USS Claxton (DD-571)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | USS Claxton |
| Namesake: | Thomas Claxton |
| Builder: | Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas |
| Laid down: | 25 June 1941 |
| Launched: | 1 April 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 8 December 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 April 1946 |
| Struck: | 1 October 1974 |
| Identification: | DD-571 |
| Fate: | Transferred to West German Navy, 16 December 1959 |
 West Germany
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| Name: | Zerstörer 4 |
| Acquired: | 16 December 1959 |
| Struck: | 1981 |
| Identification: | D178 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Greece as spares donor ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Fletcher-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2,050 long tons (2,080 t) |
| 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 MW) ; 2 propellers |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range: | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement: | 329 |
| Armament: |
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USS Claxton (DD-571), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Thomas Claxton, born in Baltimore, Maryland.
Claxton was launched 1 April 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. A. D. Bernhard; and commissioned 8 December 1942, Commander Herald F. Stout in command.
In March 1943 Claxton patrolled briefly in Casco Bay, Maine, awaiting the possible sortie of German battleship Tirpitz from Norwegian waters. After one convoy escort assignment to Casablanca, she sailed from Charleston, South Carolina, 17 May to join the Pacific Fleet.
After training at Nouméa and Espiritu Santo from 12 June 1943, Claxton covered the landings at Rendova between 27 June and 25 July, then joined Destroyer Squadron 23 for a period of operations which were recognized with the Presidential Unit Citation. In the struggle for the Solomons, Claxton and her squadron patrolled to intercept enemy shipping, protected the passage of American troops and shipping, bombarded enemy bases, covered landings, and engaged Japanese surface and air forces.
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