Sisters of the Storm: Desron 29 and the Loss of Java

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Sisters of the Storm: Desron 29 and the Loss of Java

A NIGHTMAEE 13-WEEKS LONG

From 8 December 1941 up through 10 March 1942, a dwindling number of obsolete American destroyers did its Navy and Country proud. Destroyer Squadron 29 was initially composed of 13 ships arrayed in three divisions (57, 58, 59 and a flagship). After 93-days of unrelenting surface combat, harassment from the air by Japanese carrier- and land-based aircraft, and operating these old ships far beyond their capability, there were only eight ships able to seek final shelter in Fremantle, Australia, on 10 March 1942.

The crews and ships were worn out and in desperate need of revitalization. For those that remember, the days before 8 December had been pleasant and generally worry-free. Yet, looking at these ships in Fremantle, there was some doubt as to whether they would make it back to repair yards in the United States - there were hundreds of rust trickles down the hull sides, bullet holes from strafing aircraft and damage from hits and near-misses. The blackened areas and twisted steel told of the hits, and probably casualties, and the peppered hull plating spoke of near misses. Fortunately, the trip back to the USA was important enough for the men to will their ships home. The lucky eight made it back from the carnage that was Destroyer Squadron 29 of the Asiatic Fleet.

THE FLUSH-DECK DESTROYER AND THE ASIATIC FLEET

At the end of WWI, the US Navy was literally overwhelmed with obsolescing destroyers that were chronologically factory-fresh. The Armistice caught the Navy and several builders in th...

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