Wreck of USS Luce (DD-522)

Japan / Okinawa / Yomitan /
 Second World War 1939-1945, shipwreck, destroyer (ship), draw only border, United States Navy
USS Luce was the 46th member of the Fletcher Class of Destroyers built for the US Navy, laid down at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard on Staten Island, NY in August 1942 and commissioned into US Navy service as a member of the US Atlantic Fleet in June 1943.

Following shakedown and training cruises, the Luce was paired with a Southbound convoy and passed through the Panama Canal to join the US Pacific Fleet in October 1943, after which she stood out for Pearl Harbor in company with the USS Enterprise (CV-6). After screening her charge safely to Pearl, the Luce and her crew shaped a course for the Aleutian Islands, where she would spend from November 1943 through August 1944 engaged in regular patrols and operations throughout the Aleutian and Kurile Islands against Japanese forces.

Following a much-needed refit in San Francisco from her operations in Northern climes, the Luce shaped a course for the Philippine Islands upon her return to operations in late August 1944, screening amphibious forces off Leyte in October and conducting patrols and gunfire support off New Guinea through the end of the year. Called back to the Philippines in January 1945, the Luce screened invasion forces at Lingayen, San Pedro and Luzon before taking up escort duty on supply convoys moving throughout the Philippines through March.

Orders to link up with the ships of Task Force 51 reached the Luce and her crew in mid-March 1945, and on the 24th she departed the Philippines as an escort for landing craft bound for Kelse Shima with full loads of artillery pieces. Arriving off Okinawa on April 1st and seeing her charges to their destination, the Luce was ordered to take up the dangerous duty of a radar picket ship off the Allied Anchorage at Kerema Retto, acting as an early-warning post for inbound enemy aircraft. Luce and her crew did not have to wait long to begin their new duty, as within hours of the initial landings formations of Japanese Kamikaze aircraft were making their way towards the assembled fleet. As the ground battle for Okinawa raged on for the entire month of April, Luce and her crew like many other ships fought their own pitched and costly battle with a seemingly endless stream of suicide-bent Kamikaze's flying from the Japanese mainland. Surviving nearly 30 straight days of air attack, Luce and her crew entered the month of May stationed at Picket Station #12, North of Aguni Island with the fire support ships LSM(R)-190, LCS(L)-81, LCS(L)-84, and LCS(L)-118. Shortly after 0710hrs on the 4th, radar operators on the Luce began to pick up what turned into over 90 inbound enemy aircraft heading towards Okinawa, and promptly assisted in vectoring airborne friendly aircraft to intercept. Though American Carrier aircraft downed a sizeable number of the inbound Kamikazes, roughly half an hour after the initial contact Luce's radar picked up at least 28 enemy planes circling her position, sending the Destroyer and her escorts to battle stations.

Obscured by a low-hanging cloud cover, the Japanese aircraft used small breaks in the clouds to target the Luce and began their attack, with two aircraft streaking down diagonally from the Port side. Ready gun crews took both under fire and succeeded in knocking the first off its course and sent the aircraft into the sea off the ships Port bow. Unfortunately, the bomb carried by the plane detonated upon contact with the water and sent a shockwave through the Luce that was powerful enough to knock out several key electrical systems. At the same time, the second aircraft slammed into the ships Stern and its penetrated into her Portside engine room before detonating, opening a large portion of the hull to the sea, warping both her shafts and destroying her steering systems. Taking an immediate list to Port as she reeled from the force of the blasts, the Luce began to slow to a halt as the aerial onslaught continued around her, but with no power to operate her guns or onboard pumps the ship was dangerously exposed. Following a marked increase in her list at 0814hrs, Luce's Captain issued the order to abandon ship and only minutes later the ship rolled onto her Port side and sank, suffering a heavy series of detonations from her still-armed depth charges as she went down at this location with 150 of her crew at 0816hrs on May 4th, 1945.

For her actions on the date of her loss, USS Luce was awarded her 5th and final Battle Star for World War Two service.

www.navsource.org/archives/05/522.htm
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Luce_(DD-522)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   26°42'59"N   127°14'0"E

Comments

  • My Uncle Robert Shattuck, Radio Man was killed while manning the 40mm Gun he was stationed on. It took a direct hit during the battle. All men perished at the station.
  • My uncle Bobby Cox died on the Luce but I have never been able to find out how he died or where he was.
  • My older brother(now deceased) was in #3 5" Gun, took 1, maybe 2 direct hits. Not sure how he got into the water. Always called the Blue F4-U Corsairs his "Blue Angels" for the life saving cover they provided while he was floating in the ocean. He was 19 at the time. He didn't talk much about it until a few years before his death.
  • My grand father Peter D. Ballantine survived the attack with 3rd degree burns after being rescued by the USS Mercy. He told me this story when I was only 5 years old and I never forgot it. He went on to make a full recovery and became a NYPD Police Officer who’s footsteps I followed. The don’t make men like that anymore.
  • There is a book called DD 522 Diary of a Destroyer by Ron Surels. You may find some answers there. A great book and Reveals a lot of shananagans and good laughs they had before that fateful May morning and several minute by minute accounts from survivors. You’ll laugh and cry but it is a must read. Enjoy, JPF
This article was last modified 8 years ago