USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE-54)

USS Daniel T. Griffin (DE-54/APD-38), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ordnanceman Daniel T. Griffin (1911–1941), who was killed in action during the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands.

History
United States
Name: USS Daniel T. Griffin
Namesake: Daniel T. Griffin
Ordered: 1942
Builder: Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard
Laid down: 7 September 1942
Launched: 25 February 1943
Reclassified: APD-38, 23 October 1944
Commissioned: 9 June 1943
Decommissioned: 30 May 1946
Stricken: 1 December 1966
Honors and
awards:		 1 battle star (World War II)
Fate: Transferred to Chile, 15 November 1966
History
Chile
Name: Virgilio Uribe (APD-29)
Acquired: 15 November 1966
Decommissioned: 30 May 1995
Fate: Scrapped, 1995
General characteristics
Class and type: Buckley-class destroyer escort
Displacement:
  • 1,400 long tons (1,422 t) light
  • 1,740 long tons (1,768 t) standard
Length: 306 ft (93 m)
Beam: 37 ft (11 m)
Draft:
  • 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) standard
  • 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) full load
Propulsion:
  • 2 × boilers
  • General Electric turbo-electric drive
  • 12,000 shp (8.9 MW)
  • 2 × solid manganese-bronze 3,600 lb (1,600 kg) 3-bladed propellers, 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter, 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) pitch
  • 2 × rudders
  • 359 tons fuel oil
Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range:
  • 3,700 nmi (6,900 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
  • 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 15 officers, 198 men
Armament:

Daniel T. Griffin was launched on 25 February 1943 by the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts, sponsored by Mrs. D. T. Griffin, and commissioned on 9 June with Lieutenant-Commander P. M. Fenton, of the USNR, in command.

Service history

After a voyage escorting a convoy to Casablanca, French Morocco, between 15 August and 24 September 1943 Daniel T. Griffin took up convoy duty between New York and Northern Ireland, making eight transatlantic voyages between 13 October 1943 and 23 September 1944. She arrived at Staten Island, New York on 22 October for conversion to a Charles Lawrence-class high speed transport. She was reclassified APD-38 on 23 October 1944.

Sailing from Norfolk on 13 January 1945 Daniel T. Griffin arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 February to serve with Underwater Demolition Teams. She cleared on 14 February on convoy duty to Ulithi and Kossol Passage, then arrived at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on 5 March for invasion rehearsals off Hononhan Island. On 19 March she got underway for Kerama Retto, arriving on the 26th. During the assault on Okinawa, she screened ships at Kerama Retto and swept mines, delivered explosives to the Okinawa beaches, and then acted as rescue ship until 18 May. On 6 April she fought off several suicide attacks destroying at least two enemy planes. When the destroyer Morris (DD-417) was hit Daniel T. Griffin protected her against further attack assisted in putting out her fires, and escorted her into Kerama Retto.

Daniel T. Griffin served on local escort duty at Saipan between 20 May and 19 June 1945, then escorted a convoy back to Okinawa, and another from Okinawa to Ulithi. On 11 July she arrived in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, for varied duty in the Philippines until 22 September when she sailed with occupation troops to Kure, Japan, landing her passengers from 6 to 11 October. Returning to Manila on 16 October she redeployed troops in the Philippines until 2 December when she sailed for the United States. She called briefly at San Diego, arrived at Norfolk on 11 January 1946 and Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 4 March. She was placed out of commission in reserve there on 30 May 1946.

Virgilio Uribe (APD-29)

Daniel T. Griffin was transferred to Chile on 15 November 1966, and renamed Luis Virgilio Uribe (APD-29). She was decommissioned and broken up for scrap in 1995.

Awards

Daniel T. Griffin received one battle star for World War II service.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  • Photo gallery of USS Daniel T. Griffin at NavSource Naval History


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