USS Hobson (DD-464)

USS Hobson (DD-464) was a Gleaves class destroyer that took part in Operation Torch, served with the British Home Fleet, helped sink U-575, took part in the D-Day invasion and the invasion of the South of France, and was damaged by a kamikaze attack off Okinawa. She sank after colliding with the Wasp in 1952.

The Hobson was named after Richmond Pearson Hobson, who served in the US Navy during the Spanish-American War, then became a member of Congress.

The Hobson was laid down at the Charleston Navy Yard, launched on 8 September 1941 when she was sponsored by Hobson’s widow, and commissioned on 22 January 1942.

USS Hobson (DD-464) at Charleston, 4 March 1942

The Hobson was originally classified as a Bristol class ship, which were built with four 5in guns instead of the five installed on the Livermore/ Gleaves class. However after the fifth gun was removed from the those ships all of the Bristol class ships joined the Livermore/ Gleaves class.

After her shakedown cruise the Hobson joined a task force built around the carrier Ranger. On 1 July this force left Norfolk heading to Africa, carrying a cargo of 72 USAAF P-40s. The carrier got close enough to Africa for the fighters to be flown to shore, then returned to the US on 5 August.

After this early venture the Hobson spent most of the rest of August and September training.

On 23-25 August she helped escort the Augusta and Ranger from Chesapeake Bay to Newport.

From 10-12 October the Hobson escorted the Cleveland from Norfolk to Bermuda, to join the naval forces gathering for Operation Torch.

The Hobson joined the Center Attack Group and was part of the screen of the Ranger. The group left Bermuda on 25 October and reached Fedhala on 8 November. The Hobson screened the Ranger until 11 November, when she departed for Norfolk.

On 27 November she reached Norfolk, then almost immediately departed for New York with the Corry, Merrimac (AO-37) and Trippe (DD-403). On 28 November Hobson and Corry were detached from the convoy and sent to Boston, arriving on 29 November.

On 11 December the Hobson, Corry and Maddox (DD-622) departed for Casco Bay as part of the screen of the Massachusetts (BB-59). The three destroyers carried out anti-submarine exercises and firing drills, before returning to Norfolk.

In December she also escorted a convoy to the Canal Zone.

1943

In January 1943 the Hobson joined an anti-submarine hunter-killer group built around the Ranger.  On 8 January this group sailed on a patrol of the western Atlantic. On 2 March she rescued some of the survivors from SS St. Margaret, sunk off Bermuda.

Shell cases on USS Hobson (DD-464) after Utah Beach

In April the Hobson and Ranger moved to Argentia. The Ranger was used to provide air cover for convoys and on anti-submarine patrols, with the Hobson in her screen. In July 1943 the group helped escort HMS Queen Mary as she carried Churchill to the Quebec Conference.

On 27 July the Hobson arrived at Boston to prepare for service with the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow. Hobson, Ranger and other ships departed on 5 August and arrived on 19 August. For the next few months the Hobson `took part in British operations, largely in the waters around Norway.

On 21 September she was inspected by Secretary of the Navy Knox and Admiral Stark.

On 2-4 October she screened the Ranger during Operation Leader, a carrier attack on German shiping at Bodo, Norway.

In November the Hobson screened HMS Formidable during flight operations and escorted two convoys to Boston.

On 3 December she returned to Boston.

1944

During January and February 1944 the Hobson trained in Chesapeake Bay and supported aircraft carriers on their shakedown cruises and training exercises in the area between the East Coast and Bermuda.

On 15 January the Hobson, Corry and Forrest (DD-461) left Norfolk to escort the new carrier Hornet (CV-12) on her shakedown cruise near Bermuda.

On 26 February the Hobson left Norfolk as part of the hunter-killer group built around the escort carrier Bogue (CVE-9).

On 13 March the destroyers in the group spotted an oil slick. They made sonar contact, and carried out a series of depth charge attacks on U-575, a weather-reporting U-boat. The U-boat was badly damaged and forced to surface, and was sunk by gunfire from the Hobson and the rest of the Bogue’s escort group.

The Hobson returned to Boston on 2 April to prepare to support the D-Day landings. She departed for Britain on 21 April, and spent the next month patrolling off Northern Ireland. She arrived at Plymouth on 21 May to join the invasion forces.

The Hobson was assigned to the Utah Beach Assault Group, commanded by Rear Admiral Moon. This force left Plymouth on the afternoon of 5 June, and arrived off Utah Beech early on 6 June. The Hobson took part in the pre-invasion shore bombardment. Early in the attack the Corry struck a mine and sank. Her crew spend almost two hours in the water, in the battle of the battle, until the Hobson and Fitch began rescue operations at around 0830. The Hobson continued to provide fire support until the afternoon of D-Day when she returned to Plymouth.

On 8 June the Hobson returned to Normandy to screen the assault area. On 9-11 June she was used to jam glider bomb radio control frequencies. She was also used to protect cross-channel convoys.

The destroyer was not long out of the fray, however, returning 8 June to screen the assault area. She also jammed gilder bomb radio frequencies 9-11 June and provided channel convoy protection.

