Hull file photo [4319]

Hull

CountryUnited States
Ship ClassFarragut-class Destroyer
BuilderNew York Navy Yard, New York, United States
Laid Down7 Mar 1933
Launched31 Jan 1934
Commissioned11 Jan 1935
Sunk18 Dec 1944
Displacement1,395 tons standard
Length341 feet
Beam34 feet
Draft9 feet
Speed36 knots
Crew160
Armament5x5in, 8x21in torpedo tubes

Contributor:

ww2dbaseHull had her shakedown cruise at the Azores, Portugal, and Britain. On 19 Oct 1935, she arrived at San Francisco, California, United States via the Panama Canal for her tenure with the US Navy Pacific Fleet. In the summer of 1936, she cruised to Alaska and in Apr 1937 exercised in Hawaiian waters. On 12 Oct 1939, she was moved to Pearl Harbor, and was present when the Japanese struck the port two years later. Although still under repairs, she attempted to defend the port with her anti-aircraft weapons and on the next day went underway to escort carrier Enterprise back to Pearl Harbor. In early 1942, she sailed with Task Force 11 and screened carrier Lexington as her aircraft attacked Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands. Between 26 Mar and Jun, she escorted convoys between San Francisco and Pearl Harbor.

ww2dbaseHull sailed for Suyu, Fiji Islands, to prepare for the amphibious assault on Guadalcanal, which took place on 7 Aug 1942. She screened cruisers as the cruisers' guns bombarded Guadalcanal beaches, then joined the anti-submarine screen for the transports. On the next day, 8 Aug, she shot down several aircraft as the Japanese attempted to attack the fleet, then offered her guns to scuttle the damaged transport George F. Elliott. On 9 Aug, she sank a Japanese schooner. She departed from Guadalcanal on 10 Aug, but made three return trips as escorts in Aug and Sep 1942; she came under air attack on 9 and 14 Sep.

ww2dbaseBetween 20 Oct and Jan 1943, Hull operated in the rear at Hawaii and the New Hebrides. On 29 Jan 1943, she sailed from Pearl Harbor to San Francisco for repairs, arriving 7 Feb. She remained there until Apr.

ww2dbaseUpon completion of repairs, Hull arrived at Adak, Alaska, in the Aleutian Islands, on 16 Apr 1943. She exercised with battleships and cruisers, and then remained at Adak as the larger ships moved out to attack Attu in May. In Jul and Aug, she bombarded Kiska Island, and then supported the landing on 15 Aug.

ww2dbaseOn 26 Sep 1943, Hull returned to Pearl Harbor. Three days later, she departed to attack Wake Island. On 20 Nov, she bombarded Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands during the assault. She escorted a convoy back to Pearl Harbor, arriving 7 Dec 1943, then returned to California for amphibious exercises. On 13 Jan 1944, she departed from San Diego with Task Force 53 for the Marshall Islands Campaign. She bombarded Mille Atoll on 18 Mar and Wotje on 22 Mar. On 13 Jun, she bombarded the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands, though to little effectiveness, then covered the initial landing on 16 Jun. On 17 Jun, she joined Admiral Marc Mitscher's carrier task force, and found herself amidst the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which the Americans emerged victorious and the Japanese naval air arm devastated. In Jul, Hull operated off Guam, then in late-Aug she returned to Seattle, Washington, United States for repairs.

ww2dbaseHull arrived at Pearl Harbor on 23 Oct, joined the fast carrier striking force in the Philippine Sea in Nov 1944. On 17 and 18 Dec 1944, she was engulfed by Typhoon Cobra, experiencing extremely heavy rolls. At about 1100 on 18 Dec, the ship listed to an 80-degree angle, allowing water to flow in at a dangerous rate. The ship soon rolled over completely and sank. Destroyer escort Tabberer and other ships saved 62 men from Hull over the course of the next few days.

ww2dbaseSource: United States Navy Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Last Major Revision: Jul 2007

