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USS HAMNER (DD-718)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NTXJ

Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign (circa 1968) - GUY WIRE

CLASS - GEARING As Built.
Displacement 3460 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 390' 6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14' 4" (Max)
Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 36.8 Knots, Range 4500 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew 336.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Federal Shipbuilding, Newark NJ. April 25 1945.
Launched November 24 1945 and commissioned July 12 1946.
Completed FRAM upgrade November 1962.
Decommissioned (?).
Stricken October 1 1979.
To Taiwan December 17 1980, renamed ROCS Yun Yang.
Reclassified as Guided Missile Destroyer DDG-927
Decommissioned December 16 2003.
Fate Sunk by Hai Hu (SS-794) as a target off Ping Tung 0900 September 6 2005.

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Size Image Description Contributed
By
Hamner 56kHenry Rawlings "Pete" Hamner was born 13 March 1922 in London, England. Appointed to the Naval Academy from Virginia, he graduated and gained his commission in June 1942. Hamner served to fit out and commission several new ships during the war, in addition to serving in the Twelfth Naval District and at Norfolk. He was appointed lieutenant in July 1944. Lieutenant Hamner died 6 April 1945 in USS Howorth, when his ship was crashed by a kamikaze during the suicidal Japanese "kikusui" massed attack of that day off Okinawa where "the fleet had come to stay". Lieutenant Hamner stayed at his post performing his duty as gunnery officer even as a Kamikaze flew straight into his position. His last words were "target angle zero." Lt. Henry K. Hamner was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Other awards included the World War II Victory Medal and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. Photo courtesy of the USS Hamner (DD-718) Association.Bill Gonyo/CDR Gene Maresca USN (Ret.)
Hamner 33kUndated, location unknown.Walter Ayers
Hamner 28kUndated, location unknown.Walter Ayers
Hamner 68kUndated postcard Copyright © Marine Photos, San Diego, CA.Mike Smolinski
Hamner 105kUndated, location unknown.Robert Hurst
Hamner 199kUndated, location unknown. USN Photo, US National Archives, San Bruno, Mare Island/Hunter's Point photo collection.Robert Hurst
Hamner 131kUndated, seen from the fantail of the Adventuress, flagship of the Golden Fleet, with Mayor John F. Shelley embarked in the destroyer Hamner. Hamner steams into San Francisco Bay to the greeting of fireboats. in the foreground is the Admiral's barge of RADM John Taylor.Tommy Trampp
Hamner 102kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Hamner 129kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Hamner 131kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Hamner 214kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Hamner 387kOff Point Loma, San Diego, CA on the Hamner's 10th anniversary July 12, 1956.Del Mancuso
Hamner 107kHamner (DD-718) underway in the South China Sea while enroute to Bombay, 08 April 1960. USN photo 1050082 by PH2 D.J. Abeyta.Dave Wright
Hamner 205kThis photo was originally published in the November 1960 issue of CruDesPac News. The four ships were manning the rail to salute President Eisenhower as he passed by in his barge. The President is standing topside in the barge, midships. The other ships in the picture are USS Wiltsie (DD 716), USS Morton (DD948), and USS De Haven (DD727). We were moored in San Diego Bay.Al Creasy, ENS USS Morton
Hamner 124kUSS Hamner (DD-718) underway to Yokosuka, Japan, in heavy weather, in 1969. U.S. Navy photo from the USS John R. Craig (DD-885) 1969 cruise book.Robert Hurst
Hamner 173kA Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopter hovering near the Gearing-class destroyer USS Hamner (DD-718), circa 1970. Official U.S. Navy photograph from the Official U.S. Navy photograph from the USS Hamner (DD-718) 1970-71 Cruise Book.Robert Hurst
Hamner 115kUSS Hamner (DD-718) underway circa 1971. Official U.S. Navy photograph from the USS Hamner (DD-718) 1970-71 Cruise Book.Robert Hurst
Hamner 223kUSS Hamner (DD-718) underway circa 1971. Official U.S. Navy photograph from the USS Hamner (DD-718) 1970-71 Cruise Book.Robert Hurst
Hamner 141kFrom the USS Hancock between mid-November 1970 and early May 1971, location unknown.Fabio Peņa
Hamner 168kUSS Hamner (DD-718) from USS Ashtabula (AO-51), Gulf of Tonkin, March 30 1972.Glenn R. Sirkis
Hamner 93kNaval Photographic Center photo UNU - Number KN - 21685, Unit CVA-60-2505-6-72 dated July 1972 by PH1 Coan.Adam Hamner
Hamner 57kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Hamner 76kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Hamner 119kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Hamner 33kShip's Zippo.Tommy Trampp
On Taiwanese Service
Hamner 80kLiao Yang (DDG-921, ex Hanson) and Yun Yang (DDG-927, ex Hamner) at Keelung, April 2003.Michael from Taiwan
Hamner 81kIn Keelung Harbor, 17 August 2003.Michael from Taiwan
Hamner 102kShao Yang (DDG-929, ex Hollister) and Yun Yang (DDG-927, ex Hamner) in Keelung Harbor, 17 August 2003.Michael from Taiwan
Hamner 11kEx-Hamner is sunk as a torpedo target off Pingtung by Hai Hu (SS-794), 0900 06 September 2005.Waldo
Click here to see additional images of this ship on our FRAM Special Feature page