On 25 June she took part in a massive naval bombardment of Cherbourg, forming part of Battle Group 2, with the task of attacking Marine-Kusten-Batterie Hamburg, six miles to the east of Cherbourg itself. During the attack the Hobsonialso screened Texas and Arkansas and towards the end of the raid helped lay a smoke screen to help the fleet retire.

After this bombardment the Hobson moved back to Northern Ireland, where she joined TG 120.6. At the start of July this group departed for the Mediterranean to take part in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the South of France.

She reached Mers el Kebir in Algeria on 11 July. For the next month she escorted convoys moving to and from Taranto in Italy.

On 11 August she left Taranto as part of Rear Admiral Rodger’s Delta Assault Force, to take part in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the South of France. Early on D-Day for Dragoon, 15 August, she acted as a spotter for the battleship Nevada. She then provided direct fire support during the landings. She remained in the area until the evening of 16 August, and returned to Palermo on 17 August to start a spell of convoy escorty duty in the Mediterranean, operating on the routes between Algeria, Italy and France.

She departed for the US on 25 October and reached Charleston on 10 November. There she was converted into a destroyer-minesweeper, and on 15 November was reclassified as DMS-26.

1945

On 4 January 1945 the Hobson departed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor on 11 February. She departed for Eniwetok on 24 February to join the forces gathering to invasion Okinawa.

On 19 March she sailed with the minesweeping group, which reached Okinawa well before the actual invasion to sweep the approach routes.

On 1 April, the day of the invasion, she was used on patrol duties and for night illumination, using her searchlights to support the fighting on land. On 13 April she joined the radar picket, taking over the station of the Mannert L. Abele, which had just been sunk. This was a dangerous duty, putting her in the front line against the kamikaze threat.

On 16 April the Hobson, Pringle (DD-477) and LMS-191 were posted at Radar pIcket Station No.14, to the north-west of Okinawa. At 0910 three Val kamikazes attacked them. Two were shot down, but the third hit the Pringle, which broke in half and sank in five minutes. Two minutes later another kamikaze attacked the Hobson. The aircraft was destroyed by a hit from a 5in shell, but its bomb continued on and hit the deck house, where it exploded, destroying a number of workshops, blowing a hole in the deck over the forward fireroom and knocking out steam and power lines. Two more attacks were shot down. Damage control parties soon had the situation under control, and the Hobson was able to rescue 136 of the 258 survivors from the Pringle. The Hobson lost four dead and eight wounded in the attack.

After the attack she returned to Ulithi on 29 April, then Pearl Harbor on 16 May. From there she moved to San Diego, reaching Norfolk Naval Yard on 16 June 1945. She was still undergoing repairs when the Japanese surrendered.

Postwar

The Hobson remained in service after the end of the war. In February 1946 she took part in minesweeping operations from Yorktown then spent the rest of the year training or on exercises off Norfolk and in the Caribbean. From then until 1950 she operated off the East Coast and in the Caribbean, mainly on amphibious and mine warfare training missions. In 1948 she visited Argentia and Halifax to operation with Canadian warships.

After the outbreak of the Korean War the Hobson took part in amphibious exercises off North Carolina and Puerto Rico, and was used to support carrier operations as a plane guard and part of their screen.

Collision damage to USS Wasp (CV-18), 1952

On the night of 26 April 1952 the Hobson was supporting the Wasp during carrier operations 700 miles to the west of the Azores. The Wasp had launched its aircraft to carry out a mock attack on the rest of its naval task group, which was fifty miles to the south of the Wasp, Hobson and Rodman (DMS-21). At 2210 the Commanding Officer of the Wasp sent a message to the two destroyers informing them of his planned change of course and speed to collect the returning aircraft. The Hobson had to change position in response and its new commanding officer, Lt Commander William J. Tierney decided to turn left, potentially cutting in front of the carrier, as that would be quicker than the alternative, turning right and slowing to fall behind the carrier then moving up the opposite side to the new position. The Officer of the Deck strongly objected to this plan, but was overruled. When the Wasp turned to the right as planned, the Hobson turned right and speed up to get into position, then turned left at 2223. Tierney then realised he was about to cut in front of the carrier, going from starboard to port, and attempted a sharp left turn to avoid the collision. The Captain of the Wasp ordered the engines to ‘back emergency full speed’. Neither measure was enough, and just after 2225 the Wasp hit the Hobson amidships and broke almost two thirds of the way through. She split in two. The stern sank immediately, although fortu men managed to escape. The forward part was kept afloat a little longer after getting caught up in the Wasp. There were only 61 survivors from the Hobson, not including Captain Tierney.

Hobson received six battle stars for World War II service, for North Africa, the Norway raid of October 1943, sinking U-575, Normandy, the South of France and Okinawa. She also shared the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the Bogue anti-submarine task group.

U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Norman Friedmann . The standard history of the development of American destroyers, from the earliest torpedo boat destroyers to the post-war fleet, and covering the massive classes of destroyers built for both World Wars. Gives the reader a good understanding of the debates that surrounded each class of destroyer and led to their individual features.

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