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USS Uhlmann (DD-687)
Encyclopedia
USS Uhlmann (DD-687) was a World War II-era Fletcher-class
destroyer
in the service of the United States Navy
, named after Ensign
Robert W. Uhlmann
.
, Commander
Selden G. Hooper
in command.
and post-shakedown availability, the destroyer joined Destroyer Squadron 56 on 24 January 1944. Two days later, she got underway to escort to Trinidad
. She then transited the Panama Canal
, touched at San Diego, California
, and arrived at San Francisco, California
on 16 February. There, she embarked passengers for transportation to Hawaii
and departed the west coast on the 17th in company with and .
She arrived at Pearl Harbor
on the 23d. During March, Uhlmann underwent availability, conducted training, and rendered occasional convoy screening services in Hawaiian waters. In April, she conducted carrier escort training exercises and honed her skills in shore bombardment and radar tracking in preparation for assignment to carrier screening duties. Two hours after sunset on the 24th, while Uhlmann was participating in training exercises in Hawaiian waters as an antisubmarine screening ship for the carriers of Task Group 19.2, she was struck amidships by destroyer . The collision tore an eight-by-ten-foot (2.4 by 3 m) hole in Uhlmanns hull below the water line, flooding her firerooms and the forward engine room. The following day, she was taken in tow by and returned to Pearl Harbor on the 26th. After temporary hull and engine repairs, she set her course for San Francisco on 17 May, steaming on her port engine with her forward fire and engine rooms out of commission. On the 24th, she moored at Hunter's Point
and, for the next two months, underwent extensive repairs.
In August, she returned to Pearl Harbor and resumed training exercises including torpedo firing and antisubmarine warfare drills. After one false start, she departed Oahu
on 18 September with and and set her course for the Admiralty Islands
. En route to Manus
, she was diverted to the western Caroline Islands
and reported to 3d Fleet at Ulithi
on 30 September. During a typhoon on 3 October, a nest of three destroyers drifted down on Uhlmann and pierced three holes in her starboard side. A few hours later, the destroyer made an emergency sortie from the lagoon with Task Group 38.2; but, by nightfall, high seas had carried away her emergency damage control measures and flooded the anchor windlass room. She returned to Ulithi on the 4th for repairs by and, on the 6th, was underway for an at-sea rendezvous with Task Force 38—the 3d Fleet's Fast Carrier Force—the following day.
At noon on the 9th, the carriers began a high-speed approach to a launch position for strikes on the Ryukyus. On the 10th, planes launched by the carriers struck Okinawa, destroying enemy aircraft, shipping, and shore installations in preparation for the projected landings on Leyte, Cebu
, and Negros.
After fueling at sea on the 11th, TF 38 began a high-speed approach on Taiwan
for two days of strikes on that island, again in support of the impending American assault on the Philippines
. On 12 and 13 October, as the carriers steamed 85 miles (137 km) east of Taiwan and launched strike after strike against that island, Uhlmann operated in their antiaircraft screen. Planes from the carriers attempted to destroy Japanese air strength on Taiwan to eliminate that island as a staging base for the enemy.
Shortly after dusk on the 12th, low flying Japanese bombers and torpedo planes approached Task Group38.2 from the west and northwest. Although most of the Japanese planes were intercepted by the task force's combat air patrol, more than a dozen broke through and attacked the formation. Uhlmann opened fire on a Japanese medium torpedo bomber at 7,000 yards (6.4 km). But, undeterred, the plane continued to approach the zigzagging destroyer from port until it was hit at close range by Uhlmanns 40-millimeter fire, crossed over the ship, and splashed 100 yards (91.4 m) off the destroyer's starboard bow. The plane sank at once leaving a large quantity of gas and oil floating on the sea.
A second wave of attackers followed two minutes after the first, and Uhlmann, maneuvering with the formation, joined in the fire which downed some seven Japanese raiders during the night. At 2200, she hit an enemy plane which burst into flame and illuminated the moonless overcast night before splashing off the stern of the ship. Minutes before midnight, Uhlmann picked up another aerial intruder on radar and opened up with 5 inch fire. The plane countered by dropping flares as a diversionary tactic and pulled away, but Uhlmanns deadly fire found its mark as the raider burst into flame and splashed into the sea. The destroyers began laying smoke around midnight, and the raids tapered off. For the remainder of the night, Japanese planes merely approached within 6 to 7 miles (10 to 11 km), dropped flares, and retired without attacking the formation.
Japanese planes again ventured near the formation late on the 14th only to be routed by night fliers of the combat air patrol. The next day, TF 38 began a high-speed run in for strikes on Luzon
, with Uhlmann providing antisubmarine protection for the fast carriers of TG 38.2. On the 16th and 17th, the carriers launched heavy strikes on Luzon concentrating on ships and installations in the Manila Bay
area. Late on the 17th, the formation set a southerly course to get into position for strikes farther south, with the fighter planes of the task force dispersing light Japanese air opposition en route. Steaming east and northeast of Samar, the task force made strikes on Negros on the 20th in strategic support of the landings on Leyte and also provided direct air support for those landings.
Meanwhile, upon first sighting American minesweepers in the approaches to Leyte Gulf
, Japan had sent her naval forces into Philippine waters. On the 24th, Uhlmann protected the carriers of Rear Admiral
Gerald F. Bogan
's TG 38.2 as they launched strikes against the Japanese Center Force which was approaching San Bernardino Strait
. In an action known as the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, American naval aircraft sank Japanese super battleship and damaged several other enemy warships. At 2022 that evening, Task Force 38 turned north to seek out and destroy the Japanese Northern Force whose carriers had been spotted north of Luzon where they had been stationed in the hope of luring the 3d Fleet away from the beaches of Leyte.
