 6 August. Until January 1955, she conducted type training, fleet operations, and plane guard duties along the east coast and in the Caribbean. In January 1955 Black transferred to the Pacific Fleet
arriving at Long Beach 26 January.
Over the next decade and a half, Black regularly crossed the great ocean to take her place as a unit of the 7th Fleet
, serving as an aircraft carrier
escort, taking part in antisubmarine warfare exercises, patrolling in the Taiwan Strait
and visiting ports throughout the Far East
. Her tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth post-World War II Western Pacific
deployments, beginning in early 1965, included Vietnam War
service. Among her duties during this time were early participation in Operation Market Time
coastal patrol and interdiction operations, providing naval gunfire support for forces ashore and screening carriers as they took the war to the North Vietnam
ese enemy.
Blacks last overseas cruise ended in July 1969. She was decommissioned in late September of that year and sold for scrapping in February 1971.
service and two battle stars for service off Korea.
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, named for Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Hugh D. Black
Hugh D. Black
Hugh David Black was an officer in the United States Navy during World War II.Black was born in Oradell, New Jersey, on 29 June 1903. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1922, graduated in 1926, and served on board Richmond , mainly in the Far East, between 1926 and 1928...
(1903–1942), who was killed in action during the sinking of his ship, in February 1942.
Black was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
28 March 1943 by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
; sponsored by Mrs. H. D. Black, widow of Lieutenant Commander Black; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
21 May 1943, Lieutenant Commander J. Maginnis in command.
World War II
Black proceeded to Pearl HarborPearl 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...
, via San Diego, Calif.
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
, and reported for duty on 15 November 1943. Shortly thereafter, she steamed to Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
and was assigned screening duty off Tarawa Lagoon entrance. She continued this duty until 22 January 1944, with occasional diversion as escort for transports to the 180th meridian. On 15 January 1944 she rescued 22 survivors of two downed patrol aircraft 50 miles (95 km) south of Jaluit.
After seeing her first combat during the invasion of Majuro
Majuro
Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...
Atoll, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
(29 January–8 February 1944), Black rendered fine service in
- the AitapeAitapeAitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...
and HollandiaJayapuraJayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, landings (22 April – 7 May); - Saipan invasionBattle of SaipanThe Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...
(11 June – 4 July); - capture of Guam (21 July – 10 August);
- and Leyte operationBattle of LeyteThe Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
(20–21 October and 13–14 November).
The destroyer then returned to San Francisco, Calif.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
for repairs which lasted until February 1945.
Repairs completed, she sailed to Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
where, upon arrival on 13 March, she reported to the Fast Carrier Task Force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
(then TF 58) for duty. Between 17 March and 30 May Black participated in the 5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of the Okinawa operation
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. After a period of rest and upkeep at Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
, Black took part in the 3rd Fleet operations against Japan (10 July – 15 August 1945) and, on 15 August, the day Japan agreed to surrender, was present during one of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
's final kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
attacks.
After the cessation of hostilities Black remained off Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
assisting in the occupation until 1 September when, as a unit of TF 72, she departed with the occupation forces for Inchon, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. She served in the Far Fast on occupation duty until 10 November 1945, when she left Tsingtao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, for the United States. Upon arrival, Black reported for inactivation and was placed out of commission in reserve on 5 August 1946 at Long Beach, Calif.
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...
1951-1969
Black was recommissioned on 18 July 1951 and reported to the Atlantic Fleet. She participated in type and fleet operations along the eastern seaboard and in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
until 10 January 1953 when she departed Norfolk, Va.
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
for the Pacific, via 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...
, on a round-the-world cruise. She arrived off the coast of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
on 4 March and two days later commenced harassing fire on the beach. Black continued her Korean operations until 4 June 1953.
On 9 June, Black departed for Norfolk, via the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, arriving on the east coast 6 August. Until January 1955, she conducted type training, fleet operations, and plane guard duties along the east coast and in the Caribbean. In January 1955 Black transferred to the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
arriving at Long Beach 26 January.
Over the next decade and a half, Black regularly crossed the great ocean to take her place as a unit of the 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
, serving as an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
escort, taking part in antisubmarine warfare exercises, patrolling in the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
and visiting ports throughout the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. Her tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth post-World War II Western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
deployments, beginning in early 1965, included Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
service. Among her duties during this time were early participation in 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...
coastal patrol and interdiction operations, providing naval gunfire support for forces ashore and screening carriers as they took the war to the North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese enemy.
Blacks last overseas cruise ended in July 1969. She was decommissioned in late September of that year and sold for scrapping in February 1971.
Awards
Black received six battle stars for her World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service and two battle stars for service off Korea.