USS HAMNER DD-718 History
View This Vessels DANFS History entry at the Naval History & Heritage Command website
(Located On The hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves


CDR Joseph Blount Swain    Jul 12 1946 - Dec 16 1947

CDR Robert Campbell Sleight    Dec 16 1947 - 1949

CDR Frank Mahlon Parker    1949 - May 24 1950

CDR Jack Joffre Hughes    May 24 1950 - Sep 25 1951

CDR Robert Dickson Lowther    Sep 25 1951 - Sep 22 1952

CDR William Stephen Finn    Sep 22 1952 - Jan 17 1954

CDR Joseph Ernest Thompson Jr.     Jan 17 1954 - Oct 29 1955

CDR Phillip Hitchcock Teeter    Oct 29 1955 - Dec 5 1957

CDR Robert Richard Dupzyk    Dec 5 1957 - Jan 26 1959

CDR Harold Eugene Stewart    Jan 26 1959 - Jan 19 1962

LCDR Henry Gerald Ehleringer    Jan 19 1962 - Jul 7 1962

CDR Eugene Crouse Kenyon Jr.    Jul 7 1962 - Jan 2 1964

CDR Edward Albert Christofferson Jr.    Jan 2 1964 - Mar 5 1965

CDR Henry Roger Pedneault    Mar 5 1965 - Nov 4 1966

CDR Douglas Lloyd Newgard    Nov 4 1966 - Dec 23 1968

CDR James Mitchell Hoye II    Dec 23 1968 - Jul 24 1970

CDR Richard Nelson Blackington    Jul 24 1970 - Apr 14 1972

CDR Edward Allan Hamilton    Apr 14 1972 - Oct 17 1972

LCDR Harris Sperling    Oct 17 1972 - May 18 1973

CDR Francis William McGirr Jr.    May 18 1973 - Nov 23 1974

CDR Robert William Bruce    Nov 23 1974 - Dec 22 1976

CDR John Epes Whitely Jr.    Dec 22 1976 - Aug 9 1979

CDR Charles Norman Bright    Aug 9 1979 - Oct 1 1979


Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Billy Odle
Address: 1211 Ravne Place, Chula Vista, CA 91911
Phone: (619)421-0624
E-mail: None


Note About Contacts.

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.


Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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This page was created by Fred Willishaw (ex ARG-4, AS-11 & DD-692) and is maintained by David L. Wright
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Last Updated 28 June 2018