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USS BRAINE (DD-630)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NIZF

Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign (circa 1968) - SNOW DRIFT

CLASS - FLETCHER As Built.
Displacement 2924 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 376' 5"(oa) x 39' 7" x 13' 9" (Max)
Armament 5 x 5"/38AA, 6 x 40mm, 10/11 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 38 Knots, Range 6500 NM@ 15 Knots, Crew 273.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME October 12 1942.
Launched March 7 1943 and commissioned May 11 1943.
Decommissioned July 26 1946 and recommissioned April 6 1951.
In 1964 took part in the movie IN HARM'S WAY.
Decommissioned August 17 1971.
Stricken August 17 1971.
To Argentina August 17 1971, renamed Admirante Domecq Garcia.
Fate Sunk as target October 7 1983.

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Braine 88kBorn in New York City 18 May 1829, Daniel Lawrence Braine was appointed Midshipman in 1847. He served in Mississippi and John Adams during the Mexican War. During the Civil War he commanded Monticello and took part in an engagement with the rebel battery at Sewell's Point, in the first naval engagement of the war. He also took part in the attack and capture of Forts Hatteras and Clarke and engaged the enemy at Kimmekerk Woods above Cape Hatteras. Between 1873 and 1875 he commanded Juniata on its cruise to Greenland in search of the ill-fated Polaris Expedition. Rear Admiral Braine retired in May 1891 and died at Brooklyn 30 January 1898.Bill Gonyo
Braine 77kArtist's conception of the Braine 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
Braine 14kUndated war time image. The ship is painted in camouflage Measure 31, Design 16d.-
Braine 40kUndated, Modernized for the ASW role, #3 gun has been removed-
Braine 162kUndated, location unknown.Joe Radigan
Braine 60kUndated, location unknown.Richard B. Kirkland
Braine 45kUndated postcard Copyright © Marine Photos, San Diego, CA.Mike Smolinski
Braine 26kUndated, location unknown. Photos from the ArmadaArgentina Website.Joe Radigan
Braine 71kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET
Braine 107k1944 image showing Braine as she Appeared Shortly After Arriving In The South Pacific.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 61kStarboard view of the USS Braine (DD-630) underway on April 29, 1944. The ship is camouflaged in Measure 31/16d scheme. Source: Australian War Memorial, Photo No. 302522.Mike Green
Braine 150kDamage To Braine From Shore Battery Fire At Tinian, June 14 1944.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 140kTransfering Wounded To New Mexico BB-40, June 14 1944.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 162kThe USS Braine (DD-630) transfers wounded to the battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) during a dramatic moment for immediate medical attention after being hit by a Japanese six-inch shore battery off the shores of Tinian in the Mariana Islands on 14 June 1944. The Braine and New Mexico were participants in support of the troop landings during the capture efforts of the islands of Saipan and Tinian. The battleship USS Colorado and the destroyer USS Norman Scott were both hit by six inch Japanese shore batteries. The Colorado was hit 22 times, killing 44 men.The Norman Scott was hit six times, killing the captain, Seymore Owens, and 22 of his seamen. After the battle, Tinian became an important base for further Allied bombing operations in the Pacific Campaign. Camps were built for 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand Seabees turned the island into the busiest and largest airfield of the war, with six 2,400 m runways for attacks by B-29 Superfortress bombers on targets in the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands and mainland Japan, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to help end hostilities in the Pacific. 09-7930-26. Courtesy of the U.S.Navy BUMED Library and Archives.Bill Gonyo
Braine 73kBraine's Profile After being Hit By Two Kamikazes Off Okinawa, May 27 1945.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 113kClose Up Of Damage After 1st Kamikaze, Port Side 40mm Mount.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 98kClose Up Of Damage After 1st Kamikaze, Starboard Side Looking Forward, Note The Splinter Shield has Been Completly Blow Off The Number 2 5" Gun Mount.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 102kClose Up Of Damage After 2nd Kamikaze, Midships At The Aft Stack.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 195kDamage sustained by the USS Braine (DD-630) after being attacked on 27 May. The first two kamikazes hit between mount 52 and the forward face of her bridge, blowing out the mount's gun house and leaving the damage to the two 40 mm mounts just aft seen here. The second kamikaze hit at the base of her second funnel, blowing it overboard. Fires raged at the site of both crashes. It was noon before the fires were contained and she could be towed to safety. Photo National Archives and Records Administration.Robert Hurst
