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USS Burns (DD-588)
Encyclopedia
USS Hugh Burns (DD-588), a , was the second ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Captain
Hugh Otway Burns
(1775–1850), a privateer
in the War of 1812
.
Hugh Burns was launched
8 August 1942 by Charleston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Harry L. Smith, great-granddaughter of Captain Hugh Burns; and commissioned
3 April 1943, Commander
D.T. Eller in command.
17 September 1943 and after a few weeks of training, embarked upon an outstanding World War II career. Between October 1943 and July 1945, with the exception of a stateside yard period (February-April 1945), Hugh Burns participated in the following operations, acting as anti-submarine escort, picket ship, fighter director ship, and aircraft rescue ship:
On 30 January 1944, after picking up three downed American aviators, Hugh Burns was off Ujae Atoll
en route to rejoin her task group when she came upon a small Japan
ese convoy
. During the ensuing 34-minute battle she succeeded in sinking all four Japanese vessels, a small cargo ship, a medium tanker
, and two small, either cargo or escort, ships.
Shortly thereafter Hugh Burns, as a unit of Task Group 50.9 (TG 50.9), took part in a surface action off Truk, Caroline Islands
(17 February 1944). She assisted in sinking at 07°45' N. 151°20' E., and a trawler before being ordered to track down and dispose of the , which was accomplished at 1655 in 07°24' N., 150°30' E. Six Japanese survivors were rescued.
After the cessation of hostilities Burns remained in the Far East on occupation duty until December 1945. During this period she operated in the Yellow Sea
supporting the occupation of Korea
and China
. She departed the Western Pacific
29 December 1945 and arrived at San Francisco 8 January 1946. She then reported to the 19th Fleet for inactivation and was placed out of commission in reserve 25 June 1946 at San Diego.
Hugh Burns was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
1 November 1972, and sunk as a target 20 June 1974.
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...
to be named for Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Hugh Otway Burns
Otway Burns
Otway Burns was an American privateer during the War of 1812 and later, a North Carolina State Senator.-Early life:...
(1775–1850), a privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Hugh Burns 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...
8 August 1942 by Charleston Navy Yard; sponsored by Mrs. Harry L. Smith, great-granddaughter of Captain Hugh Burns; 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...
3 April 1943, Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
D.T. Eller in command.
Service history
Hugh Burns arrived at 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...
17 September 1943 and after a few weeks of training, embarked upon an outstanding World War II career. Between October 1943 and July 1945, with the exception of a stateside yard period (February-April 1945), Hugh Burns participated in the following operations, acting as anti-submarine escort, picket ship, fighter director ship, and aircraft rescue ship:
- 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 (5–6 October 1943), - Gilbert Islands campaign (20 November – 8 December);
- Marshall Islands campaign
- occupation of KwajaleinBattle of KwajaleinThe Battle of Kwajalein was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 31 January-3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of...
and MajuroMajuroMajuro , 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...
Atolls (29 January – 8 February 1944), - raids on
- Truk (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...
-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...
-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...
(30 March – 1 April) and - Truk-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...
-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...
(29 April – 1 May);
- occupation of Kwajalein
- Hollandia operation (21–24 April);
- Mariana and Palau Islands campaignMariana and Palau Islands campaignThe Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War...
(15 June – 6 August) which included - the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Bonins raids,
- the 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...
, - the battles of 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...
and of Guam, and - the Palau-Yap-Ulithi raid;
- the Battle of the Philippine Sea
- western Caroline IslandsCaroline IslandsThe Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
operation which included- the capture of the southern Palau Islands and
- the assaults on the Philippine Islands (6 September – 14 October);
- Leyte operations including
- the 3rd Fleet supporting operations against Okinawa, 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 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...
(10 October – 14 November); - Lingayen Gulf landingsBattle of LuzonThe Battle of Luzon was a land battle fought as part of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony The Philippines, and Mexico against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory...
(4–18 January 1945); and - the BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
operations, including- the Brunei BayBrunei BayBrunei Bay is the gateway to Brunei and Borneo. It is located 4°45'-5°02'N, 114°58'-115°10'E; east of Bandar Seri Begawan. The Brunei portion of the bay is in two sections separated by a finger of Sarawak about 6km wide at the coast...
operation and - the BalikpapanBalikpapanBalikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
operation (7 June – 7 July).
- the Brunei Bay
- the 3rd Fleet supporting operations against Okinawa, Luzon
On 30 January 1944, after picking up three downed American aviators, Hugh Burns was off Ujae Atoll
Ujae Atoll
Ujae Atoll is a coral atoll of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of...
en route to rejoin her task group when she came upon a small 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...
ese convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
. During the ensuing 34-minute battle she succeeded in sinking all four Japanese vessels, a small cargo ship, a medium tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
, and two small, either cargo or escort, ships.
Shortly thereafter Hugh Burns, as a unit of Task Group 50.9 (TG 50.9), took part in a surface action off Truk, Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
(17 February 1944). She assisted in sinking at 07°45' N. 151°20' E., and a trawler before being ordered to track down and dispose of the , which was accomplished at 1655 in 07°24' N., 150°30' E. Six Japanese survivors were rescued.
After the cessation of hostilities Burns remained in the Far East on occupation duty until December 1945. During this period she operated in the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
supporting the occupation 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...
and 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...
. She departed the 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...
29 December 1945 and arrived at San Francisco 8 January 1946. She then reported to the 19th Fleet for inactivation and was placed out of commission in reserve 25 June 1946 at San Diego.
Hugh Burns was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
1 November 1972, and sunk as a target 20 June 1974.