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NavSource Naval History Photographic History of the United States Navy |
DESTROYER ARCHIVE |
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Size | Image Description | Contributed By |
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61k | Samuel Nicholas was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1744 and received his commission as Captain of Marines from the Continental Congress 28 November 1775, the earliest existing commission issued in the Continental Naval Service. He joined Continental Ship Alfred as Marine Officer at her commissioning 3 December. On 3 March 1776 he commanded the first amphibious landing of American Marines when the Continental Fleet under Esek Hopkins attacked New Providence in the Bahamas. Leading a party of 200 marines and 50 sailors, Nicholas won Fort Montague, Government House, and Nassau. The capture of New Providence brought badly needed cannon and ammunition to the hard-pressed Continental Army. Promoted to Major 6 June 1776, Nicholas trained Marines for duty at sea and in the field with Washington, becoming virtually Commandant of Marines, although such a title did not then exist. He died in Philadelphia 27 August 1790. Photo from USMC History Division. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 82k | Artist's conception of the Nicholas as she appeared after original construction by the renowned graphic illustrator John Barrett with the text written by naval author and historian Robert F. Sumrall. Their company Navy Yard Associates offers prints of most destroyers, destroyer escorts, submarines and aircraft carriers in various configurations during the ship's lifetime. The prints can be customized with ship's patches, your photograph, your bio, etc. If you decide to purchase artwork from them please indicate that you heard about their work from NavSource. | Navy Yard Associates | |
| 56k | Undated, location unknown. In November 1944 the destroyer Nicholas (DD-449) sank the Japanese submarine I-38, which was armed with Kaiten torpedoes. "Kaiten" type human torpedoes were the first Japanese "Special Attack" weapons, vehicles whose operational use involved the certain death of the crew, though their first successful employment followed that of the "Kamikaze" suicide aircraft by about a month. Proposals for human torpedoes were made in 1943 and were approved in early 1944, initially with provision for the survival of the operator. However, the extreme peril facing Japan after the loss of the Marianas in June 1944 led to acceptance of the pilot's death as an inevitable consequence of "Kaiten" use. | Harold Lind/Bill Gonyo | |
| 104k | Undated, location unknown. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 114k | Undated, location unknown. | Gerd Matthes | |
| 253k | Undated, off Hawaii. | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 90k | Undated, USS Nichols (DD-449) blasts the night with gunfire at the peak of the Battle of Vella Lavella, when U.S. destroyer forces intercepted the enemy's Tokyo Express trying to evacuate remnants of his troops from the Central Solomans. Photo and text from "United States Destroyer Operations in World War II" by Theodore Roscoe. | Robert Hurst | |
| 111k | Undated, wounded surviviors from USS Helena being transferred over the gangplank of the rescue ship USS Nicholas (DD-449) after the Battle of Kula Gulf. Photo and text from "United States Destroyer Operations in World War II" by Theodore Roscoe. | Robert Hurst | |
| 50k | Undated, the torpedo gang of USS Nicholas cleaning the torpedo tubes after the Battle of Kula Gulf. Photo and text from "United States Destroyer Operations in World War II" by Theodore Roscoe. | Robert Hurst | |
| 101k | Undated, some of the oil-soaked survivors of USS Helena after being rescued by USS Nicholas. Photo and text from "United States Destroyer Operations in World War II" by Theodore Roscoe. | Robert Hurst | |
