Allied Warships

USS Edsall (i) (DD 219)

Destroyer of the Clemson class

NavyThe US Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassClemson 
PennantDD 219 
Built byWilliam Cramp and Sons (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down15 Sep 1919 
Launched29 Jul 1920 
Commissioned26 Nov 1920 
Lost1 Mar 1942 
Loss position13° 45'S, 106° 47'E
History

Around 1800 hours on 1 March 1942 the Japanese battlecruisers Hiei and Kirishima and heavy cruisers Chikuma and Tone engage the damaged USS Edsall (Lt.Cdr. Joshua James Nix, USN) with gunfire. The Japanese ships fire over 1300 rounds at the Edsall and score only two hits. An air strike on the Edsall by the nearby carriers is requested.

Soryu launches nine dive bombers and the Akagi eight. The aircraft hit Edsall with 550lb and 1100lb bombs and set her on fire. Eventually Edsall goes dead in the water. The heavy cruiser Chikuma moves in and destroys the stationary Edsall with 6" gunfire.

Around 1900 hours Edsall slides beneath the waves in position 13º45'S, 106º47'E.

 

Commands listed for USS Edsall (i) (DD 219)

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
1Abel Charles Jules Sabalot, USN9 May 193924 May 1940
2Lt.Cdr. Edwin Mason Crouch, USN24 May 194013 Oct 1941 (1)
3Lt. Joshua James Nix, USN13 Oct 19412 Mar 1942

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Notable events involving Edsall (i) include:


20 Jan 1942
EDSALL, ALDEN, & three RAN corvettes, KATOOMBA, DELORAINE, & LITHGOW combine to sink the Japanese KRS-class mine-laying submarine I-124 off Port Darwin, Australia after the sub attacked ships entering the port.

9 Feb 1942
Around 0800 hours, HrMs De Ruyter (Cdr. E.E.B. Lacomblé, RNN and flagship of Rear-Admiral K.W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) and HrMs Tromp (Cdr. J.B. de Meester, RNN), were joined by eight US destroyers USS Whipple (Lt.Cdr. E.S. Karpe, USN), USS Pillsbury (Lt.Cdr. H.C. Pound, USN), USS Edsall (Lt.Cdr. J.J. Nix, USN), USS Alden (Lt.Cdr. L.E. Coley, USN), USS Stewart (Lt.Cdr. H.P. Smith, USN), USS John D. Edwards (Lt.Cdr. H.E. Eccles, USN), USS Barker (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Miller, USN) and USS Bulmer (Lt.Cdr. D.A. Harris, USN).

At 1700 hours the Dutch destroyers HrMs Piet Hein (Lt.Cdr. J.M.L.I. Chompff, RNN), HrMs Banckert (Lt.Cdr. L.J. Goslings, RNN) and HrMs Van Ghent (Lt.Cdr. P. Schotel, RNN) also joined. Van Ghent developed engine trouble and was later replaced by HrMs Kortenaer (Lt.Cdr. A. Kroese, RNN). (After repairs Van Ghent re-joined the task force on the 11th.)

Around 2130 hours the US destroyers USS Edsall and USS Alden were detached and sent to Tjilatjap. (2)

27 Feb 1942
On 27 February 1942, she picked up 177 survivors from the aircraft transport USS Langley, which was damaged by Japanese aircraft. She then sunk the Langley with torpedoes and gunfire. The next day the survivors from Langley went aboard the oiler USS Pecos. Edsall then headed back to Tjilatjap but she never reached it. (3)

Media links


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.


Blood on the Sea

Parkin, Robert Sinclair


amazon.com
($ 15.98)


U.S. Destroyers

Friedman, Norman


United States Destroyer Operations In World War II.

Roscoe, Theodore

Sources

  1. http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/219.htm
  2. Files 2.12.03.6849 and 2.12.27.121 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
  3. Personal communication

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