USS Gherardi (DD-637/ DMS-30)

USS Gherardi (DD-637) was a Gleaves class destroyer that carried out convoy escort duties, and supported the invasion of Sicily, the D-Day landings, the invasion of the South of France, the invasion of Okinawa and the last naval operations against Japan, before remaining in the post-war Navy for a decade.

USS Gherardi (DD-637) and USS Butler (DD-636) ready to launch

The Gherardi was named after Bancroft Gherardi, who served in the US Navy during the Mexican War and the Civil War, and retired with the rank of Rear Admiral in 1894.

The Gherardi was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, alongside the Butler (DD-636). Both ships were launched on 12 February 1942, when the Gherardi was sponsored by Rear Admiral Gherardi’s grand-daughter, Mrs Neville Gherardi Robinson. She was commissioned on 15 September 1942.

The Gherardi 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 those ships all of the Bristol class ships joined the Livermore/ Gleaves class.

The Gherardi carried out her trials and shakedown training from Casco Bay, Maine and Newport, Rhode Island.

1943

On 1 January 1943 the Gherardi left Philadelphia, heading for Hampton Roads. On 4 January she left Hampton Roads as part of the escort of a convoy of oil tankers heading for Texas. They then returned to Norfolk. She also escorted convoys to Guantanamo Bay before returning to New York on 7 February.

On 15 February she left New York on the first of ten trans-Atlantic convoy escort missions.

On 14 April she returned to New York from Casablanca.

In May she visited Newfoundland.

On 2 June she left Norfolk to take part in a series of exercises with seven other destroyers.

On 8 June she left Lynnhaven Roads, Virginia, and headed to the Mediterranean to join Admiral Hewitt’s Western Naval Task Force for the invasion of Sicily.

She supported the invasion of Sicily from 9-15 July, protecting the troop transports off Sicily. She was often the target of Axis air attack and suffered eleven near misses while claiming one aircraft shot down.

USS Gherardi (DD-637), underway in 1942

In late July and early August she took part in several offensive sweeps along the northern coast of Sicily and around Palermo. This saw her involved in her first surface action. Early on the night of 3-4 August Gherardi and Rhind ran into a German convoy of one MFP lighter escorted by two motor torpedo boats. The destroyers fired star shells, and then opened fire. After ten minutes the F-lighter, which was loaded with land mines, exploded, sinking one of her escorts. The survivor fired at least one torpedo.

In Mid-August the Gherardi departed to the United States, arriving at New York on 22 August. She then returned to convoy escort duties, escorting fast convoys heading to the United Kingdom, visiting Belfast, Londonderry and Swansea on different trips.

On 5 September she left New York as part of the escort of Convoy UT-2, which reached Belfast on 14 September.

On 21 September she left Belfast as part of the escort of Convoy TU-2, which passed through hurricane force winds before reaching New York on 1 October.

On 21 October she left New York as part of TF 69, the powerful escort of the mixed merchant and troop convoy UT-4. Early in the voyage the tanker Bulkoil hit the destroyer Murphy, slicing her in two. Her stern sank, but her bow remained afloat and was towed back to the US, where the ship was repaired. The rest of the convoy reached Belfast on 31 October.

On 7 November she left Belfast as part of the escort of convoy TU-4 which reached New York on 18 November.

On 5 December she joined the powerful escort of Convoy UT-5, which arrived at Lough Larne on 14 December 1943.  

1944

On 18 January 1944 she left New York to escort Convoy UT-7 to Northern Ireland, arriving on 28 January 1944. She then helped escort Convoy TU-7 back to New York, arriving on 13 February. This ended this spell of convoy escort duties.

After a period of intensive training from Casco Bay, Maine, on 23 March she joined Task Force 63, a scouting force of destroyers and destroyer escorts. This force reached Gibraltar on 1 April. On 6 April the Task Force left Gibraltar to escort Convoy GUS-35 back to New York, arriving on 22 April.

On 6 May the Gherardi left New York with a sizable force of US warships to head for Northern Ireland, ready to take part in the D-Day landings. They arrived in Northern Ireland on 14 May. On the following day she was part of a force of destroyers that continued on south to Plymouth.

USS Gherardi (DD-637), New York, 1943

On 31 May-1 June she took part in a large naval gunfire support exercise in Dundrum Bay, Northern Ireland. 

