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USS Shea (DM-30)
Encyclopedia
USS Shea (DD-750/DM-30/MMD-30) was a Robert H. Smith-class
destroyer minelayer in the United States Navy
. She was named for Lieutenant Commander John Joseph Shea
.
destroyer
; launched on 20 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. John J. Shea; modified to be a destroyer minelayer and redesignated DM-30 in late 1944; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 30 September 1944, Commander Charles C. Kirkpatrick in command.
Shea spent 15 more days completing her fitting-out. She then loaded ammunition at Earle and Bayonne, New Jersey
, returned briefly to New York and departed for her shakedown cruise on 21 October 1944. She completed shakedown training at and around Great Sound Bay, Bermuda
, and was underway for Norfolk, Virginia
, on 16 November. Shea's crew underwent a month of further training in the Norfolk area before embarking, 13 December, for Brooklyn, New York, arriving the next day.
From Brooklyn, Shea moved on to San Francisco, California
. Sailing with Task Group 27.3 (TG 27.3), she transited the Panama Canal
, 20–22 December, and made San Francisco on the last day of 1944. Four days later, she was underway for Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, and 13 more days of training exercises. Another round of training complete, she steamed out of Pearl Harbor bound for Eniwetok Atoll in the western Pacific, arriving on 2 March. After 17 days in the vicinity of Eniwetok, her crew engaged in still more of the perennial training exercises. Shea departed for Ulithi Atoll on the first leg of her cruise into the real war at Okinawa.
On 19 March 1945, she sailed from Ulithi and joined TG 52.3. By 24 March, Shea was off Okinawa helping prepare the way for the 1 April invasion. While her primary mission was to protect and assist the minesweepers clearing the area of mines, she also stood radar picket
duty all around Okinawa. During the period 24 March – 4 May, she was constantly fending off Japanese air attacks and guarding against enemy submarines. Moreover, she probably sank or severely damaged at least one submarine and, on 16 April, in the space of 10 minutes, downed 8 planes.
On the morning of 4 May 1945, Shea was en route to radar picket duty 20 miles NE of Zampa Misaki, Okinawa. She arrived just after 06:00, having encountered two Japanese aircraft along the way, firing on both and possibly downing one. Upon receipt of reports indicating the approach of large Japan
ese air formations, Shea's crew went to General Quarters. Soon thereafter, a “considerable smoke haze blew over the ship from the Hagushi beaches” and “visibility was at a maximum 5.000 yards.” At 08:54 a single Betty
was sighted six miles distant; and, four minutes later, one was shot down by Shea-directed CAP. At 08:59, five minutes after the initial sighting, a lookout spotted a Japanese Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka
on Shea's starboard beam, closing the ship at better than 450 knots (830 km/h). Almost instantaneously, the Ohka crashed Shea "on the starboard side of her bridge structure, entering the sonar room, traversing the chart house, passageway and batch, and exploding beyond the port side on the surface of the water. Fire broke out in the mess hall, CIC, chart house, division commander's stateroom, #2 upper handling room, and compartment A-304-L."
Shea lost all ship's communications, 5" gun mounts numbers 1 and 2 were inoperative; and the forward port 20 millimeter guns were damaged. The main director was jammed and the gyro and computer rendered unserviceable. One officer and 26 men were killed, and 91 others were wounded to varying degrees.
With repair parties and survivors from damaged areas scurrying about, helping the wounded and fighting fires, Shea, listing 5 degrees to port, began limping off to Haeushi and medical assistance. She arrived there at 10:52; her most seriously wounded crew members were transferred to Crescent City
(APA-21); and the bodies of the 27 dead were removed for burial on Okinawa. Shea then resumed her limping, this time to Kerama Retto
anchorage. At Kerama Retto, she underwent repairs and disgorged all but 10 percent of her ammunition. In addition, much of her gear, particularly radar and fighter direction equipment, was transferred to DesRon 2 for distribution to less severely damaged ships. After a memorial service on 11 May for her dead crewmen and the removal of some armament, Shea was underway on 15 May to join convoy OKU #4 (TU 51.29.9), heading for Ulithi Atoll.
Shea got underway from Ulithi on 27 May 1945 and, after a three-day layover at Pearl Harbor, departed for Philadelphia on 9 June. She arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 July, visiting San Diego, California
and transiting the Panama Canal
en route. Shea underwent extensive repairs and post-repair trials before leaving Philadelphia on 11 October for shakedown at Casco Bay, Maine. While in the area, Shea celebrated her first peacetime Navy Day
at Bath, Maine
.