However, a gallant little group of American destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers had fought off the overwhelmingly superior Japanese Center Force and induced it to abandon its plan of attacking the amphibious ships which were supporting the Allied beachheads on Leyte. Thus, when TG 34.5 returned within aircraft range of San Bernardino Strait, the chastened Japanese Center Force had already retreated back through that strategic passage to safety. In the days that followed the historic Battle of Leyte Gulf
, Uhlmann continued to screen TG 38.2 while its carriers conducted strikes on land targets, including raids on Luzon on the 29th and 30th. Shortly before noon on the 29th, as the carriers recovered aircraft from a strike against Japanese targets in the Manila area, Uhlmann left the formation to investigate what appeared to be the splash of a downed plane but was later determined to be a bomb splash. As the destroyer attempted to discover the cause of the splash, a Navy torpedo bomber from made a water landing
nearby, and Uhlmann quickly rescued the pilot and two crewmen. Meanwhile, an enemy attack had materialized, and the destroyer went to general quarters, increased her speed to 25 knots (46 km/h), and executed evasive maneuvers as she attempted to rejoin the formation. As she steamed to her assigned position, she joined in the general fire against the attackers—10 to 12 Japanese planes which made notably inaccurate high altitude bombing runs and retired after one or two of their members had been splashed by the American ships' accurate fire.
On 4 November, TF 38.2 began a high-speed approach for strikes on Luzon. For two days, carrier-based aircraft pounded Luzon and Bicol
. Then, on the 7th, Uhlmann set her course for Ulithi. En route, heavy seas caused flooding in the boatswain
's stores and chain locker; and Uhlmann, accompanied by , left the formation and ran with the wind while damage-control measures were being effected. She arrived at Ulithi on the 9th, underwent repairs, and got underway again on the 16th. She rendezvoused with TG 38.2 the following day and took up an antisubmarine screening station. Following carrier strikes on Luzon on the 19th, Uhlmann returned to Ulithi on the 22d.
The destroyer conducted exercises out of Ulithi until 10 December when she got underway and rendezvoused with Task Force 38 on the 12th. On the 14th, 15th, and 16th, the carriers made strikes against air installations on Luzon and against shipping in water off that island to support landings on Mindoro
. Toward dusk on the 16th, the task force began its retirement. As the American warships fueled northeast of Samar on the 17th, weather conditions worsened. At 1330, Uhlmann abandoned fueling from due to rough seas and 26-knot (48 km/h) winds stirred up by an approaching typhoon. On the 18th, Uhlmann recorded 69-knot (128 km/h) winds, and rolls up to 58 degrees as the typhoon's center passed within 30 miles (50 km) of the formation. During the afternoon, winds decreased; and, by 2000, they had subsided to 25 knots (46 km/h). On the 19th and 20th, the ships of the battered task force resumed fueling which continued into the next day while its escorts searched for survivors of the three destroyers which had failed to survive the tropical storm. Late on the 20th, due to heavy seas, the carriers aborted a highspeed run in for strikes on Luzon; and Uhlmann returned to the storm area and searched for survivors. She made port at Ulithi on Christmas Eve.
into the South China Sea
. The carriers launched strikes on French Indochina
, Taiwan, and Hong Kong
before retiring from the South China Sea on the 19th. Steaming 75 miles (120 km) north of Luzon at dusk the next day, the formation came under attack by enemy aircraft, and Uhlmann joined other ships of the formation in repelling raiders. Following strikes on Taiwan and Okinawa, TF 38 returned to Ulithi on the 26th. That day, the 3d Fleet was redesignated 5th Fleet and placed under the command of Admiral
Raymond A. Spruance
.
Following antisubmarine training, Uhlmann got underway from Ulithi with TG 58.2 on 10 February. During a Japanese air raid on the 16th, the first of two days of strikes on the Tokyo area, Uhlmann took under fire an enemy fighter which made a low-glide, diving attack on the ship's port beam and dropped a bomb 100 yards in the wake of destroyer . Neither destroyer suffered any damage in this exchange. On the 19th, Uhlmann screened TF 58 as it steamed north of Iwo Jima
launching strikes on that island in support of the initial landings there. On the 20th, mechanical difficulties in her steering mechanism forced Uhlmann to part company with the task force, and she put in at Ulithi on 23 February for repairs. Underway on 14 March, she rendezvoused with TG 58.2 on the 16th. On the 17th, the carriers began a highspeed run in for strikes on Kyūshū
. While the planes of TP 58 pounded that Japanese homeland, Uhlmann protected the carriers from air and submarine attack. Air activity began early on the 18th; and Uhlmann, acting as linking vessel between TF 58 and its picket line, began firing on aerial snoopers before dawn. Shortly before 0700, she joined the picket line and, at 0956, rescued three Navy aviators from a torpedo bomber which had splashed nearby.
Throughout the dav and into the night, alerts prompted by Japanese surveillance planes brought the ship's crew to general quarters. Four minutes before midnight, Uhlmann opened fire on an enemy aircraft at 10,000 yards. The plane burst into flame and splashed 7,000 (6.4 km) yards off the destroyer's starboard quarter and burned brightly for several minutes. Air activity continued into the early hours of the 19th. Before dawn that day, Uhlmann joined in firing on a high-altitude Japanese raider which burst into flames and splashed. Fifty miles (80 km) off the eastern shore of Shikoku
on the morning of the 19th, a Japanese plane dove toward the destroyer and, despite fire from the ship, dropped a small bomb which hit 50 feet (15 m) off the ship's starboard quarter. No further action occurred that day as Uhlmann, screening TG 58.2, proceeded southward to rejoin the rest of TF 58 southeast of Kyūshū.
Ships of the task force began refueling on the 20th but were forced to discontinue when an air attack developed in mid-afternoon. Uhlmann was transferring aviation personnel to at 1453 when a kamikaze
dove at carrier , missed, and crashed into Halsey Powell. Uhlmann fired on enemy dive bombers throughout the remainder of the afternoon, was hit by some shrapnel, but suffered no casualties. Air activity continued to be heavy as strikes on Japan continued on the 21st. During a surprise attack early in the afternoon, a bomb fell only 200 yards (183 m) from USS Cushing, and another bomb narrowly missed a carrier of the force. Ten minutes before midnight on the 22d, while Uhlmann steamed on picket station, she made a surface radar contact which was later identified as a Japanese submarine. In company with , she proceeded at high speed toward the submerging target and stood by while Haggard forced the unlucky enemy ship to the surface with depth charges. Haggard then rammed the submarine which exploded and sank. Uhlmann escorted the slightly damaged destroyer back to Ulithi where they arrived on the 25th.
She departed Ulithi on the 30th and set a northwesterly course. After weathering a typhoon on 2 April, she rendezvoused with TG 58.4 on the 5th and, toward dusk, began an approach for strikes on Okinawa. Following rendezvous with TF 58, she alternated radar picket and screening duties as the carrier-based planes pounded Okinawa.
In April, Japan began concentrated massed kamikaze attacks against American ships in the waters of the Ryukyus; and the carrier forces, despite their discreet distance from Okinawa, were not exempt from the attentions of the suicide planes. On the 12th, combat air patrol from the formation splashed three Mitsubishi Zeroes ("Zekes") within sight of Uhlmann as she stood her picket station 25 miles (40 km) north of TF 58. Two days later, snoopers and nuisance raiders kept the air patrol occupied in the afternoon and early evening.
On radar picket with TG 58.4 on the 17th, Uhlmann joined in fire that downed two enemy aircraft, one of which splashed near Benham (DD-796) causing minor damage to that ship. That night, Uhlmann added her depth charges to a combined attack which sent Japanese submarine 1-56 to the bottom. Late on the afternoon of the 29th, as enemy planes began closing from the northward, destroyer Haggard joined Uhlman to strengthen the picket station in the face of attack. Minutes before 1700, a Japanese fighter plane, taken under fire by Uhlmann, nosed over and dove toward Haggard. The crash and explosion of the suicide plane and its bomb tore a hole in Haggards starboard side, flooding her firerooms and number one engine room, and leaving her dead in the water. Meanwhile a second "Zeke" began a run in. Uhlmann splashed the attacker close aboard Haggard and rescued two of the damaged destroyer's crew from the water. Uhlmann then requested assistance from the task group which responded with a combat air patrol of two divisions. An hour later, light cruiser and Destroyer Division 104 came to the aid of the stricken destroyer. Uhlmann escorted Haggard a short distance toward Kerama Retto
and returned to her picket duty the next day. She screened the carrier strike force until 11 May when she headed for the Caroline Islands. The ship arrived at Ulithi on the 14th.
Underway with TG 58.4 on the 24th, the destroyer returned to a strike launch area off Okinawa and resumed her picket duties. On the 28th, operational control of the task force was returned to the 3d Fleet and TG 58.4 became TG 38.4. Uhlmann continued patrolling picket station and screening the fast carriers until 13 June when she arrived at San Pedro Bay
, Leyte, for replenishment and maintenance. On 1 July, she set a northerly course; and, throughout July, the carriers conducted strikes on targets in the Japanese islands to soften up this last stronghold of Japanese power for the projected invasion. On the 25th, Uhlmann joined specially formed TG 35.3 for an antishipping sweep across Kii Suido between Honshū and Shikoku. Two hours after midnight on this completely overcast night, Uhlmann bombarded a radio tower on the southern tip of Uwano Hanto while other ships of the group shelled nearby airfields.
Until the cessation of hostilities on 15 August, Uhlmann continued to operate with the carrier force as it launched strikes against Japan. On 23 August, she rendezvoused with TF 47—a combined British-American force—for temporary escort duty in connection with the occupation of Japan. She arrived in Sagami Wan on the 27th, and immediately manned a picket station. On the 30th, while acting as plane guard for , she rescued that carrier's landing signal officer who had jumped over the side in an attempt to rescue the pilot of a downed plane. That same day, the destroyer anchored in Sagami Wan, ending 61 days of continuous operation and, on the 31st, shifted anchorages to Tokyo Bay
.
Her occupation duties included mail, freight, and passenger runs between Iwo Jima and Japanese ports. Late in October, she participated in training exercises; then, on the 31st, departed Yokosuka, steamed via Pearl Harbor, and arrived at Bremerton late in November. Following alterations, she got underway on 20 April 1946 and arrived at San Diego on the 24th. There, on 14 June 1946, she was decommissioned and placed in reserve. On 12 August, she was assigned to the Naval Reserve Training Program and underwent an overhaul at Terminal Island
before reporting to the Commandant, llth Naval District, in November 1946.
Operating out of San Diego, she trained reserve crews until the end of the decade. On 23 May 1950, she was recommissioned, but remained in reserve and, that summer, made a southward voyage, visiting Central and South American ports. She returned to San Diego in July and, on 18 November, was assigned active status.
On 27 January 1951, she reported to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, for duty and, on 16 June, departed San Diego with units of Destroyer Division 152, setting her course for Korea
n waters. Assigned to TF 77—the fast carrier force operating in the Sea of Japan
—Uhlmann resumed the screening and plane guard duties which had occupied much of her time in World War II. She later joined TF 95, a blockade and escort force, and carried out day and night bombardment of the Korean coast. While conducting a routine observation patrol off Wonsan Harbor's Hodo Peninsula on the morning of 20 August, the destroyer came under fire from seven enemy shore batteries. Gun flashes on the beach provided a warning only moments before shells began to fall 1,000 yards (914 m) from the destroyer. All hands went quickly to battle stations as Uhlmann commenced evasive maneuvers, increased to flank speed, and opened fire on the shore installations. In short order, she reduced the enemy on shore to two guns, while she steamed among near misses, some of which came as close as 15 yards (14 m). Fragments from the shell explosions carried away a radio antenna during the half hour engagement. Ordered by TG 95.2 to break off the action, Uhlmann withdrew out of range of the shore batteries.
In the fall, she patrolled Taiwanese waters and participated in hunter-killer antisubmarine training off Okinawa. In November, she rejoined TF 77 and, operating in the Sea of Japan, rescued several pilots before leaving Yokosuka on 22 January 1952.
She returned to San Diego on 6 February and, in the months that followed, underwent drydocking and alterations which included the installation of new armament. She conducted exercises; then departed San Diego on 11 August 1952 in company with Destroyer Division 152, escorting and to the Far East.
During this seven-month Korean deployment, Uhlmann operated with fast carrier forces, conducted hunter-killer activities, and patrolled off Taiwan. She also conducted shore bombardment which destroyed enemy gun emplacements, a factory, and storage facilities, while damaging buildings, bunkers, and railways. On the morning of 3 November, as she was firing interdiction rounds on a railroad and tunnel on the east coast of North Korea
near Hangwon, the destroyer was taken under fire by shore guns, mortars, and machine guns. Brought to alert by shell splashes only 100 yards (91 m) off her port bow, Uhlmann accelerated to 25 knots (46 km/h), began evasive maneuvers, and opened fire with her 3 inch (76 mm) and 5 inch (127 mm) guns. She scored a direct hit on an enemy gun emplacement and suffered only minor damages in the exchange. However, she emerged from the encounter with 13 wounded. After putting in at Hong Kong over Christmas, she departed Yokosuka on 3 March 1953, steamed via Midway
and Pearl Harbor, and arrived at San Diego on 19 March 1953.
ports. During March, she embarked personnel of the Nationalist Chinese Navy for training.
While patrolling Taiwan Strait
in the first week of March, she assisted the grounded Chinese Nationalist merchant ship Kiang Shan which was stranded on an island in the Pescadores. In the course of a daring rescue of crewmen from the Chinese steamer, Uhlmann lost her whaleboat and bent her propellers, shafts, and rudder on reefs in the shallow water. After the successful completion of her mission, she put in at Kaohsiung
on the 5th. To prevent vibration damage to her reduction gears, she was towed from that port on the llth and, on 14 March, arrived at Subic Bay
for repairs. On her return to San Diego, she resumed the stateside routine of upkeep and training.
Over the net 15 years, Uhlmann made 11 more deployments to the western Pacific (WestPac). On deployment to the Far East in 1954 with Destroyer Division 152, she took part in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands—located off Hangchou Wan—in the American attempt to defuse the explosive situation which had developed between Nationalist China and the People's Republic of China. In 1958, during a period of heightened tension over the Chinese offshore islands, the destroyer again supported American interests in the Far East. Between deployments, Uhlmann operated out of San Diego, participating in fleet exercises, receiving upkeep, and performing goodwill assignments.
. Her duties included gunfire support of land action, often coordinated by an airborne spotter, illumination missions, and routine bombardment assignments. Off Vietnam in 1965, she searched junks for contraband; supplied shore bombardment; and served as a plane guard for carrier . In 1968, a year of heavy fighting in the Republic of Vietnam, Uhlmann acted as a plane guard in the Gulf of Tonkin
and fired 50 naval gunfire support missions off Huế
.
In 1969, she participated in fleet exercises in Hawaiian waters; then, on 1 October, she returned to the west coast and assumed new duties as a Group I Naval Reserve Training Ship operating out of Tacoma, Washington
. For the next three years, she conducted reserve training cruises out of that port and participated in fleet exercises. During Exercise "Head Beagle" in August 1970, she conducted intensive training in the Strait of Juan de Fuca
and off the coast of Washington in conjunction with Canadian
naval forces.
service, and five for Vietnam War
service.
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...
in the service 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 after Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
Robert W. Uhlmann
Robert W. Uhlmann
Robert William Uhlmann was an officer of the United States Navy who was killed during the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.-Early life:...
.
World War II
Uhlmann was laid down on 6 March 1943 at Staten Island, New York, by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 30 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Uhlmann, mother of Ens. Uhlmann; and commissioned on 22 November 1943 at the Brooklyn Navy YardBrooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Selden G. Hooper
Selden G. Hooper
Selden G. Hooper was the only Admiral of the United States Navy to be convicted by court-martial.Hooper was the commissioning commanding officer of the on 22 November 1943.In U.S. V...
in command.
1944
After shakedown out of BermudaBermuda
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 post-shakedown availability, the destroyer joined Destroyer Squadron 56 on 24 January 1944. Two days later, she got underway to escort to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. She then 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...
, touched at 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 arrived at 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...
on 16 February. There, she embarked passengers for transportation 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...
and departed the west coast on the 17th in company with and .
She arrived 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...
on the 23d. During March, Uhlmann underwent availability, conducted training, and rendered occasional convoy screening services in Hawaiian waters. In April, she conducted carrier escort training exercises and honed her skills in shore bombardment and radar tracking in preparation for assignment to carrier screening duties. Two hours after sunset on the 24th, while Uhlmann was participating in training exercises in Hawaiian waters as an antisubmarine screening ship for the carriers of Task Group 19.2, she was struck amidships by destroyer . The collision tore an eight-by-ten-foot (2.4 by 3 m) hole in Uhlmanns hull below the water line, flooding her firerooms and the forward engine room. The following day, she was taken in tow by and returned to Pearl Harbor on the 26th. After temporary hull and engine repairs, she set her course for San Francisco on 17 May, steaming on her port engine with her forward fire and engine rooms out of commission. On the 24th, she moored at Hunter's Point
San Francisco Naval Shipyard
The San Francisco Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city...
and, for the next two months, underwent extensive repairs.
In August, she returned to Pearl Harbor and resumed training exercises including torpedo firing and antisubmarine warfare drills. After one false start, she departed Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
on 18 September with and and set her course for the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
. En route to Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
, she was diverted to the western 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...
and reported to 3d Fleet at 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...
on 30 September. During a typhoon on 3 October, a nest of three destroyers drifted down on Uhlmann and pierced three holes in her starboard side. A few hours later, the destroyer made an emergency sortie from the lagoon with Task Group 38.2; but, by nightfall, high seas had carried away her emergency damage control measures and flooded the anchor windlass room. She returned to Ulithi on the 4th for repairs by and, on the 6th, was underway for an at-sea rendezvous with Task Force 38—the 3d Fleet's Fast Carrier Force—the following day.
At noon on the 9th, the carriers began a high-speed approach to a launch position for strikes on the Ryukyus. On the 10th, planes launched by the carriers struck Okinawa, destroying enemy aircraft, shipping, and shore installations in preparation for the projected landings on Leyte, Cebu
Cebu Island
Cebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
, and Negros.
After fueling at sea on the 11th, TF 38 began a high-speed approach on Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , 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...
for two days of strikes on that island, again in support of the impending American assault on the Philippines
Philippines
The 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...
. On 12 and 13 October, as the carriers steamed 85 miles (137 km) east of Taiwan and launched strike after strike against that island, Uhlmann operated in their antiaircraft screen. Planes from the carriers attempted to destroy Japanese air strength on Taiwan to eliminate that island as a staging base for the enemy.
Shortly after dusk on the 12th, low flying Japanese bombers and torpedo planes approached Task Group38.2 from the west and northwest. Although most of the Japanese planes were intercepted by the task force's combat air patrol, more than a dozen broke through and attacked the formation. Uhlmann opened fire on a Japanese medium torpedo bomber at 7,000 yards (6.4 km). But, undeterred, the plane continued to approach the zigzagging destroyer from port until it was hit at close range by Uhlmanns 40-millimeter fire, crossed over the ship, and splashed 100 yards (91.4 m) off the destroyer's starboard bow. The plane sank at once leaving a large quantity of gas and oil floating on the sea.
A second wave of attackers followed two minutes after the first, and Uhlmann, maneuvering with the formation, joined in the fire which downed some seven Japanese raiders during the night. At 2200, she hit an enemy plane which burst into flame and illuminated the moonless overcast night before splashing off the stern of the ship. Minutes before midnight, Uhlmann picked up another aerial intruder on radar and opened up with 5 inch fire. The plane countered by dropping flares as a diversionary tactic and pulled away, but Uhlmanns deadly fire found its mark as the raider burst into flame and splashed into the sea. The destroyers began laying smoke around midnight, and the raids tapered off. For the remainder of the night, Japanese planes merely approached within 6 to 7 miles (10 to 11 km), dropped flares, and retired without attacking the formation.
Japanese planes again ventured near the formation late on the 14th only to be routed by night fliers of the combat air patrol. The next day, TF 38 began a high-speed run in for strikes on Luzon
Luzon
Luzon 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...
, with Uhlmann providing antisubmarine protection for the fast carriers of TG 38.2. On the 16th and 17th, the carriers launched heavy strikes on Luzon concentrating on ships and installations in the Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
area. Late on the 17th, the formation set a southerly course to get into position for strikes farther south, with the fighter planes of the task force dispersing light Japanese air opposition en route. Steaming east and northeast of Samar, the task force made strikes on Negros on the 20th in strategic support of the landings on Leyte and also provided direct air support for those landings.
Meanwhile, upon first sighting American minesweepers in the approaches to 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...
, Japan had sent her naval forces into Philippine waters. On the 24th, Uhlmann protected the carriers of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Gerald F. Bogan
Gerald F. Bogan
Gerald Francis Bogan was a United States Navy Admiral.Bogan authored a confidential memorandum that was leaked by Captain John G. Crommelin during the Revolt of the Admirals in September 1949. His memo described the situation in the Navy as follows, "The morale of the Navy is lower today than at...
's TG 38.2 as they launched strikes against the Japanese Center Force which was approaching San Bernardino Strait
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...
. In an action known as the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, American naval aircraft sank Japanese super battleship and damaged several other enemy warships. At 2022 that evening, Task Force 38 turned north to seek out and destroy the Japanese Northern Force whose carriers had been spotted north of Luzon where they had been stationed in the hope of luring the 3d Fleet away from the beaches of Leyte.