Braine 34kPhoto taken by Vincent Grobbel BM1/c USCG from the USS Davenport (PF-69), circa 15 Nov 1945 to 4 Feb 1946 at the South Boston US Navy Yard.Mike Grobbel
Braine 43kAs above.Mike Grobbel
Braine 51kAs above.Mike Grobbel
Braine 110kBraine as she appeared in 1953. Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 84kBraine as she appeared from 1951 until Decommissioning in 1971.Paul L. Conway, CY 1943-1946 Historian, USS BRAINE DD-630
Braine 136kUSS Braine (DD-630) at sea, following her mid-1950s modernization, in which she lost one 5"/38 gun mount and received three 3"/50 twin mounts. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Photo #: NH 91898.Robert Hurst
Braine 120kUSS Stoddard (DD-56) and USS Braine (DD-630) in San Diego circa 1956-57.Everett Ellestad
Braine 137kCirca 1956, location unknown.Everett Ellestad
Braine 69kCirca 1956, location unknown.Everett Ellestad
Braine 71kTaken in 1958 from the USS Piedmont (AD-17) as she came alongside for underway replenishment.Bill Caldwell
Braine 74kCirca 1960s at Long Beach.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Braine 138kMay 2 1961, location unknown.Ed Zajkowski
Braine 179kUSS Hornet (CVS-12) at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The photo may have been taken in late January-mid February 1965, at the end of her FRAM II modernization. Bow of USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) is visible on the right-center of the picture, stern of USS Braine (DD-630) on the bottom, and USS Chicago (CG-11) on the left-center.Tracy White
Braine 127kA closer view of the Braine as seen in the above photo. Naval Shipyard Hunters Point San Francisco, Historic Shipyard Photographic Collection 1904-1974, NARA San Francisco.Tracy White
Braine 175kFrom the 1966-1967 WestPac Cruisebook.Richard B. Kirkland
Braine 58kThe USS Turner Joy (DD-951), during 1966-67 deployment to Vietnam, coming alongside the USS Braine (DD-630).Richard B. Kirkland
Braine 158kThree views of the USS Braine (DD-630) replenishing from the USS Coral Sea in February 1967 while on the way home from a WestPac Deployment.Michael O'Brien
Braine 198kAs above.Michael O'Brien
Braine 215kAs above.Michael O'Brien
Braine 63kForward stack of the USS Braine while in the yard at Naval Ship Yard Mare Island December 1967. The ship in the background is the USS Uhlmann (DD-687) in the floating drydock at the south end of the yard.© Richard Leonhardt
Braine 56kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Braine 77kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Braine 66kShip's patch.Richard B. Kirkland
Braine 100k-120kUniform Ship's name shoulder patch.Al Grazevich
Braine 97kShip's plaque.Mike Smolinski
On Argentinian Service
Braine 67kManuel Tomás Domecq Garcia (born in Tobatí, Paraguay, 12 June 1859; died in Buenos Aires, 11 January 1951). Paraguayan-Argentinian military man and politician; was inter alia Minister of the Navy during the presidency of Marcelo T. Alvear.Francisco Javier Santos Vazquez
Braine 29kUndated, location unknown. Photos from the ArmadaArgentina Website.Joe Radigan
Braine 146kThe First and Second Destroyer Divisions in 1979 at the Naval Base of Puerto Belgrano, near Bahia Blanca in the south part of Buenos Aires Province. Since no hull numbers can be seen it is impossible to accurately identify each ship, however, the ships present include the D 22 Rosales (ex DD 644 Stembel), D 29 Piedrabuena (ex DD 730 Collett), D 25 Seguí (ex DD 702 Hank), D 23 Domecq Garcia (ex DD630 Braine), D 24 Storni (ex DD 547 Cowell), D 27 Py (ex DD 877 Perkins) and the D 26 Bouchard (ex DD 704 Borie). Additional info thanks to Adalberto Alvarez; "In the photograph, the ships on the right belong to the 2nd Division of Destroyers. On the left, we see the 1st Division of Destroyers, and we find the Bouchard among these. (The Bouchard was assigned to the 2nd Division in 1980). The ship we see on the front of the 1st Division Destroyers is not the Bouchard, because the Bouchard didn’t have that kind of life rafts until 1982, during the war. The ship in the middle belongs to the Fletcher class. This means that the Bouchard is the one moored to dock."Horacio Héctor Virardi
Braine 305kThe submarine ARA Santiago del Estero (S22, ex-USS Chivo, SS-341), alongside the destroyer ARA Almirante Domecq Garcia (D23, (ex - USS Braine), ARA Comodoro Py (D 27, ex-USS Perkins) is shown astern, circa 1982. Photo courtesy Robert L. Scheina.Robert Hurst

