USS Shubrick (DD-639)

USS Shubrick (DD-639) was a Gleaves class destroyer that took part in the invasion of Sicily, where she was hit by a bomb, the D-Day landings and the invasion of the South of France, and finally the invasion of Okinawa, where she was hit by a kamikaze causing damage that was never fully repaired.

The Shubrick was named after William Bradford Shubrick, who served in the US Navy during the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, before retiring with the rank of Rear Admiral in 1861.

The Shubrick was laid down by the Norfolk Navy Yard on 17 February 1942, launched on 18 April 1942 when she was sponsored by Shubrick’s great-great granddaughter Mrs Grosvenor Bemis, and commissioned on 7 February 1943.

The Shubrick 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.

1943

After her shakedown cruise the Shubrick departed for North Africa on 8 June 1943 as part of a large convoy heading to the Mediterranean to take part in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.

USS Shubrick (DD-639) from above, 1943

On 6 July she left Algiers as part of a force of five destroyers, heading for Sicily.

On 10 July she was posted on the left of the invasion fleet at Gela, with the cruiser Savannah. She provided fire support for the landings, including knocking out a searchlight that illuminated the shipping. She fired on artillery west of Cape Soprano. After dawn she continued to fire on enemy shore batteries and helped break up a force of Italian Fiat 3000 tanks. Later in the day she retired to protect the transports.

On 11 and 12 July she helped fight off enemy air attacks, claiming two victories.

On 22 July she left Sicily as part of the screen of the cruiser Boise, arriving at Bizerte  on 23 July and Algiers on 24 July.

On 28 July she left Algiers as part of the screen of the cruisers Philadelphia and Savannah to escort them to Palermo, Sicily.

Before dawn on 4 August the enemy carried out an air raid on Palermo Harbour. When the incoming raid was detected the Shubrick put out to sea, at low speed to avoid creating too visible a wake. However the Shubrick was attacked by one aircraft, which dropped three 500lb bombs, the middle one of which hit the midship deckhouse, passed through the top of the ship and exploded 5 or 6 feet below her. The explosion ruptured the steam lines, knocking all electrical and steam power out. The forward engineroom and aft fireroom both flooded quickly, with the loss of all but two of the men stationed there. In total nine men were killed and twenty wounded.

The flooding was confined to the two engineering spaces, and the Shubrick was quickly towed back into Palermo for initial repairs. She was then towed to Malta, where she entered the dry dock. At Malta repairs were carried out to the hull and framework, and to those parts of the machinery that were salvageable. The starboard propeller was removed and stored on deck. Machinery that was beyond repair was removed, and eight tons of ballast added to compensate. On 26 September she was able to carry out engineering and gunnery trials, reaching 23.6 knots using only the port propeller.

The Shubrick was then able to cross the Atlantic under her own power, using the single screw, reaching New York on 9 October for full repairs.

1944

Her repairs and refresher training were completed by January 1944.

On 11 January 1944 the Shubrick left Gravesend Bay with three other destroyers to carry out gunnery exercises, returning to New York on 15 July.

On 18 January she left New York as part of the escort of Convoy UT-7, arriving at Lough Larne, Northern Ireland, on 28 January 1944.

On 24 March she left New York as part of the escort of convoy TF 63 (made up of destroyers and destroyer escorts), arriving at Gibraltar on 1 April. The same force then escorted Convoy GUS-35 from Gibraltar to New York, leaving Gibraltar on 6 April and reaching New York on 22 April.

In May she crossed the Atlantic once again, this time to join the forces being gathered for Operation Overlord. During the crossing she took part in an attack on a possible U-boat detected on sonar on 8 May.

On 15 May she was part of a force of destroyers that left Northern Ireland to move to Plymouth to take part in pre-invasion training. On 31 May-1 June she took part in naval gunfire support exercises in Dundrum Bay.

On D-Day she escorted the battleship Nevada and five cruisers to the Normandy beaches, then moved to her own fire support station. She opened fire at 0550, then stopped at 0630 to avoid hitting American troops as they advanced from the beaches.

The Shubrick continued to support the fighting in Normandy for the next month, carrying out a mix of escort missions, fire support missions, anti-submarine and anti E-boat patrols. On 27 June she escorted six PT-boats to Cherbourh, where they were used to identify German gun positions by drawing their fire! The Shubrick was also fired on.

She left Normandy for the last time on 11 July, and on 16 July departed for the Mediterranean to join the forces taking part in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the South of France.

On 12 August she left Malta with five other destroyers to escort four escort carriers to the south of France. She screened the carriers during the invasion of 15 August and for the next two weeks. On 30 August the force was disbanded, after the fighting moved away from the coast.

On 6 September the Shubrick departed from Oran to return to the US for an overhaul.

Once the overhaul was complete she carried out one convoy trip to Taranto, and then trained along the east coast of the US. 

1945

On 1 February 1945 the Shubrick passed through the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet. After training at Pearl Harbor she departed for Okinawa on 21 April as part of the escort of the battleship Mississippi.

On 12 May, she and one other destroyer supported the landings at Tori-Shima Island and shot down two attacking aircraft.

On 12 May the Shubrick and one other destroyer supported landings on Iwo Tori-shima Island, a volcanic island seventy miles to the north of Okinawa. During the day she shot down two Japanese aircraft.

On the night of 12 May she was on radar picket duty just off Kerama Retto when she detected two incoming aircraft, one hostile followed by a friendly. These aircraft were picked up by the USS New Mexico (BB-40), by which time there were two Japanese and two American aircraft. The New Mexico shot down a N1K-J, but was hit in the forward stack by a Ki-84. AA ammo fell through the hole created by the aircraft and fell into the boilers, causing an explosion that knocked out three of her four boilers. 54 men were killed and more then 100 wounded. The New Mexico departed for repairs on 28 May. These were quickly completed, and she was back at Saipan when the war entered. 

On the night of 28-29 May the Shubrick was sent to start another spell of radar picket duty, to relieve the Robert H. Smith (DM-23). When she was within ten miles of the Robert H. Smith and the Van Valkenburg (DD-656) she was attacked by two kamikaze aircraft. At 0010 on 29 May one of the attackers hit the starboard side near the stern. Its bomb exploded, blasting a 30 foot hole in the side of the Shubrick. One of her depth charges also exploded. The Van Valkenburg (DD-656) came alongside at 0113 and took off the wounded, unnecessary personnel and classified materials. Some of her crew were rescued by the converted destroyer escort USS Pavlic (APD-70). 35 men were killed and 25 wounded in the attack.

A skeleton crew remained onboard, and with the help of extra pumps from the Van Valkenburg and Pavlic were able to get the flooding under control. Tug ATR-9 took her under tow at 0510 and got her back to Kerama Retto. Emergency repairs took until 15 July. She then crossed the Pacific on one engine and reached the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 10 August. However on 17 August, with the war ending, it was decided not to repair her.

She was decommissioned on 16 November 1945, struck off on 28 November and sold for scrap on 28 September 1947.

Shubrick received 4 battle stars for her World War II, for Sicily, Normandy, the South of France and Okinawa.

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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