Colahan (DD 658), initial flagship of DesRon 53.
Destroyer Squadron 53
1943
Destroyer Division 105
USS Colahan (DD 658), flag
USS Halsey Powell (DD 686)
USS Uhlmann (DD 687)
USS Benham (DD 796)
USS Cushing (DD 797)
Destroyer Division 106
USS Twining (DD 540)
USS Yarnall (DD 541)
USS Stockham (DD 683)
USS Wedderburn (DD 684)
Destroyer Squadron 53
World War II Operations
Destroyer Squadron 53 was one of several squadrons of
2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers that joined the war after the Solomon Islands campaign and figured in the Third and Fifth Fleets’ climactic campaigns of the Pacific War. It was composed of nine square-bridge ships commissioned between August 1943 and March 1944:
- Colahan, DD 658, commissioned in August 1943 and the first flagship, was built at Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island, New York.
- Halsey Powell, DD 686, Uhlmann, DD 687, Benham, DD 796 and Cushing, DD 797, also from Bethlehem Staten Island, were commissioned in sequence between October 1943 and January 1944 and initially formed Destroyer Division 105.
- Twining, DD 540, Yarnall, DD 541, Stockham, DD 683 and Wedderburn, DD 684, the last four 2,100-tonners from Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco, commissioned between December 1943 and March 1944, formed Destroyer Division 106.
Tom Cat, DesRon 53 stack emblem.
OPERATIONS
Under
Captain Harry Bean Jarrett, embarked variously in flagships
Colahan,
Halsey Powell and
Cushing, the squadron participated in the Marianas, Palau, Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa operations, concluding with a prominent role for DesDiv 106 in events leading to the formal surrender of Japan:
- On 27 August 1945, Stockham was operating with Third Fleet Admiral William Halsey’s Flagship Task Group, battleships Missouri and Iowa with three destroyers of Squadron 21 and converted destroyer escort Gosselin (APD 126), approaching Japan and anchoring in peace in Sagami Wan.
- The following day, minesweepers Revenge (AM 110), Token (AM 126), Tumult (AM 127) and Pochard (AM-375) led the way north through the Uraga Suido into Tokyo Bay, followed by destroyer-minesweepers Ellyson and Hambleton. Astern in column order were Southerland (DD 743), Twining (DD 540), San Diego (CL 53), Gosselin and Wedderburn (DD 684), the first warships of the Occupation Forces to anchor in Tokyo Bay.
