Wreck of USS Barton (DD-599)

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

USS Barton was a Benson Class Destroyer in service with the US Navy during the Second World War, being commissioned in May 1942 and joining the US Pacific Fleet in the Solomons Islands area in September 1942. After taking part in the Battle of Santa Cruz she arrived off Guadalcanal on November 12th, 1942 having safely escorted a supply convoy to US troops on the island.

After US recon aircraft reported that a force of Japanese warships were heading down the body of water known as 'The Slot' towards Guadalcanal, the USS Barton was ordered to join up with Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan's force of five Cruisers and seven other Destroyers to repel the Japanese fleet. Assuming her position in the eleventh spot of the US force just before sundown, the Barton’s' crew settled into their battle stations to wait out the Japanese, expected to arrive around midnight.

As darkness overspread the body of water known as Ironbottom Sound, several rain squalls began to cross the area limiting visibility for both the Americans and the Japanese as they steamed towards each other, however several American ships equipped with long range radar systems began to detect the approaching Japanese ships at approximately 0030hrs. Consisting of two Battleships, one Cruiser and eleven Destroyers, the Japanese fleet rounded the Northwestern coast of Savo Island and entered Ironbottom Sound at approximately 0110hrs and shaped their course for Henderson Field; the American airbase they were sent to destroy. Steaming through a heavy rain squall, the Japanese ships were totally unaware of the presence of the American force directly ahead of them, and the heavy rain prevented the US fleet from sighting the Japanese ships for over an hour after the first radar contact.

At approximately 0130hrs, both sides finally made visual contact with each other as the first Japanese ships emerged from the squall line only 3.000 yards away from the entire US formation. Despite the Americans having 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 in three separate groups. In the second position of the rear US Destroyer van USS Barton began to train her deck guns and torpedo tubes on several Japanese ships in her immediate area and awaited the order to open fire from the Flagship. At 0148hrs the order to open fire was precluded when a single Japanese Destroyer lit its searchlights onto the Cruiser USS Atlanta, causing both sides to immediately open fire on each other and starting the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

Now fully enveloped by Japanese battle lines the Barton and the USS Monssen, steaming astern, broke to the Northwest into the main group of Japanese ships while firing at point blank range on nearby Japanese Destroyers and making violent maneuvers to avoid collisions with both friendly and enemy ships in the melee. The Barton had just fired a full spread of torpedoes at the Japanese Battleship Hiei when the Light Cruiser USS Helena appeared suddenly out of the darkness and cut directly across the bow of the Barton. Making an emergency stop to avoid colliding with the USS Helena, the Barton found herself at a dead stop as her engineering crew tried to get the engines back into gear to get her moving again. Their efforts were to no avail as two Japanese 'Long Lance' torpedoes fired by the HIJMS Amatsukaze slammed into the midsection of the USS Barton; one in her boiler room and one in her engine room. The massive explosions broke the Barton in two and both sections sank only minutes after the first torpedo struck, taking 164 members of her crew with her.

The forward section of the wreck of the USS Barton was discovered at this location in 1992 by Robert Ballard, with only the hull section and superstructure ahead of the boiler room found intact. To date the stern section of the USS Barton has not been located.

In her short six months of active service to the US Navy, USS Barton earned four battle stars for her actions.

www.navsource.org/archives/05/599.htm
www.destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussbarton/...