Allied Warships

USS Isherwood (DD 520)

Destroyer of the Fletcher class

NavyThe US Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassFletcher 
PennantDD 520 
Built byBethlehem Steel Corp. (Staten Island, New York, U.S.A.) 
Ordered9 Sep 1940 
Laid down12 May 1942 
Launched24 Nov 1942 
Commissioned12 Apr 1943 
End service11 Sep 1961 
History

Decommissioned 1 February 1946.
Recommissioned 5 April 1951.
Decommissioned 11 September 1961.
Stricken 15 January 1974.
Transferred to Peru on 8 October 1961 being renamed Almirante Guise. Almirante Fuise was stricken and scraped in 1981.

 

Commands listed for USS Isherwood (DD 520)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1T/Cdr. Robert Emett Gadrow, USN12 Apr 194311 Apr 1944
2T/Cdr. Louis Edward Schmidt, Jr., USN11 Apr 194415 Aug 1945
3Louis Harkey Mayo, USN15 Aug 19451 Feb 1946

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Notable events involving Isherwood include:


5 Aug 1943

Convoy TA 58 / Operation Quadrant.

This convoy was only made up of one ship, the troopship Queen Mary (British, 81235 GRT, built 1936) which departed the Clyde on 5 August.

On board the Queen Mary was Prime Minister Churchill, Chiefs of Staff and their entourage which were en-route to the Quebec conference.

Close (A/S) escort for the convoy was provided by the destroyers HMS Matchless (Lt.Cdr. J. Mowlam, DSO, RN) and HMS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Clouston, RN) which had departed Londonderry on 5 August. They returned to the Clyde on 8 August.

Two destroyers had already left Londonderry on the 4th, these were HMS Saumarez (Lt.Cdr. E.N. Walmsley, DSC, RN) and HMS Scourge (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN). These probably first proceeded westwards at economical speed and later took over from HMS Matchless and HMS Scorpion. They arrived at Argentia, Newfoundland on 9 August.

Cover for this convoy was provided by the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (Capt. R.L.B. Cunliffe, RN) which was escorted by HMS Opportune (Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, DSO and Bar, RN), HMS Obedient (Lt.Cdr. H. Unwin, DSC and Bar, RN) and HMS Obdurate (Lt.Cdr. C.E.L. Sclater, DSO and Bar, RN). They departed the Clyde around 1230B/5 and returned there around 1000B/8.

During daylight on the 6th, the light cruiser HMS Belfast (Capt. F.R. Parham, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral R.L. Burnett, CB, DSO, OBE, RN) provided cover for the convoy. She had departed Scapa Flow around 0300B/5 and returned there around 0630B/8.

Close escort for the convoy was provided by the light cruiser HMS Bermuda (Capt. T.H. Back, RN) which had departed Scapa Flow around 0500B/5 and joined the troopship around 2200B/5. She remained with the troopship until around 0930B/7 when course was set to return to Scapa Flow where she arrived around 1600B/9.

The heavy cruiser HMS Kent (Capt. G.A.B. Hawkins, DSC, MVO, RN) sailed from Hvalfjord around 0130Z/5. She first sighted the Queen Mary with HMS Bermuda in company around 1930Z/6. She remained with or near the Queen Mary until 0815Z/8 when she parted company to proceed to Argentia, Newfoundland where she arrived around 1000N/9.

The light cruiser HMS Glasgow (Capt. E.M. Evans-Lombe, RN) joined HMS Kent around 0650Z/7. She parted company around 2145Z/7. HMS Glasgow had departed Plymouth around 1545B/4 and returned there around 1830B/10.

Shortly before HMS Kent parted company with the Queen Mary the heavy cruiser USS Tuscaloosa (Capt. J.B.W. Waller, USN) and the destroyers USS Isherwood (T/Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN), Luce (T/Cdr. D.C. Varian, USN), USS Bell (T/Cdr. L.C. Petross, USN) and Hale (T/Cdr. K.F. Poehlmann, USN) joined coming from Charleston, South Carolina which they had departed on the 4th together with the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (Capt. G. Rowe, USN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral O.M. Hustvedt, USN) and the destroyers USS Forrest (T/Cdr. K.P. Letts, USN), USS Corry (T/Cdr. L.B. Ensey, USN) and USS Hobson (T/Lt.Cdr. K. Loveland, USN) which were also in the area providing air cover with the aircraft of USS Ranger.

