NNS020814-09 Fast Ships in Harm's Way: 100 Years of 'Tin Cans' (Part 1 of a 3 part series)
By Chief Journalist Bill Johnson-Miles
(This is part one of a three part series commemorating the 100th anniversary of destroyers in the U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The history of the destroyer is the story of rugged Sailors and their gallant ships in foaming seas making haste to go in harm's way. But the story isn't just about these "Greyhounds of the Sea," it's also about the "Tin Can" Sailors who have manned destroyers for a hundred years.
"Throughout the years, destroyermen have been a proud breed," said retired Adm. Arleigh Burke in the 1962 book "Destroyer -- 60 Years." "They have achieved distinction and the respect of their fellow Sailors through their performance and their ability to do anything asked of them. No task has been too difficult for them to tackle. They have plunged into each new requirement with the zest of an arduous and dedicated advocate. Through a combination of such advocacy, enthusiasm, hard work, and ability, destroyermen have carried on the tradition of seafaring men that has been a characteristic of Americans since the inception of this great nation."
Burke, who passed away in 1996, was Chief of Naval Operations, but he is probably better known as the commodore of the "Little Beavers," the eight ships of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23, which "fought their tails off" in the Solomons campaign during World War II.
In November 1943, from the bridge of his flagship USS Charles Ausburne (DD 570), Burke led several successful attacks against many Japanese warships. During that one month, the ships of DESRON 23 sank one enemy cruiser, nine destroyers, one submarine and several small vessels, and shot down 30 planes. For nine months they battled their way up the Solomons leaving a trail of destruction.
Achievements like this fill the U.S. Navy's destroyer history books, a history that began in 1902 with the commissioning of 11 torpedo boat destroyers. The first of these ships to be commissioned was USS Decatur (Torpedo-Boat Destroyer No. 5), on May 19, but the honor of being the first American destroyer is usually given to USS Bainbridge (Torpedo-Boat Destroyer No. 1), which the Navy commissioned on Nov. 24. By the end of 1911 there were 36 destroyers in the fleet, and by World War I there would be many more.
Within a month after the U.S. entered World War I, six destroyers rushed from Boston to Queenstown, Ireland, to help the British stop the German U-boats (submarines). They arrived on May 4, 1917, and immediately Vice Adm. Sir Lewis Bayly of the Royal Navy, thinking the Americans may need days or even weeks in which to train or perhaps put their ships through overhaul, asked the dreaded question, "How soon will you be ready to go out on patrol?"
The commander of the U.S. destroyers, Cmdr. J.K. Taussig, gave the historic reply, "We are ready now, sir!"
The six destroyers immediately went on patrol, and before the war ended, the U.S. destroyer force in European waters expanded to 80 ships. They did an outstanding job, tangling with U-boats in 250 actions while only losing one destroyer, USS Jacob Jones (DD 61), and 64 members of the ship's crew. Destroyers also guarded the transatlantic crossings of two million men, without the loss of a single life or a single transport ship.
(Part 2 of this series will highlight the role destroyers played in World War II and more recent conflicts.)
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