USS Hobson
Gleaves-class destroyer.
History
USS Hobson (DD-464/DMS-26), a Gleaves-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Richmond Pearson Hobson, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Spanish–American War. He would later in his career attain the rank of rear admiral and go on to serve as a congressman from the state of Alabama.
Hobson, constructed at a cost of $5 million, was launched at the Charleston Navy Yard on 8 September 1941; sponsored by Mrs. Grizelda Hobson, widow of Rear Admiral Hobson. As the new destroyer slid down the ways, she was cheered on by spectators and whistle blasts from other vessels on the Cooper River. Hobson was commissioned on 22 January 1942.
In 1952, Hobson collided with the aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-18) and sank with the loss of 176 crew. The ships had been undertaking amphibious exercises in the Atlantic, with Wasp practicing night flying, when Hobson attempted to turn in front of the carrier and collided with Wasp. Hobson was broken in two and quickly sank, causing the greatest loss of life on a US Navy ship since World War II.
Text from Wikipedia: USS Hobson, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.
Wars and campaigns
From Wikidata (CC0).
Key dates
- 1942Kenneth Loveland and her sister ships of Desdiv 20 joined veteran aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) at Norfolk, Virginia, and sailed on 1 July 1942 to escort her to Africa.
- 1942Upon her return to Norfolk on 27 November 1942, the destroyer took part in exercises in Casco Bay, later steaming with a convoy to the Panama Canal Zone in December.
- 1943Hobson sailed with Ranger and other ships 5 August 1943 to join the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
- 1944The destroyer was not long out of the fray, however, returning on 8 June 1944 to screen the assault area.
- 1944Early on 15 August 1944, Hobson acted as spotter for Nevada and her preliminary bombardment from the Baie de Bougnon.
- 1944Hobson sailed for the United States on 25 October and arrived at Charleston via Bermuda on 10 November 1944.
- 1945Robert M. Vogel gave this account: On 16 April 1945 at 0500 and 75 miles northwest of Okinawa, fifteen enemy planes spotted Hobson, USS Pringle (DD-477) and two accompanying gunboats and made passes at the ships; however, the attackers were driven off by anti-aircraft fire.
- 1950She took part in amphibious exercises off North Carolina and Puerto Rico during 1950–51, and participated in carrier operations as a plane guard and screening ship.
- 1954In 1954, the USS Hobson Memorial Society erected an obelisk memorial of Salisbury Pink granite, quarried from Salisbury, North Carolina, at the city where Hobson had been built 14 years earlier, Charleston, South Carolina.
Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Records that place someone aboard this ship
A ship history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:
- Navy muster rolls, 1939–1949 (National Archives guide)
- Deck logs: how to get them (Naval History and Heritage Command)
- Crew lists research guide (NHHC)
- Search the National Archives Catalog for “USS Hobson”