Three 20-mm guns (Group 25) were on the fantail in a triangular arrangement, between Mount 53 and the depth-charge racks on the stern. Mount 53 (twin 5-inch/38-caliber) was aft of the deckhouse. Two quad 40-mm mounts were on top of the aft deckhouse, staggered starboard (Mount 43) and port (Mount 44), so both mounts could train to either side or aft. Two 20-mm guns were on the starboard side above the aft deckhouse (Group 23). Two 20-mm guns were on the port side of the aft stack (Group 24). A twin 40-mm mount was on each side of the forward stack (Mounts 41 and 42). Two 20-mm antiaircraft guns were on each side of the forward superstructure (Groups 21 and 22). In addition, Laffey had 12 40-mm Bofors and 11 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns, plus six K-gun depth-charge throwers, and two depth-charge racks on the stern.įrom bow to stern, Laffey’s gun armament was as follows: Mount 51 (twin 5-inch/38-caliber), Mount 52 (twin 5-inch/38-caliber) superimposed over Mount 51. Laffey retained the two quintuple 21-inch torpedo tube mounts from the early Fletchers (many Fletchers and Sumners would later have one torpedo bank removed in favor of additional 40-mm anti-aircraft guns). This was double the forward firepower of a Fletcher and, at long range, the aft 5-inch mount on Laffey was designed to fire over the mainmast, adding even more forward firepower. Instead of the Fletchers’ five single 5-inch gun mounts, Laffey had three twin 5-inch/38-caliber gun mounts, with two forward and one aft. Laffey was 2,200 tons, with a speed of 34 knots and a crew of 336. Sumner–class destroyers (of which 55 were completed during the war), designed as a follow-on to the Fletcher class. The second Laffey was one of 58 new Allen M. Laffey lost 59 of her 247 crewmen, was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation, and her skipper, Lieutenant Commander William Hank, was posthumously awarded his second Navy Cross (see H-Grams 011 and 012). She was lost in heroic action in the brutal no-quarter 13 November 1942 night melee off Guadalcanal, in which she dueled the Japanese battleship Hiei with a CPA (closest point of approach) of 20 feet. The first USS Laffey (DD-459) was a Benson-class destroyer that had rescued survivors of the torpedoed carrier Wasp (CV-7), and fought in the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal. destroyer named after Irish-born Seaman Bartlett Laffey, who was awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions as member of the crew of the Union stern-wheel gunboat USS Marmora in action ashore against Confederate forces at Yazoo City, Mississippi, on 5 March 1864. Becton, commanding officer, USS Laffey (DD-724), 16 April 1945 Prelude Finding Information on Personal Participation in World War II, a brochure on some of NARA's relevant records, and how to get started.“No! I’ll never abandon ship as long as a single gun will fire!”.Search WWII Electronic Records in the Access to Archival Databases (AAD).World War II Draft Registration: Use the National Archives Catalog for Ohio men born between Apand February 16, 1897, whose surnames began with "Aa" and "Ab".World War II Dead Buried in American Battle Monument Commission Cemeteries, Missing in Action, or Buried or Lost at Sea.
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