View source for USS Monaghan (DD-354)

{{Short description|Farragut-class destroyer}}
{{Other ships|USS Monaghan}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USSMonaghanDD354.jpg|300px|USS Monaghan (DD-354)]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Monaghan'' (DD-354)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1944}}
|Ship name=''Monaghan'' (DD-354)
|Ship namesake=[[John R. Monaghan]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Boston Navy Yard]]
|Ship laid down=21 November 1933
|Ship launched=9 January 1935
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=19 April 1935
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours= 12 × [[Battle star#Navy warships|battle stars]]
|Ship fate=Foundered in [[Typhoon Cobra]], 18 December 1944
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Farragut class destroyer (1934)|''Farragut''-class]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=1,500 tons 
|Ship length={{convert|341|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|34|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|8|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=36.5 kts (68 km/h)
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=100 officers and enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*'''As Built:'''
*5 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"(127mm)/38cal DP (5x1)]],
*8 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] T Tubes (2x4),
*4 × [[M2 Browning|.50cal (12.7mm)]] MG AA (4x1)
*'''c1943:'''
*1 × Mk 33 Gun Fire Control System
*4 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|5" (127mm)/38cal DP]] (4x1),
*8 × 21" (533 mm) T Tubes (2x4),
*5 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon 20 mm AA]] (5x1),
*2 × Mk 51 Gun Directors
*4 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm AA]] (2x2),
*2 × Depth Charge stern racks
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Monaghan'' (DD-354)''' was the last ship built of the [[Farragut class destroyer (1934)|''Farragut''-class]] [[destroyer]] design. She was named for [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] [[John R. Monaghan]].  ''Monaghan'' was laid down on 21 November 1933 at the [[Boston Navy Yard]], and launched on 9 January 1935.  She was sponsored by Miss Mary F. Monaghan, niece of Ensign Monaghan, and commissioned on 19 April 1935. During the next few years ''Monaghan'' operated primarily in the [[North Atlantic]], training [[US Navy]] personnel who served in [[World War II]]. ''Monaghan'' was present during the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor raid]] on 7 December 1941. She participated in the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] and the [[Battle of Midway]] in 1942. Monaghan was sunk in [[Typhoon Cobra]] east of the [[Philippines]] in 1944.

==Pearl Harbor==

On 7 December 1941, ''Monaghan'' was a ready duty destroyer in [[Pearl Harbor]], and at 07:51 was ordered to join {{USS|Ward|DD-139|2}}, who had just sunk an unidentified [[submarine]] off the entrance to Pearl Harbor an hour earlier. Four minutes later, before ''Monaghan'' could get underway, the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Japanese air attack]] began. ''Monaghan'' opened fire, and at 08:27 was underway to join ''Ward'' when notified of the presence of a [[Ko-hyoteki class submarine|Ko-hyoteki class]] [[midget submarine]] in the harbor. ''Monaghan'' headed for the trespasser and the captain, LCdr. Burford, giving the order to ram. The submarine turned and fired its torpedo at the ''Monaghan''. It missed, passing within 50 yards of the destroyer's starboard side. The ''Monaghan'' rammed the submarine glancingly, then sank it with two [[depth charge]]s. Because of the shallowness of the harbor, when the depth charges detonated, the explosions lifted the ''Monaghan'''s stern out of the water. The destroyer then went out of control and smashed into a barge.

She headed on out of the harbor to patrol offshore for the next week, then joined {{USS|Lexington|CV-2|2}} in the attempt to relieve [[Wake Island]], but Wake was captured by the [[Imperial Japan|Japan]]ese before ''Lexington's'' force could bring aid. Homeward bound, ''Monaghan,'' with {{USS|Dale|DD-353|2}} and {{USS|Aylwin|DD-355|2}}, made repeated attacks on an enemy submarine, causing it to broach and give off a large oil slick.

