USS Ellyson (DD-454/ DMS-19)

USS Ellyson (DD-454) was a Gleaves class destroyer that served on convoy escort duties and took part in Operation Torch, briefly served with the Royal Navy, sank U-616, took part in the D-Day landings and the invasion of the South of France, before being converted into a high speed minesweeper and serving at Okinawa.

USS Ellyson (DD-454) at sea

The Ellyson was named after Theodore Gordon Ellyson, the first US Naval officer to be designated an aviator. He was awarded the Navy Cross for developing succesful tactics used by US Submarine Chasers based at Plymouth, England during the First World War.

The Ellyson (DD-454) was launched on 25 July 1941 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J. when she was sponsored by Miss Gordon Ellyson, the daughter of Commander Ellyson, and commissioned on 28 November 1941.

The Ellyson 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.

The Ellyson was still outfitting when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In the aftermath of the attack she was quickly prepared for sea. Her initial role was patrol and convoy escort work on the routes from Halifax down to the West Indies and the Panama Canal.

1942

On 14 January 1942 she rescued 24 survivors from the sunken Norwegian SS Harness.

On 22 April the Ellyson formed part of Task Force 36, when it departed for Trinidad. On 10 May the task force flagship Ranger launched sixty-eight USAAF P-40 fighters which flew on to Accra in the Gold Coast, from where they continued on across Africa to Egypt. During this voyage the Ellyson and Hambleton had a minor collision. The task force reached Trinidad on 21 May. On 22 May it departed for Newport. The Ellyson moved north to Argentia, where on 17-18 June the Ranger, Ellyson and Corry formed an anti-submarine screen.

On 15 June 1942 she became the flagship of the Commander, Destroyer Squadron 10. She remained the flagship of her squadron throughout the war, even after the ships in it were converted into high-speed minesweepers and the squadron became Mine Division 20 late in 1944.

USS Ellyson (DD-454) refueling from USS Santee (CVE-29), Operation Torch

In August 1942 the Ellyson began to operate with the Ranger in prepration for Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. She took part in the landings at Fedhala on 8 November.

During the fighting off Casablanca on 10 November the French submarine Le Tonnant fired four torpedoes at the Ranger, which missed to her stern. The Ellyson and Hobson attacke the submarine and prevented any further attacks. Le Tonnant was forced to move to Cadiz in neutral Spain, where she was scuttled as she was judged to be unable to reach Toulon.

Once the fighting around Casablanca was over the Ellyson returned to the US.

1943

The next two months were spent on escort duty along the US East Coast. She then supported USS Ranger on two ferry trips carrying USAAF aircraft to North Africa in February 1943.

On 5 April 1943 the Ellyson moved to Argentia to prepare for operations with the Royal Navy. On 12 May she sailed as part of the screen of the South Dakota (BB-57) and Alabama (BB-60), heading for the Home Fleet base at Scapa Flow. Over the next few months the Ellyson helped provide distant support for the Russian convoys, took part in attempts to catch the Tirpitz at sea, and in July took part in a feint designed to convince the Germans an invasion of southern Norway was underway, carried out to distract from the invasion of Sicily.

The Ellyson returned to Norfolk on 9 August 1943. She then screened the Iowa (BB-61) during her shakedown cruise, before returning to Norfolk on 24 October.

In November the Ellyson joined the forces that escorted President Roosevelt across the Atlantic to the Tehran conference. The fleet left Hampton Roads on 13 November with the President on USS Iowa (BB-61). The destroyer escort changed several times during the voyage, with the Ellyson, Emmons (DD-457) and Rodman (DD-456) taking over on the afternoon of 13 November. They remained with the battleship until 19 November, when they were detached from the group as it passed through the Straits of Gibraltar. On the following morning the Iowa landed the President near Oran, from where he flew on to his destination. The Iowa then turned back to head for Bahia in Brazil. The Ellyson, Emmons and Rodman rejoined her as she passed west through the Straits of Gibraltar, and escorted her across the Atlantic. The Ellyson remained with the Iowa as she visited Freetown (Sierra Leone), Dakar and Port Royal, South Caroline, before reaching Boston on 19 December.