However, a gallant little group of American destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers had fought off the overwhelmingly superior Japanese Center Force and induced it to abandon its plan of attacking the amphibious ships which were supporting the Allied beachheads on Leyte. Thus, when TG 34.5 returned within aircraft range of San Bernardino Strait, the chastened Japanese Center Force had already retreated back through that strategic passage to safety. In the days that followed the historic Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
, Uhlmann continued to screen TG 38.2 while its carriers conducted strikes on land targets, including raids on Luzon on the 29th and 30th. Shortly before noon on the 29th, as the carriers recovered aircraft from a strike against Japanese targets in the Manila area, Uhlmann left the formation to investigate what appeared to be the splash of a downed plane but was later determined to be a bomb splash. As the destroyer attempted to discover the cause of the splash, a Navy torpedo bomber from made a water landing
Water landing
A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course....
nearby, and Uhlmann quickly rescued the pilot and two crewmen. Meanwhile, an enemy attack had materialized, and the destroyer went to general quarters, increased her speed to 25 knots (46 km/h), and executed evasive maneuvers as she attempted to rejoin the formation. As she steamed to her assigned position, she joined in the general fire against the attackers—10 to 12 Japanese planes which made notably inaccurate high altitude bombing runs and retired after one or two of their members had been splashed by the American ships' accurate fire.
On 4 November, TF 38.2 began a high-speed approach for strikes on Luzon. For two days, carrier-based aircraft pounded Luzon and Bicol
Bicol Region
The Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City...
. Then, on the 7th, Uhlmann set her course for Ulithi. En route, heavy seas caused flooding in the boatswain
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
's stores and chain locker; and Uhlmann, accompanied by , left the formation and ran with the wind while damage-control measures were being effected. She arrived at Ulithi on the 9th, underwent repairs, and got underway again on the 16th. She rendezvoused with TG 38.2 the following day and took up an antisubmarine screening station. Following carrier strikes on Luzon on the 19th, Uhlmann returned to Ulithi on the 22d.
The destroyer conducted exercises out of Ulithi until 10 December when she got underway and rendezvoused with Task Force 38 on the 12th. On the 14th, 15th, and 16th, the carriers made strikes against air installations on Luzon and against shipping in water off that island to support landings on Mindoro
Mindoro
Mindoro 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:...
. Toward dusk on the 16th, the task force began its retirement. As the American warships fueled northeast of Samar on the 17th, weather conditions worsened. At 1330, Uhlmann abandoned fueling from due to rough seas and 26-knot (48 km/h) winds stirred up by an approaching typhoon. On the 18th, Uhlmann recorded 69-knot (128 km/h) winds, and rolls up to 58 degrees as the typhoon's center passed within 30 miles (50 km) of the formation. During the afternoon, winds decreased; and, by 2000, they had subsided to 25 knots (46 km/h). On the 19th and 20th, the ships of the battered task force resumed fueling which continued into the next day while its escorts searched for survivors of the three destroyers which had failed to survive the tropical storm. Late on the 20th, due to heavy seas, the carriers aborted a highspeed run in for strikes on Luzon; and Uhlmann returned to the storm area and searched for survivors. She made port at Ulithi on Christmas Eve.
1945
Underway again with TG 38.1 on the 30th, she screened the carriers during strikes on Taiwan and Luzon early in the new year and, an hour before midnight on 9 January 1945, transited Bashi ChannelBashi Channel
The Bashi Channel is a strait between the Y'Ami Island of the Philippines and Orchid Island of Taiwan. It is characterized by windy storms during the rainy period, June to December. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean....
into the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. The carriers launched strikes on French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, Taiwan, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
before retiring from the South China Sea on the 19th. Steaming 75 miles (120 km) north of Luzon at dusk the next day, the formation came under attack by enemy aircraft, and Uhlmann joined other ships of the formation in repelling raiders. Following strikes on Taiwan and Okinawa, TF 38 returned to Ulithi on the 26th. That day, the 3d Fleet was redesignated 5th Fleet and placed under the command of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Raymond A. Spruance
Raymond A. Spruance
Raymond Ames Spruance was a United States Navy admiral in World War II.Spruance commanded US naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea...
.
Following antisubmarine training, Uhlmann got underway from Ulithi with TG 58.2 on 10 February. During a Japanese air raid on the 16th, the first of two days of strikes on the Tokyo area, Uhlmann took under fire an enemy fighter which made a low-glide, diving attack on the ship's port beam and dropped a bomb 100 yards in the wake of destroyer . Neither destroyer suffered any damage in this exchange. On the 19th, Uhlmann screened TF 58 as it steamed north of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo 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...
launching strikes on that island in support of the initial landings there. On the 20th, mechanical difficulties in her steering mechanism forced Uhlmann to part company with the task force, and she put in at Ulithi on 23 February for repairs. Underway on 14 March, she rendezvoused with TG 58.2 on the 16th. On the 17th, the carriers began a highspeed run in for strikes on Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. While the planes of TP 58 pounded that Japanese homeland, Uhlmann protected the carriers from air and submarine attack. Air activity began early on the 18th; and Uhlmann, acting as linking vessel between TF 58 and its picket line, began firing on aerial snoopers before dawn. Shortly before 0700, she joined the picket line and, at 0956, rescued three Navy aviators from a torpedo bomber which had splashed nearby.
Throughout the dav and into the night, alerts prompted by Japanese surveillance planes brought the ship's crew to general quarters. Four minutes before midnight, Uhlmann opened fire on an enemy aircraft at 10,000 yards. The plane burst into flame and splashed 7,000 (6.4 km) yards off the destroyer's starboard quarter and burned brightly for several minutes. Air activity continued into the early hours of the 19th. Before dawn that day, Uhlmann joined in firing on a high-altitude Japanese raider which burst into flames and splashed. Fifty miles (80 km) off the eastern shore of Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
on the morning of the 19th, a Japanese plane dove toward the destroyer and, despite fire from the ship, dropped a small bomb which hit 50 feet (15 m) off the ship's starboard quarter. No further action occurred that day as Uhlmann, screening TG 58.2, proceeded southward to rejoin the rest of TF 58 southeast of Kyūshū.
