U.S.S. The Sullivans (DD-537)
HISTORY (quoted from Museum Tour Brochure)
"U.S.S The Sullivans was launched in San Francisco on 4 April 1943. The Ship's namesake, the five Sullivan brothers, enlisted in the Navy and served together aboard the light cruiser U.S.S. Juneau (CL-52). On 13 November 1942, while fighting off Guadalcanal, the five brothers died along with 700 other sailors when the U.S.S. Juneau was sunk by a Japanese submarine. President Roosevelt directed that one of the new Fletcher-class destroyers, then under construction, be named after the five brothers. She is the first Navy destroyer ever named after more than one person. The ship sported the Shamrock of Ireland on her forward stack and sailed into World War Two with 14 crewmembers named Sullivan. She fought in the Marshalls, Carolines, Marianas, and the Philippines, rescuing many survivors from downed planes and damaged or sinking ships. She never lost a man in battle. The Sullivans also served in the Korean War, the Cuban Blockade, and assisted in the rescue efforts of the nuclear submarine Thresher. In 1977, The Sullivans arrived in Buffalo for display and was redesignated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. In 1987, The Sullivans passed her famous name and heritage on to a new Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyer, U.S.S. The Sullivans, DDG-68."
Launched: 4 April 1943
Name /Class: Fletcher-class Destroyer
Decommissioned: 7 January 1965
Museum Ship Since: 1977
Displacement: 2,150 tons
Length: 376.5 feet
Beam: 39.8 feet
Draft: 17.8 feet
Power: 60,000 hp
Speed: 35 knots
Range: 6,500 miles @ 15 knots
Crew: 330 (20 officers & 290 enlisted)
Armament:
- 5 x 5-inch/38 calibre guns
- 10 x 40mm AA guns
- 7 x 20mm AA guns
- 10 x 21-inch torpedo tubes
- 6 x K-gun depth charge throwers
- 2 x depth charge racks
BATTLE STARS -- WORLD WAR TWO (9)
Marshall Islands Operation (January 29-February 8, 1944)
Asiatic Pacific Raids (February 16-7, March 30-April 1, April 29-May 1, 1944)
Hollandia Operation (April-June, 1944)
Marianas Operation (June 11-24, July 3-4, July 12-August 15, 1944)
Western Caroline Islands Operation (September 6-October 14, 1944)
Leyte Operation (October 10-26, 1944)
Luzon Operation (January 3-February 15, 1945)
Iwo Jima Operation (February 16- March 4, 1945)
Okinawa Gunto Operation (March 17-May 28, 1945)
BATTLE STARS -- KOREAN WAR (2)
Korean Defense, Summer-Fall 1952 (October 13-November 30, 1952)
Third Korean Winter (December 1, 1952-January 10, 1953)