USS The Sullivans (DD-537)

History

USS The Sullivans (DD-537) is a retired United States Navy Fletcher-class destroyer. The ship was named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers (George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert) aged 20 to 27 who died when the light cruiser, USS Juneau, was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. This was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II. She was also the first ship commissioned in the Navy that honored more than one person.

After service in both World War II and the Korean War, The Sullivans was assigned to the 6th Fleet and was a training ship until she was decommissioned on 7 January 1965.

In 1977, she and cruiser USS Little Rock were processed for donation to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park in Buffalo, New York. The ship now serves as a memorial museum ship and is open for public tours. On 13 April 2022, the USS The Sullivans partially sank from a severe hull breach.

Text from Wikipedia: USS The Sullivans (DD-537), CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Wars and campaigns

From Wikidata (CC0).

Key dates

1. 1942
   The Sullivans was originally laid down as Putnam on 10 October 1942, at San Francisco by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation.
2. 1943
   Following a shakedown cruise, The Sullivans got underway with sister ships Dortch and Gatling on 23 December 1943.
3. 1945
   Heavy seas forced a three-day postponement of a high-speed thrust toward the target originally planned for the night of 6 January 1945.
4. 1952
   The Sullivans departed Newport on 6 September 1952 bound for Japan.
5. 1953
   The Sullivans was ordered home and departed Yokosuka, Japan on 26 January 1953.
6. 1954
   She remained on this duty through the end of the year and returned to Newport on 3 February 1954 for operations off the east coast and into the Caribbean through May 1955.
7. 1963
   On 7 January 1963, The Sullivans got underway from Newport bound for the Caribbean and another training cruise.
8. 1964
   After the collision of the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne and destroyer Voyager, which resulted in the sinking of Voyager on 10 February 1964, the United States offered The Sullivans to Australia along with sister ship Twining as a temporary replacement.
9. 1986
   The ship was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

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 The Sullivans (DD-537)”

More history

• National Park Service
• Naval History and Heritage Command (DANFS)
• National Archives
• Wikipedia: USS The Sullivans (DD-537)