USS NORRIS DD-859

A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS NORRIS DD-859

The Tin Can Sailor, January 2007

The USS NORRIS was commissioned on 9 June 1945 and spent much of her first three years in the Far East along the Chinese and Korean coasts. After her transfer to the East Coast she was reclassified as an escort destroyer (DDE-859) in March 1950. She was in the Mediterranean just after the outbreak of the Korean War and proceeded through the Suez Canal to join the Seventh Fleet in the combat area for blockade, patrol, fire support, and screening duties. She provided gunfire support during the Hungnam evacuation in December 1950.

Returning to Newport early in March 1951, the NORRIS trained in the North Atlantic and Caribbean until sailing in April 1952 for her first Mediterranean deployment until 27 June. She, then, took part in NATO’s Operation Main Brace in the North Sea, between August and October. Her subsequent yearly schedule regularly included Mediterranean cruises and in 1954 she began 15 months of operations with the Atlantic Fleet’s hunter-killer force. During a fleet exercise in November 1954, she collided with the BERGALL (SS-320) as the submarine was attempting
to fire torpedoes at the surface attack force.

In 1955 she continued antisubmarine training in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, broken by a three-week patrol in the North Atlantic during the November 1956 Suez crisis. With DesRon 24, she made an extended training cruise to South America from early January to late March 1957. That year, she returned to the Mediterranean and also served in the Red Sea. On her return, she served with Task Force Bravo, an experimental antisubmarine development group, until her next Sixth Fleet duty in 1960. In 1961, she received a FRAM II conversion at Philadelphia and in August 1962 was reclassified as the general-purpose destroyer DD-859. That October she took station off Cuba during the quarantine provoked by the missile crisis. In August 1963, after another Mediterranean deployment, she received an experimental wire-guided torpedo system and spent much of the next year testing and evaluating the new system.

The NORRIS deployed again to the Mediterranean in the fall of 1964 and spring and fall of 1965. She next served in Polaris support operations as a missile tracking ship in April 1966, and in the primary recovery force for Gemini X, in July. Intensified operations in Vietnam took her and other ships of DesRon 20 to the Far East in November 1966 where her guns supported troops ashore, first driving back Vietcong attempting to overrun Vung Tau on 21 November 1966. After four months on the gun line, the NORRIS was back in Newport in April 1967.

Following East Coast and Caribbean operations, the NORRIS returned to the Mediterranean in April 1968 and again in 1969. She continued her rotation between the Second and Sixth Fleets into 1970. After nearly thirty years as a U.S. Navy warship, the NORRIS was struck from the navy’s list on 1 February and transferred to Turkey on 7 July 1974 to provide spare parts for other ships. She served the Turkish navy for another twenty years as the KOCATEPE (D354), replacing the ex-USS HARWOOD (DD-861), sunk on 21 July 1974 during Turkey’s brief war with Greece over Cyprus.

USS NORRIS DD-859 Ship History

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

USS Norris (DD-859) was one of 98 Gearing-class destroyers in the United States Navy during the end of World War II. Norris was active from 9 June 1945 to 4 December 1970. Although built too late to see action during the war, the ship served in the Pacific, Atlantic, Asiatic, and Mediterranean areas.

Benjamin White Norris was born on 15 May 1907 at Callao, Peru. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps Reserves on 15 May 1919. He completed flight training on 6 May 1938 and was promoted to Major on 16 May 1942. He was killed in action 4 June 1942 while leading a search and attack mission during the Battle of Midway. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Norris was laid down on 29 August 1944 by Bethlehem Steel Corp. in San Pedro, California. She was sponsored by the widow of Major Benjamin Norris, by proxy, Mrs. Charles Browning; and commissioned on 9 June 1945.

After shakedown off California, Norris served three months with the Pre-Commissioning Training Center of Treasure Island, then sailed for duty off Hawaii. Her next assignment was Far Eastern patrol operations, for which she arrived at Hong Kong on 7 February 1946. Much of this deployment was spent preventing smuggling and privateering along the Chinese and Korean coasts. She returned to San Diego on 22 February 1947, and then returned again to the China coast where she remained from 8 January to 16 July 1948.

