View source for USS Ellyson

{{Short description|Gleaves-class destroyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
 | Ship image =  [[File:USS Ellyson (DD-454).jpg|300px|USS Ellyson (DD-454)]]
 | Ship caption =
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United States
 | Ship flag =   {{USN flag|1954}}
 | Ship name =USS ''Ellyson'' 
 | Ship namesake =[[Theodore Gordon Ellyson]]
 | Ship ordered =
 | Ship builder =  [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]]
 | Ship laid down =  20 December 1940
 | Ship launched =  26 July 1941
 | Ship commissioned =  28 November 1941
 |Ship identification=DD-454
}}
{{Infobox ship career
 | Hide header =  yes
 | Ship reclassified =  DMS-19, 15 November 1944
 | Ship decommissioned =  19 October 1954
 | Ship fate =  To [[Japan]], 19 October 1954
}}
{{Infobox ship career
 | Hide header =  yes
 | Ship struck =  1 February 1970
 | Ship honours =
 | Ship notes =
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Japan
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Japan|naval}}
|Ship name=JDS ''Asakaze'' 
 | Ship namesake =
 | Ship acquired =  19 October 1954
 | Ship commissioned =
 | Ship decommissioned =
 | Ship struck =
 | Ship honours =
| Ship identification= DD-181
 | Ship fate =  Returned to U.S., 1970; sold to Republic of China, August 1970 and cannibalized for spare parts
 | Ship notes =
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
 | Hide header =
 | Header caption =
 | Ship class =  {{Sclass|Gleaves|destroyer}}
 | Ship displacement =  1,630 tons
 | Ship length =      {{convert|348|ft|3|in|abbr=on}}
 | Ship beam =  &nbsp; {{convert|36|ft|1|in|abbr=on}}
 | Ship draft = &nbsp; {{convert|11|ft|10|in|abbr=on}}
 | Ship propulsion =*{{convert|50000|shp|abbr=on}};
*4 boilers;
*2 propellers
 | Ship speed =  {{convert|37.4|kn|km/h|0}}
 | Ship range =*{{convert|6500|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn|abbr=on}}
 | Ship complement =  16 officers, 260 enlisted
 | Ship sensors =
 | Ship EW =
 | Ship armament =* 4 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[dual purpose gun|DP]] guns,
* 6 × [[.50 caliber machine gun|{{convert|0.5|in|mm|sigfig=3|abbr=on}}]] guns,
* 6 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] AA guns,
*10 × [[Mark 15 torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s,
* 2 × [[depth charge]] tracks
 | Ship notes =
}}
|}

'''USS ''Ellyson'' (DD-454/DMS-19)''', a {{sclass|Gleaves|destroyer}}, is the only ship of the [[United States Navy]] to be named for [[Theodore Gordon Ellyson]], a [[submarine]]r who became the first officer of the U.S. Navy to be designated a [[naval aviator]].
{{TOC limit|3}}

==Service history==
''Ellyson'' was laid down by [[Federal Shipbuilding]] of [[Kearny, New Jersey]] on 20 December 1940.  She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 26 July 1941 sponsored by Miss Gordon Ellyson, daughter of Commander Ellyson, and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 28 November 1941.

===1942===
Still outfitting when the [[United States]] entered [[World War II]], ''Ellyson'' was quickly readied for sea and patrolled in the Atlantic, protecting Allied shipping from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], to the [[West Indies]] and [[Panama Canal]]. On 14 January 1942 she rescued 24&nbsp;survivors from the sunken [[Norway|Norwegian]] SS&nbsp;''Norness''. On 15 June she broke the [[Broad pennant|pennant]] of Commander, Destroyer Squadron 10, which she was to carry proudly through the war, through the squadron's redesignation to Mine Division 20 and the subsequent conversion of its destroyers to high-speed [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]]s.

In August 1942 ''Ellyson'' began operating with the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Ranger|CV-4|2}}, and remained with her through the landings at [[Fedhala]], [[French Morocco]], on 8 November. After two months of escort duty along the east coast, she rejoined ''Ranger'' on two voyages to [[Casablanca]] to ferry [[United States Army Air Forces|Army]] planes to [[north Africa]].

===1943===
On 5 April 1943 ''Ellyson'' arrived at [[Naval Station Argentia|NS Argentia]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland]], to prepare for operations with the [[Royal Navy]]. She sailed for [[England]] on 12 May in the screen of the [[battleship]]s {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}} and {{USS|Alabama|BB-60|2}}, and operated with the [[British Home Fleet]] out of [[Scapa Flow]] in the [[Orkney Islands]] screening [[convoy]]s, giving distant support to Allied shipping to [[Murmansk]] and [[Iceland]], and attempting to lure [[Kriegsmarine|German]] battleship {{Ship|German battleship|Tirpitz||2}} and other German surface ships from the safety of Norwegian bases to battle on the open seas. In July she took part in a feint invasion of southern Norway to distract German attention from the real [[Allied invasion of Sicily|assault on Sicily]].

Returning to [[Naval Station Norfolk|Norfolk, Virginia]], on 9 August 1943, ''Ellyson'' screened {{USS|Iowa|BB-61|2}} during the battleship's [[shakedown cruise]] off Argentina, then returned to Norfolk with her on 24 October. On 3 November ''Ellyson'' sailed in the scouting line for ''Iowa'' who was carrying [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] to the [[Teheran Conference]]. Later, moving into the battleship's screen, ''Ellyson'' touched [[Salvador, Bahia|Bahia]], [[Brazil]]; [[Freetown]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Dakar]], and [[Port Royal, South Carolina]]; before returning to [[Boston, Massachusetts]], on 19 December.