Patrol and scouting operations out of Pearl Harbor with the ''Lexington'' group were followed by [[convoy]] duty to the west coast and back before Task Force 11 (TF 11), with ''Monaghan'' screening ''Lexington,'' sortied from Pearl Harbor on 15 April 1942, bound for the [[Oceania|South Pacific]]. With the Japanese threatening [[Port Moresby]], [[Papua New Guinea]], sea lines of communication to [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] were in peril, and the Navy moved quickly and decisively to block so critical a threat. First action came 4 May when planes from {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2}} hit Japanese invasion shipping at [[Tulagi]] and Gavutu. The two [[Aircraft carrier|carrier]] forces now combined upon word that an enemy carrier group had entered the [[Coral Sea]]. The opening action of the victory there came 7 May, when American search planes spotted the Japanese occupation force, several transports guarded by the light carrier {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shōhō||2}}. ''Lexington'' and ''Yorktown'' planes sank ''Shōhō''. Next day, before the major engagement by aircraft from both American and Japanese fleet carriers, ''Monaghan'' was ordered away from formation to transmit important messages, thus preserving radio silence in the main body. She was then ordered on to search for survivors of {{USS|Neosho|AO-23|2}} and {{USS|Sims|DD-409|2}}, sunk on the 7th by the Japanese. Since the position of the sinking had been erroneously reported, ''Monaghan'' was unable to carry out a rescue, and sailed on with messages for Nouméa before rejoining TF 16 in time to return to Pearl Harbor 26 May.

==Battle of Midway==

Two days later, ''Monaghan'' was underway for the decisive battle of the war, the [[Battle of Midway]]. The Japanese sailed for the capture of the [[Midway Atoll]] with a complex battle plan, but U.S. [[Military espionage|naval intelligence]] revealed the plan to American commanders, who thus knew when and where to find the [[Carrier Striking Task Force]] of the Japanese attackers. Although outnumbered, the Americans sank four enemy carriers in air actions beginning on the night of 3 June, along with a [[heavy cruiser]]. Through the first two days, ''Monaghan'' screened {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}}, then late on the morning of 5 June was ordered out to rescue men of a downed [[seaplane]]. At 1830 she reached the side of badly damaged ''Yorktown,'' joining the group of destroyers struggling to save the carrier and guard her from further damage. The {{Ship|Japanese submarine|I-168}} penetrated the destroyer screen the next day and sank both ''Yorktown'' and {{USS|Hammann|DD-412|2}}, the carrier remaining afloat another 16 hours before she succumbed. ''Monaghan,'' {{USS|Gwin|DD-433|2}}, and {{USS|Hughes|DD-410|2}} attacked and badly damaged the submarine.

==Other Pacific operations==

After the victory, the force returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 June. ''Monaghan'' was sent north to aid in countering the Japanese threat in the [[Aleutians]]. Damaged by collision in the heavy northern fog, ''Monaghan'' repaired at [[Dutch Harbor]] and Pearl Harbor, then escorted a convoy to the west coast en route to the  [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] at [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]], CA for a repair period. ''Monaghan'' returned to the South Pacific at Nandi, [[Fiji]], 17 November. In the harbor of [[Nouméa]] she bent her propellers on an underwater obstruction, and had to return to Pearl Harbor on her hastily replaced port screw for permanent repairs, completed 21 February 1943.

Once more in the Aleutians, ''Monaghan'' joined TG 16.69 a scouting force built around [[cruiser]]s {{USS|Richmond|CL-9|2}} and {{USS|Salt Lake City|CA-25|2}}. On 26 March this group engaged the Japanese in the [[Battle of the Komandorski Islands]]. Although outnumbered, the Americans fired guns and [[torpedo]]es so effectively that the Japanese were driven away. Patrol and occasional shore bombardment missions throughout the Aleutians, along with escort missions, continued through the summer. Highlights were a [[radar]]-directed surface engagement with an unidentified target 20 June, and a chase of a Japanese submarine two days later that resulted with the submarine being driven up on rocks and abandoned. She was later identified as {{Ship|Japanese submarine|I-7}}, engaged in evacuating troops from [[Kiska]].

After escort duty to Pearl Harbor and [[San Francisco]], ''Monaghan'' sailed to [[San Pedro, California]], to escort three new escort carriers to the [[Gilbert Islands]] operation, for which they sailed from [[Espiritu Santo]] 13 November. The escort carriers launched their planes against shore targets and protected convoys offshore through the invasion of [[Battle of Tarawa|Tarawa]].

