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USS Brown (DD-546)
Encyclopedia
USS Brown (DD-546) was a of the United States Navy
, named for George Brown, a seaman on the crew of USS Intrepid
during the raid that destroyed the captured USS Philadelphia
in Tripoli
harbor during the First Barbary War
.
Brown was launched
21 February 1943 by Bethlehem Steel
Co. San Pedro, California, sponsored by Mrs. Claude O. Kell wife of Captain Kell, and commissioned
10 July 1943 Lieutenant Commander Thomas H. Copeman in command.
in company with Task Force 50 (TF 50) en route to the forward area. During Browns very active service in the Pacific
she screened carriers
during
Task Force 88 was caught in a typhoon (17–18 December) and strikes against Luzon were canceled in order to search for survivors of three missing destroyers. On 21 December Brown recovered 18 survivors of and six survivors of . Brown then proceeded to Ulithi and received orders to return to Seattle, Washington
, for overhaul. Repairs completed on 1 March 1945, she was ready for sea. After a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, Brown headed westward to take part in the Okinawa operation
(1 April–30 June 1945), during which she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation
for her service as a radar picket
ship; 3d Fleet operations against Japan
(30 June–15 July); and the minesweeping
operations southwest of Okinawa.
With the cessation of hostilities Brown served with the occupation forces in Japan until 28 October 1945. She then departed for Naval Station San Diego
, arriving 17 November 1945. She went out of commission in reserve 1 August 1946 at San Diego.
Harbor on two occasions. Brown returned to California in October 1951. Her next Western Pacific tour was between July 1952 and January 1953 during which time she operated on the Formosan Patrol. She made four further Far Eastern tours and has operated along the west coast.
Brown was decommissioned 9 February 1962.
on 27 September 1962. She served in the Greek Navy as HNS Navarino (D-63).
In 1981, the ship was stricken and scrapped.
service. She was awarded two battle stars for her Korean War
service.
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 George Brown, a seaman on the crew of USS Intrepid
USS Intrepid (1798)
The first USS Intrepid was a captured ketch in the United States Navy during the First Barbary War.Intrepid was built in France in 1798 for Napoleon's Egyptian expedition. She was subsequently sold to Tripoli, whom she served as Mastico...
during the raid that destroyed the captured USS Philadelphia
USS Philadelphia (1799)
The second USS Philadelphia was a 1240-ton, 36-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy.Originally named City of Philadelphia, she was built in 1798–1799 for the United States government by the citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Funding for her construction was the result of a...
in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
harbor during the First Barbary War
First Barbary War
The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States...
.
Brown 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...
21 February 1943 by Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
Co. San Pedro, California, sponsored by Mrs. Claude O. Kell wife of Captain Kell, 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...
10 July 1943 Lieutenant Commander Thomas H. Copeman in command.
World War II
On 10 November 1943 Brown departed 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...
in company with Task Force 50 (TF 50) en route to the forward area. During Browns very active service in the Pacific
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
she screened carriers
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...
during
- the Gilbert Islands invasionGilbert and Marshall Islands campaignIn the Pacific Theater of World War II, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, from November 1943 through February 1944, were key strategic operations of the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps in the Central Pacific. The campaign was preceded by a raid on Makin Island by U.S...
(21 November–6 December 1943); - KaviengKaviengKavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, New IrelandNew Ireland (island)New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
raids (25 December 1943–4 January 1944), - Marshall IslandsMarshall IslandsThe 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...
raids (29 January–7 February), - Truk raidOperation HailstoneOperation Hailstone was a massive naval air and surface attack launched on February 17–18, 1944, during World War II by the United States Navy against the Japanese naval and air base at Truk in the Caroline Islands, a pre-war Japanese territory.-Background:Truk was a major Japanese logistical base...
(16–17 February); - PalauPalauPalau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
-YapYapYap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
-WoleaiWoleaiWoleai is a coral atoll of twenty-two islands in the eastern Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia and is located approximately west-northwest of Ifalik and northeast of Eauripik...
raids (30 March–2 April); - assault and capture of 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...
(21–28 April); - Truk raid (29 April);
- bombardment of SatawanSatawanSatawan Atoll is part of the Mortlock Islands in the Caroline Islands, administratively part of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia. Captain James Mortlock discovered two sets of islands on 19 and 27 November 1795. Confusingly, both were later called Mortlock Islands...
(30 April); - PonapePohnpeiNot to be confused with Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.Pohnpei "upon a stone altar " is the name of one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia , situated among the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group...
raids (1 May); - Marcus Island raid (19–20 May);
- Wake IslandWake IslandWake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
raid (23 May); - strikes in support of the assault on SaipanBattle 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...
(1–26 June); - Battle of the Philippine SeaBattle of the Philippine SeaThe Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
, during which she rescued four American pilots (19–20 June), - bombardment of Iwo JimaIwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
(4 July), - assaults on Guam and on TinianBattle of TinianThe Battle of Tinian was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July 1944 to 1 August 1944.-Background:...
(12 July–6 August); - Yap raids (26–28 July);
- Chichi Jima raids (4–5 August);
- raids on Palau, MindanaoMindanaoMindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
, Talaud, and MorotaiMorotaiMorotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
, - supporting the capture of the Southern Palaus and UlithiUlithiUlithi 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...
(6–15 September); - raids against LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
and the VisayasVisayasThe Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
(21–24 September); - raids on Okinawa, FormosaTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Luzon (10–19 October); - Battle for Leyte Gulf (26 October);
- raids on ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and the Visayas (6 November), - and raids against northern and central PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in support of the seizing of MindoroMindoroMindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
Island (15–16 December).
Task Force 88 was caught in a typhoon (17–18 December) and strikes against Luzon were canceled in order to search for survivors of three missing destroyers. On 21 December Brown recovered 18 survivors of and six survivors of . Brown then proceeded to Ulithi and received orders to return to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, for overhaul. Repairs completed on 1 March 1945, she was ready for sea. After a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, Brown headed westward to take part in 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...
(1 April–30 June 1945), during which she was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
for her service as a radar picket
Radar picket
A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...
ship; 3d Fleet operations against 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...
(30 June–15 July); and the minesweeping
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
operations southwest of Okinawa.
With the cessation of hostilities Brown served with the occupation forces in Japan until 28 October 1945. She then departed for Naval Station San Diego
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...
, arriving 17 November 1945. She went out of commission in reserve 1 August 1946 at San Diego.
1950 – 1962
Brown was recommissioned 27 October 1950. She conducted intensive shakedown operations off the west coast and then reported to Commander, Naval Forces, Far East, in March 1951. From March until September she operated with TFs 77 and 95 and participated in the siege of WonsanWonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
Harbor on two occasions. Brown returned to California in October 1951. Her next Western Pacific tour was between July 1952 and January 1953 during which time she operated on the Formosan Patrol. She made four further Far Eastern tours and has operated along the west coast.
Brown was decommissioned 9 February 1962.
HNS Navarino (D-63)
The ship was transferred to GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
on 27 September 1962. She served in the Greek Navy as HNS Navarino (D-63).
In 1981, the ship was stricken and scrapped.
Awards
Brown received the Navy Unit Commendation, for services rendered during the Okinawa operation, in addition to 13 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. She was awarded two battle stars for her Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
service.