===1944===
On 6 January 1944 ''Ellyson'' once again joined ''Ranger'' for screen and plane guard duty in [[Narragansett Bay]]. She sailed for north Africa 19 April and arrived at [[Oran]] on 1 May. On the 16th while hunting [[submarine]]s ''Ellyson'' made contact on {{GS|U-616||2}}, touching off an intensive coordinated air-sea hunt. The submarine surfaced at 23:58, and soon dived after a brief duel with {{USS|Macomb|DD-458|2}}. ''Ellyson'' and {{USS|Hambleton|DD-455|2}} continued the attack with [[depth charge]]s, forcing ''U-616'' to surface again. ''Ellyson'' sank her with gunfire on the morning of the 17th, then rescued 30&nbsp;survivors.

''Ellyson'' arrived at [[Plymouth]], on 22 May 1944 for last-minute preparations for the [[invasion of Normandy|invasion of France]]. On 6 June she covered the Army Ranger assault on [[Pointe du Hoc]] to knock out the heavy gun emplacements reported there. On 25 June she saw action off [[Bombardment of Cherbourg|Cherbourg]], blasting gun installations, destroying [[naval mine]]s, and laying a [[smoke screen]] for larger fleet units.

''Ellyson'' sailed from [[Portland Harbour]] on 29 June 1944, to [[Operation Dragoon|invade southern France]] on 15 August. She led the destroyer fires support group in directly behind the minesweepers and knocked out defenses for the incoming troops. On patrol on 27 August she illuminated a suspicious fishing vessel and captured it, finding 50 German submariners trying to escape. ''Ellyson'' remained on patrol to cover the landing of reinforcements and support the invasion until October, then sailed for Boston, arriving 8 November to begin conversion to a high-speed minesweeper. She was reclassified to [[hull classification symbol]] '''DMS-19''' on 15 November 1944.

===1945===
After training in [[Chesapeake Bay]], ''Ellyson'' sailed from Norfolk, on 3 January 1945 for the Pacific. On 24 March she arrived off [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] with the rest of her squadron to sweep in advance of [[Battle of Okinawa|the invasion]]. After thus making possible the pre-assault bombardment, she supported smaller minesweepers clearing approaches to the beaches and inner harbors. After the landings of 1 April ''Ellyson'' joined the [[radar picket]] line. The varied and dangerous duties assigned her squadron in the Okinawa operation took a heavy toll, only three of the 12 ships with whom she sailed in the next three months survived undamaged. ''Ellyson'' went to the aid of her [[sister ship]] {{USS|Emmons|DMS-22|2}} on 6 April, attempting to tow the abandoned ''[[kamikaze]]'' victim. Flames and the threat of a [[Magazine (artillery)#Naval magazines|magazine]] explosion forced ''Ellyson'' to sink the stricken destroyer early on 7 April to prevent her drifting on to [[Japan]]ese-held [[Ie Shima]]. ''Ellyson'' herself was attacked several times and accounted for a number of Japanese planes.

In July 1945 ''Ellyson'' became [[flagship]] for the task group sweeping the [[East China Sea]]. Upon the ceasefire, she joined [[U.S. Third Fleet|Third Fleet]] off [[Tokyo Bay]] and cleared it for the incoming occupation fleet units. In September she returned to Okinawa, and from her base at [[Buckner Bay]], served as command ship for clearing the [[Seto Inland Sea|Inland Sea]]. She sailed from Japan on 5 December for Norfolk, arriving 5 January 1946.

===Post war===
[[File:Japanese destroyer Asakaze (DD-181) underway in 1959.jpg|thumb|''Asakaze'' in 1959.]]
''Ellyson'' remained in the Atlantic, based at [[Naval Station Charleston|Charleston, South Carolina]], primarily, for training as far as the [[Caribbean Sea]]. In 1948 she was immobilized at Charleston, resumed operations that November when she sailed to Argentia to sweep for an amphibious exercise. Attached to Mine Force, [[U.S. Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]], ''Ellyson'' continued to operate from Charleston on training duty along the east coast and in the Caribbean. She served in the [[Mediterranean]] with the [[U.S. Sixth Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] in 1949, 1951, and 1953. On 4 May 1954 her hull classification symbol reverted to '''DD-454'''.

===Japanese service===

{{other ships|Japanese destroyer Asakaze}}

She was decommissioned 19 October 1954, and transferred to the Japanese Government on 20 October 1954 under the [[Mutual Defense Assistance Program]]. She served in the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] as '''''Asakaze'''''.

In 1970 the ship was returned to the United States, and was sold to [[Republic of China|Taiwan]], where she was cannibalized for spare parts.

==Awards==
''Ellyson'' received seven [[battle star]]s for World War II service.

== References ==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/e/ellyson.html}}

== External links ==
*[http://destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussellyson/ USS ''Ellyson'' page] at [http://destroyerhistory.org/ Destroyer History Foundation]
*{{navsource|05/454}}
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd454txt.htm  hazegray.org: USS ''Ellyson''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510054408/http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd454txt.htm |date=10 May 2012 }}

{{Gleaves class destroyer|others}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellyson (DD-454)}}
[[Category:Gleaves-class destroyers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Operation Neptune]]
[[Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Gleaves-class destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]]
[[Category:Gleaves-class destroyers of the Republic of China Navy]]
[[Category:Cold War destroyers of the Republic of China]]