On 3 June she left Northern Ireland with a mixed British and American force heading south to take part in the D-Day invasion, at that point timetabled for 5 June. When the weather turned bad this force turned back to Weymouth Bay to wait for it to improve

On the morning of D-Day the Gherardi formed part of Admiral Moon’s Assault Force ‘U’, which supported the landings on Utah Beach. She provided fire support in response to request from fire control parties on shore, firing on railroads, houses, gun batteries and other targets. During the afternoon she became engaged in a duel with one gun position. By the afternoon she had run out of ammo and had to return to Plymouth to replenish.

She then returned to Utah Beach, where she was assigned to screening duties.

Late on 19 June the Gherardi was forced back to Portland by the storm that destroyed the Mulberry harbour on Omaha Beach.

On 25 June the Gherardi joined Battle Group 1, part of Admiral Deyo’s bombardment group which would attack Cherbourg, while Battle Group 2 would attack the nearby Hamburg battery. The bombardment was only a limited success, probably damaging some of the German guns and thus preventing them from turning to face the land attack.

The Gherardi remained active off Normandy until 16 July, when she departed for Malta, to join a mixed force of British and American escort carriers that were gathering to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the South of France.

1945

Once the conversion was complete she joined Mine Division 60 and moved to the Pacific, visiting San Diego, Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok on her way to Ulithi, where she arrived in early March.

Later in March she departed for Okinawa, arriving on 25 March in time to take part in pre-invasion minesweeping operations as part of Admiral Spruance’s Fifth Fleet. After the initial landings she joined the screen of the heavier surface fire support units. She spent the next three months on that duty, helping to fight off a series of suicide attacks. Towards the end of the battle she was also used on shore bombardment duties and to provide illumination at night along the south coast.

In early July she became the flagship of the Commander of Mine Division 60. This saw her acting as a fire support ship for a force of smaller fleet minesweepers operating in the China Sea.

On 19 August she joined the forces clearing Tokyo Bay ready for the official Japanese surrender. After the surrender was signed on 2 September she took part in minesweeping operations around Southern Kyushu and Korea. This continued until 5 December 1945 when she left Sasebo to head to San Diego, arriving on 23 December.

Post-war

Unlike many of her sister ships the Gerhardi remained in service after the end of the war. She moved to Norfolk, arriving on 9 January 1946, where she joined Mine Division 6 of the Atlantic Fleet. She was based at Norfolk until June, when she moved to Charleston.

She was based there until October 1947 when she moved to Bermuda for towing duties. She then moved to Newfoundland for cold weather training before returing to Charleston on 29 November.

She spent most of 1948 based at Charleston, apart from another winter visit to Newfoundland for cold weather training.

On 3 January 1949 she left Charleston to join the US 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, although this was a short deployment and she was back at Charletson on 2 April. In May she visited Haiti and in June she visited New London. She then underwent an overhaul, followed by type training at Guantanamo Bay.

She spent the next two years operating alongside the US eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. She took part in Atlantic Fleet Exercise ‘Operation Observant’ off Vieques, Puerto Rico, and amphibious exercises off Onslow Beach, North Carolina.

On 8 January 1952 she departed from Charleston for her second tour with the 6th Fleet, returning to the US on 26 June after a slightly longer tour in the Mediterreanean. In August she took part in Operation Mainbrace, an early NATO exercise.

Most of 1953-54 were spent operating along the US east coast, with another trip to the 6 Fleet in January-May 1953

In January-February 1955 she took part in Operation Springboard in the Caribbean, and in March-April she took part in Atlantic Fleet Exercise ‘LANTMINEX’

By this point she was getting rather elderly. On 15 July 1955 she was re-designated as DD-637, and she then underwent a pre-inactivation overhaul. She was decommissioned at Charleston on 17 December 1955 and joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

She was sunk as a target off Puerto Rico on 3 June 1973.

Gherardi received five battle stars for World War II service, for Sicily, Normandy, the South of France, Okinawa and Third Fleet Operations Against Japan. Anyone who served on her from 2 September-6 December 1945 qualified for the Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia) and anyone who served on her during the 6th Fleet deployments for the Navy Occupation Service Medal (Europe).

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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