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USS HIGBEE (DD-806 / DDR-806)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NHLL

Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign (circa 1968) - TRUCK

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 Bath Iron Works, Bath ME June 26 1944.
Launched November 12 1944 and commissioned January 27 1945.
Reclassified DDR-806 March 18 1949, reverted to DD-806 July 1 1963.
Completed FRAM upgrade February 1964.
Decommissioned and Stricken July 15 1979.
Fate Sunk as a target April 24 1986 32° 28' 0.4" North, 119° 58' 0.7" West .

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Size Image Description Contributed
By
Higbee 110kLenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee was born in Chatham, New Brunswick, on 18 May 1874. She completed nurses' training at the New York Postgraduate Hospital in 1899 and entered private practice soon thereafter. In October 1908, she joined the newly-established U.S. Navy Nurse Corps as one of its first twenty members and was promoted to Chief Nurse in 1909. In January 1911, Mrs. Higbee (she was the widow of Lieutenant Colonel John Henley Higbee, USMC) became the second Superintendent of the Nurse Corps. For her achievements in leading the Corps through the First World War, Chief Nurse Higbee was awarded the Navy Cross, the first woman to receive that medal. She retired from the Navy in November 1922. Chief Nurse Lenah H. Higbee died at Winter Park, Florida, on 10 January 1941. Photo #: 80-G-1037198. Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee, (NC) USN, portrait photograph, taken in uniform during the World War I era. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.Bill Gonyo
Higbee 122kUndated, location unknown.-
Higbee 58kUndated, location unknown.Craig Chaddock
Higbee 30kUndated, location unknown.Robert Hurst
Higbee 146kUndated, location unknown. Photo courtesy of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.Darryl Baker
Higbee 147kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Higbee 142kUndated, location unknown.Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
Higbee 78kLaunch of Higbee (DD-806), 12 November 1944. Photo postcard by Douglas.Dave Wright
Higbee 102kAt anchor, location unknown, circa 1945-48. Official USN photo 1045968Tommy Trampp / Robert Hurst
Higbee 116kCirca 1945 colorized photo.-
Higbee 34kMarch 19 1945, location unknown.Robert Hurst
Higbee   Higbee   Higbee   Higbee

Higbee   Higbee
Alongside the USS Antietam - Spring 1945 (NA 80G333523 thru 333529)
John Chiquoine
Higbee 97kStanding in the bull nose, Tokyo Bay 1945.-
Higbee 92kJanuary 1946, her first birthday.-
Higbee 63k1946 newspaper clipping about the collision with the USS Frank Knox (DD-742).Unknown
Higbee 79kStern view of USS Higbee (DD 806) off Mare Island on 27 Aug 1946.Darryl Baker
Higbee 71kBroadside view of USS Higbee (DD 806) off Mare Island on 27 Aug 1946. Higbee was in overhaul at the yard from 26 June to 12 September 1946.Darryl Baker
Higbee 76kBow on view of USS Higbee (DD 806) off Mare Island on 27 Aug 1946.Darryl Baker
Higbee 107kSeptember 1946, Mare Island.Pieter Bakels
Higbee 112kSeptember 3 1946, Mare Island.Pieter Bakels
Higbee 150kSeptember 3 1946 at Mare Island.Ed Zajkowski
Higbee 115kThe USS Higbee (DD 806) off the South end of Mare Island on 6 July 1951.Darryl Baker
Higbee 122kThe USS Higbee (DD 806) off Mare Island on 6 July 1951. She was in overhaul at the yard from 29 March to 6 July 1951.Darryl Baker
Higbee 89kAft plan view of USS Shelton (DD 790) with USS Higbee (DD 806) inboard at Mare Island on 6 July 1951. Shelton was in overhaul at the yard from 29 March to 6 July 1951.Darryl Baker
Higbee 230kUSS Higbee (DDR-806) underway, date and location unknown. Probably taken near Mare Island shortly after completion of her radar picket conversion.Dave Wright
Higbee 61kThe radar picket destroyer USS Higbee (DDR-806) being refueled by the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) during that carrier's deployment to the Western Pacific from 5 March to 11 October 1960. The guided missile cruiser USS Canberra (CAG-2) is visible in the background. U.S. Navy photo from the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) 1960 cruise book.Robert Hurst
Higbee 175kUSS Higbee (DD-806) underway in the Western Pacific in 1969. U.S. Navy photo from the USS Higbee (DD-806) 1969 cruise book.Robert Hurst
Higbee 111kUSS Samuel Gompers (AD-37) providing tender services to four destroyers, May 1969, probably in Subic Bay, Philippines. Ships alongside are (left to right): USS Higbee (DD-806); USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779); USS Robison (DDG-12) and USS Leary (DD-879). Photographed by PH3 Stephen L. Howk. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.Fred Weiss
Higbee 28kUSS Higbee (DD-806) approaching USS Chicago (CG-11), not visible, for underway refueling, circa 1970.Robert Hurst
Higbee 10kUSS Higbee (DD-806) departing USS Chicago (CG-11) after refueling, circa 1970, showing the aft 5"/38 gun mount later bombed during the battle of Dong Hoi.Robert Hurst
Higbee 57kUSS Higbee (DD-806) circa 1970. During the Vietnam war era Higbee had a steam locomotive whistle attached to a port side steam fitting on the main deck amidships. The whistle was used to salute the providing ship following underway replenishment. The plume of steam marks the whistle location in this salute following refueling from USS Chicago (CG-11).Robert Hurst
Higbee 94kMay 2 1970 in the Pacific.Fabio Peña
Higbee 226kHigbee's Mount 52, destroyed by a North Vietnamese bomb in 1972.Ty Martin
Higbee 105kUSS Higbee (DD-806) under repair in Floating Drydock AFDM-6 at the Ship Repair Facility at Subic Bay, Philippines, circa in May 1972. On 19 April 1972, Higbee became the first U.S. warship to be bombed during the Vietnam War, when two North Vietnamese Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s from the 923rd Fighter Regiment attacked, one of which, piloted by Le Xuan Di, dropped a 250 pound bomb onto Higbee's rear 127 mm gun mount, destroying it. The 127 mm gun crew had been outside their turret, due to a misfire within the mount, when the air attack occurred, which resulted in the wounding of four U.S. sailors. U.S. Navy photo from U.S. Navy All Hands magazine October 1972.Robert Hurst
Higbee 235kMay 15 1972 in AFDM-6 after being hit with a 250 pound bomb dropped by a North Vietnamese MIG, photo by PH2 D. Cunningham (NPC 1152696).Ed Zajkowski
Higbee 166kUSS Samuel Gompers (AD-37), USS Tripoli (LPH-10) and USS Higbee (DD-806) at SRF Subic Bay, PI. This photo was taken on 23 May 1972, 34 days after the attack on Higbee destroyed her aft gun mount.Glenn R. Sirkis
Higbee 154kUSS Higbee (DD-806) undergoing repairs at SRF Subic Bay, PI. This photo was taken on 23 May 1972, 34 days after the attack on Higbee destroyed her aft gun mount.Glenn R. Sirkis
Higbee 154kUSS Higbee (DD-806) during Unrep with USS Ashtabula (AO-51). This photo was taken 13 June 1972, 55 days after the 19 April attack destroyed her rear gun mount.Glenn R. Sirkis
Higbee 142kUSS Higbee (DD-806) breaks away following Unrep with USS Ashtabula (AO-51). This photo was taken 13 June 1972, 55 days after the 19 April attack destroyed her rear gun mount. Also note the steam whistle.Glenn R. Sirkis
Higbee   Higbee   Higbee   Higbee
Welcome Aboard pamphlet - circa 1973
Wolfgang Hechler
Higbee 176kFebruary 19 1974 at San Diego, USS George K. MacKenzie (DD-836) with USS Higbee (DD-806) outboard. Photo by PH1 A. J. Dooley.Ed Zajkowski
Higbee 34kEsquimalt, British Columbia September 1978.Marc Piché
Higbee 49kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Higbee 43kShip's patch.Mike Smolinski
Higbee 38kShip's Zippo.Tommy Trampp

