USS HAYNSWORTH DD-700

A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS HAYNSWORTH DD-700

The Tin Can Sailor, January 2000

Commander William M. Haynsworth, Jr. was killed with all but eleven of his crew when his ship the INGRAHAM (DD-111) exploded after being rammed by the fleet oiler CHEMUNG in a dense fog off Nova Scotia in August 1942. The destroyer bearing his name was commissioned on 22 June 1944. Her first post-shakedown assignment was as an escort out of New York for the QUEEN MARY with Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard for the first leg of his homeward voyage. Less than a week later, she was on her way to the Pacific. From December to January 1945, she operated with Task Force 38 as its fast carriers conducted air strikes along the coasts of China and Formosa and harassed enemy shipping during the landings at Luzon. On 3 January, the HAYNSWORTH rescued the crew of a disabled TBF Avenger forced to land in the water. During strikes against Formosa and Okinawa, the destroyer picked up another pilot.

On 10 February, the HAYNSWORTH sortied with Task Force 58 for strikes against airfields, factories, and shipping in the Tokyo area. On 16 February, she sank three Japanese picket boats, taking twelve prisoners. She also rescued an F6F pilot. March found her on screening and plane guard duty for strikes against Kyushu during which she picked up the pilot and crewman of an SB20 that ditched when it ran out of fuel. On 19 March, her gunners splashed an enemy plane diving on the formation. She then joined the bombardment of Minami Daito. On 6 April, while supporting the invasion of Okinawa, she assisted in downing a number of enemy planes and sank many mines.

Tragedy struck the HAYNSWORTH on 6 April. While on picket duty, a dogfight between two Japanese fighters and several F6Fs was raging overhead. One of the enemy planes was shot down, the other, obviously outnumbered, quit the fight, jettisoned its bombs, and dove on the ship. It struck near the forward starboard 40-mm mount killing twelve and injuring nineteen. It also caused considerable damage to several compartments, especially to radio and radar equipment. Damage control parties soon had the fires under control and the ship rejoined her task group, transferring the seriously wounded to the SOUTH DAKOTA (BB-57).

The following day, the HANCOCK (CV- 19) was hit by a kamikaze, and the HAYNSWORTH rescued eight of the survivors from the water. On 9 April, she retired to Ulithi and then headed for the states and the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for two months of repairs.

After duty as a training ship at Treasure Island and Pearl Harbor, she went into the reserve fleet at Boston until returned to active duty in March 1947. She operated out of New Orleans, as a reserve training ship until summer 1949. Following a Mediterranean deployment, she again went into reserve, this time at Charleston.

With the coming of war in Korea, she was re-commissioned on 22 September 1950, underwent a year of training and local operations, and then in September 1951 sailed again for the Mediterranean Operations on the East Coast, exercises in the Caribbean, and a midshipman cruise to the North Atlantic preceded her departure from Norfolk for an around-the-world cruise in November 1953. During the cruise, she spent four months in the Far East with the Seventh Fleet. On 20 December 1953, during antisubmarine warfare exercises in the Sea of Japan, she and the AULT ((DD-698) collided. The AULT’s bow was torn off at frame eight, and the HAYNSWORTH had a twenty-foot hole on her starboard side near her bow, which was repaired at the Yokosuka Naval Shipyard. She returned to Norfolk in June 1954. In 1956, during the Suez crisis, she patrolled the eastern Mediterranean and evacuated U.S. nationals from Egypt. Between 1956 and 1960, she had five deployments to the Mediterranean. In 1959, she took part in the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The HAYNSWORTH delivered emergency food to a flood-ravaged African town in 1961 and in 1962, joined the quarantine force during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The following year, she deployed to the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. A midshipman cruise and an overhaul took her into 1964 when she began duty as a naval reserve training ship operating out of Galveston, Texas. Reserve training continued into 1968.

In March 1969, the HAYNSWORTH joined the HYMAN (DD-732) and the Coast Guard cutter DURABLE in the search for a Liberian freighter that sank after an engine room explosion. All but one of the freighter’s crew were rescued. The veteran destroyer took her final reserve training cruise on 12 December 1969 and on 16 January 1970, the AULT arrived in Galveston to take over as a reserve training ship. The HAYNSWORTH was decommissioned on 30 January 1970 and in May was transferred to the Republic of China, operating out of Taiwan as the YUEH YANG (DD-5) until 1993.

USS HAYNSWORTH DD-700 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, April 2016

Haynsworth (DD-700) was launched 15 April 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. Haynsworth, widow of Comdr. Haynsworth; and commissioned 22 June 1944, Comdr. Robert Brodie, Jr., in command.

