U.S.S. Twining DD540
Twining Dedication Plaque
Two pictures courtesy of MR.Sanford B. D."Chip" Wood, III, grandson of Mrs. Sanford B. Dole Wood who was the sponsor of USS Twining.
Christening of USS Twining - DD540
U.S.S. Twining DD540
Twining Dedication Plaque
Two pictures courtesy of MR.Sanford B. D."Chip" Wood, III, grandson of Mrs. Sanford B. Dole Wood who was the sponsor of USS Twining.
Christening of USS Twining - DD540
<> History of USS Twining DD540
Nathan Crook Twining was born on 17 January 1869 at Boscobel, Wis. He
was appointed a naval cadet in 1886 and graduated from the United States
Naval Academy on 7 June 1889. During the Spanish-American War, he served on
Iowa (Battleship No. 4) in Cuban waters and later was executive officer of
Kearsarge (Battleship No. 6) when that ship circumnavigated the globe with
the "Great White Fleet." He commanded Tacoma (Cruiser No. 18) during the
bombardment of Vera Cruz in 1914. During World War I, he served as Chief of
Staff for Admiral Sims, Commander of Naval Forces in European waters, and
was also a member of the Allied War Council. Rear Admiral Twining retired
early in 1923 and died on 4 July 1924 at Nantucket, Mass.
(DD-540: dp. 2,050; 1. 376'5"; b. 39'7": dr. 17'9"; a. 35.2 k.; cpl. 329; a.
5 5' 7 20mm., 10 40mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct; cl. Fletcher)
Twining (DD-540) was laid down on 20 November 1942 at San Francisco, Calif.,
by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 11 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. S.
B. C. Wood; and commissioned on 1 December 1943, Comdr. Ellis Kerr Wakefield
in command.
Twining departed San Francisco on 21 December for shakedown training and
completed the cruise at San Diego on Christmas Day. Following exercises out
of that port, she returned to San Francisco; loaded passengers and cargo;
and got underway on 11 February 1944.
Twining arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 17th to begin three months of
training exercises, maneuvers, and drills, as her crew honed its skills in
bombardment, fire support, and amphibious landing operations in preparation
for Operation "Forager.
On 31 May, the destroyer departed the Hawaiian Islands in company with Fire
Support Group 1 of the Saipan invasion forces. She arrived at Kwajalein on 8
June, fueled, and commenced antisubmarine patrols off the harbor entrance.
On the 10th, Twining screened the sortie of the task group from the lagoon;
headed for the Marianas; and arrived off Saipan at dawn on the 14th.
Steaming off the island's eastern shore, she screened cruiser Montpelier
(CL-57); joined briefly in the pre-assault bombardment and late in the
afternoon, engaged in a running battle with a coastal battery. Leading
Stockham (DD-683) and Montpelier, Twining closed the shore to 3,000 yards
and joined in the fire which silenced the enemy guns. As darkness fell, she
took up her station to screen vessels supplying night harassment fire at
Garapan on Saipan's west coast.
The next day, D-day, she continued screening duties and fired on selected
shore targets while marines landed on the western side of the island.
Japanese planes appeared at dusk, but none came within range of Twining's
guns. She spent most of the 16th in the unproductive pursuit of a sound
contact and, at dusk, joined in the bombardment of Magicienne Bay. During
the night, her guns scored hits on a Japanese ammunition dump near Aslito
airfield.
Early on the morning of 17 June, Twining joined Destroyer Division 106 and
steamed to rendezvous with Vice Admiral W. A. Lee's battleships in
anticipation of fleet action. The American assault on the Marianas had drawn
the Japanese Combined Fleet northward for an attempt to repulse the thrust.
The 18th passed uneventfully except for sightings of a few snoopers. Then,
at dawn the next day, a lone, unidentified plane closed the formation; took
fire from Twining and others; circled; and disappeared. The ensuing lull
lasted until 1008 when Alabama (BB-60) reported a large number of aircraft
approaching from the west. Steaming on picket station 10 miles west of the
formation, Twining caught sight of the first wave of attackers at 1049.
Throughout the battle, combat air patrol (CAP) planes disrupted the enemy
onslaught, shooting down many Japanese aircraft and thwarting the approach
of the rest. In her first antiaircraft action, Twining splashed two of the
planes which got through and also was credited with an assist. During the
attacks, the destroyer was the target of two bomb drops but suffered no
damages. For Twining, the Battle of the Philippine Sea was over in 26
minutes. No further Japanese planes attacked nearby during the day although
pilots from the American carriers continued to pick off intruders.
