USS Johnston (DD-557)
USS Johnston
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | Johnston |
| Namesake: | John V. Johnston |
| Builder: | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down: | 6 May 1942 |
| Launched: | 25 March 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 27 October 1943 |
| Honors and awards: |
Presidential Unit Citation, 6 Battle Stars |
| Fate: | Sunk 25 October 1944, Battle off Samar |
| Status: | Wreck |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Fletcher-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2,700 long tons (2,700 t) |
| Length: | 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m) |
| Beam: | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
| Draft: | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
| Installed power: | 60,000 shp (45,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,500 nmi (7,500 mi; 12,000 km) @ 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 273 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Notes: | Equipped with Mark 1A fire control computer |
USS Johnston (DD-557) was a World War II-era Fletcher-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy. She was the first Navy ship named after Lieutenant John V. Johnston. The ship was most famous for her bold action in the Battle off Samar. The small "tincan" destroyer, armed with nothing larger than 5 inch (127mm) guns and torpedoes, would lead the attack of a handful of light ships which had inadvertently been left unprotected in the path of a massive Japanese fleet led by battleships and cruisers. The sacrifices of Johnston and her little escort carrier task unit "Taffy 3" helped stop Admiral Kurita's Center Force from attacking vulnerable U.S. landing forces, and eventually inflicted greater losses to the Japanese attackers than they suffered.
Johnston was laid down on 6 May 1942 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp., Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 25 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Marie S. Klinger, great-niece of her namesake, and was commissioned on 27 October 1943, Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans in command.
The day Johnston was commissioned, Cmdr. Evans made a speech to the crew, quoting a phrase attributed to John Paul Jones: "This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now."
During the Marshall Islands campaign, Johnston bombarded the beaches at Kwajalein on 1 February 1944, and made a five-day bombardment of Eniwetok from 17–22 February. She gave direct support to invasion troops there, destroying several pillboxes and taking revetments along the beach under fire.
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