U.S.S. JOHN W. WEEKS
AND
U.S.S. HANK
LAUNCHING
MAY 21, 1944

THE WHITEHEAD & HOAG CO.
NEWARK, N.J.
BUTTONS, BADGES, NOVELTIES AND SIGNS

U.S.S. John W. Weeks (DD-701)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Career (US)

Namesake: John Wingate Weeks
Builder: Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down: 17 January 1944
Launched: 21 May 1944
Commissioned: 21 July 1944
Decommissioned: 12 August 1970
Struck: 12 August 1970
Fate: Sunk as target off Virginia 19 November 1970

General characteristics

Class and type: Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
Displacement: 2,200 tons
Length: 376 ft. 6 in. (114.8 m)
Beam: 40 ft. (12.2 m)
Draft: 15 ft. 8 in. (4.8 m)
Propulsion: 60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers
Speed: 34 knots (63 km/h)
Range: 6500 nmi. (12,000 km) ay 15 kt
Complement: 336
Armament: 6 - 5 in./38 guns (12 cm), 12 - 40mm AA guns, 11 - 20mm AA guns, 10 - 21 in. torpedo tubes, 6 depth charge projectors, 2 depth charge tracks.

U.S.S. John W. Weeks (DD-701), an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer, was named for John Wingate Weeks, who attained the rank of Rear Admiral. Weeks was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served until entering the United States Senate in 1913. He became Secretary of War 4 March 1921.

History
The U.S.S. John W. Weeks was laid down 17 January 1944 by Federal Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Kearny, New Jersey; launched 21 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. John W. Davidge, daughter of Secretary Weeks; and commissioned 21 July 1944, Comdr. Robert A. Theobald. Jr., in command.

After shakedown out of Bermuda and tests en route to Argentina. Newfoundland, the new destroyer departed New York 10 November 1944 escorting battleships U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63), U.S.S. Texas (BB-35), and U.S.S. Arkansas (BB-33) and escort carriers U.S.S. Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) and U.S.S. Wake Island (CVE-65) to the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal and touched San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, and Eniwetok before joining the 3d fleet at Ulithi 27 December.

Early in January 1945, the U.S.S. John W. Weeks sortied from that busy lagoon with Vice Admiral John S. McCain’s Fast Carrier Task Force TF 38 and headed toward the Philippines in the screen of Rear Admiral Gerald F. Bogan's task group. Meanwhile, the mighty Luzon Attack Force assembled in Leyte Gulf on New Year's Day, passed through Surigao Strait, and set course for Lingayen Gulf. On the 9th, as General MacArthur's troops stormed ashore on the beaches at Lingayen, planes from McCain's carriers hit Japanese airstrips on Formosa and the Pescadores to neutralize air opposition to the Luzon invasion. That night McCain's ships slipped through Luzon Strait into the South China Sea where they could be on call to support the Allied beachheads while striking strategic enemy positions along the southeastern coast of Asia and searching for the Imperial Fleet. In the next 10 days they lashed out at Hong Kong, Hainan, and the Indochinese coast causing much damage ashore and sinking 44 ships totaling 132,700 tons. At the end of this sweep into enemy waters Admiral Halsey reported, ''the outer defenses of the Japanese Empire no longer include Burma and the Netherlands East Indies; those countries are now isolated outposts, and their products are no longer available to the Japanese war machine...'' John W. Weeks, proud of her role in this daring incursion into the South China Sea, returned with her carriers to Ulithi on the 28th.

The destroyer again sailed with the carriers 11 February, and conducted strikes on Tokyo 16 and 17 February in preinvasion support of the Allied attack on Iwo Jima. After inflicting considerable damage to Japanese air power, John W. Weeks steamed toward Iwo Jima to give direct support to marines fighting for the island. Later that month the carriers renewed their attacks on the enemy's home islands. Heavy raids during March continued to cripple the enemy's power and the destroyer received credit for two assists as five enemy planes were splashed while attempting a raid on the Task Force.

When D-day for the Okinawa invasion neared, John W. Weeks in company with other units shelled the shores in preinvasion bombardment. The assault forces landed in 1 April and the destroyer stood by to offer support. On 7 April a Japanese surface force was located, and strikes were launched to intercept the enemy, resulting in the sinking of the battleship Yamato. During these operations the carrier U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19) was hit by a kamikaze and the destroyer rescued 23 survivors in a heroic rescue mission.