On the 20th, Twining steamed west in search of the enemy fleet. Late in the
day, the carriers launched an air strike; and, when darkness came, many
planes had not returned. Twining turned on her searchlight as a marker for
the aircraft and rescued survivors of planes which had gone down in the
darkness. At dark on the 21st, the task force abandoned the pursuit of the
elusive Japanese fleet and reversed course, steaming eastward to look again
for survivors of the air strike force caught by darkness of the day before.
On the 23d, Twining fueled at sea; then set course for the Marianas,
screening oiler Cahaba (AO-82).
At Saipan again on the 25th, Twining conducted shore bombardment off Mutcho
Point. Throughout the remainder of June, she continued to operate off
Saipan, providing shore bombardment, night harassment and illumination fire,
as well as screening transports and engaging enemy aircraft. In Magicienne
Bay early on the evening of the 28th, Twining witnessed an impressive
exchange of fire between marine units on the south side of the bay and
Japanese on the north. Later in the evening, Japanese planes attacked,
peppering seaward waters with bombs. Observers on board the destroyer
watched as shore fire scored a hit on an enemy plane overhead; then saw the
plane fall in flames some four miles sway. Just before midnight on 30 June,
as Twining patrolled off Nafutan Point, two enemy planes attempted to make
runs on Aslito airfield but were turned back by heavy fire from the
destroyer.
Into July, Twining continued her duties off Saipan, supplying screening,
fighter direction, and fire support. She also made occasional voyages to
Tinian for bombardment missions. Off the northern tip of Saipan on the night
of 6 and 7 July, Twining's crew was kept busy firing on numerous Japanese
airplanes which had apparently chosen the ship both as a reference point for
their approach to the runway on Marpi Point and as a target for their bombs.
Nine planes made approaches during this raid, although only one dropped a
bomb. Flares from the planes often illuminated the scene as the destroyer's
gunfire drove off all nine, none of which managed to land on the
Japanese-held airstrip. In the days that followed, Twining remained on
picket station, occasionally firing on enemy troop concentrations on the
island.
On 24 July, she screened Montpelier and New Orleans (CA-32) as they shelled
Japanese positions on Tinian. The following day the destroyer fired support
missions to screen American troops advancing up the western shore of the
island. Twining continued her support of the invasion of Tinian through the
end of the month, steaming on station between Tinian and Saipan and
occasionally firing at Japanese targets on the island.
On 1 August, Twining moved to a new fire support assignment off the
southeast coast of Tinian. She made the first of three bombardment runs at
0130 and later stood in to 1,500 yards from shore to pound enemy-held slopes
and caves with gunfire.
On the 7th, Twining departed Saipan, escorting slow moving LST-130 to
Eniwetok. A week later, she entered the atoll where her worn strut bearings
were replaced.
Twining departed Eniwetok on 15 September to rendezvous with Rear Admiral
Gerald F. Bogan's Fast Carrier Task Group and thereafter devoted most of her
effort for the rest of the war to protecting aircraft carriers. Arriving off
Luzon on the 21st, Twining guarded the carriers as they launched strikes
despite cloudy weather, squalls, and low visibility. Following the launching
of further strikes from an attack position off San Bernardino Strait on the
24th, the task group headed eastward and arrived off Saipan on the 28th.
From there, the destroyer conducted antisubmarine patrols until the 30th
when the task group got underway for the western Carolines and entered
Ulithi lagoon on 6 October.
At dusk on the 1lth, the task force sortied to get into a position for a
strike on Formosa, the first in a series of raids intended to destroy the
usefulness of that highly fortified island as an air base and a staging area
for Japanese forces during the impending landings on Leyte.
For three days, planes from the carriers hit targets on Formosa; and, each
evening, Japanese raiders attacked the American ships. On the 12th, Twining
rescued several downed fliers. That evening, enemy planes attacked her
formation in an action which continued until midnight. A Japanese plane
threatened the destroyer from an altitude of 300 feet. After Twining opened
fire, the raider attempted to crash into her but rapidly lost altitude and
splashed 300 yards off her port bow, spreading flaming gasoline over water
near the ship.