After an overhaul at Mare Island Naval Shipyard which included extensive alterations enhancing her anti-submarine capability, Norris joined the Atlantic Fleet at Newport, Rhode Island in October. Reclassified as escort destroyer DDE-859 on 4 March 1950, she trained for her first Mediterranean deployment, for which she sailed on 5 July, just after the outbreak of the Korean War. She was accordingly ordered on through the Suez Canal to join the United States Seventh Fleet in the combat area.

Joining in blockade, patrol, fire support, and screening duties, Norris gave gunfire support during the Hŭngnam evacuation in early December 1950, and while on blockade rescued 21 South Koreans from a drifting junk off North Korea. Returning to Newport early in March 1951, Norris overhauled at Boston and trained in the North Atlantic and Caribbean until sailing on 19 April 1952 for her deferred first Mediterranean deployment.

Peacekeeping duty with the United States Sixth Fleet continued until 27 June, when she returned to Newport to prepare for “Operation Main Brace“, a major NATO exercise in the North Sea that took place from 26 August to 12 October. Mediterranean cruises from April 1952–February 1953 and January 1954–May 1954 followed, and from 28 June 1954 she operated primarily with the Hunter-Killer Force of the Atlantic Fleet for the next 15 months. During a fleet exercise on October 31, she collided with USS Bergall (SS-320) when the submarine was attempting to fire torpedoes at the surface attack force.

From 2 May to 4 June 1955 she escorted replacements for the 6th Fleet to Gibraltar, then returned to anti-submarine evaluation and training in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, broken by a three-week patrol in the North Atlantic during the November 1956 Suez crisis. With Destroyer Squadron 24 she made an extended training cruise to South America from early January to late March 1957, visiting ports in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay between antisubmarine exercises with various Latin American navies. She returned to the Mediterranean from August to December 1957, also serving in the Red Sea during this deployment.

Norris next served in Task Force Bravo, an experimental anti-submarine development group, until her next 6th Fleet duty from June–August 1960. After a FRAM II conversion at Philadelphia from March to December 1961, Norris had over a year of intensive Atlantic Fleet training operations, including a midshipman training cruise. She was reclassified a general purpose destroyer (DD-859) on 7 August 1962 and in October took station off Cuba during the quarantine provoked by the missile crisis. With the return of quiet, she was back in Newport in December to prepare for another Mediterranean deployment, which took place from 6 February–7 July 1963. In August, an experimental wire-guided torpedo system was installed by Boston Naval Shipyard, and Norris spent much of the next year testing and evaluating the new system.

Deployed again to the Mediterranean from 1 October 1964 to 18 January 1965 and 19 August–7 December 1965, Norris served in Polaris support operations as a missile tracking ship from 1 to 15 April 1966, and in the primary recovery force for Gemini X from 12 to 23 July.

Intensified operations in Vietnam called her with other ships of Destroyer Squadron 20 and they left Newport on 4 October for Panama and Yokosuka, arriving on 10 November. As they had in Korea, her guns supported troops ashore, first driving back Viet Cong attempting to overrun Vũng Tàu on 21 November. After four months on the gunline giving major service in the struggle to keep South Vietnam free, Norris completed a circumnavigation by returning via Suez to Newport, arriving on 25 April 1967.

Following east coast and Caribbean operations, Norris returned to the Mediterranean on 29 April 1968 for duty through the summer months. Returning to Newport in the fall, she deployed again from 9 May through December 1969. Into 1970 she continued on rotation between the 2nd Fleet and 6th Fleet.

Norris was decommissioned on 4 December 1970, and struck from the Navy List on 1 February 1974. Transferred to Turkey on 1 July 1974 as a spare parts ship to be cannibalized, but after the loss of TCG Kocatepe D354 (ex-USS Harwood DD861 in Turkish service, which is sunk by Turkish warplanes on 21 July 1974 following a mistake), Turkish Navy gave the same name TCG Kocatepe with same hull number D354 to ex-USS Norris. After 20 years of service with Turkish Navy, Kocatepe (ex-USS Norris DD859) was decommissionned and sold as scrap to Hurdasan Anonim Sirketi in June 1994.

Awards

Norris received two battle stars for Korean War service.