For the remainder of the war, John W. Weeks participated in the final assault on the Empire Islands, engaging in radar picket duty, shore bombardment, rescue missions and the antishipping sweep off Tokyo Bay. Following the cessation of hostilities, she steamed into Tokyo Bay 8 September to begin escort operations with the occupation forces. She continued escort duty until 30 December when she sailed for home, arriving San Francisco 20 January 1946. The destroyer arrived Norfolk 19 February and following repairs she was inactivated 26 April.

1950s
At the beginning of the Korean War, President Truman ordered American forces into action to take up the challenge. John W. Weeks recommissioned 24 October 1950 and commenced training cruises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. During her European Cruise January 1952, she participated in the attempt to save ill fated Flying Enterprise which foundered and sank in a 90 mile gale 10 January 1952. The destroyer returned to Norfolk 6 February to engage in coastal operations and a midshipmen European cruise.

John W. Weeks sailed on an around the world cruise 3 November 1953, and while in the Far East she operated with units of the 7th Fleet off the coast of Korea. She completed the cruise when she returned via the Mediterranean arriving Norfolk 4 June 1954. From 1954 to 1963 the destroyer operated with the Atlantic Fleet and during this period made five Mediterranean cruises and two NATO exercises.

John W. Weeks was operating with the 6th Fleet during 1956 when the Suez crisis erupted over the canal. One year later on another Near Eastern deployment, John W. Weeks and other units stood by to prevent subversion of Jordan. The Mediterranean cruise of 1958 included patrol duty and exercises with navies of Bagdad Pact countries. The destroyer was also active in U.S. waters, busy with midshipmen at sea training and antisubmarine exercises. During 1959 she participated in Operation ''Inland Seas'' during the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. John W. Weeks was the first Navy destroyer to enter each of the Great Lakes. During this cruise she escorted HMY Britannia, with the Queen of England aboard, from Chicago to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

1960s
On 9 March 1960, the destroyer, in company with the U.S.S. Ault (DD-698), transited the Bosporus; and the two became the first U.S. warships to enter the Black Sea since 1945. On the same cruise she rendezvoused with the U.S.S. Triton (SSRN-586) at the end of the nuclear powered submarine's cruise round the world. After returning to Norfolk, the destroyer visited the Caribbean and the New England Coast on midshipman training at sea. In the fall she deployed to the Mediterranean and returned to Norfolk, Virginia 3 March 1962. Midshipman training in the summer and exercise out of Norfolk kept the ship in fighting trim and ready for action.

In October the presence of Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba prompted President John F. Kennedy to order a quarantine of the island (Cuban Missile Crisis). John W. Weeks escorted replenishment ships to the quarantine area. When this display of national strength and determination forced the Kremlin to withdraw the missiles, John W. Weeks returned via San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Norfolk.

Early in 1963, while preparing for another Mediterranean deployment from February to April, the destroyer received the Battle Efficiency ''E'' for outstanding service. She headed for the Mediterranean 29 November. The end of the year found her patrolling off troubled Cyprus, standing by ready to evacuate, if necessary, Americans from that strife torn island. On New Year's Day en route to the Red Sea to join that U.S. Middle East Force, she was the first ship to transit the Suez Canal during 1964. She visited Jidda, Saudi Arabia; Berbera, Somali Republic, Aden, Aden Protectorate; Djibouti, French Somaliland; Massawa, Ethiopia; and Karachi, Pakistan. She headed west from Karachi 6 February; refueled at Aden; then turned south for patrol along the Zanzibar coast during the revolution there, and off Kenya and Tanganyika during unrest in those countries. She departed Mombasa, Kenya, 24 February and transited the Suez Canal 6 March. After patrolling the Mediterranean, John W. Weeks departed Pollenca Bay, Majorca, for home 12 May and reached Norfolk on the 23rd.

After overhaul in Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the destroyer departed Hampton Roads 9 November for Guantanamo Bay and refresher training. She returned to Norfolk early in January 1965 to prepare for another Mediterranean cruise. She got underway 13 February and arrived Valencia, Spain, 5 March. She stopped at Naples for a fortnight en route to the Suez Canal and 2 months of duty in the Red Sea. Back in the Mediterranean 2 June, the destroyer headed for home 30 June and returned to Norfolk 12 July.

