Commissioning Crew of USS Ingraham (DD-444), 14 June 1941 |
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USS Ingraham (DD-444) was a Gleaves class destroyer that served on convoy escort duties and was sunk in a collision in August 1942.
The Ingraham was named after Captain Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham, who served in the US Navy from 1812 to 1861 then in the Confederate Navy during the Civil War.
The Ingraham was launched on 15 February 1941 by the Charleston Navy Yard when she was sponsored by Mrs. George Ingraham Hutchinson, granddaughter of Captain Ingraham and commissioned on 17 July 1941.
The Ingraham 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.
After her shakedown cruise the Ingraham began to work as a convoy escort in the Atlantic. The US entry into the war soon meant that her duties expanded to include trans-Atlantic trips.
On 15 December the Ingraham, Ericsson (DD-440) and Ludlow (DD-438) left Halifax to escort Canadian Troop Convoy TC 16 to Iceland, the first stage on their trip to the United Kingdom. The Ingraham remained with the convoy until they reached Icelandic waters and was then detached on 22 December, while the convoy and its remaining escorts moved to Hvalfjordur.
1942
During the first half of 1942 the Ingraham was used to escort convoys moving between the US, UK and Iceland, as well as at least one trip to the Panama Canal.
On 1-2 June 1942 the Hilary P Jones, Charles F. Hughes (DD-428), Ingraham (DD-444) and Woolsey (DD-437) screened the Indiana (BB-58) during her speed trials.
On the night of 22 August the US destroyer Buck was hit on the starboard side by the British transport Atwatea in a dense fog off Nova Scotia, while escorting an east-bound convoy. The Ingraham closed to assist the damaged ships, but then collided with the tanker Chemung (AO-30). The Ingraham sank very quickly, and to make things worse the depth charges on her stern exploded as they sank. Only eleven of her crew survived the disaster, and were rescued by the Chemung.
Displacement (standard) |
1,630t design |
Displacement (loaded) |
2,395t |
Top Speed |
35kts design |
Engine |
2-shaft Westinghouse turbines |
Range |
6500nm at 12kt design |
Armour - belt |
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- deck |
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Length |
348ft 3in |
Width |
36ft 1in |
Armaments |
Five 5in/38 guns |
Crew complement |
208 |
Laid down |
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Launched |
15 February 1941 |
Commissioned |
17 July 1941 |
Sunk after collision |
22 August 1942 |
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.
USS Ingraham (DD-444) underway, 1941-42