USS Aaron Ward (DD-483)

USS Aaron Ward (DD-483) was a Gleaves class destroyer that took part in the fighting around Guadalcanal and the naval battle of Guadalcanal, before sinking during escort duty off Guadalcanal early in 1943.

The Gleaves was named after Aaron Ward, who served in the US Navy from 1871 to 1913, fighting in the Spanish-American War.

The Aaron Ward was laided by by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co at Kearny, N.J. on 11 February 1941, launched on 22 November 1941 when she was sponsored by Admiral Ward’s daughter Hilda and commissioned on 4 March 1942.

The Aaron Ward was originally classified as a Bristol class ship, which were built with four 5in guns instead of the five installed on the Livermore/ Gleaves class. However after the fifth gun was removed from the those ships all of the Bristol class ships joined the Livermore/ Gleaves class.

1942

The Aaron Ward departed form the Pacific on 20 May 1942. During the battle of Midway she was part of Task Force 1, which contained seven battleships and the escort carrier Long Island (AVG-1), which was on its way from San Francisco to Hawaii during the battle. On 17 June the Long Island was detached from TF 1 and send back to San Diego, escorted by the Aaron Ward.

The Aaron Ward departed for Hawaii once again on 30 June 1942, then joined Task Force 18 to move on to Tonga. She was allocated to escort duties, and started by escorting the fleet oiler Cimarron (AO-22) to Noumea. During this voyage she made sonar contacts on 5 August and 6 August, attacking both with depth charges. In bose cases she claimed a ‘probable’ sinking, but no Japanese submarines were lost in that area at the right times. 

The Aaron Ward was then allocated to the forces screening convoys heading to Guadalcanal, and was present with the carrier Wasp (CV-7) was sunk by I-19 on 15 September 1942.

Early on 17 October the Aaron Ward arrived at Lunga Roads to take on a marine liaison officer who would control a shore bombardment later on the same day. Soon afterwards five Japanese aircraft attacked, but three were shot down by the Aaron Ward and shore based AA guns. She then embarked embarked Martin Clemens, the former British consular representative on Guadalcanal, Maj. C.M. Nees, USMC, and Corporal R. M. Howard, USMC, a photographer and departed for the bombardment area. She spent three hours bombarding Japanese shore positions, returned to Lunga Roads at 1216 and by the end of the day rejoined her task force at sea.

On 20 October she was operating with her group when I-176 torpedoed the heavy cruiser Chester (CA-27). The Aaron Ward dropped a full depth charge pattern without success, then escorted the Chester back to Espiritu Santo.

On 30 October the Aaeron Ward carried out another shore bombardment, this time with Rear Admiral Norman Scott’s flagship Atlanta (CL-51) and the destroyers Benham (DD-397), Fletcher (DD-445) and Lardner (DD-487). She picked up a liaison officer from the 1st Marine Division, then moved to the bombardment area. She fired 711 rounds of 5in ammo in two hours, ending at 0840. On the way back she investigated a report of a submarine, before leaving the area by 0900.

The Aaron Ward fought at the complex Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This was triggered when both the Japanese and Americans attempted to bring reinforcements to the island at the same time. The Aaron Ward was part of Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan’s close escort force, which left Espiritu Santo on 10 November. On 11-12 November the Aaron Ward helped screen the transports as they unloaded at Guadalacanal. On the evening of 12 November the fleet became to retire to the east. However the lead Japanese force, the ‘Volunteer Attack Force’ was soon detected. This force contained two battleships, a light cruiser, and 14 destroyers, and posed a serious threat to the American position on the island. As a result Admiral Callaghan turned back with a force of five cruisers and eight destroyers, including the Aaron Ward. The American force was arranged in a single long line, with four destroyers at the front, the cruisers in the middle, and four destroyers, led by the Aaron Ward at the rear. Some of the American ships had radar, and detected the Japanese first, but Admiral Callaghan missed his chance, and the Japanese opened fire first. Callaghan was killed in the resulting battle, and in the resulting battle the Americans lost two cruisers and four destroyers. However the battleship Hiei was badly damaged, and was sunk on the following day.