From 1946 to late 1953, Shea was engaged in normal operations with the Atlantic Fleet
. Assigned to Min-Div 2 and based at Charleston, South Carolina
, she ranged the Atlantic seaboard and Caribbean Sea. This employment was interrupted late in 1950 by a Mediterranean
cruise, during which she visited Trieste
on a liaison mission with the British armed forces
in the area. Shea returned to Charleston and the Atlantic Fleet on 1 February 1951 and remained so engaged until September 1953 when she reentered the Pacific.
Shea spent the remainder of her active service in the Pacific, based at Long Beach, California
. She participated in numerous minelaying and antisubmarine exercises off the west coast, covering the area from Mexico
north to British Columbia
and west to Hawaii
. In the spring of 1954, she made her only excursion out of that area when she took part in the atomic tests conducted at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands
. This was her first and only return to any of her old World War II haunts. She arrived back in Long Beach on 28 May and remained in the area until 9 April 1958 when she was placed out of commission in reserve. Shea continued in this reserve status until 1 September 1973 at which time, after being surveyed and deemed not to be up to fleet standards, she was stricken from the Navy list
. She was sold for scrap on 1 September 1974.
Shea earned one battle star for her part in the Okinawa campaign during World War II.
As of 2009, no other ship has been named Shea.
issued the following statement:
/s/ John L. Sullivan, Secretary of the Navy
Robert H. Smith class destroyer
The Robert H. Smith class of destroyer minelayers was built by the United States during World War II.These vessels were all originally laid down as Allen M. Sumner class destroyers and converted during construction throughout 1944. In that time the United States produced 12 Robert H. Smith class...
destroyer minelayer in 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...
. She was named for Lieutenant Commander John Joseph Shea
John Joseph Shea
Naval hero, Commander John J. Shea, AV, USNR, served as Excutive Officer of Naval Reserve Air Base Squantum in Massachusetts from 1930, until called to active duty and assigned to the USS Wasp in 1940. The USS Shea was named in his honor, and in 1946, the Navy Dept named NAS Squantum "Shea Field"...
.
History
Shea was laid down on 23 December 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Company yard at Staten Island, New York, as DD-750, an Allen M. Sumner-classAllen M. Sumner class destroyer
The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers...
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...
; launched on 20 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. John J. Shea; modified to be a destroyer minelayer and redesignated DM-30 in late 1944; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 30 September 1944, Commander Charles C. Kirkpatrick in command.
Shea spent 15 more days completing her fitting-out. She then loaded ammunition at Earle and Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
, returned briefly to New York and departed for her shakedown cruise on 21 October 1944. She completed shakedown training at and around Great Sound Bay, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, and was underway for Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, on 16 November. Shea's crew underwent a month of further training in the Norfolk area before embarking, 13 December, for Brooklyn, New York, arriving the next day.
From Brooklyn, Shea moved on to San Francisco, California
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...
. Sailing with Task Group 27.3 (TG 27.3), she transited 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...
, 20–22 December, and made San Francisco on the last day of 1944. Four days later, she was underway for 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...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and 13 more days of training exercises. Another round of training complete, she steamed out of Pearl Harbor bound for Eniwetok Atoll in the western Pacific, arriving on 2 March. After 17 days in the vicinity of Eniwetok, her crew engaged in still more of the perennial training exercises. Shea departed for Ulithi Atoll on the first leg of her cruise into the real war at Okinawa.
On 19 March 1945, she sailed from Ulithi and joined TG 52.3. By 24 March, Shea was off Okinawa helping prepare the way for the 1 April invasion. While her primary mission was to protect and assist the minesweepers clearing the area of mines, she also stood 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...
duty all around Okinawa. During the period 24 March – 4 May, she was constantly fending off Japanese air attacks and guarding against enemy submarines. Moreover, she probably sank or severely damaged at least one submarine and, on 16 April, in the space of 10 minutes, downed 8 planes.
On the morning of 4 May 1945, Shea was en route to radar picket duty 20 miles NE of Zampa Misaki, Okinawa. She arrived just after 06:00, having encountered two Japanese aircraft along the way, firing on both and possibly downing one. Upon receipt of reports indicating the approach of large 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 air formations, Shea's crew went to General Quarters. Soon thereafter, a “considerable smoke haze blew over the ship from the Hagushi beaches” and “visibility was at a maximum 5.000 yards.” At 08:54 a single Betty
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
was sighted six miles distant; and, four minutes later, one was shot down by Shea-directed CAP. At 08:59, five minutes after the initial sighting, a lookout spotted a Japanese Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka
Ohka
The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka was a purpose-built, rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping kamikaze attack plane employed by Japan towards the end of World War II...
on Shea's starboard beam, closing the ship at better than 450 knots (830 km/h). Almost instantaneously, the Ohka crashed Shea "on the starboard side of her bridge structure, entering the sonar room, traversing the chart house, passageway and batch, and exploding beyond the port side on the surface of the water. Fire broke out in the mess hall, CIC, chart house, division commander's stateroom, #2 upper handling room, and compartment A-304-L."