In the days that followed, enemy air activity continued to be heavy. On the
14th, an enemy bomber dropped two bombs which narrowly missed the destroyer.
On the 18th and 21st, the carriers of TG 38.2 launched strikes against
targets in the Philippines to support American landings on Leyte. Before
dawn on the 24th, reports of American plane sightings of the Japanese Fleet
began to reach the destroyer. That day, as Twining continued her routine
screening duties, planes from the carriers struck telling blows against
Admiral Kurita's "Center Force" in the Sibuyan Sea. That night, her task
force turned north to attack a Japanese carrier force which had been sighted
north of Luzon. Daylong strikes launched from the American flattops sank
four enemy carriers of Admiral Ozawa's Northern Force in an action known as
the Battle off Cape Engano. On the 26th, planes from TG 38.2 attacked
crippled Japanese ships in the Visayan Sea. On the 29th, Twining rescued a
downed flier from Hancock (CV-19).
But for occasional runs to Ulithi for ammunition, Twining remained with the
carriers throughout November as they hammered Japanese fortifications in the
Philippines. On 10 December, the destroyer got underway with Rear Admiral
Montgomery's Fast Carrier Task Group to act as picket during strikes on
Luzon in support of the landings on Mindoro. On the 14th, she rescued a
pilot from Hornet (CV-12) and had him on board four and one-half minutes
after his plane hit the water.
On the 17th, in rapidly worsening weather conditions, the formation
rendezvoused with fueling units; and Twining filled her oil tanks. During a
typhoon which battered the task force the next day, the weight of her full
load of fuel gave Twining the added stability she needed to weather 65-foot
seas and 50-degree rolls. Ordered to stand by the disabled Monterey (CVL-26)
as the light carrier burned, dead in the water, Twining maintained a
position near the stricken vessel throughout the storm. Twining came through
the tempest with no major damage but lost one man overboard.
As dawn broke in moderating weather on 19 December, the destroyer
accompanied the task force as it steamed on for a strike on Luzon; but, when
bad weather aborted the strike, she returned to the scene of the typhoon to
search for survivors from the three destroyers which had sunk during the
storm, before returning to Ulithi on Christmas Eve to repair storm damage.
Admiral Halsey's 3d Fleet departed on 30 December and set course for strikes
on Formosa, the Ryukyus, and the China coast to prevent Japanese
interference with the coming landings on Luzon at Lingaygen Gulf. Twining
screened the carriers as they launched strikes against the enemy in the
Philippines, on Formosa, and in French Indochina.
Twining returned to Ulithi on 26 January for dry-docking, provisioning, and
training exercises. She got underway again on 10 February with Rear Admiral
Davison's Carrier Task Group bound for waters near the Japanese home
islands. After naval aircraft raided military targets in the Tokyo area on
the 16th and 17th, the task group headed south toward the Volcano Islands.
Twining was on picket station off Iwo Jima on 19 February, D-day, as the
carrier force launched strikes and fighter cover for the landings. Four days
later, the destroyer again headed north protecting carriers steaming toward
the Japanese homeland, but bad weather foiled the carriers. On 1 March, the
task group launched strikes on the Ryukyus before steaming to the Carolines.
In mid-March, Task Force 58 departed Ulithi to conduct strikes on the
airfields near Kyushu on the 18th. The next day, as the group was en route
to Kobe, carrier Franklin (CV-13) suffered extensive damage when hit by two
bombs. Twining helped to protect the damaged vessel as she withdrew. On the
20th, a Japanese plane attempted to finish off the battered carrier only to
be chased off by a hail of fire from the escorting ships. On the 22d, having
safely conducted Franklin out of danger, Twining set her course for Nansei
Shoto. On 27 March, Twining screened destroyer Murray (DD-576)--which had
taken an aerial torpedo through her bow above the water--until that ship had
completed temporary repairs. The next day, Twining headed north in search of
the Japanese fleet, then returned to Okinawan waters on the 31st, and
resumed duty as a picket for carrier operations.
On the first day in April, the carriers resumed strikes on Okinawa in
support of landings there. On the 6th, the group came under attack from
massed kamikazes as Japan vainly tried to repulse the Allied assault. During
a two-hour period, Twining's group splashed five kamikazes; but the
destroyer was on the opposite side of the formation and had no opportunity
for a clear shot.