The Aaron Ward’s part in the battle was typically confusing. She detected the Japanese ships on radar at 0145 on 13 November and opened fire on a possible battleship. After firing ten salvoes she saw the US cruisers ahead of her changing directions. The Aaron Ward stopped and put both engines into reverse, and narrowly avoided two torpedoes that passed below her. Just after that the Barton (DD-599) exploded after being hit by a torpedo.  The Aaron Ward prepared to fire her own torpedoes, but stopped because a ship she believed to be the San Francisco (CA-38) appeared in the way. At 0204 she had to turned hard to port to avoid a collision, probably with the Sterett (DD-407). She then fired 25 salvoes at a target which may have been the destroyer Akatsuki, which was sunk in the battle. The Aaron Ward fired four salvoes at a new target before a Japanese shell destroyed her gunnery director. She was then hit by eight more direct hits, and attempted to retreat. However at 0225 she lost steering control, and had to steer with her engines. Firing appeared to end at 0230, luckily for the Aaron Ward, which lost engine power at 0235 after her forward engine room flooded and she lost her source of feed water for the boilers.

The crew managed to pump sea water into the tanks and at 0500 was able to begin moving once again, although slowly. At 0510 American MTBs found her, and she signalled them to ask Tulagi to send a tug. At 0530 the engines died again. Half an hour later, as the light improved, the Aaron Ward found herself dangerously close to the Japanese battleship Hiei, which was damaged and slowly turning between Savo and Florida Islands. The Aaron Ward was underway once again at 0618, and at 0620 the tug Bobolink (ATO-131) arrived. However before the tow could begin the Hiei opened fire, sending four two-gun salvoes towards the destroyer. The third of them straddled her, but American aircraft then attacked and the battleship changed target. The Aaron Ward was then towed to safety, reaching Tulagi at 08.30. Fifteen men were killed and 57 wounded in the battle.

Ensign Joseph A Westphal, Ensign Robert C. Hage and Ensign William F. LeBaron Jr were awarded the Silver Star for his actions on 13 November. John J Cofer was awarded a posthumous Silver Star for his actions on 13 November.

After temporary repairs the Aaron Ward departed for Hawaii, reaching Pearl Harbor on 20 December, where she underwent permanent repairs.

1943

The Aaron Ward rejoined the fleet on 6 February and was allocated to escort work.

On 20 March she helped drive off Japanese aircraft that attacked her convoy.

On 7 April she escorted the fast transport Ward (APD-16) and three LCTs from the Russell Islands to Savo. At 1330, as the small convoy was approaching its destination, the Aaron Ward was ordered to leave it to cover LST-449, which was off Togoma Point, Guadalcanal. She joined the LST at 1419, and began to escort her east, to get out of range of an incoming Japanese air attack. However she was then surprised by three Japanese aircraft that attacked out of the sun. Although the Aaron Ward opened fire, the Japanese were able to score a number of hits and near misses. The first bomb was a near miss that blasted holes in the side of the ship, flooding the forward fireroom. The second hit the engine room, cutting electrical power to the 5in and 40mm guns. The third missed to the port, damaging the aft engine room. The Aaron Ward lost power to her rudder and swung to the left. Another three bombers scored near misses in a second wave before the attack was over. Twenty men had been killed, seven were missing and 59 wounded.

The Aaron Ward was still afloat, but was taking on water. The Ortolan (ASR-5) and Vireo (ATO-144) attempted to help, but she continued to settle lower in the water. An attempt was made to tow her into nearbvy shallow waters, but at 21.35 she sank, 600 yards from the shallows.

Aaron Ward is normally said to have been awarded four battle stars for her World War II service, for Guadalcanal, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the consolidation of the Solomons, and Leyte. However this is an error – the fourth of these battle stars dates to the year after she sank, and is also too early to be allocated to the next Aaron Ward (DD-773/ DM-34).

U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Norman Friedmann . The standard history of the development of American destroyers, from the earliest torpedo boat destroyers to the post-war fleet, and covering the massive classes of destroyers built for both World Wars. Gives the reader a good understanding of the debates that surrounded each class of destroyer and led to their individual features.

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