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USS MUGFORD (DD-389)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NEXR

CLASS - BAGLEY As Built.
Displacement 2245 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 341' 4" (oa) x 35' 6" x 12' 10" (Max)
Armament 4 x 5"/38AA, 4 x 0.5" MG, 16 x 21" tt.(4x4).
Machinery, 49,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 38.5 Knots, Range 6500 NM@ 12 Knots, Crew 158.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Boston Navy Yard October 28 1935.
Launched October 31 1936 and commissioned August 16 1937.
Damaged during Atomic Bomb Test at Bikini Atoll July 1946.
Decommissioned August 29 1946.
Stricken April 5 1948.
Fate Scuttled off Kwajalein March 22 1948.

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- Captain James Mugford (19 May 1749 - 19 May 1776) commanded the schooner Franklin in the Continental Navy, serving through 1775 in John Manley’s squadron off Boston. He captured British ship Hope with a large cargo of military stores and powder, and took his prize into Boston, running under the noses of the British fleet lying in the harbor. Franklin was attacked during the night of May 19, 1776 in the company of Lady Washington by British boarders claiming to be friends from Boston; Captain Mugford was killed in the action. The report of General Ward, the overall American commander in Boston, stated: "Captain Mugford was very fiercely attacked by twelve or thirteen boats full of men, but he and his men exerted themselves with remarkable bravery, beat off the enemy, sunk several of their boats, and killed a number of their men; it is supposed they lost sixty or seventy. The intrepid Captain Mugford fell a little before the enemy left his schooner; he was ran through with a lance while he was cutting off the hands of the pirates as they attempted to board him, and it was said that with his own hands he cut off five pairs of theirs.... The Lady Washington....was attacked by five boats, which were supposed to contain near or quite a hundred men; but after repeated efforts to board her they were beaten off by the intrepidity and exertions of the little company, who gloriously defended the Lady against the brutal ravishers of liberty."Robert M. Cieri/Robert A. Booth, Jr.
Mugford 52kUndated, loaction unknown.-
Mugford 159kUSS Ralph Talbot (DD-390) and USS Mugford (DD-389) afloat after launching, at the Boston Navy Yard, 31 October 1936. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-19251.Mike Green
Mugford 112kUSS Mugford (DD-389) off Boston, Massachusetts, 25 October 1937. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.Fred Weiss
Mugford 94kUSS Mugford (DD-389) At Havana, Cuba, circa late 1937. Note that her main battery gun director is not fitted. Courtesy F.J. Vaughn, 1974. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Fred Weiss
Mugford 71kDavid's father Myron Gail Darst (TM2c), the first sailor to the right of the Life Ring, in the photo # NH 55807, circa 1939-40. Davis A. Darst
Mugford 81kPhoto #: NH 55806. USS Mugford (DD-389) ship's officers, circa June 1939. They are, from left to right: Ensign Robert C. Main; Lieutenant Ephraim R. McLean, Jr., departing Executive Officer; Lieutenant Robert H. Speck; Lieutenant Commander Arleigh A. Burke, Commanding Officer; Ensign Arthur F. Johnson; Lieutenant Gelzer L. Sims, incoming Executive Officer; and Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Robert H. Holmes. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Bill Gonyo
Mugford 89kUSS Mugford (DD-389) underway at sea, 30 June 1939. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Fred Weiss
Mugford 51kPhoto #: NH 74332, Lieutenant Commander Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Mugford (DD-389) on board his ship, circa 1939-1940. LCdr. Burke is standing by the "E" award Mugford won for gunnery excellence while he was in command. The "E" is painted on the shield of one of the ship's forward 5"/38 gun mounts. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation; Collection of Admiral Arleigh A. Burke. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.-
Mugford 122kPhoto #: NH 55807. USS Mugford (DD-389) ship's officers and crew pose on her forecastle, circa 1939-40. Seated in the front row, center, is Lieutenant Commander Arleigh A. Burke, her Commanding Officer. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Bill Gonyo
Mugford 24kAnchored at Lahina Roads, Maui in the Spring of 1940 Frank Duzick (CEM) USS MUGFORD
Mugford 135kUSS Mugford (DD-389) delivering mail to the Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser HMAS Australia (D84) in the Coral Sea, in August 1942.David A. Darst/Robert Hurst
Mugford 24kUSS Reid DD-369 and the USS Musgford DD-389. In the photo, the Reid is on the left and the Mugford is on the right. Researching this photo indicates both Destroyers are being followed by two other USN Destroyers into the harbor at Sydney, Australia circa 1942-43.David A. Darst