Ships of the task force began refueling on the 20th but were forced to discontinue when an air attack developed in mid-afternoon. Uhlmann was transferring aviation personnel to at 1453 when a 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....
dove at carrier , missed, and crashed into Halsey Powell. Uhlmann fired on enemy dive bombers throughout the remainder of the afternoon, was hit by some shrapnel, but suffered no casualties. Air activity continued to be heavy as strikes on Japan continued on the 21st. During a surprise attack early in the afternoon, a bomb fell only 200 yards (183 m) from USS Cushing, and another bomb narrowly missed a carrier of the force. Ten minutes before midnight on the 22d, while Uhlmann steamed on picket station, she made a surface radar contact which was later identified as a Japanese submarine. In company with , she proceeded at high speed toward the submerging target and stood by while Haggard forced the unlucky enemy ship to the surface with depth charges. Haggard then rammed the submarine which exploded and sank. Uhlmann escorted the slightly damaged destroyer back to Ulithi where they arrived on the 25th.
She departed Ulithi on the 30th and set a northwesterly course. After weathering a typhoon on 2 April, she rendezvoused with TG 58.4 on the 5th and, toward dusk, began an approach for strikes on Okinawa. Following rendezvous with TF 58, she alternated radar picket and screening duties as the carrier-based planes pounded Okinawa.
In April, Japan began concentrated massed kamikaze attacks against American ships in the waters of the Ryukyus; and the carrier forces, despite their discreet distance from Okinawa, were not exempt from the attentions of the suicide planes. On the 12th, combat air patrol from the formation splashed three Mitsubishi Zeroes ("Zekes") within sight of Uhlmann as she stood her picket station 25 miles (40 km) north of TF 58. Two days later, snoopers and nuisance raiders kept the air patrol occupied in the afternoon and early evening.
On radar picket with TG 58.4 on the 17th, Uhlmann joined in fire that downed two enemy aircraft, one of which splashed near Benham (DD-796) causing minor damage to that ship. That night, Uhlmann added her depth charges to a combined attack which sent Japanese submarine 1-56 to the bottom. Late on the afternoon of the 29th, as enemy planes began closing from the northward, destroyer Haggard joined Uhlman to strengthen the picket station in the face of attack. Minutes before 1700, a Japanese fighter plane, taken under fire by Uhlmann, nosed over and dove toward Haggard. The crash and explosion of the suicide plane and its bomb tore a hole in Haggards starboard side, flooding her firerooms and number one engine room, and leaving her dead in the water. Meanwhile a second "Zeke" began a run in. Uhlmann splashed the attacker close aboard Haggard and rescued two of the damaged destroyer's crew from the water. Uhlmann then requested assistance from the task group which responded with a combat air patrol of two divisions. An hour later, light cruiser and Destroyer Division 104 came to the aid of the stricken destroyer. Uhlmann escorted Haggard a short distance toward 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....
and returned to her picket duty the next day. She screened the carrier strike force until 11 May when she headed for the Caroline Islands. The ship arrived at Ulithi on the 14th.
Underway with TG 58.4 on the 24th, the destroyer returned to a strike launch area off Okinawa and resumed her picket duties. On the 28th, operational control of the task force was returned to the 3d Fleet and TG 58.4 became TG 38.4. Uhlmann continued patrolling picket station and screening the fast carriers until 13 June when she arrived at San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, Leyte, for replenishment and maintenance. On 1 July, she set a northerly course; and, throughout July, the carriers conducted strikes on targets in the Japanese islands to soften up this last stronghold of Japanese power for the projected invasion. On the 25th, Uhlmann joined specially formed TG 35.3 for an antishipping sweep across Kii Suido between Honshū and Shikoku. Two hours after midnight on this completely overcast night, Uhlmann bombarded a radio tower on the southern tip of Uwano Hanto while other ships of the group shelled nearby airfields.
Until the cessation of hostilities on 15 August, Uhlmann continued to operate with the carrier force as it launched strikes against Japan. On 23 August, she rendezvoused with TF 47—a combined British-American force—for temporary escort duty in connection with the occupation of Japan. She arrived in Sagami Wan on the 27th, and immediately manned a picket station. On the 30th, while acting as plane guard for , she rescued that carrier's landing signal officer who had jumped over the side in an attempt to rescue the pilot of a downed plane. That same day, the destroyer anchored in Sagami Wan, ending 61 days of continuous operation and, on the 31st, shifted anchorages to Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
.
Her occupation duties included mail, freight, and passenger runs between Iwo Jima and Japanese ports. Late in October, she participated in training exercises; then, on the 31st, departed Yokosuka, steamed via Pearl Harbor, and arrived at Bremerton late in November. Following alterations, she got underway on 20 April 1946 and arrived at San Diego on the 24th. There, on 14 June 1946, she was decommissioned and placed in reserve. On 12 August, she was assigned to the Naval Reserve Training Program and underwent an overhaul at Terminal Island
Terminal Island
Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...
before reporting to the Commandant, llth Naval District, in November 1946.
Operating out of San Diego, she trained reserve crews until the end of the decade. On 23 May 1950, she was recommissioned, but remained in reserve and, that summer, made a southward voyage, visiting Central and South American ports. She returned to San Diego in July and, on 18 November, was assigned active status.