The following day, she screened the carriers as they steamed north to
intercept Japanese warships approaching Okinawa. A 380-plane strike located
the Japanese ships in the East China Sea, near Amami Oshima, and sank
superbattleship Yamato, light cruiser Yahagi, and four destroyers. Enemy air
activity was frequent; and, on 13 April, Twining chased off an aerial
intruder which had approached her picket post.
A few days later, she retired to Ulithi for repairs. On 4 May, she again got
underway from Ulithi, this time with Task Group 58.1, bound for strikes on
Kyushu in support of operations on Okinawa. As the formation approached the
Japanese islands, enemy pilots became bolder; and Twining fired on a number
of planes. Throughout the remainder of May and into June, she continued to
protect the carrier force as it operated off Okinawa.
On 4 June, the barometer reading began to drop; and winds picked up. Winds
reached 70 knots by 0600, and Twining again faced the might of a typhoon but
emerged undamaged and resumed her picket duties late in the day. Following
strikes on Kyushu, she detached from the group on 10 June to escort Dashiell
(DD-659) to Leyte.
After upkeep and availability in San Pedro Bay, she screened Yorktown
(CV-10) in Leyte Gulf as the carrier exercised a newly-assigned air group.
Early in July, Twining joined Task Force 38, with Admiral W. F. Halsey
embarked in Missouri (BB-63), for seven days of intensive training exercises
in preparation for the long-awaited assault on the Japanese homeland. On 10
July, the task force arrived off Tokyo and, four days later, began launching
strikes. On the 24th, Twining joined in antishipping sweeps off the
Kure-Kobe area and, on the night of 24 and 25 July, took part in the
bombardment of Shiono-Misaki airfield. Frequent enemy air activity occurred
as Twining screened the carriers. Air strikes against Kure and Kobe late in
July were followed early in August by additional strikes against northern
Honshu. On 9 August, a kamikaze attempted to crash into Twining but, under
intense fire from the ship, overshot the destroyer. At 0605 on 15 August,
Twining heard the carriers recall strikes bound for Tokyo targets; and, two
hours later, Radio San Francisco announced the welcome news of Japan's
unconditional capitulation.
Late in August, Twining stood by in Sagami Wan to provide fire support for
the occupation of Yokosuka Naval Base but the landings took place without
incident. The same procedure was repeated at Tateyama Wan on 3 September
with the same peaceful result. On the 9th, the destroyer began support of
minesweeping activities off Sendai, Choshi; then returned to Tokyo Bay on
the 16th for repairs and replenishment.
Twining next participated in training exercises before getting underway for
the United States on 31 October She steamed, vis Pearl Harbor, with
Destroyer Squadron 53 and, on 20 November, entered Puget Sound for overhaul
at Bremerton. On 14 June 1946, she was decommissioned at San Diego. Assigned
to the Naval Reserve Training Program in August, Twining operated out of
west coast ports and made voyages to Hawaii and Mexico as part of her
training activities.
Twining was recommissioned on 10 June 1950. After operations on the west
coast, she departed San Diego on 20 August 1951 and steamed, via Hawaii and
Japan, to waters off Korea.
With Commander Destroyer Division 172, embarked on Twining, the destroyer
joined the screen of Fast Carrier Task Force 77 late in September and also
supplied counterbattery fire in support of minesweepers in the vicinity of
Hungnam. In October, Twining operated in the waters of Tongjoson Bay,
participating in the interdiction of Wonsan harbor where she engaged shore
batteries and fired on buildings, road intersections, and railroads. She
occasionally supplied fire called for by aircraft or shore fire control
centers. On 9 October, the destroyer scored a hit on an ammunition storage
area setting off a violent explosion and numerous fires.
Two days later, Twining proceeded to Hungnam harbor to thwart communist
efforts to remine swept waters there. That morning, as she steamed near the
channel entrance, an unidentified jet made a quick surprise attack, dropped
two bombs, strafed the destroyer, and escaped into the overcast. The bombs
dropped nearby, but the destroyer suffered no damage. After sinking a sampan
and engaging a shore battery, Twining set her course for Yokosuka.