Returning to the west coast on escort duty, ''Monaghan'' rejoined the escort carriers after extensive exercises out of [[San Diego, California]], and prepared for the invasion of the [[Marshall Islands|Marshalls]], during which she guarded the carriers northwest of [[Roi Island|Roi]] as they flew air support and strikes for the landings there. On 7 February 1944 she entered [[Majuro]], then escorted {{USS|Pennsylvania|BB-38|2}} to [[Kwajalein]], where she joined the transport screen for the capture of [[Eniwetok]]. On the night of 21/22 February, she joined in an all-night bombardment on [[Enewetak Atoll|Parry Island]], then spent a month on patrol and escort duty in the Marshalls.

On 22 March ''Monaghan'' put to sea in the antisubmarine screen for the fast carriers, bound for strikes on [[Palau]], [[Woleai]], and [[Yap]], returning to Majuro 6 April. The next sortie, 13 April to 4 May, was to cover the [[Landing at Hollandia|Hollandia landings]], and strike at [[Satawan]], [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]], and [[Pohnpei|Ponape]]. After preparing at Majuro, the force now sailed for the invasion of [[Saipan]], against which the first strikes were flown 11 June. While the fliers of TF 58 soundly defeated the Japanese in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]], ''Monaghan'''s group patrolled off Saipan guarding against a possible breakthrough by the enemy. They next steamed to Eniwetok to prepare for the assault on [[Guam]], for which they sailed 14 July, ''Monaghan'' again in the [[antisubmarine]] screen protecting the carriers. Assigned to cover the work of underwater demolition teams off [[Agat, Guam|Agat]] on the night of 17/18 July, ''Monaghan'' furnished harassing fire until daylight, firing again on the island during the early morning of 19 June. She continued bombardment and screening missions until 25 July when she sailed for Pearl Harbor, and an overhaul at [[Puget Sound]].

== Loss in a typhoon ==
After training off [[California]] and [[Hawaii]], ''Monaghan'' sailed for [[Ulithi]] 11 November. There she joined the escort for three fleet oilers bound for a rendezvous 17 December with TF 38, whose planes had been striking central [[Luzon]] in support of the [[Mindoro]] invasion. The ship was expecting to refuel and probably had reduced its ballast in order to take on fuel.   [[Typhoon Cobra (1944)|Typhoon "Cobra"]]  hit  before the ''Monaghan'' was ready to ride it out. Typhoon Cobra claimed 790 lives in the [[U.S. 3rd Fleet|3rd Fleet]], and sank {{USS|Spence|DD-512|2}}, {{USS|Hull|DD-350|2}}, and ''Monaghan''.   Six  men survived the ''Monaghan'' sinking, reportedly rescued by {{USS|Brown|DD-546|2}} and/or {{USS|Tabberer|DE-418|2}}. After drifting on a raft for three days, the men reported that ''Monaghan'' took roll after roll to starboard, finally going over. The Typhoon Cobra tragedy, Admiral [[Chester Nimitz]] said, "represented a more crippling blow to the Third Fleet than it might be expected to suffer in anything less than a major action".

''Monaghan'' received 12 [[battle star]]s for World War II service.

==See also==
* [[Typhoon Cobra (1944)]]

==References==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/monaghan-ii.html}}

==External links==
*[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/archives/digitized-collections/action-reports/wwii-pearl-harbor-attack/ships-m-r/uss-monaghan-dd-354-action-report.html USS Monaghan, Report of Pearl Harbor Attack] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718182551/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/archives/digitized-collections/action-reports/wwii-pearl-harbor-attack/ships-m-r/uss-monaghan-dd-354-action-report.html |date=2019-07-18 }}
*[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/p/pacific-typhoon-18-december-1944.html Typhoons and Hurricanes: Pacific Typhoon, 18 December 1944]

{{Farragut class destroyer (1934)}}
{{December 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaghan}}
[[Category:Farragut-class destroyers (1934)|Monaghan (DD-354)]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United States|Monaghan (DD-354)]]
[[Category:Ships built in Boston]]
[[Category:Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea]]
[[Category:1935 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in December 1944]]