Late in the summer, the destroyer was on the Gemini 5 recovery team. For the remainder of the year, she operated out of Norfolk in the Caribbean and along the Atlantic Coast. She continued ASW exercises in the Caribbean until returning to Norfolk 3 February 1966. After serving as sonar school ship at Key West during March and April, the veteran destroyer departed Norfolk 16 May for European waters. Steaming with DesRon 2, John W. Weeks during the next 3 months cruised the western coast of Europe from Norway to France. She took part in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises, and during Operation ''Straight Laced,'' a simulated invasion of the Norwegian coast, she operated with British and West German ships. While carrying out ASW duty during this exercise, she made the only simulated submarine kill in the operation 19 August. Departing Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 24 August, she returned to Norfolk 2 September. During the remainder of the year she served as school ship at Key West and joined in ASW exercises along the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean. John W. Weeks continued this duty until early in July 1967 when she departed Norfolk for deployment in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Steaming via San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Recife, Brazil, she touched at African ports on the east and west coasts of that continent and ranged Africa from the Gulf of Guinea to the Red.

Fate
She was finally decommissioned and stricken 12 August 1970, and finished her service as a gunnery target. She was sunk 19 November 1970. Her final resting place is 1300 fathoms down, at 37°10.9'N, 73°45.6'W. John W. Weeks received four battle stars for World War II service.

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U.S.S. Hank (DD-702)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Career (US)

Laid down: 17 January 1944
Launched: 21 May 1944
Commissioned: 28 August 1944
Decommissioned: 1 July 1972
Struck: 1 July 1972
Fate: To Argentina 1 July 1972

Career (Argentina)

Name: Segui
Acquired: 1 July 1972
Struck: Stricken in 1983
Fate: Broken up for scrap in 1983.

General characteristics

Class and type: Allen M. Sumner class destroyer
Displacement: 2,200 tons
Length: 376 ft. 6 in. (114.8 m)
Beam: 40 ft. (12.2 m)
Draft: 15 ft. 8 in. (4.8 m)
Propulsion: 60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers
Speed: 34 knots (63 km/h)
Range: 6500 nmi. (12,000 km) at 15 kt
Complement: 336
Armament: 6 - 5 in./38 guns (12 cm), 12 - 40mm AA guns, 11 - 20mm AA guns, 10 - 21 in. torpedo tubes, 6 depth charge projectors, 2 depth charge tracks.

U.S.S. Hank (DD-702), an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer, was named for Lieutenant Commander William Hank. Hank was launched 21 May 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey; sponsored by Mrs. William Edwin Hank, widow of Lt. Cmdr. Hank ; and commissioned 28 August 1944, G. M. Chambers in command.

World War II
After completing her Caribbean shakedown 18 October, Hank joined battleships U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63), U.S.S. Texas (BB-35), and U.S.S. Arkansas (BB-33) at New York and then sailed for the Pacific reaching Pearl Harbor 6 December via the Panama Canal and San Francisco. Hank reported to Ulithi 28 December and sortied 2 days later as part of the screen for Task Force 38, a fast carrier force under Vice Admiral John S. McCain, Sr.. The primary mission of the carriers was to conduct air strikes against strategic Japanese positions along the China coast and on Formosa and Luzon to distract enemy attention and to divert Japanese ships from the landings at Lingayen Gulf which were to begin 9 January 1945. The day after the invasion was launched, Task Force 38 moved into the South China Sea to conduct a series of devastating raids on targets along the China Coast and in Indochina. After launching one final raid against Okinawa, the carriers and escorts, Hank included, returned to Ulithi 26 January 1945.

Joining Task Force 58, a reorganized fast carrier strike force under the command of Admiral Marc Mitscher, Hank sortied 10 February. Carrier planes launched massive raids against airfields, aircraft factories, and shipping in the Tokyo area 16 and 17 February in paralyzing diversionary strikes prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima, 19 February. These raids, launched less than 125 miles (201 km) from Tokyo Bay itself, were the first carrier air strikes to hit Japan proper since the Doolittle raid of 1942.

Among the ships which Hank helped screen in the 116 unit task force were battle veterans such as the U.S.S. Indianapolis (CA-35), U.S.S. Bunker Hill (CV-17), U.S.S. Hornet (CV-8), U.S.S. Wasp (CV-18), U.S.S. Lexington (CV-16), U.S.S. Essex (CV-9), U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-10), U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-6), U.S.S. Saratoga (CV-3), U.S.S. Indiana (BB-58), U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63), U.S.S. South Dakota (BB-57), and U.S.S. Washington (BB-56). Deploying to the Iwo Jima area the afternoon of 18 February, Hank remained there to provide support for the invasion which began the following day; and she operated off the bitterly contested island until returning to Ulithi 4 March.

