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  USS Saufley DD-465 (DDE-465, EDDE-465)
USN
Fletcher-class destroyer

2,050 Tons
376' 6" x 39' 8" x 17' 9"
5 x 5" guns
10 x 40mm
7 x 20mm
10 x 21" torpedos
6 x depth charge projectors
2 x depth charge tracks

Click For Enlargement
USN 1945
Sinking History
Built by Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Kearny, New Jersey. Laid down January 27, 1942 as a Fletcher-class destroyer. Launched on July 19, 1942 as USS Saufley (DD-465) named for U.S. Navy Lieutenant Richard Saufley, an aviation pioneer sponsored by his widow, Mrs Helen (O’Rear) Scruggs. Commissioned August 29, 1942 in the U.S. Navy (USN) with Lieutenant Commander Bert F. Brown in command.

Wartime History
Made a shakedown off northern New England, Saufley made several coastal escort runs and then prepared for duty in the South Pacific. She departed Norfolk on 9 September. Arriving at Nouméa on New Caledonia, on 2 December, Saufley proceeded to Guadalcanal campaign three days later.

Initially assigned to escort reinforcements from Espiritu Santo to Lunga Point on Guadalcanal Saufley undertook anti-shipping sweeps to the north and west of Guadalcanal and conducted shore bombardment missions against enemy positions on Guadalcanal. During the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal in late January 1943 and early February 1943, Saufley operated with Task Force 11 (TF11). On 19 February, she sailed for Lunga Roads to join with other units staging for Operation Cleanslate, the occupation of the Russell Islands.

During that operation, Saufley transported troops, towed landing craft to the target islands, and provided shore bombardment in support of the troops as they landed on Pavuvu and Banika islands on February 21. From these islands, planes would be able to cover operations against Rendova.

In March, Saufley resumed escort and antisubmarine duties in the southern Solomons-New Caledonia-New Hebrides area. Following an abbreviated availability at Sydney, Australia, she returned to Nouméa and resumed escort work until the end of June. On June 30, Saufley bombarded Japanese installations in the Shortlands.

During July and August found Saufley engaged in assault operations against New Georgia and escort missions to the New Hebrides and Vella Lavella. On 31 August, she received minor damage, but no casualties, from near misses by shore batteries in "the Slot".

On September 15 at 10:11am Saufley was en route to Espiritu Santo in company with Montgomery and two merchantmen, a torpedo wake was sighted. As Montgomery's sound gear was inoperative, Saufley initiated a search down the track of the torpedo wake. Over the period of the next three and one-half hours, she delivered five separate depth charge attacks against the submarine. At 14:43, the Japanese submarine RO-101, surfaced.

Saufley's 5" batteries and machine guns opened up on the conning tower of the submarine. A PBY flying boat moved in and dropped two depth charges. The first charge missed the target by about 40', but the second one hit it. When the splash subsided, the submarine was gone. An underwater explosion was heard and, by 17:35, diesel oil, covering an area of approximately one square mile marked the grave of RO-101.

During the remainder of September and well into October, Saufley was engaged in night antibarge patrols between Kolombangara and Choiseul. She sank four barges during this period but sustained damage from Japanese aerial bombs on the night of 1 October which resulted in the death of two crew members and the wounding of 11 others.

The months of November and December 1943 and January 1944 found Saufley performing escort duties for the reinforcement of Bougainville. In February, Saufley was engaged in the assault on the Green Islands which broke the Japanese Rabaul-Buka supply line and provided the Allies with another airfield near Rabaul. Antisubmarine patrols were followed by call fire support missions during the occupation of Emirau Island. This action, which completed the "ring around Rabaul", took Saufley into April. She had returned to the Emirau-Massau area when, on the morning of April 7, she gained contact on a submerged submarine. Forty-five minutes and 18 depth charges later, two underwater explosions were heard. Within hours, oil covered the area. Postwar review of Japanese records identified the sunken submarine as Japanese submarine I-2. Following escort duties to the Admiralties, Saufley returned to Purvis Bay on April 18 whence she conducted exercises with TF 38 into May.

On May 4, the destroyer sailed for Pearl Harbor. Arriving on May 12, she sailed west again on 1 June as a unit of Task Group 51.18 (TG 51.18), the reserve force for Operation Forager, the conquest of the Marianas. On D-Day plus 1, 16 June, Saufley and the other escorts shepherded their charges into the transport unloading area west of Saipan. Saufley was then reassigned to call fire support duties. For the next month, she continued call fire support, screening, and shore bombardment operations in the Saipan-Tinian area. On 20 July, Saufley moved south for the invasion of Guam. Here, the destroyer provided call fire support for the assault troops. She returned to Tinian on the 23d and supported the landings there on July 24. For the next week, she provided gunfire support and served on radar picket duty.

