USN
Benson-Livermore class destroyers
Built
Bath Iron Works
Bath, Maine
Launched
Aug 23, 1941
Commissioned
December 5, 1941
Boston Naval Shipyard
Tons
1,630
Dimensions
348'2" | 36'1" | 15' 8"
Crew
254 (50 KIA / MIA)
Sunk
April 6, 1945 at 1630 by five Kamikaze planes, and sunk by USS Ellyson
Ship History
On picket duty off Iheya Jima in April 1945 as part of Operation
Iceberg. It was a survivor of Operation Overlord and Operation Dragoon
in France prior to Its duties in Okinawa as a minesweeper.
Sinking History
At 1630 On
April 6, 1945 while assisting its sister ship, the burning USS Rodman,
the Emmons was hit by five Kamikaze planes from the Japanese strike
force in less than two minutes With the stern smashed and most of the
superstructure gone, it drifted towards Kouri Jima where it was purposely
sunk with ninety-six 5 inch rounds from the USS Ellyson. Of the 254
members of the crew, fifty were killed or missing in action and sixty-five
were wounded.
The ship had three diffferent armament configurations, two as destroyer and her final configuration as high speed minesweeper in 1944. with 7 x 20mm. Six side-throwing "K" guns had replaced the "Y" gun. 3 x 5"/38. 5 x 21" torpedoes, 2 x twin 40mm mounts.
Shipwreck
The only known shipwreck off Okinawa
that exisits to this day.
Okinawa’s Only Wreck Discovered
