USS Abner Read (DD-526)
USS Abner Read (DD-526) July 1943
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | Abner Read |
| Namesake: | Abner Read |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California |
| Laid down: | 30 October 1941 |
| Launched: | 18 August 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 5 February 1943 |
| Fate: | Sunk by kamikaze, 1 November 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Fletcher-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2,050 tons |
| Length: | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
| Beam: | 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m) |
| Draft: | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Propulsion: | 60,000 shp (45,000 kW); 2 propellers |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range: | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 336 |
| Armament: |
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USS Abner Read (DD-526) was a Fletcher-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, named after Lieutenant Commander Abner Read.
She was laid down on 30 October 1941 at San Francisco by Bethlehem Steel and launched on 18 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. John W. Gates. The ship was commissioned on 5 February 1943 with Commander T. Burrowes in command.
The destroyer held shakedown along the California coast into April and then got underway with Task Group (TG) 51.2, bound for the Aleutian Islands. She assumed patrol duties on 4 May and, on 11 May, shelled targets on Attu Island supporting soldiers of the United States Army's 7th Division who landed and were assaulting that island. The destroyer again bombarded Attu on 16 May before returning to San Diego, which she reached on the last day of May.
After two weeks in drydock at San Francisco, Abner Read got underway on 14 June for Adak, Alaska. Upon her arrival there, she joined Task Force (TF) 16 and, soon thereafter, began patrolling the waters around Kiska Island. On 22 July, as part of Task Group (TG) 16.22, she took part in a heavy bombardment of Kiska. Between 12 and 15 August, the destroyer again shelled Kiska in support of landing operations on that island. On 17 August, American forces discovered that Japan had removed its forces from the island. While she was patrolling off Kiska that night, Abner Read was shaken by an explosion aft at 0150. The exact cause of the blast was unknown, and it was later thought that the destroyer had struck a mine. The concussion tore a huge hole in her stern and ruptured her smoke tanks. Men sleeping in aft compartments suffered from smoke inhalation. In the darkness, a few men fell through holes in the deck into fuel oil tanks below. Soon the stern broke away and sank. Once in the water, the men recovered from the effects of the smoke and could breathe. Abner Read was taken under tow by Ute at 0355 and was pulled to Adak for temporary repairs. The destroyer lost 70 men who were killed or missing, and another 47 were wounded.
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