As the Pacific war moved into its climactic phases, Hank steamed from Ulithi 14 March, with Task Force 58 for further strikes against the Japanese home islands. Closing to within 75 miles (121 km) of their targets, the carriers launched massive strikes against airfields on Kyushu and ships in the Inland Sea 18 and 19 March. Although under heavy air opposition from time to time, the carrier planes claimed a total of 528 Japanese aircraft destroyed. After participating in the bombardment of enemy shore positions, including radio facilities, a weather station, and an airfield on Minami Daito Shima 27 - 28 March, Hank headed for Okinawa. Her task force furnished support for landings made on that heavily fortified island 1 April, and Hank spent a busy week screening the carriers and stopping kamikazes with highly effective antiaircraft fire. The destroyer then reported to a lonely radar picket station, where on the afternoon of 11 April she narrowly averted disaster by her effective gunfire. As a kamikaze came in low off the port bow, heading directly for the bridge, Hank's accurate antiaircraft fire deflected it slightly, but the ''Zeke'' came in close enough to kill three sailors before crashing into the sea and exploding close aboard.

After repairs at Ulithi, Hank again joined Task Force 58, 1 May to resume screening and radar picket duties off Okinawa. June was spent at San Pedro Bay, Philippines, undergoing replenishment and training, and on 1 July the carriers redesignated Task Force 38 and operating under Vice Admiral McCain in Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet sortied to launch further strikes against the home islands. Hank spent most of this period on hazardous and lonely radar picket duty, steaming 50 miles (80 km) from the main body of ships to provide early warning of enemy air attacks. On the night of 18 July she joined Destroyer Squadron 62 and Cruiser Division 18 for an antishipping sweep across the entrance to Tokyo Bay. As she patrolled her radar picket station 9 August, U.S.S. Hank and U.S.S. Borie (DD-704) found themselves in the midst of five kamikaze planes. One of the aircraft came so close to Hank that it drenched both ship and personnel forward with gasoline before the veteran ships destroyed it and the other four attackers. Borie had been hit in the after bridge structure and suffered 48 dead and 66 wounded, while Hank had to report 1 man missing in action and 5 wounded. Hostilities ceased 15 August 1945, and Hank steamed proudly into Tokyo Bay 10 September to participate in the occupation. She continued operations around Japan and Pearl Harbor through 30 December, when she sailed for Charleston, South Carolina, via Eniwetok, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, San Diego, California and the Panama Canal.

Korean war
The veteran ship operated primarily out of New Orleans, Louisiana for reserve training cruises and good will visits to Caribbean and Central American ports until sailing 6 September 1949 for the Mediterranean. During her 5 months with the 6th Fleet, Hank participated in amphibious operations and visited Gibraltar, Malta, France, Sicily, Italy, and Algeria. Returning to Norfolk 26 January 1950, Hank engaged in training operations and a cruise to the Caribbean until sailing for the Far East and the Korean War 6 September. She arrived Yokosuka, Japan, 1 month later and joined the United Nations Blockade and Escort Force off the Korean coast. Her movements centered mainly around Wonsan Harbor, then under siege, with frequent interruptions for blockade patrol and bombardment missions. Hank supported the evacuation of Wonsan in early December and then moved up to Hungnam to help provide the curtain of fire which covered the evacuation of Allied troops. In January and February 1951, Hank supported the 8th Army as it moved to recapture and consolidate Seoul and Inchon. Screening, blockade patrol, and shore bombardment constituted the destroyer's duties along the Korean coast until she sailed for the United States, reaching Norfolk 9 June via SanDiego, the Panama Canal, and Guantanamo.

After a yard overhaul at Norfolk, Hank resumed the peacetime training operations, Caribbean exercises, and annual deployments to the Mediterranean that kept the fleet ready to serve America well at any moment on the seas. In the fall of 1956, in the Suez Crisis, as warfare flared over the nationalization of the Suez Canal, Hank was there. In 1960 the destroyer with the Navy began to reach into space. She participated in training for Project Mercury, America's first man in space effort, off the Virginia capes, and she was designated one of the recovery ships when Astronaut Lt. Comdr. Scott Carpenter made his orbital flight 24 May 1962. Hank operated with the U.S.S. Independence (CV-62) on blockade and surveillance duty during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, remaining in the tension filled Caribbean for nearly a month. She was designated a Naval Reserve Training Ship in October 1963 and proceeded to her new home port, Philadelphia. After undergoing repairs at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester Pennsylvania, in 1964 Hank began reserve training cruises along the East Coast from Fort. Lauderdale, Florida, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada continuing into 1972. Hank was decommissioned and sold to Argentina on 1 July 1972, and renamed ''Segui.'' She was scrapped in 1983. Hank received four battle stars for World War II, and four battle stars for Korean service.