USS O'Bannon (DD-450)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | O'Bannon |
| Namesake: | First lieutenant Presley O'Bannon |
| Builder: | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down: | 3 March 1941 |
| Launched: | 19 February 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 26 June 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 January 1970 |
| Struck: | 30 January 1970 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 6 June 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Fletcher-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 2,050 tons |
| Length: | 376 ft 6 in (114.7 m) |
| Beam: | 39 ft 8 in (12.1 m) |
| Draft: | 17 ft 9 in (5.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | 60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h) |
| Range: | 6500 nmi. (12,000 km) @ 15 kt |
| Complement: | 329 |
| Armament: |
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USS O'Bannon (DD/DDE-450), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon (1784–1850), the Marine Corps's "hero of Derna".
O'Bannon was laid down by Bath Iron Works Corp. in Bath, Maine on 3 March 1941, and launched 19 February 1942, sponsored by Mrs. E. F. Kennedy, descendant of Lieutenant O'Bannon. O'Bannon and her sister ship Nicholas (DD-449) were the first two Fletchers to be launched. O'Bannon was commissioned at Boston on 26 June 1942, Commander Edwin R. Wilkinson in command.
O'Bannon was the US Navy's most decorated destroyer during World War II, earning 17 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation.
O'Bannon briefly trained for war in the Caribbean and sailed from Boston on 29 August 1942 for the Southwest Pacific, where the long and arduous Guadalcanal campaign had just begun. For over a year, the Navy—stretched thin to cover its worldwide commitments at a period when new ships were just beginning to join the fleet in any number—was to fight and fight again in the Solomon Islands in one of the most bitterly contested campaigns of history, wresting air and sea control from the Japanese and providing the Marine Corps and the Army with every possible support as they gained ground inch by inch on the myriad islands. Assigned the Destroyer Squadron 21 (DesRon 21), O'Bannon played a valiant part in these endeavors, winning a Presidential Unit Citation.
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