Korean War
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...
n waters. Assigned to TF 77—the fast carrier force operating in the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
—Uhlmann resumed the screening and plane guard duties which had occupied much of her time in World War II. She later joined TF 95, a blockade and escort force, and carried out day and night bombardment of the Korean coast. While conducting a routine observation patrol off Wonsan Harbor's Hodo Peninsula on the morning of 20 August, the destroyer came under fire from seven enemy shore batteries. Gun flashes on the beach provided a warning only moments before shells began to fall 1,000 yards (914 m) from the destroyer. All hands went quickly to battle stations as Uhlmann commenced evasive maneuvers, increased to flank speed, and opened fire on the shore installations. In short order, she reduced the enemy on shore to two guns, while she steamed among near misses, some of which came as close as 15 yards (14 m). Fragments from the shell explosions carried away a radio antenna during the half hour engagement. Ordered by TG 95.2 to break off the action, Uhlmann withdrew out of range of the shore batteries.
In the fall, she patrolled Taiwanese waters and participated in hunter-killer antisubmarine training off Okinawa. In November, she rejoined TF 77 and, operating in the Sea of Japan, rescued several pilots before leaving Yokosuka on 22 January 1952.
She returned to San Diego on 6 February and, in the months that followed, underwent drydocking and alterations which included the installation of new armament. She conducted exercises; then departed San Diego on 11 August 1952 in company with Destroyer Division 152, escorting and to the Far East.
During this seven-month Korean deployment, Uhlmann operated with fast carrier forces, conducted hunter-killer activities, and patrolled off Taiwan. She also conducted shore bombardment which destroyed enemy gun emplacements, a factory, and storage facilities, while damaging buildings, bunkers, and railways. On the morning of 3 November, as she was firing interdiction rounds on a railroad and tunnel on the east coast of North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
near Hangwon, the destroyer was taken under fire by shore guns, mortars, and machine guns. Brought to alert by shell splashes only 100 yards (91 m) off her port bow, Uhlmann accelerated to 25 knots (46 km/h), began evasive maneuvers, and opened fire with her 3 inch (76 mm) and 5 inch (127 mm) guns. She scored a direct hit on an enemy gun emplacement and suffered only minor damages in the exchange. However, she emerged from the encounter with 13 wounded. After putting in at Hong Kong over Christmas, she departed Yokosuka on 3 March 1953, steamed via Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
and Pearl Harbor, and arrived at San Diego on 19 March 1953.
1953-1958
Following exercises off the west coast, Uhlmann was again deployed to the western Pacific. She proceeded via the Hawaiian Islands, and she arrived at Yokosuka on 20 November 1953. During this seven-month tour, the destroyer plied waters off Japan and Korea and engaged in training and operations out of Yokosuka and Sasebo with TF 77. In February 1954, Uhlmann joined with elements of the French and British Far Eastern Fleets for Exercise "Sonata" which included extensive antisubmarine warfare training and visits to Philippine and IndochinaIndochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
ports. During March, she embarked personnel of the Nationalist Chinese Navy for training.
While patrolling 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...
in the first week of March, she assisted the grounded Chinese Nationalist merchant ship Kiang Shan which was stranded on an island in the Pescadores. In the course of a daring rescue of crewmen from the Chinese steamer, Uhlmann lost her whaleboat and bent her propellers, shafts, and rudder on reefs in the shallow water. After the successful completion of her mission, she put in at Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
on the 5th. To prevent vibration damage to her reduction gears, she was towed from that port on the llth and, on 14 March, arrived at Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
for repairs. On her return to San Diego, she resumed the stateside routine of upkeep and training.
Over the net 15 years, Uhlmann made 11 more deployments to the western Pacific (WestPac). On deployment to the Far East in 1954 with Destroyer Division 152, she took part in the evacuation of the Tachen Islands—located off Hangchou Wan—in the American attempt to defuse the explosive situation which had developed between Nationalist China and the People's Republic of China. In 1958, during a period of heightened tension over the Chinese offshore islands, the destroyer again supported American interests in the Far East. Between deployments, Uhlmann operated out of San Diego, participating in fleet exercises, receiving upkeep, and performing goodwill assignments.
Vietnam War
In the 1960s, trouble flared in the area formerly known as French Indochina; and Uhlmann served three more wartime tours in Pacific waters, this time off the coast of VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Her duties included gunfire support of land action, often coordinated by an airborne spotter, illumination missions, and routine bombardment assignments. Off Vietnam in 1965, she searched junks for contraband; supplied shore bombardment; and served as a plane guard for carrier . In 1968, a year of heavy fighting in the Republic of Vietnam, Uhlmann acted as a plane guard in the Gulf of Tonkin
Gulf of Tonkin
The Gulf of Tonkin is an arm of the South China Sea, lying off the coast of northeastern Vietnam.-Etymology:The name Tonkin, written "東京" in Hán tự and Đông Kinh in romanised Vietnamese, means "Eastern Capital", and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam...
and fired 50 naval gunfire support missions off Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
.
In 1969, she participated in fleet exercises in Hawaiian waters; then, on 1 October, she returned to the west coast and assumed new duties as a Group I Naval Reserve Training Ship operating out of Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
. For the next three years, she conducted reserve training cruises out of that port and participated in fleet exercises. During Exercise "Head Beagle" in August 1970, she conducted intensive training in the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
and off the coast of Washington in conjunction with Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
naval forces.
Decommissioning
The oldest commissioned destroyer in the Navy, she was found unfit for service on 24 November 1971; and, on 15 July 1972, Uhlmann, the Navy's last Fletcher-class destroyer, was decommissioned at the Naval Reserve Center Pier, Tacoma. Her name was struck from the Navy List the same day, and she was transferred to the custody of the Inactive Ship Facility, Bremerton, for disposal. She was later scrapped.Awards
Uhlmann received seven battle stars for World War II service, two for Korean WarKorean 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, and five for 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.