USS Niblack (DD-424)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | Niblack |
| Namesake: | Albert Parker Niblack |
| Builder: | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down: | 8 August 1938 |
| Launched: | 18 May 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 1 August 1940 |
| Decommissioned: | June 1946 |
| Struck: | 31 July 1968 |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Gleaves-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,630 tons |
| Length: | 348 ft 3 in (106.15 m) |
| Beam: | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
| Draft: | 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 37.4 knots (69 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement: | 16 officers, 260 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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USS Niblack (DD-424), a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Albert Parker Niblack. Niblack became the Director of Naval Intelligence 1 March 1919, and Naval Attache in London 6 August 1920. As Vice Admiral, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces in European waters 15 January 1921 to 17 June 1922.
Niblack was laid down 8 August 1938 by the Bath Iron Works Corp. Bath, Maine; launched 18 May 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Albert P. Niblack, widow of Vice Admiral Niblack; and commissioned 1 August 1940, Lieutenant Commander E. R. Durgin in command. On 10 April 1941 Niblack dropped depth charges aimed at a German U-boat, the first hostile action between American and German forces during the Second World War.
After shakedown and training in the Caribbean, Niblack made her first convoy trip to NS Argentia, Newfoundland. In July 1940 she escorted the task force which landed the American occupation troops in Iceland. However, before the actual landings, Niblack made preliminary reconnaissance. On 10 April 1941, as she was nearing the coast, the ship picked up three boatloads of survivors from a torpedoed merchantman. When a submarine was detected preparing to attack, the division commander, Denis L. Ryan, ordered a depth charge attack which drove off the U-boat. This bloodless battle apparently was the first action between American and German forces in World War II. On 1 July 1941, Niblack sailed from Argentia with the occupation force, arriving on 7 July.
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