USS HIGBEE DD-806 / DDR-806 History
View this vessel's DANFS History entry at the Naval History & Heritage Command website

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves


CDR Lindsey Williamson    Jan 27 1945 - Sep 5 1946

CDR Bruce Lewis Carr    Sep 5 1946 - Jun 19 1948 (Later RADM)

CDR James Richard Hansen    Jun 19 1948 - Feb 18 1950

CDR Ernest Moore    Feb 18 1950 - Sep 1 1951

CDR Verner Jensen Soballe    Sep 1 1951 - Sep 18 1953

CDR Maurice Herbert Rindskopf    Sep 18 1953 - May 27 1955 (later RADM)

CDR William Richard Kurtz    May 27 1955 - Jun 11 1956

CDR Ray Herbert Miller    Jun 11 1956 - May 12 1958

CDR Ernest Edward Hollyfield Jr.    May 12 1958 - Oct 16 1959

CDR Kenith Visen Lindstrom    Oct 16 1959 - Sep 23 1961

CDR Nathaniel Thomas Henley    Sep 23 1961 - Apr 4 1963

LCDR Thomas Joseph Sullivan    Apr 4 1963 - Oct 11 1963

CDR John James Herzog    Oct 11 1963 - May 14 1965

CDR Floyd Coleman Searl    May 14 1965 - Oct 7 1966

CDR Albert Francis Shimmel    Oct 7 1966 - Dec 20 1968   

CDR John Dunn Stanard Jr.    Dec 20 1968 - May 13 1970

CDR Tyrone Gabriel Martin    May 13 1970 - Jan 4 1972

CDR Ronald Robert Zuilkoski    Jan 4 1972 - Oct 5 1973

CDR Joe Duke Edwards    Oct 5 1973 - Sep 6 1974

CDR Leslie Eugene Ryan    Sep 6 1974 - Oct 15 1976

CDR Charles Robe Schlegelmilch    Oct 15 1976 - Apr 14 1978

CDR Peter Wolcott Soverel    Apr 14 1978 - Jul 15 1979


Crew Contact And Reunion Information

Contact Name: Gil "Rod" Rodello
Address: 829 S. 43rd St., Springfield, OR 97478
Phone: 541-747-1408
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 03 May 2020