The convoy arrived at Halifax on the 9th.

18 Aug 1943
In the morning HMS Phoebe (Capt. C.P. Frend, RN) conducted torpedo firing and gunnery exercises at Scapa Flow.

Around 1930A/18, she left Scapa Flow to make rendezvous with the US Task Group 121.1 on passage from Halifax to Scapa Flow.

Rendezvous was made around 0600A/19 with the US Task Group which was made up of the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (Capt. G. Rowe, USN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral O.M. Hustvedt, USN), heavy cruisers USS Augusta (Capt. G. Hutchins, USN), USS Tuscaloosa (Capt. J.B.W. Waller, USN) and the destroyers USS Forrest (T/Cdr. K.P. Letts, USN, with COMDESDIV 20, T/Capt. C.M. Jensen, USN), USS Corry (T/Cdr. L.B. Ensey, USN), USS Hobson (T/Lt.Cdr. K. Loveland, USN), USS Isherwood (T/Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN) and USS Bell (T/Cdr. L.C. Petross, USN). (1)

27 Aug 1943
The battleships HMS Duke of York (Capt. B.B. Schofield, CBE, RN, flying the flag of A/Admiral B.A. Fraser, KCB, KBE, RN, C-in-C Home Fleet), HMS Anson (Capt. E.D.B. McCarthy, DSO and Bar, RN, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral H.R. Moore, KCB, DSO, CVO, RN), HMS Malaya (Capt. G.E.M. O’Donnell, DSO, RN), aircraft carrier USS Ranger (Capt. G. Rowe, USN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral O.M. Hustvedt, USN), heavy cruisers HMS London (Capt. R.V. Symonds-Tayler, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Rear Admiral L.H.K. Hamilton, CB, DSO and Bar, RN), USS Augusta (Capt. G. Hutchins, USN), USS Tuscaloosa (Capt. J.B.W. Waller, USN), light cruiser HMS Ceylon (Capt. G.B. Amery-Parkes, RN) and the destroyers HMCS Huron (Lt.Cdr. H.S. Rayner, DSC, RCN), HMCS Iroquois (Cdr. J.C. Hibbard DSC, RCN), HMS Meteor (Lt.Cdr. D.J.B. Jewitt, RN), HMS Obedient (Lt.Cdr. H. Unwin, DSC and Bar, RN), HMS Savage (Cdr. R.C. Gordon, DSO, RN), USS Forrest (T/Cdr. K.P. Letts, USN), USS Corry (T/Cdr. L.B. Ensey, USN), USS Hobson (T/Lt.Cdr. K. Loveland, USN), USS Isherwood (T/Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN), USS Bell (T/Cdr. L.C. Petross, USN) and the escort destroyer HMS Middleton (Lt. C.S. Battersby, RN) conducted large scale tactical exercises off Scapa Flow. (2)

28 Aug 1943
HrMs O 15 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Schouwenaar, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Spartan (Capt. P.V. McLaughlin, RN), HMS Hardy (Lt.Cdr. R. Horncastle, RN), HMS Rocket (Lt.Cdr. H.B. Acworth, OBE, RN), HMCS Iroquois (Cdr. J.C. Hibbard DSC, RCN) and USS Isherwood (Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN). (3)

3 Sep 1943
HrMs O 15 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Schouwenaar, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with ORP Orkan (Cdr. S. Hryniewiecki, ORP), USS Isherwood (Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN) and USS Hobson (Lt.Cdr. K. Loveland, USN).