| 70k | Sponsor Mrs. Edward B. Tryon prior to christening USS Nicholas (DD-449) at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 19 February 1942. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 226k | CDR Lewis Corman, CDR J. M. Kiernan, Edward B. Tryon, Mrs. Edward B. Tryon (descendant of Samuel Nicholas) LCDR W. D. Brown and Mr. A. M. Main, vice president of Bath Iron Works at USS Nicholas (DD-449) christening, Bath, Maine, 19 February 1942. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 108k | Nicholas at 361/2 knots during her builder's speed trials off Rockland, Maine, May 28, 1942. Source: United States Naval Institute. | Captain Jerry Mason USN/Destroyer History Foundation | |
| 105k | USS Nicholas running trails off Portland Maine, 28 May 1942. | Ron Titus/Christopher Karwowski | |
| 123k | May 18 1942, Rockland, ME, 25.89 knots a week before commissioning. | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 96k | On 7 May 1943 the USS Nicholas (DD-449) suffered a hang-fire in #53 5"/38cal gun mount. This photo shows the Nicholas shortly after that event before she was repaired at Noumea by replacing the gun with one from the USS Hutchins (DD-476) newly arrived in the area. | Rick E. Davis | |
| 74k | On 12-13 July 1943, while escorting destroyer transports taking troops to Vila, on Kolombangara, the Japanese Sendai class light cruiser Jintsu encountered a superior force of Allied cruisers and destroyers. Hit hard by gunfire from the cruisers USS Honolulu, USS St. Louis and HMNZS Leander, and by a destroyer's torpedo, Jintsu broke in two amidships and sank with the loss of nearly 500 of her crew. These two survivors of the sunken Jintsu, dressed in US Navy uniforms, aboard USS Nicholas (DD-449) were among the very few to survive the sinking. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 97k | Navy Photo 358-44, stern view of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) off San Francisco on 15 Jan 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 15 Dec 43 until 21 Jan 44. | Darryl Baker | |
| 77k | Navy Photo 360-44, broadside view of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) off San Francisco on 15 Jan 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 15 Dec 43 until 21 Jan 44. | Darryl Baker | |
| 91k | Navy Photo 362-44, bow on view of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) off San Francisco on 15 Jan 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 15 Dec 43 until 21 Jan 44. Oakland Bay Bridge is in the background. | Darryl Baker | |
| 123k | Amidships looking forward plan view of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) at Mare Island on 17 Jan 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 15 Dec 43 until 21 Jan 44. | Darryl Baker | |
| 128k | Amidships looking aft plan view of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) at Mare Island on 17 Jan 1944. She was in overhaul at Mare Island from 15 Dec 43 until 21 Jan 44. | Darryl Baker | |
| 120k | January 17 1944 at Mare Island. | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 91k | 1945 in Tokyo Bay. | Jose "Andy" Vigil | |
| 180k | September 2 1945, Japanese board Nicholas for trip to surrender ceremony on USS Missouri. | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 199k | September 2 1945, French officers board Nicholas for trip to the Missouri. | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 135k | Crew members aboard the USS Nicholas (DD 449) check out her score card for the lastest addition during WWII. Photo courtesy of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) Association. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 105k | The USS Nicholas (DD-449) approaches the Golden gate in San Francisco returning home following the end to hostilities in the Pacific. Photo courtesy of the USS Nicholas (DD 449) Association. | Bill Gonyo | |
| 100k | An onboard photo of the USS Nicholas (DD-449) as she was being prepared for conversion to the DDE configuration, 31 January 1949. USN Photo from the NARA BuShips photo collection. | Rick E. Davis | |
| 116k | A June 1950 photo at San Diego NY shows the USS Nicholas (DDE-449), USS O'Bannon (DDE-450), USS Walker (DDE-517) and USS Sproston (DDE-577), returned to Mothballs after being converted to the DDE ASW configuration. All four of these DDE's were armed with of 2-5"/38cal, 5 Torpedo Tubes, Mk-15 ASW Projector, and provisions for 4x2-20mm guns. Also, seen is the USS Killen (DD-593) and several DE's, including USS Raymond (DE-341) and USS Dennis (DE-405) and an APD. Cropped from an USN Photo from the NARA photo files, 80-G-428265. | Rick E. Davis | |