Remaining in the Marianas until 12 August, the destroyer then sailed for California, arriving at San Francisco with her squadron, Destroyer Squadron 22 (DesRon 22), at the end of the month. Overhaul took her into October. On October 26, she again steamed west. On November 17, she arrived at Ulithi Atoll then proceeded to Leyte Gulf.

Philippines
Off Leyte, Saufley soon was engaged in anti-submarine action after moving into the Camotes Sea to search for a submarine reported to be in the area. Shortly after entering the area on November 28, Japanese submarine I-46 was located on the surface off Pilar Point, Ponson Island. In a multi-destroyer gun action involving Saufley, Renshaw, Waller, and USS Pringle (DD-477), the submarine was sunk 45 minutes later. On November 29, while in Leyte Gulf, Saufley was damaged by a kamikaze attack.

Returning to Leyte Gulf, Saufley lost one man and suffered considerable hull damage in an engagement with enemy planes on 29 November. Following repairs at the Admiralties, she proceeded to a 2 January 1945 rendezvous with the Lingayen attack force. Moving into the Sulu Sea on the 7th, Saufley shot down an attacking Japanese aircraft at dusk on the 8th. On the morning of January 9, the formation stood into Lingayen Gulf. Saufley provided screening services as the assault waves landed in the Lingayen area. On the morning of January 10, Saufley splashed another aircraft, this time a Val attempting to crash the destroyer. Saufley got underway on January 12 to return to Leyte Gulf. From Leyte Gulf, she escorted a convoy to Morotai and returned on 26 January. Sailing for Luzon, Saufley arrived off Nasugbu to support the landing there on January 31. On 1 February, she sank an attacking Japanese boat. She then commenced call fire support which continued for four days. Saufley then set a course for Subic Bay.

The balance of February and most of March was spent in support operations in the areas of Manila Bay and Mindoro. Saufley participated in amphibious operations at Sanga Sanga (31 March to 4 April) and Jolo (8 to 11 April) where she served as flagship, screening vessel, and call fire support ship.

The next two months found Saufley engaged in escort duties. She participated in the assault against Balikpapan, Borneo, on 1 July. The destroyer returned to Morotai on 22 July. She engaged in escort work between Leyte Gulf and Ulithi until the end of hostilities in mid-August.

In early September 1945, Saufley moved up to the Ryukyu Islands and then proceeded to the China coast. She assisted in minesweeping operations in the Yangtze River delta. The destroyer remained off the coast of China until she departed for home on 12 November. Arriving at San Diego at the end of the year, Saufley continued on to the east coast in mid-January 1946. During February, she underwent repairs at the New York Naval Shipyard. In early March, Saufley headed south to Charleston for inactivation.

Awards
Saufley earned 16 battle stars for her World War II service.

Postwar
On June 12, 1946 decommissioned and placed into the Reserve Fleet for the next three years. On March 15, 1949 redesignated DDE-465. On December 15, 1949 recommissioned and assigned to Escort Destroyer Squadron (CortDesRon) 2, Atlantic Fleet. Within a year, she had participated in two search and rescue operations. The first, in June 1950, was the rescue of 36 passengers from a downed commercial airliner on a Puerto Rico-New York run. The second, in October, was the rescue of a Navy TBM pilot assigned to Palau.

On January 1, 1951 reclassified an Experimental Escort Destroyer, EDDE-465, and assigned to experimental work under the control of Commander, Operational Development Force. A unit of DesDiv 601, she was home ported at Key West; and, for the next twelve years, was primarily engaged in testing and evaluating sonar equipment and antisubmarine warfare weapons.

On July 1, 1962 Saufley was redesignated a general purpose destroyer and regained her original designation, DD-465. At the end of that month, she participated in the filming of the movie PT 109. In September, she resumed test and evaluation work. In late October, she was placed on standby; and, after the proclamation of the Cuban Quarantine in the Cuban Missile Crisis, she commenced patrols off the coast of Florida. She continued that duty until 20 November; then returned to Key West. On November 26, she participated in a review of the Quarantine Force by U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

For the next two years, Saufley continued her experimental projects, interrupting those operations only for scheduled exercises, sonar school ship duties; and, in the spring of 1963, assistance in the search for USS Thresher (SSN-593). During the fall of 1964 back to Norfolk. On January 29, 1965 decommissioned. On September 1, 1966 stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

Sinking History
Afterwards, used as an experimental ship with instruments and gauges installed to meausre strain and stress from successive explosions and used for testing. On February 20, 1968 as a test ship and sunk at roughly Lat 24°26.942′N Long 81°34.974′W to the southeast of off Key West, Florida.

References
NavSource - USS Saufley (DD-465 / DDE-465 / EDDE-465) (photos)

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Last Updated
January 24, 2022

 

 

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