USS Monssen (DD-424)

USS Monssen (DD-424) was a Gleaves class destroyer that took part in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, the invasion of Guadalcanal and the battle of the Eastern Solomons before being sunk during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

The Monssen was named after Mons Monssen, who won the Medal of Honor for his actions after a fire broke out in a magazine on USS Missouri in 1904, killing 18 men. He entered the burning magazine and threw water on the fire before a hose reached him, helping to put out the fire and prevent further deaths.

USS Monssen (DD-436) passing mail to USS Enterprise (CV-6)

The Monssen (DD‑436) was laid down on 12 July 1939 by the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Wash., launched 16 May 1940 when she was sponsored by Mrs. Mons Monssen, widow of Lieutenant Monssen, and commissioned on 14 March 1941.

The Monssen was originally classified as a Livermore class ship, but became a Gleaves class ship when the two classes were merged because the two Gleaves class ships were given the same more powerful engines as the Livermore class.

She was photographed off the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 7 and 16 May 1941.

Amidships view of USS Monssen (DD-436)

After her shakedown cruise the Monssen joined Destroyer Division 22 of the Atlantic Fleet on 27 June 1941. She spent the next five months as part of the neutrality patrol operating in the north-western Atlantic, reaching as far east as Iceland.

In 25 August the Monssen, Kearny and Savannah escorted the Wasp to sea from the Hampton Roads. Over the next few days she carried out flight operations. Rumours onboard suggested they were searching for a German heavy cruiser, the Admiral Hipper, and they did spot HMS Rodney on 30 August. However at the time the Admiral Hipper was in Norwegian waters. The patrol ended at Trinidad on 2 September.

On 19 October she was photographed at Reykjavik, Iceland, supporting the Kearny, two days after that destroyer had been hit and damaged by a German torpedo.

1942

On 9 February 1942 the Monssen entered the Boston Navy Yard for an overhaul to prepare her for a move to the Pacific Fleet. She left the East Coast with a force built around the Hornet, Vincennes (CA-44) and Nashville (CL-43). On 11 March this force passed through the Panana Canal and it reached San Francisco on 31 March.

On 2 April the fleet, now designated as TF 16, left San Francisco at the start of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. The Monssen formed part of the screen for the Hornet. On 18 April the fleet was potentially spotted by Japanese boats, and the B-25s launched early, adding 168 miles to their flight. With the aircraft off, the naval task force returned to Pearl Harbor.

Bridge structure of USS Monssen (DD-436)

On 30 April the Monssen left Pearl Harbor with the Hornet’s task force in an attempt to join the Yorktown (CV-5) and Lexington (CV-2) in time to take part in the battle of the Coral Sea. However they arrived after the battle was over, and returned to Pearl Harbor on 26 May.

This would be a very brief visit, as the task force saied again on 28 May, this time heading for Midway, where the Americans would sink four Japanese carriers and end the period of Japanese dominance in the Pacific. During the battle the Monssen and Dewey (DD-349) screened the oilers Cimarron and Platte and thus missed the battle (and weren’t awarded battle stars for Midway).

She fired some of the first naval shots of the battle of Guadalcanal on 7 August, aimed at a hill on Florida Island, west of Tulagi, between 0727 and 0732 on 7 August. At 0800 she was part of the first support group when the Marines landed on Tulagi.

On 7-8 August the Monssen and Buchanan (DD-484) circled Gavutu and Tanambago Islands, providing fire support to the 2nd Marine Regiment.  On the evening of 8 August she was used to support troops on Makambo Island. On the night of 8-9 August she joined the screen of the San Juan, guarding the eastern approaches to Sealark, Lengo and Nggela Channels.

The Monssen was present for the Battle of the Eastern Solomons (24-25 August 1942), which saw a Japanese attempt to get reinforcements onto the island fail. On 24 August she was part of the anti-aircraft screen for the North Carolina and claimed one victory when that group came under air attack. On 25 August she supported the Grayson and Patterson during an attack on a suspected Japanese submarine.

On 28 August the Saratoga was torpedoed by I-26, and had to return to Tonga. The Monssen was part of her escort on this journey. She was back at Guadalcanal on 18 September.

On 27 September she was selected to provide fire support for three companies from the 7th Marines who were meant to be carrying out a landing behind Japanese lines to the west of the US position on Guadalcanal. However the Marines landed in the middle of a strongly held Japanese position, while the Monssen was driven out to sea by an air attack. The Marines suffered very heavy losses – 60 killed and over 100 wounded. Their radio was destroyed, and in the end they were only able to summon help by spelling out ‘Help’ in white T-shirts. Lt Colonel ‘Chesty’ Puller, commander of the 7th Marines came onboard the Monssen and she escorted nine Higgins landing craft to the beach to evacuate the Marines. She then provided fire support to help the landing craft reach the trapped Marines.

Aft guns of USS Monssen (DD-436)

Late on 29 September the transport ship Alhena was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-16 while on her way back from Guadalcanal to Espiritu Santo. She was left drifting. On 1 Octobe the Monssen reached her, and took her in tow. On 2 October she was replaced by the Navajo (AT-64), and the damaged transport reached Espiritu Santo on 7 October.

On 8 November the Monssen left Noumea as part of TG 67.4, under Rear Admiral Callaghan, to escort transports carrying reinforcements to Guadalcanal. They arrived off Lunga Point on 12 November, joining a second fleet under Rear Admiral Scott that had arrived on the previous day. As the transports were being unloaded Japanese aircraft attacked, and one knocked out the Monssen’s fire control radar. The combined fleet escorted the transport ships on the first stage of their trip back to safety, then returned to Guadalcanal to intercept a Japanese fleet that was approaching from Truk. This force, under Rear Admiral Abe, was escorting eleven transport ships and included two battleships which were to bombard Henderson Field. Just after 0140 on 13 November the Americans spotted the Japanese, in the gap between Guadalcanal and Savo Island. The resulting fighting was part of the complex Naval battle of Guadalcanal.

When the Guadalcanal began the Americans were arranged in a single long line. The Monssen was  second from the rear, with only the Fletcher behind her. The Americans ended up right in the  middle of the Japanese formation, so Admiral Callaghan ordered odd ships in the line to fire to starboard and even ships to port, to make sure that as many Japanese ships as possible were targeted. The Monssen fired five torpedoes at the battleship Hiei, but they all missed. She then fired five more torpedoes at a destroyer off her starboard side, while firing her guns at a destroyer about a quarter of a mile off her port bow. She was then illuminated by star shells, which her commander, Lt Commander Charles E. McCombs believed came from an American ship. He ordered his recognition lights to be flicked on, but this just exposed her to Japanese gunfire. She was rapidly hit by 37 hits from several different Japanese ships, including three 14in shells. She was set on fire and immobilized. At about 2.20am the order was given to abandon ship. At daybreak she was still afloat and still burning. A party made up of C. C. Storey, BM2c, L. F. Sturgeon, GM2c, and J. G. Hughes, F1c managed to get back onboard and rescued eight survivors, although three of them later died. The ship remained afloat until the early afternoon when she finally sank. She suffered very heavy casualities with 145 men killed and 37 wounded.

Monssen was awarded four battle stars for World War II service, for the Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings, capture and defense of Guadalcanal, the battle of the Eastern Solomons and the naval battle of Guadalcanal. Anyone who served on her between 22 September and 7 Decemebr 1941 qualified for the American Defense Service Medal.

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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