USS McCalla (DD-488)

History of USS McCalla (DD-488)

USS McCalla (DD-488) is the second U.S. warship named in honor of Rear Admiral Bowman H. McCalla, who served in the Spanish-American War. McCalla is a Gleaves-class destroyer, built at the Government Dockyard, launched on March 20, 1942 and commissioned on May 27. She is capable of cruising at 37.4 knots and has an impressive range, said to be around 6,500 nautical miles, when cruising at a steady 12 knots. Typical of a destroyer of its class, the McCarra was armed with five 5"/38 caliber guns, six long-range M2 Browning machine guns, and six lethal Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns.

She also outfitted the Mark 15 torpedoes with ten 21-inch torpedo tubes and two chains of depth charges against enemy submarines.

Deployments in World War II

With a crew of 276, the McCalla fought her first war as an escort, providing much-needed protection. She was then ordered to reinforce the Allied forces in the Solomon Islands. She continued her escort duties when she encountered an enemy convoy. The battle proved to be costly for both sides.

The Americans lost a destroyer and almost a light cruiser. The Japanese suffered heavy casualties. The Imperial Navy lost one heavy cruiser and one destroyer. The third ship had to return to Japan for some much-needed repairs.

The next day, two Japanese destroyers attempted to search for survivors, but were then sunk by Allied planes taking off from Guadalcanal. The McCalla successfully rescued numerous American sailors and captured three Japanese personnel.

After the war

She collected a total of ten Battle Stars for her war service. The ship was decommissioned on May 17, 1946 as a spare. In 1948, she was drafted again and sailed with American and Turkish crews for training. Ownership was subsequently transferred to the Turkish government.

She was renamed TCG Giresun (D 345) and served in the Turkish Navy for several years. She was then shot in 1973 and scrapped later that year.

Specification

Basic

Year of Service

1942

Origins

United States

supplement

276

staff

Class information

Class

Gleaves class

Class Size

66

Operator

Turkey (as Giresun); US

Characters

Sea Bombing

Maritime bombardment/attack of surface targets/areas primarily through ship-based ballistic weapons.

Land Assault

Littoral attacks against surface targets primarily through ship-based missiles/missile weapons.

Sea Patrol

Active patrolling of critical waterways and sea areas; also serves as a local deterrent against air and maritime threats.

Airspace Denial/Deterrence

Neutralization or deterrence of flying elements by airborne missile weapon ballistics.

Fleet Support

Provide support (fire or materiel) to major surface fleets in blue water environments.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

348. 2 feet

106.13m

Ray

36. 0 feet

10.97m

Draft

13. 1 ft

3.99m

Shift

2,000 t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

4 x Babcock and Wilcox boilers provide 2 x shafts to 2 x Westinghouse Geared Steam Turbines rated at 50,000 hp.

Surface Velocity

section 37.5

(43.2 km/h)

Area

6,517nm

(7,500 miles | 12,070 km)

Weapon

5 x 5" (127 mm) dual-purpose (DP) guns 6 x 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns (AA) 10 x 21" (533 mm) torpedo tubes 2 x depth charges Rack 6 x 0. Heavy Machine Gun Caliber 50 (HMG)

Aircraft

None.