Shea lost all ship's communications, 5" gun mounts numbers 1 and 2 were inoperative; and the forward port 20 millimeter guns were damaged. The main director was jammed and the gyro and computer rendered unserviceable. One officer and 26 men were killed, and 91 others were wounded to varying degrees.
With repair parties and survivors from damaged areas scurrying about, helping the wounded and fighting fires, Shea, listing 5 degrees to port, began limping off to Haeushi and medical assistance. She arrived there at 10:52; her most seriously wounded crew members were transferred to Crescent City
USS Crescent City (APA-21)
USS Crescent City is a Crescent City-class attack transport that served with the US Navy during World War II. She was the lead ship in her class....
(APA-21); and the bodies of the 27 dead were removed for burial on Okinawa. Shea then resumed her limping, this time to Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
anchorage. At Kerama Retto, she underwent repairs and disgorged all but 10 percent of her ammunition. In addition, much of her gear, particularly radar and fighter direction equipment, was transferred to DesRon 2 for distribution to less severely damaged ships. After a memorial service on 11 May for her dead crewmen and the removal of some armament, Shea was underway on 15 May to join convoy OKU #4 (TU 51.29.9), heading for Ulithi Atoll.
Shea got underway from Ulithi on 27 May 1945 and, after a three-day layover at Pearl Harbor, departed for Philadelphia on 9 June. She arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 July, visiting San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and transiting 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...
en route. Shea underwent extensive repairs and post-repair trials before leaving Philadelphia on 11 October for shakedown at Casco Bay, Maine. While in the area, Shea celebrated her first peacetime Navy Day
Navy Day
Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week .- Argentina...
at Bath, Maine
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
.
From 1946 to late 1953, Shea was engaged in normal operations with the Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
. Assigned to Min-Div 2 and based at Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, she ranged the Atlantic seaboard and Caribbean Sea. This employment was interrupted late in 1950 by a Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
cruise, during which she visited Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
on a liaison mission with the British armed forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
in the area. Shea returned to Charleston and the Atlantic Fleet on 1 February 1951 and remained so engaged until September 1953 when she reentered the Pacific.
Shea spent the remainder of her active service in the Pacific, based at Long Beach, California
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...
. She participated in numerous minelaying and antisubmarine exercises off the west coast, covering the area from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
north to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and west to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. In the spring of 1954, she made her only excursion out of that area when she took part in the atomic tests conducted at Eniwetok Atoll in the 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...
. This was her first and only return to any of her old World War II haunts. She arrived back in Long Beach on 28 May and remained in the area until 9 April 1958 when she was placed out of commission in reserve. Shea continued in this reserve status until 1 September 1973 at which time, after being surveyed and deemed not to be up to fleet standards, she was stricken from the Navy list
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...
. She was sold for scrap on 1 September 1974.
Shea earned one battle star for her part in the Okinawa campaign during World War II.
As of 2009, no other ship has been named Shea.
Citation
The Secretary of the NavyUnited States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
issued the following statement:
- "For outstanding heroism in action while attached to an Amphibious Force during operations for the seizure of enemy Japanese-held Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, from March 24 to May 4, 1945. Operation in waters protected by enemy mines and numerous suicide craft, the U.S.S. SHEA rendered distinctive service in providing effective cover for our minesweeper groups against hostile attack by air, surface, submarine, and shore fire. A natural and frequent target for heavy Japanese aerial attack, she fought her guns valiantly to down nine planes and assist in the destruction of three others, accounting for six of the total of nine within a period of ten minutes during action in April. After downing an attacking plane on May 4, the SHEA turned her guns on a second plane which came in out of the sun, maintaining furious fire on the high-speed target until it struck her superstructure on the starboard side, penetrating the bridge without exploding and emerged on the port side to explode and perforate the side with shrapnel. Saved from complete destruction by prompt damage control measures, the SHEA had achieved a record of gallantry in combat, reflecting the highest credit upon her courageous and skilled officers and men and upon the United States Naval Service."
- All personnel attached to and serving on board the U.S.S. SHEA from March 24 to May 4, 1945, are authorized to wear the NAVY UNIT COMMENDATION Ribbon.
/s/ John L. Sullivan, Secretary of the Navy
External links
- Photo gallery at navsource.org