1944

On 6 January 1944 the Ellyson rejoined the Ranger to serve as part of her screen and on plane guard during during operations in Narragansett Bay.

The Ellyson left for North Africa on 19 April, arriving at Oran on 1 May.

On 16 May the Ellyson was at sea hunting for submarines when she detected U-616. This was the start of a day long battle that involved a large number of destroyers. The U-boat was forced to surface at 23.58, but had to dive after a brief gun battle with USS Macomb (DD-458). The Ellyson and Hambleton continued the attack with depth charges, forcing the U-boat to surface once again. The Ellyson was able to sink her with gunfire, before resucing 30 survivors.

Soon after this she departed for England to join the forces being gathered for the D-Day invasion, reaching Plymouth on 22 May.

On D Day the Ellyson escorted LCIs to Utah Beach. She then provided fire support for the 2nd Ranger Battalion as they attacked Pointe de Hoc, to knock out the heavy guns believed to be in place there.

On D+2 she relieved the McCook¸which had run short of ammo.

The Ellyson was off Omaha Beach when the Great Storm hit on 20 June and had to make her back across the Channel to the safety of Portland.

On 25 June she bombarded German positions around Cherbourg, attacking gun emplacements, as well as laying a smoke screen for the larger warships in the attack and destroying German mines.

At some point during the Normandy campaign her Gunnery Officer, Lt John Millard Weeks, went ashore, as he found a Mauser automatic pistol, which is now in the collection of the Navy History and Heritage Command, in an abandoned German coastsal defence bunker

On 29 June the Ellyson left Portland heading for the Mediterranean, to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the South of France.

On 15 August she supported the landings, leading the fire support group operating just behind the minesweepers.

She also helped support the advance on Toulon.

On 27 August she found a suspicious fishing vessel, which turned out to contain fifty German U-boat crew attempting to escape back to German held territory.

The Ellyson supported the fighting in the south of France until October, when she departed for Boston.

She reached Boston on 8 November, where she was converted into a high speed minesweeper, becoming DMS-19 on 15 November 1944.

1945

On 3 January 1945 the Ellyson left Norfolk heading for the Pacific, where she joined the forces allocated to the invasion of Okinawa.

On 24 March she reached Okinawa to take part in the pre-invasion minesweeping efforts. She then supported smaller minesweepers as they cleared the approaches to the beaches and harbours.

After the initial landings on 1 April the Ellyson joined the radar picket line, one of the most dangerous duties during the invasion – over the next three months she operated with twelve ships, only three of which ended the period undamaged.

On 6 April the Ellyson went to the aid of the Emmons (DMS-22), which had been hit by a kamikaze. By early on 7 April it was clear that she couldn’t be saved, so the Ellyson had to sink her to prevent her drifting on the Japanese held island of Ie Shima. The Ellyson was attacked several times, claiming several victories, but wasn’t hit.

In July 1945 the Ellyson became the flagship of the task group carrying out minesweeping operations in the East China Sea.

After the surrender of Japan the Ellyson joined the Third Fleet off Tokyo, then helped clear Tokyo Bay to allow the occupation fleet into the bay. In September she moved to Okinawa, where she became the command ship for the ships clearing the Inland Sea.

Post-war

The Ellyson left Japan on 5 December, reaching Norfolk on 9 January 1946. She remained active over the next few years. In 1946-47 she was used for training. In November 1948 she swept for an amphibious exerice around Argentia. She was part of the Mine Force, Atlantic Fleet, but also served with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean in 1949, 1951 and 1953. On 4 May 1954 her designation reverted to DD-454.

The Ellyson was decommissioned on 19 October 1954 and transferred to Japan under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program on 20 October 1954. In Japan she became the Asakaze (Morning Wind). She remained in Japanese service until 1970 when she was returned to the United States. She was then sold to Taiwan to be used as a source of spare parts.

Ellyson received seven stars for World War II service, for North Africa, sinking U-616, Normandy and the South of France as a destroyer, then for Okinawa, Iwo Jima and minesweeping in the Pacific as a mineweeper.

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.

Help - F.A.Q. - Contact Us - Search - Recent - About Us - Privacy