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USS ''Lansdowne'' (DD-486), a , is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne. He was awarded the Navy Cross "for distinguished service ... as one of the crew of the British airship ''R34'', which in July 1919, made the first successful nonstop passage from England to the United States." ''Lansdowne'' was laid down 31 July 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey; launched on 20 February 1942, sponsored by Miss Peggy Lansdowne, daughter of Lt.Cmdr. Lansdowne; and commissioned on 29 April 1942, Lt. Cmdr. W. R. Smedberg III in command. ==1942== ''Lansdowne'' first operated along the Atlantic seaboard on shakedown, antisubmarine, and escort duty, and attacked an enemy submarine off Cape Hatteras on 3 July. Following a severe depth charge attack, large quantities of oil bubbled to the surface and it was presumed the submarine had been sunk. Arriving at Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone, 13 July, the destroyer was sent to a position where ''PC-458'' had located an enemy submarine. Upon arrival, ''Lansdowne'' launched a depth charge attack. Large quantities of oil rose to the surface, and the forward motion of the submarine ceased. Postwar records established that ''U-153'' was sunk by these attacks. On 21 August, ''Lansdowne'' transited the Panama Canal and headed for the South Pacific. En route to Tonga, she rescued the pilot and radioman of a splashed observation plane from . Arriving Nukualofa Bay on 6 September, the destroyer joined Task Force 18 (TF 18), under Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes in . On 15 September 1942, ''Wasp'' was torpedoed and heavily damaged by gasoline fires. ''Lansdowne'' narrowly avoided one of the submarine Type 95 torpedoes that missed ''Wasp'' and later hit . ''Lansdowne'' rescued 447 of ''Wasp''s crew when the burning carrier was abandoned. As the remainder of (TF 18) moved on, Admiral Noyes ordered ''Lansdowne'' to sink ''Wasp'' and stand by the carrier until she was sunk. ''Lansdowne''s Mark 15 torpedoes had the same unrecognized flaws reported for the Mark 14 torpedo. The first torpedo was fired at a range of 1000 yards and set to run 15 feet under ''Wasp''s keel for maximum damage with the magnetic influence exploder. When no result was observed from an apparently perfect wake, a second torpedo was fired at keel depth from a range of 800 yards. Once again, an apparently perfect shot produced no results; and ''Lansdowne'' had only three more torpedoes. ''Lansdowne''s torpedomen disabled the magnetic influence exploders and set depth at ten feet. All three torpedoes detonated, but ''Wasp'' remained afloat in the orange flames of a burning pool of gasoline and oil. ''Lansdowne'' nervously zig-zagged silhouetted in the fire's glow until ''Wasp'' sank by the bow at 2100. ''Lansdowne'', with Task Group 64.1 (TG 64.1), took part in the occupation of Funafuti, Ellice Islands, 2 October, then escorted aircraft ferry to Espiritu Santo. From 13 October, the ship screened various task forces, groups, and units in the British Solomons, escorted damaged ships to safety, and an 30 November sighted and bombarded a large group of Japanese landing barges, sinking several and scoring direct hits on a beached enemy ship east of Cape Esperance. She also shelled shore installations from Buala to Visale. On 30 November, ''Lansdowne'' made three attacks against a submerged target west of Koli Point, bringing diesel oil, slabs of cork, and air bubbling to the surface. In December, she made an escort run from Tulagi to Sydney and Auckland, returning to Nouméa. 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 Lansdowne (DD-486)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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