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USS Henley (DD-391)
Encyclopedia
USS Henley (DD-391), a Bagley-class
destroyer
, was the 2nd ship of the United States Navy
to be named for Captain Robert Henley, an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War
with France
, the War of 1812
and the Second Barbary War
.
; sponsored by Miss Beryl Henley Joslin, a collateral descendant of Captain Robert Henley ; and commissioned 14 August 1937, Lieutenant Commander
H. Y. McCown in command.
After shakedown in the Pacific and Hawaiian waters, Henley joined the Pacific Battle Force, Destroyer Division 11, at San Diego 12 September 1938. She departed San Diego 14 April 1941 to join the Fleet at Pearl Harbor
. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, Henley was moored in East Loch with battle stations manned, a green sailor having sounded General Quarters
instead of Quarters for Muster. This fortunate mistake gave Henley under the command of Lieutenant
Francis Edward Fleck, Jr., the opportunity to fire the first destroyer shots as the initial wave of enemy planes swooped in. A bomb exploded 150 yards off her port bow as she slipped her chain from the buoy, and, as she cleared, she received a signal that a submarine was in the harbor. Henley maneuvered through the smoke, fire, and confusion and sped out of the channel. Her gunners shot down one dive bomber with her .50 cal. guns and shared credit for another. Conned by Fleck—both her commanding officer and executive officer were ashore when the attack began—Henley dropped depth charges on a sonar contact, possibly a midget submarine
, outside the harbor, and continued to blaze away at the enemy with her guns. In the following weeks Henley operated with the task forces to reinforce Wake Island
and conducted patrol for the protection of Midway and convoy lanes.
Henley carried out convoy and antisubmarine duty, primarily in Australian waters, until departing Wellington 22 July 1942 to escort transports to Guadalcanal
. As American forces stormed ashore in the Solomons 7 August, Henley patrolled on an ASW station, coming under fire from enemy planes but suffering no casualties and assisting in shooting down two in the process. As the fierce struggle for Guadalcanal raged, the destroyer remained in the area to screen ships bringing up supplies and reinforcements until 29 August. Henley then set course south, and remained in Australian and New Guinea waters until September 1943 on plane guard, convoy duty, and antisubmarine patrol.
At 18:29, with all her crew having abandoned ship, Henley went down, stern first. Her companion DD's searched for the sub, then returned to rescue Henley's survivors, who had lashed their life-rafts together and were using flashlights as signals. Eighteen officers and 225 men were rescued, with 1 officer and 14 men missing.
Bagley class destroyer
The Bagley class of destroyers was built by the United States. All eight ships were ordered and laid down in 1935 and subsequently completed in 1937. Their layout was based upon the Gridley-class destroyer design, but they retained the power plants of the Mahan-class destroyers, and thus had a...
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...
, was the 2nd ship 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...
to be named for Captain Robert Henley, an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War
Quasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 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...
and the Second Barbary War
Second Barbary War
The Second Barbary War , also known as the Algerine or Algerian War, was the second of two wars fought between the United States and the Ottoman Empire's North African regencies of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algeria known collectively as the Barbary states. The war between the Barbary States and the U.S...
.
History
The second Henley (DD-391) was launched 12 January 1937 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CaliforniaVallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
; sponsored by Miss Beryl Henley Joslin, a collateral descendant of Captain Robert Henley ; and commissioned 14 August 1937, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
H. Y. McCown in command.
After shakedown in the Pacific and Hawaiian waters, Henley joined the Pacific Battle Force, Destroyer Division 11, at San Diego 12 September 1938. She departed San Diego 14 April 1941 to join the Fleet at Pearl Harbor
Pearl 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...
. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941, Henley was moored in East Loch with battle stations manned, a green sailor having sounded General Quarters
General quarters
General Quarters or Battle Stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the crew to prepare for battle or imminent damage....
instead of Quarters for Muster. This fortunate mistake gave Henley under the command of Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Francis Edward Fleck, Jr., the opportunity to fire the first destroyer shots as the initial wave of enemy planes swooped in. A bomb exploded 150 yards off her port bow as she slipped her chain from the buoy, and, as she cleared, she received a signal that a submarine was in the harbor. Henley maneuvered through the smoke, fire, and confusion and sped out of the channel. Her gunners shot down one dive bomber with her .50 cal. guns and shared credit for another. Conned by Fleck—both her commanding officer and executive officer were ashore when the attack began—Henley dropped depth charges on a sonar contact, possibly a midget submarine
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
, outside the harbor, and continued to blaze away at the enemy with her guns. In the following weeks Henley operated with the task forces to reinforce Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake 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...
and conducted patrol for the protection of Midway and convoy lanes.
Henley carried out convoy and antisubmarine duty, primarily in Australian waters, until departing Wellington 22 July 1942 to escort transports to Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. As American forces stormed ashore in the Solomons 7 August, Henley patrolled on an ASW station, coming under fire from enemy planes but suffering no casualties and assisting in shooting down two in the process. As the fierce struggle for Guadalcanal raged, the destroyer remained in the area to screen ships bringing up supplies and reinforcements until 29 August. Henley then set course south, and remained in Australian and New Guinea waters until September 1943 on plane guard, convoy duty, and antisubmarine patrol.
Fate
When Australian troops established a beachhead at Finschafen, New Guinea, 21 September 1943, Henley formed a part of their protective screen. Attacked by 10 Japanese torpedo bombers, she claimed to have shot down 3 and assisted in downing 3 others in a fierce half hour engagement. However, the valiant ship's wartime career, begun in the chaos at Pearl Harbor, was drawing to a close. On 3 October 1943 Henley was steaming with Reid and Smith on an offensive sweep off Finschafen when her skipper sighted two torpedoes fired by the submarine Ro-108 heading for her. Split-second maneuvering permitted Henley to evade those two torpedoes; but a third was immediately sighted, closing too fast and too near to be avoided. Henley was struck on the port side, with the torpedo exploding in the number 1 fire-room, destroying her boilers, breaking her keel, and displacing her bow about 30 degrees from the longitudinal axis of the ship.At 18:29, with all her crew having abandoned ship, Henley went down, stern first. Her companion DD's searched for the sub, then returned to rescue Henley's survivors, who had lashed their life-rafts together and were using flashlights as signals. Eighteen officers and 225 men were rescued, with 1 officer and 14 men missing.