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USS ''Killen'' (DD-593), a ''Fletcher''-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Edward Killen, who served in the First Barbary War. Killen volunteered for Lieutenant Stephen Decatur's daring 1804 expedition into Tripoli Harbor to destroy ''Philadelphia'', a United States frigate captured by Tripolitan pirates. ''Killen'' was launched on 10 January 1943, by the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington; sponsored by Mrs. Inez Cowdrey; and commissioned on 4 May 1944, Commander H. G. Corey in command. == World War II == After shakedown ''Killen'' cleared Port Angeles, Wash. on 19 August 1944, escorted a convoy from Pearl Harbor and arrived at Manus, Admiralty Islands on 14 September. Following training exercises the destroyer departed Hollandia on 12 October with the Central Philippine Attack Force that arrived off San Pedro Bay on the 20th. For the next 5 days she gave day and night fire support to troops ashore on Leyte, and during one 30-minute period on the 21st silenced three enemy artillery positions. When the Japanese Navy decided to contest the landings in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, ''Killen'' squadron engaged the enemy at Surigao Strait. On the morning of 25 October, at 03:25, she launched five torpedoes toward battleship ''Yamashiro''. One hit, slowing her to , enabled other American destroyers to maneuver for the kill. In the widespread fleet actions for Leyte, covering hundreds of thousands of nautical miles, the U.S. Fleet reduced the Japanese Fleet to an ineffective force thus greatly speeding up the advance toward Japan and end of the war. ''Killen'' resumed antiaircraft screen. While on patrol off Leyte on 1 November she was attacked by seven enemy aircraft. The destroyer splashed four raiders before a bomb from one of the attackers found its mark in ''Killen'' port side, killing 15. After temporary repairs at San Pedro Bay and Manus, she steamed into Hunter's Point, Calif., on 15 January 1945, for overhaul. Returning to Manus on 9 May, the destroyer, now with Commander James L. Semmes in command, sailed the next day for convoy escort and patrol duty in the Philippines. Killen formed part of the screen for the cruiser carrying General Douglas MacArthur to nearly every island in the chain to give his "I have returned" speech. Lacking the propulsion system necessary to operate with the fast carriers around Okinawa, ''Killen'' was kept in the south with the cruiser fleet. She steamed into Brunei Bay, Borneo, on 10 June with the assault forces, and supported the troops with prelanding bombardment. She resumed exercises on 15 June before arriving off Balikpapan, Borneo, on 27 June for fire support missions. After silencing enemy shore batteries on Borneo, ''Killen'' prepared for the final phase of the Pacific war as she arrived Manila on 14 July. She cleared that port 2 weeks later, and joined the North Pacific Force in the Aleutian Islands. Upon the cessation of hostilities the destroyer was assigned to the occupation forces in the Japanese islands. Departing Adak on 31 August, ''Killen'' took up station at Ominato in northern Honshū, and supported the occupation forces until 14 November, when she sailed to Puget Sound. From there she proceeded to San Diego, arriving on 2 April, and decommissioning on 9 July 1946. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Killen (DD-593)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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