Destroyer Hull Interactive Map

Photographs

Dewey and Hull maneuvering off San Diego, California, United States during an demonstration with US Navy Destroyer Squadron 20, 14 Sep 1936US Navy Destroyer Squadron 20 laying a smoke screen off San Diego, California, United States, 14 Sep 1936; note destroyers Farragut, Dewey, Hull, Macdonough, Worden, Dale, Monaghan, and AylwinUS Navy Destroyer Squadron 20 maneuvering off San Diego, California, United States, 14 Sep 1936; note destroyers Dewey, Hull, and Macdonough, with PBY-1, P2Y, and PM-1 aircraft aboveHull approaching an anchorage in the lower end of Iliuliuk Bay, in the Aleutian Islands, North Pacific, 27 Apr 1937
See all 10 photographs of Destroyer Hull

Hull Operational Timeline

11 Jan 1935 Hull was commissioned into service.
20 Feb 1942 A Japanese H6K flying boat piloted by Lieutenant (jg) Noboru Sakai spotted a US carrier force 460 miles northeast of New Britain; US pilot Jimmy Thatch of Fighting Squadron 3 (VF-3) flying from USS Lexington shot down Sakai's aircraft at 1112 hours, but not before Sakai had alerted others. At 1202 hours, Burt Stanley and Leon Haynes, also of VF-3, shot down another H6K aircraft flown by Warrant Officer Kiyoshi Hayashi north of Lexington. At 1420 hours, 17 Type 1 bombers of Japanese 4th Air Group, led by Lieutenant Masayoshi Nakagawa, were launched from Rabaul, with the first wave reaching Lexington at 1625 hours. The first wave of 9 bombers were all shot down without causing any damage to Lexington (Nakagawa tried to crash into Lexington as he fell from the sky, but fell short by less than 1 mile). US Navy Lieutenant Albert Vorse of VF-3 shot down one of these bombers for his first aerial kill. The second wave attacked USS Lexington and USS Minneapolis at 1705 hours, still causing no damage; Edward "Butch" O'Hare shot down 3 and damaged 4 Japanese bombers. Only 2 Japanese bombers arrived back at Rabaul at the end of the day; 100 Japanese bomber crewmen were lost during the attacks, and Japan also lost 20 men with the H6K reconnaissance flights earlier in the morning. O'Hare was given credit for 5 kills, making him an "Ace in a Day" and leading to him being awarded the Medal of Honor. With the element of surprise lost, Lexington broke off her intended raid on Rabaul. Because of the loss of so many bombers, the Japanese delayed their plans to invade Lae, New Guinea.
28 Jul 1942 US Navy and Marines began a four-day amphibious landing exercise at Fiji as rehearsals for the Guadalcanal landings set for two weeks later.
5 Oct 1943 Task Force 19 consisting of Essex-class carriers Essex, Lexington, and Yorktown with light carriers Cowpens, Independence, and Belleau Wood escorted by cruisers New Orleans, San Francisco, Birmingham, Nashville, Santa Fe, and Mobile and destroyers Hull, Hazelwood, Bancroft, Caldwell, Coghlan, Braine, Halford, Kidd, Bullard, Chauncey, John Rodgers, Harrison, Murray, Ringgold, Sigsbee, Schroeder, Dashiell, Conner, Burns, Boyd, and Bradford began two days of strikes against Wake Island. So intense was the bombardment that island commander Rear Admiral Sakaibara Shigemitsu was convinced it was a prelude to an invasion and he ordered the execution of all 98 remaining POWs that had been there since 23 Dec 1941, many of whom had been civilian contractors at the time of their capture.
18 Dec 1944 Many ships from the United States Third Fleet, Task Force 38 sailed into Typhoon Cobra in the Philippine Sea. Three destroyers and 790 men were lost.
20 Dec 1944 After three days and two nights of searching for survivors in the water after Typhoon Cobra, destroyer escort USS Tabberer was relieved of the search by other ships after recovering 55 men from the water.




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More on Hull
Event(s) Participated:
» Attack on Pearl Harbor
» Action off Bougainville
» Guadalcanal Campaign
» Aleutian Islands Campaign
» Gilbert Islands Campaign
» Marshall Islands Campaign
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot
» Typhoon Cobra

Document(s):
» US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, Enclosure E, USS Hull

Destroyer Hull Photo Gallery
Dewey and Hull maneuvering off San Diego, California, United States during an demonstration with US Navy Destroyer Squadron 20, 14 Sep 1936
See all 10 photographs of Destroyer Hull


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