After shakedown in the Caribbean Haynsworth departed New York 20 September escorting Queen Mary with Prime Minister Winston Churchill on board. Rendezvousing with British escorts, she returned to New York and sailed 26 September via the Canal Zone and San Pedro, arriving Pearl Harbor 20 October. Haynsworth sailed 16 December for Ulithi and joined Vice Admiral J. S. McCain’s Fast Carrier Task Force 38 for the final assaults on the Japanese. During the next 3 months she operated with the 3d and 5th Fleets as part of the screen for the Fast Carrier Task Force; the primary mission being to conduct air strikes against strategic Japanese positions along the China coast, and Formosa, and to harrass enemy shipping during the landings at Luzon 9 January 1945.

The day after the invasion was launched, Task Force 38 moved into the South China Sea and conducted raids on the China coast and Indochina, doing much damage to the enemy. Launching one final raid against Okinawa, Haynsworth retired to Ulithi 26 January. She sortied 10 February with Admiral Marc Mitscher’s Fast Carrier Force 58 for strikes against airfields, factories, and shipping in the Tokyo area. Heavy fighter sweeps were launched 16 February to cover the airfields around Tokyo Bay. Despite heavy weather with low ceiling, most of the target areas were effectively neutralized. During the afternoon three Japanese picket boats that had evaded detection in thick fog were spotted by Haynsworth and promptly sunk, taking 12 prisoners. In addition to damaging aircraft frame and engine plants, a number of ships and small craft were attacked and sunk in Tokyo Bay, the biggest prize being the 10,600-ton Yamashiro Maru.

As the Pacific war approached its climax, Haynsworth again sailed from Ulithi for further strikes against Japan. Massive air attacks were launched against airfields on Kyushu and ships in the Inland Sea 18 and 19 March, inflicting heavy damage on the dwindling Japanese air and sea power. After participating in the bombardment of enemy shore positions on Minami Daito Shima 28 March, she sailed for Okinawa. Landings were made on the Japanese fortress 1 April, with Task Force 58 providing support, and Haynsworth frequently aiding in the destruction of enemy aircraft during the many attacks, where “the fleet had come to stay.” Only after she was crashed by a kamikaze 6 April did she have to retire to Mare Island via Ulithi for repairs.

After repairs Haynsworth had duty at Treasure Island, Calif., as a training ship from 17 July to 5 September. After several months of operations at Pearl Harbor, she sailed for the east coast 14 January 1946, reaching Boston 26 April for a year in the Reserve Fleet. Returning to active service in March 1947, Haynsworth based her operations from Algiers, La., conducting reserve training cruises in the Gulf and in the Caribbean until the summer of 1949.

Haynsworth sailed 6 September 1949 for her first duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, returning to Norfolk 7 February 1950. She arrived Charleston 10 days later, decommissioned there 19 May and joined the Reserve Fleet.

With the expansion of operations due to the Korean War, Haynsworth recommissioned at Charleston 22 September 1950, Comdr. Herbert F. Rommel in command. Following training and operations along the East Coast and in the Caribbean she sailed 3 September 1951 for duty in the Mediterranean.

After more operations on the East Coast and in the Caribbean, and a Midshipman cruise to the North Atlantic, Haynsworth sailed from Norfolk 2 November 1953 for a round-the-world cruise. While in the Pacific she was assigned duty for 4 months in the Far East with the 7th Fleet, a vital peace-keeping force in that part of the world. Haynsworth returned to Norfolk 4 June 1954 to resume her support of the 6th Fleet. In 1958 with the Suez crisis still unsettled, Navy units stood by in the eastern Mediterranean and evacuated U.S. nationals from Egypt. Haynsworth aided the Navy’s preparedness in the event of any conflict. Between 1956 and 1960 she made five deployments to the Mediterranean, supporting the Navy’s peacekeeping role and keeping a watchful eye on the troubled spots of the free world. In 1959 Haynsworth took part in the historic “Operation Inland Seas,” commemorating the opening of the mighty St. Lawrence Seaway, steaming up the St. Lawrence to Montreal.

Late in 1961 while in the Mediterranean, Haynsworth delivered emergency food rations to flood-ravaged Africa; and on 3 October 1962, she stood by off Cape Canaveral as a rescue ship and witnessed the take off of astronaut Comdr. Walter Schirra on his historic six-orbital flight. Later that month, under much more serious circumstances, she hastened to the Caribbean and participated in the naval quarantine of Cuba, effectively checking the Communist threat to the security of the Western Hemisphere.

In February 1963 Haynsworth deployed to the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden for operations with the 6th Fleet. After returning to Norfolk, she embarked midshipmen for an Atlantic cruise from 1 August to 10 September; then underwent overhaul at New Orleans, La., and Orange, Tex., before arriving Galveston 28 February 1964 to begin duty as a Naval Reserve training ship.

Assigned to Reserve Destroyer Squadron 34, Haynsworth since that time has operated out of Galveston while providing valuable on board training facilities for hundreds of Naval Reservists. Manned by a nucleus crew, she has steamed to ports along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and numerous training cruises have carried her into the Caribbean. Into mid-1967 she has continued to bolster the strength of the Navy and the Nation through intense, skilled, and effective training which maintains the caliber and readiness of the Naval Reserve.

Haynsworth received three battle stars for World War II service.