USS BRAINE DD-630 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

CDR John Francis Newman Jr.    May 11 1943 - May 11 1944
CDR William Wilson Fitts    May 11 1944 - Aug 1945
LCDR Marlin David Clausner    Aug 1945 - Jul 26 1946
(Decommissioned Jul 26 1946 - Apr 6 1951)
CDR Eugene Darrel Lamiman    Apr 6 1951 - 16 May 1952
CDR Doyan Klein    May 16 1952 - Jul 25 1953
CDR James Harvey Elsom    Jul 25 1953- Jul 25 1955
CDR Mervin Otis Slater    Jul 25 1955 - Oct 24 1957
CDR Donald Anton Henning    Oct 24 1957 - Nov 27 1959
CDR David Austin Shonerd    Nov 27 1959 - Aug 14 1961
CDR Robert Whitney Lowman    Aug 14 1961 - Dec 12 1962
CDR Edward Albert Williams    Dec 12 1962 - Oct 15 1963
CDR Robert Juarez    Oct 15 1963 - Jan 23 1965
CDR Elton Vaugh Conger    Jan 23 1965 - May 28 1966
CDR Fred J. Fleiner    May 28 1966 - Oct 2 1968
CDR Richard Don Van Antwerp    Oct 2 1968 - Oct 30 1969
CDR Curtis Ralph Norton Jr.    Oct 30 1969 - Dec 16 1969
CDR Philip Christian Simon    Dec 16 1969 - Aug 17 1971

Commanding Officers on Argentine Service
Thanks to Robert Hurst

Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Mario E. Olmos    Aug 18 1971 - 21 Feb 21 1972
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Niecto E. Ayerra    Feb 21 1972 - Feb 14 1973
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Federico C.Garriga    Feb 14 1973 - Mar 11 1974
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Roberto A. Day    Mar 11 1974 - Feb 3 1975
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Carlos E. Bar    Feb 3 1975 - Jan 21 1976
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Carlos A. Vaibinger    Jan 21 1976 - Jan 3 1977
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Marcelo A. Linares    Jan 3 1977 - Jan 24 1978
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Jorge A. Mantoyani    Jan 24 1978 - Jul 13 1978
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) José María Arriola    Jul 13 1978 - Mar 2 1979
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Héctor F. Lobbosco    Mar 2 1979 - Feb 12 1980
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Antonio A. Russo    Feb 12 1980 - Dec 15 1980
Cap. de Fragata (CDR) Ricardo Sánchez    Dec 15 1980 - Feb 2 1982
Cap. de Corbeta (LCDR) Héctor Zurowski    Feb 2 1982 - Nov 30 1982

Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Jim Rountree
Address: 11 Cross St., Newport RI 02840
Phone: 401-487-1035
E-mail: dd630@yahoo.com


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
USS Braine website
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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