Fullam (DD 474), flagship of DesRon 45.
Destroyer Squadron 45
1943
Destroyer Division 89
USS Guest (DD 472)
USS Bennett (DD 473)
USS Fullam (DD 474), flag
USS Hudson (DD 475)
USS Halford (DD 480)
Destroyer Division 90
USS Terry (DD 513)
USS Anthony (DD 515)
USS Wadsworth (DD 516)
USS Braine (DD 630)
Destroyer Squadron 45 was the last squadron of
2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers to join the Pacific war before the end of the Solomon Islands campaign. Initially it consisted of nine ships, commissioned between December 1942 and May 1943 . . .
Guest (DD 472),
Bennett (DD 473),
Fullam (flagship, DD 474) and
Hudson (DD 475) the first four
Fletchers built at
Boston Navy Yard;
Halford (DD 480), built at
Puget Sound Navy Yard and initially fitted with a floatplane catapult; and
Terry (DD 513),
Anthony (DD 515),
Wadsworth (DD 516) and
Braine (DD 630) from
Bath Iron Works.
Destroyer Squadron 45
World War II Operations
They formed the escort for the invasion of Bougainville, 1 November 1943 and then earned stars for operations in the Pacific war including the cosolidation of the northern Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago operation and the invasions of the Mariana Islands and Palau.
While Halford continued operating in the Philippines and Braine was detached to join DesRon 23, the remainder returned to the West Coast for overhaul and then were joined in December 1944 by Howorth (DD 591) for the Iwo Jima and Okinawa invasions.
While the five ships of DesDiv 89 ended the war in Alaskan waters, too late to see action there, DesDiv 90 remained with the Third Fleet during its closing operations against Japan.
DECORATIONS
For her performance as a fighter director ship on a radar picket station at Okinawa,
Wadsworth was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation while
Bennett,
Hudson and
Anthony each received the Navy Unit Commendation.