Mugford 113kUSS Mugford DD-389 closing in on the HMAS Australia (84), sometime in August 1942.David A. Darst
Mugford 52kUSS Mugford (DD-389) under Japanese air attack off Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942. She sustained three near misses and one bomb hit but shot down two of her attackers. She suffered eight killed, 17 wounded, and 10 missing. Photo courtesy Australian armed forces. Image available from the Collection Database of the Australian War Memorial under the ID Number: P01233.001.Robert Hurst/Mike Green
Mugford 64kUSS Mugford (DD-389) off Tulagi near Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942. The ship is burning having been hit once in the stern after being near missed three times. The crew suffered casualties; 8 killed, 17 wounded, and 10 missing. Source: Australian War Memorial, Photo No. P01233.002.Mike Green
Mugford 56kShips of Destroyer Squadron Four firing offset gunnery practice inside the Great Barrier Reef about ten miles north of the Palm Islands, off the Australian coast, 9 October 1942. The two ships are USS Mugford (DD-389), at left and, USS Patterson (DD-392), photographed from USS Helm (DD-388) USN Photo No 80-G-32149.Robert Hurst
Mugford 108kUSS Mugford (DD-389) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 28 April 1944. She is painted in camouflage Measure 32, Design 1d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.Fred Weiss/Robert Hurst
Mugford 80kBow on view of USS Mugford (DD 389) off Mare Island on 28 April 1944. She was in overhaul at the shipyard from 4 March until 4 May 1944.Darryl Baker
Mugford 94kStern view of USS Mugford (DD 389) off Mare Island on 28 April 1944. She was in overhaul at the shipyard from 4 March until 4 May 1944.Darryl Baker
Mugford 160kUSS Mugford (DD 389) in San Pablo Bay, California on April 28, 1944. Photo from the collection of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.Darryl Baker
Mugford 78kUSS Belleau Wood (CVL-24), center, and USS Franklin (CV-13), right afire after they were hit by Kamikaze attacks off the Philippines on 30 October 1944. Photographed from USS Mugford (DD-389), whose port midships 20mm guns are in the foreground. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.Fred Weiss
Mugford 108kUSS Mugford (DD-389) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 28 February 1945. Her torpedo tubes are trained out on both sides of the ship. Note depth charge tracks on her stern, with her name faintly visible below them. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.Fred Weiss
Mugford 101kBow on view of USS Mugford (DD 389) off Mare Island on 28 Feb 1945. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 5 Jan until 4 Mar 1945.Darryl Baker
Mugford 131kFebruary 28 1945 off Mare Island.Fred Weiss
Mugford 64kFebruary 28 1945 off Mare Island.Robert Hurst
Mugford 189kUSS Mugford (DD-389) at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 March 1945. Note: bridge details, Mk. 33 director, Mk. 25 5"/38 gun mounts, foremast, radar and funnel. Alteration is circled. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-80118.Mike Green
Mugford 248kPlan view amidships of the USS Mugford (DD-389), at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 3 March 1945. Note four sets of torpedo tubes, details of funnel, 20mm Oerlikon mounts, searchlight and deck tread. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-80119.Mike Green
Mugford 180kUSS Mugford (DD-389) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 14 May 1946, while being prepared for use as a target for the Operation "Crossroads" atomic bomb tests. Note her battery of sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes, in quadruple mountings amidships. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.Fred Weiss
Mugford 89kUSS Mugford (DD-389) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 14 May 1946, while being prepared for use as a target for the Operation "Crossroads" atomic bomb tests. Note her name and frame numbers painted on her hull sides, just below the deckline. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.Fred Weiss

USS MUGFORD DD-389 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

LCDR James Walter Whitfield    Aug 16 1937 - May 31 1938 (Later RADM)
LCDR Marcy Mathias Dupre Jr.    May 31 1938 - Jun 5 1939 (Later RADM)
LCDR Arleigh Albert Burke    Jun 5 1939 - Jul 30 1940 (Later ADM & CNO)
LCDR Wyatt Craig    Jul 30 1940 - Aug 13 1941
CDR Edward Watson Young    Aug 13 1941 - Dec 5 1942 
CDR Howard Grant Corey    Dec 5 1942 - Jan 16 1944
LCDR Martin Adam Shellabarger    Jan 16 1944 - Dec 27 1944
LCDR Morton Harvey    Dec 27 1944 - Jan 1946

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Naval Historical Center Pearl Harbor Action Report
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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