| 208k | USS Nicholas (DDE 449) off Mare Island on March 2, 1951. Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. | Darryl Baker | |
| 92k | Mare Island Navy Yard March 17 1951. | David Buell | |
| 103k | Mare Island Navy Yard March 17 1951. | David Buell | |
| 94k | Mare Island Navy Yard March 17 1951. | David Buell | |
| 85k | In order to counter the massive Russian submarine fleet and have a more modern type of destroyer in reserve, in case of a crisis, the Nicholas was rebuilt and immediately laid up. She is shown here, on February 16, 1950, newly rebuilt and in the process of being "moth-balled". | - | |
| 115k | Navy Photo 8430-3-51, bow on view of USS Nicholas (DDE 449) departing Mare Island on 2 March 1951. | Darryl Baker | |
| 126k | Navy Photo 8432-3-51, broadside view of USS Nicholas (DDE 449) off Mare Island on 2 March 1951. She was in overhaul at the yard from 19 Feb. to 24 Mar. 1951. | Darryl Baker | |
| 117k | Navy Photo 8434-3-51, stern view of USS Nicholas (DDE 449) departing Mare Island on 2 March 1951. | Darryl Baker | |
| 144k | March 17, 1951 photo of the Nicholas, at Mare Island Navy Yard as converted to an escort. The most visible change, excluding her improved electronics, is the fact that #2 gun mount has been replaced with a Hedgehog, consistent with her new ASW role. | - | |
| 30k | USS Nicholas (DDE-449, ex-DD, after conversion) underway circa 1953, location unknown. | Robert Hurst | |
| 165k | February 10 1965, ADJ2 D. R. Gloss, leading DASH mechanic, checks over the DASH off the coast of Hawaii. photo by PH3 G. Tucker. | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 146k | USS Hornet (CVS-12), USS Cimarron (AO-22) and USS Nicholas (DD-449), during underway replenishment activities off the coast of North Viet Nam, circa 1966. At that time these three ships had accumulated nearly 75 years of Navy service between them. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. | Fred Weiss | |
| 85k | Pearl Harbor, December 1968 | © Richard Leonhardt | |
| 126k | USS Nicholas (DD-449) alongside the USS Bryce Canyon (AD-36) at Pearl Harbor, HI, December 1968. | © Richard Leonhardt | |
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| 110k 175k | Mainmast somewhere in California and plaque honoring the Nicholas. Does anyone know the location and/or is it still there? | Ed Zajkowski | |
| 47k | Ship's patch | Mike Smolinski | |
| 47k | Ship's patch | Mike Smolinski | |
| 47k | Ship's patch | Mike Smolinski | |
LCDR William Drane Brown Jun 4 1942 - Jan 26 1943 (Later VADM) LCDR Andrew Jewell Hill Jr. Jan 26 1943 - Dec 10 1943 (Later RADM) CDR Robert Taylor Scott Keith Dec 10 1943 - Feb 6 1945 (Later VADM) CDR Dennis Charles Lyndon Feb 6 1945 - Dec 22 1945 (Later RADM) CDR Arthur G. Hamilton Jr. Dec 22 1945 - Apr 22 1946 LCDR John N. Gardner Apr 22 1946 - Jun 12 1946 (Decommissioned Jun 12 1946 - Feb 19 1951) CDR Harry Charles Mason Feb 19 1951 - Mar 24 1953 (Later RADM) CDR Joseph Cundiff Eliot Mar 24 1953 - Jun 14 1955 CDR John Brayshaw Kaye Jun 14 1955 - Jun 29 1957 CDR Robert Earle Hawthorne Jun 29 1957 - Jan 14 1959 CDR Edmond Louis Kelley Jan 14 1959 - May 28 1960 LCDR David Guy Foxwell May 28 1960 - Jun 25 1960 CDR Ralph Albert Hilson Jun 25 1960 - Apr 5 1962 CDR David Ervin Cummins III Apr 5 1962 - Jan 18 1964 CDR Robert Carl Newcomb Jan 18 1964 - Sep 25 1965 CDR William B. Hooffstetter Sep 25 1965 - Aug 3 1967 CDR John Morton Henson Aug 3 1967 - Jul 23 1969 CDR John Barton Hurd Jul 23 1969 - Jan 30 1970
The contact listed, Was the contact at the time for this ship when located. If another person now is the contact, E-mail me and I will update this entry. These contacts are compiled from various sources over a long period of time and may or may not be correct. Every effort has been made to list the newest contact if more than one contact was found.
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