Later she departed Scapa Flow for Lerwick escorted by HMS Loch Monteith (T/Lt. K.W. Richardson, RNR). (4)

4 Sep 1943
The battleships HMS Duke of York (Capt. B.B. Schofield, CBE, RN, flying the flag of A/Admiral B.A. Fraser, KCB, KBE, RN, C-in-C Home Fleet), HMS Anson (Capt. E.D.B. McCarthy, DSO and Bar, RN, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral H.R. Moore, KCB, DSO, CVO, RN), HMS Queen Elizabeth (Capt. H.G. Norman, CBE, RN), aircraft carrier USS Ranger (Capt. G. Rowe, USN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral O.M. Hustvedt, USN), heavy cruisers HMS London (Capt. R.V. Symonds-Tayler, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Rear Admiral A.F.E. Palliser, CB, DSC, RN), USS Augusta (Capt. G. Hutchins, USN), USS Tuscaloosa (Capt. J.B.W. Waller, USN), light cruiser HMS Spartan (Capt. P.V. McLaughlin, RN) and the destroyers HMS Scorpion (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Clouston, RN), HMS Scourge (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN), HMS Rocket (Lt.Cdr. H.B. Acworth, OBE, RN), HMS Onslow (Capt. J.A. McCoy, DSO, RN), ORP Orkan (Kmdr.por. (Cdr.) S. Hryniewiecki), HMCS Huron (Lt.Cdr. H.S. Rayner, DSC, RCN), HMCS Iroquois (Cdr. J.C. Hibbard, DSC, RCN), USS Corry (T/Cdr. L.B. Ensey, USN), USS Hobson (T/Lt.Cdr. K. Loveland, USN), USS Isherwood (T/Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN), USS Bell (T/Cdr. L.C. Petross, USN) conducted large scale tactical exercises off Scapa Flow. (5)

8 Sep 1943
As enemy ships were reported off Spitsbergen ships from the Home Fleet went to sea around 1615A/8 from Scapa Flow to try to intercept. These were the battleships HMS Duke of York (Capt. B.B. Schofield, CBE, RN, flying the flag of A/Admiral B.A. Fraser, KCB, KBE, RN, C-in-C Home Fleet), HMS Anson (Capt. E.D.B. McCarthy, DSO and Bar, RN, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral H.R. Moore, KCB, DSO, CVO, RN), aircraft carrier USS Ranger (Capt. G. Rowe, USN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral O.M. Hustvedt, USN), heavy cruisers HMS London (Capt. R.V. Symonds-Tayler, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Rear Admiral A.F.E. Palliser, CB, DSC, RN), USS Augusta (Capt. G. Hutchins, USN), USS Tuscaloosa (Capt. J.B.W. Waller, USN) and the destroyers HMS Onslow (Capt. J.A. McCoy, DSO, RN), HMS Rocket (Lt.Cdr. H.B. Acworth, OBE, RN), HMS Mahratta (Lt.Cdr. E.A.F. Drought, DSC, RN), ORP Orkan (Kmdr.por. (Cdr.) S. Hryniewiecki), HMCS Huron (Lt.Cdr. H.S. Rayner, DSC, RCN), HMCS Iroquois (Cdr. J.C. Hibbard DSC, RCN), USS Forrest (T/Cdr. K.P. Letts, USN), USS Corry (T/Cdr. L.B. Ensey, USN), USS Hobson (T/Lt.Cdr. K. Loveland, USN), USS Isherwood (T/Cdr. R.E. Gadrow, USN), USS Bell (T/Cdr. L.C. Petross, USN).

The light cruiser HMS Belfast (Capt. F.R. Parham, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral R.L. Burnett, CB, DSO, OBE, RN) and the destroyer HMS Impulsive (Lt.Cdr. P. Bekenn, RN) sailed from Hvalfjord, Iceland around 1645Z/8 to make rendezvous north-east of Iceland.

As it would be impossible to be on time to intercept the German before they would be back in their anchorages in Northern Norway all ships set course to return to their ports of origin in the afternoon of September 9th.

Ships from the Home Fleet returned to Scapa Flow around 1215A/10 except for HMS London and the American ships which had been detached for exercises around 2000A/9. They returned to Scapa Flow around 1630A/10.

HMS Belfast and HMS Impulsive arrived back at Hvalfjord around 1500Z/10. (6)

Media links


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.


U.S. Destroyers

Friedman, Norman


United States Destroyer Operations In World War II.

Roscoe, Theodore

Sources

  1. ADM 53/118367 + ADM 199/632
  2. ADM 53/117184
  3. ADM 53/118566 + File 2.12.03.6398 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
  4. File 2.12.03.6398 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
  5. ADM 199/766 + logbook of USS Augusta for Sep. 1943
  6. ADM 199/632 + ADM 199/766

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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