USS Knight (DD-633/ DMS-40)

USS Knight (DD-633) was a Gleaves class destroyer that took part in Operation Torch, the invasions of Sicily and Italy, then on convoy escort duties, before serving as a minesweeper in the Pacific after the end of the war.

USS Knight (DD-633) from the right

The Knight was named after Austin Melvin Knight, who served in the US Navy during the Spanish-American War and was President of the Naval War College in 1913-1917 and commander of the Asiatic Fleet in 1917.

The Knight (DD-633) was laid down at the Boston Navy Yard on 18 March 1941, launched on 27 September 1941 when she was sponsored by Miss Elizabeth H. Royal, granddaughter of Admiral Knight and commissioned on 23 June 1942.

The Knight 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.

On 6 October the Knight reached Norfolk where she joined the forces gathering for Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. She left Chesapeake Bay on 23 October, and arrived off Safi in French Morocco on 8 November. She served as a landing control ship during the invasion, then carried out anti-submarine patrols. She left for the US on 13 November, reaching Norfolk on 24 November.

Map of the war cruise of USS Knight (DD-633/ DMS-40)

Between 12 December and 28 April 1943 the Knight escorted three convoys between New York and Casablanca/ Fedhala.

1943

On 29 May 1943 she left Norfolk to escort a convoy into the Mediterranean, ready to join the forces being gathered for the invasion of Sicily. She reached Oran on 22 June, and sailed with Rear Admiral A.G. Kirk’s Task Force 85 on 5 July.

She reached Scoglitti on Sicily early on 9 July. She served as a fire support ship during the landings on 10 July and helped to knock out Axis shore guns. She was also used the screen the transport ships. On 11 July she shot down one attacking aircraft.

On 13 July she departed for Oran, arriving on 16 July. The next two weeks were spent operating along the Algerian and Tunisian coasts, before she returned to Sicily on 31 July to provide fire support for Patton’s 7th Army as it advanced along the north coast of Sicily. She was based at Palemro on 22 August, bombarding targets along the north coast and fighting off German air attack. On 11 August, while on an escort run to Malta, she rescued two sailors from the salvage repair ship Brant (ARS-32) who had been knocked overboard by friendly fire on the previous day.

Four pictures of USS Knight (DD-633)

She escorted convoys between Palermo and Bizerte, then returned to Sicily on 7 September ready to support the invasion of mainland Italy.

On 8 September she served as the flagship of Task Group 80.4. The group attacked Ventotene Island off Gaeta, and on 9 September helped support the capture of German and Italian troops on the island. She then moved to Salerno, still carrying 87 German POWs, and helped fight off German air attacks on 10-11 September. On 13 September she helped support the capture of Capri. She spent the next two weeks searching the Italian coast for enemy submarines and convoys as well as providing anti-aircraft fire at Salerno. On 27-28 September she transported Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly to Bizerte, Tunisia.

On 30 September she left Oran, heading for the United States, and reached New York on 9 October.

Between 21 October 1943 and 1 May 1944 the Knight escorted five convoys from New York to the United Kingdom. This began with Convoy UT-4, which left New York on 21 October. That evening the destroyer Murphy was hit by the oil tanker Bulkoil and cut in two. The Knight soon joined the rescue effort, which picked up more than 100 men from the water. The convoy reached Belfast on 31 October. Remarkably the aft part of the Murphy was towed to safety, given a new forward section and returned to combat!

USS Knight (DMS-40) returns to San Fransisco, 1946

On 7 November 1943 the Knight left Belfast to escort convoy TU-4 back to New York, arriving on 18 November.

On 5 December 1943 she left New York to help escort Convoy UT-5 to Belfast, arriving late on 14 December.

1944

Between 21 October and 1 May 1944, Knight engaged in five Atlantic convoy escort runs from New York to ports in the United Kingdom.

On 17 May 1944 the Knight left Norfolk to escort a convoy to Oran, arriving on 28 May. Between then and 22 August she operated on the routes between North Africa, Italy and Gibraltar, returning to New York on 22 August.

On 20 September she departed for the US to escort the first of two convoys to Britain.

On 28 December she left Norfolk to escort a convoy to Oran.

1945

On 2 June she returned to the US at the end of her third run to Oran since December 1944.

War cruise of USS Knight (DD-633/ DMS-40)

From 3 June-24 July she was converted into a high speed minesweeper at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, becoming DMS-40 on 23 June. On 25 July she reached Norfolk to begin a period of training in minesweeping. She departed for the Pacific on 12 August, and reached Okinawa on 28 September, after the end of the war in the Pacific. She joined Mine Squadron 21 and departed for the Yellow Sea on 16 October.

From 19 October to 16 November she operated in the Yellow Sea. She then operated between Okinawa and the Japanese Home Islands, before on 24 February 1946 she left Kobe to return to the United States.

She reached San Francisco on 5 April, moved to Bremerton on 30 November and was decommissioned there on 19 March 1947. She was reclassified as DD-633 on 15 July 1955. She was struck off on 1 December 1966, and sunk as a target off San Diego on 27 October 1967.

The Knight received four battle stars for World War II, for North Africa, Sicily, Salerno and Pacific Minesweeping. Anyone who served on her between 26 September 1945 and 1 March 1946 qualified for the Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia)

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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