Twining spent November in upkeep and training exercises and devoted December
to antisubmarine hunter-killer exercises off Okinawa. On the 11th, she
headed for the east coast of Korea for interdiction and close support
missions. The destroyer ended the month screening Task Force 77 and began
the new year with upkeep at Sasebo. On 22 January 1952, Twining departed
Japan to return to Wonsan. There, she fired on vehicles, warehouses, and
enemy troop concentrations and, on the 30th, rescued a downed American
pilot. She operated in Wonsan harbor until 19 February, when she got
underway for Japan. Following voyage repairs, she departed Yokosuka, steamed
via Midway and Pearl Harbor for the west coast, and arrived at San Diego on
10 March.
She remained in California ports until 1 November 1952 when she sailed for
the Far East and her second tour of duty in Korean waters. In the months
that followed, she operated off the east coast of Korea, carrying out patrol
and reconnaissance missions, firing on shore targets, supplying night
illumination for island garrisons in Wonsan harbor and Are support for
minesweepers.
In March, she anchored in Buckner Bay before moving to Formosa to train
personnel of the Chinese Nationalist Navy in gunnery and damage control. On
8 April, she rendezvoused with Oriskany (CVA-34) to provide antisubmarine
screening for the carrier and conducted patrols of the North Formosa Strait
before returning to Japan in mid-April. In May, the destroyer departed
Yokosuka, setting her course for Pearl Harbor and Long Beach. She operated
out of California ports throughout the remainder of 1953.
Although the Korean War was at an end, Twining continued to alternate
cruises in the Far East with operations on the west coast until June 1963
when she returned to San Diego from exercises with the British, New Zealand,
and Australian navies. In May 1964, the destroyer was transferred from
Destroyer Squadron 5 to Reserve Destroyer Squadron 27 and began conducting
training cruises for reserves. She was decommissioned and stricken from the
Navy list on 1 July 1971 and was sold on 16 August 1971 to Taiwan for use by
the Chinese Nationalist Navy under the name of Kwei Yang (DD-8).
Twining received eight battle stars for World War II service and five for
Korean service.
980825 - Twining entry copied from Winconsin 1951 log entries
1951
On 26 Nov , with Vice Admiral Martin and Rear Admiral F. P. Denebrink,
Commander, Service Force, Pacific, embarked, Wisconsin departed Yokosuka for
Korean waters to support the fast carrier operations of TF 77. She left the
company of the carrier force on 2 December and, screened by the destroyer
Wiltsie (DD-716), provided gunfire support for the Republic of Korea (ROK)
Corps in the Kasong-Kosong area. After disembarking Admiral Denebrink on 3
December at Kangnung, the battleship resumed station on the Korean
"bombline," providing gunfire support for the American 1st Marine Division.
Wisconsin's shellings accounted for a tank, two gun emplacements, and a
building. She continued her gunfire support task for the 1st Marine Division
and 1st ROK Corps through 6 December, accounting for enemy bunkers,
artillery positions, and troop concentrations. On one occasion during that
time, the battleship received a request for call-fire support and provided
three star-shells for the 1st ROK Corps, illuminating a communist attack
that was consequently repulsed with considerable enemy casualties.
After being relieved on the gunline by the heavy cruiser St. Paul (CA-78) on
6 December, Wisconsin retired only briefly from gunfire support duties. She
resumed them, however, in the Kasong-Kosong area on 11 December screened by
the destroyer Twining (DD-540). The following day, 12 December, saw the
embarkation in Wisconsin of Rear Admiral H. R. Thurber, Commander,
Battleship Division 2. The admiral came on board via helicopter, incident to
his inspection trip in the Far East.
The battleship continued naval gunfire support duties on the "bombline,"
shelling enemy bunkers, command posts, artillery positions, and trench
systems through 14 December. She departed the "bombline" on that day to
render special gunfire support duties in the Kojo area blasting coastal
targets in support of United Nations (UN) troops ashore. That same day, she
returned to the Kasong-Kosong area. On the 15th, she disembarked Admiral
Thurber by helicopter. The next day, Wisconsin departed Korean waters,
heading for Sasebo to rearm.
================================================
980825 from Roger Myers
Thanks for the info on the Wisconsin it really dove-tails with my log for
11 December to 14 December. This tells what we were accomplishing during
that period. Where did you find this info? This was one of the most active
times in our tour. My log shows that we returned to Sasebo on 16 December to
replenish supplies and left for the Bombline the same day. We then operated
with the "Wiskey" from 17 December thru 22 December. My next entry
concerning the "Wiskey" was on 4 February 1952 in a bombardment at Wonsan.
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