Wreck of USS Monssen (DD-436)

 Second World War 1939-1945, military, shipwreck, destroyer (ship), United States Navy

USS Monssen was the tenth member of the Gleaves Class of Destroyers, in service with the US Navy before and during the Second World War in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. Earning Battle Stars for her involvement in the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Monssen found herself in the role of a convoy escort to US ships landing troops and supplies on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in late 1942.

Arriving off Guadalcanal on November 12th, 1942 after escorting a supply convoy from Tonga, the Monssen was attacked by Japanese aircraft while covering the unloading transports and had her fire control radar system destroyed before her crew were able to drive off their attackers. After attempting repairs while escorting the transports clear of Guadalcanal, she was ordered to link up with an American force of Cruisers and Destroyers being assembled to meet an approaching Japanese force spotted earlier in the day by US recon planes. Lacking a functioning fire control radar, the Monssen was assigned to the rear of the newly formed American Task Force, consisting of five Cruisers and seven other Destroyers, to provide gunfire and torpedo support to the formation ahead of her as they engaged the Japanese force which was scheduled to arrive around midnight on November 12th.

After assuming their battle formation shortly before sundown, the American formation began steaming in their patrol loop and waited for the Japanese as the skies darkened and heavy bands of rain began to cross the body of water known as Ironbottom Sound. At approximately 0030hrs the first Japanese ships began to appear on the radar screens of US ships as the Japanese shore bombardment force, consisting of two Battleships one Cruiser and eleven Destroyers, rounded the Northwestern coast of Savo Island and entered Ironbottom Sound. A heavy rain squall lay in between the two fleets, preventing either side from visually sighting each other for almost an hour while they closed on each other in the pitch dark early morning of November 13th, 1942. At approximately 0130hrs the first Japanese ships emerged from the squall line and found themselves only 3,000 yards away from the entire US formation, which had steamed directly into the middle of the Japanese force. Neither side opened fire for almost ten minutes as they passed by each other, with the Japanese ships enveloping the American battle column as they emerged from the darkness. Aboard Monssen, no fire control radar was needed to see the enemy ships now passing ahead of her, and her crew began to train their deck guns and torpedo tubes towards whatever Japanese ships they could see and awaited the order to open fire.

No order was needed after a Japanese Destroyer lit its searchlights onto the Cruiser USS Atlanta at 0148hrs, causing both sides to immediately open fire on each other and starting the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

Now sandwiched between two Japanese battle lines, the Monssen and the rear guard of Destroyers broke formation and began to independently engage Japanese ships in the area. Monssen and USS Barton, steaming in the #2 & #3 position of the rear formation, broke to the Northwest into the main group of Japanese ships with both Destroyers frantically maneuvering between friendly and enemy ships while firing and being fired on at point blank range in what one of Monssens' officers would famously describe as 'a bar room brawl with the lights shot out'. Still trailing the USS Barton as she fired a spread of torpedoes at a passing Japanese Battleship, the Monssen’s crews were could only watch as the Barton came to an emergency stop to avoid colliding with the USS Helena, allowing her to be struck by at least two Japanese 'Long Lance' torpedoes which blew the ship in two and sent her to the bottom. As the Monssen swerved to avoid colliding with the sinking Barton and increased speed to get away from the flames which were silhouetting her in the dark, the Monssen received an order from the USS San Francisco to identify herself so Admiral Callaghan could determine where his ships were in the melee. Despite the raging battle going on around her, the Monssen duly flashed back her recognition code to the San Francisco with her signal lamp, allowing three Japanese Destroyers to easily target the Monssen in the darkness and open fire. Some 35 shells of Destroyer caliber and at least 3 shells from a Japanese Battleship slammed into the Monssen over the next few minutes, starting large fires aboard ship and knocking out all of her defensive and communication systems before flooding below decks extinguished her boilers and brought the ship to a halt. With no guns, no radio, no engines and no way to fight the fires now consuming the ship, Capt. Charles McCombs ordered the Monssen abandoned at 0240hrs, shortly after the Japanese force had begun to withdraw from the area.

Dawn on November 13th found the Monssen still stubbornly afloat in Ironbottom Sound, though heavily afire below decks. As US ships canvassed the area for sailors in the water, some of her crew re-boarded the Monssen to look for survivors, rescuing another eight men before leaving the Monssen to her fate. Shortly after noon on November 13th, 1942, USS Monssen sank at this location, taking 145 of her crew with her. Her wreck was discovered and photographed at this location in 1992 by Robert Ballard lying on an even keel in 2000ft of water.

www.navsource.org/archives/05/436.htm
www.destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussmonssen...