USS Eaton (DD-510) A Fine record but with bad luck

[dgbot]

  While reading up on the USS Wisconsin I came across the USS Eaton.  And after a distinguished career with 11 Battle Stars

during WW 2.  The Eaton suffered several accidents after the war.  In the 1950s the Eaton collided with a surfacing sub.  in 1956 during a ASW excercise She colliede with the USS Power (DD-839).  on May 6,1956 She collided with the USS Wisconsin.   In another accident, the NOTS RUR-4 Weapon Alpha rocket-boosted depth charge projector misfired, with one warhead falling back onto the 01 deck and killing a seaman below.^[1]

I wonder how the Cap't and crew felt being aboard her.  I would think the vessel would be a "cursed" ship with everybody 

wanting to be transferred somewhere else.

David B

 

[Senior ole salt]

Overall she did pretty good in her long career.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Eaton_(DD-510)

 

SOS

[jud]

 In another accident, the NOTS RUR-4 Weapon Alpha rocket-boosted depth charge projector misfired, with one warhead falling back onto the 01 deck and killing a seaman below

  Called Hedge Hogs, the modernized Fletcher's had two mounts on the 01 lever just under and ahead of the bridge wing near where 40MM twins once resided, it was the gun crews from the 3" 50 Mounts between the stacks that maned the Hedge Hogs during ASW operations. The USS Ammen fired two racks  of live Hedge Hogs during one exercise, 2 at a time, one Port and One Starboard, I was a crew member of the Starboard mount. One of those Hedge Hog's propelling charge was bad,  it did not deliver a full charge and spewed unburned powder all over the deck. The Spigots Racks were rotated outboard, which allowed the the thing to fall outboard of the ship, didn't miss by much, but it missed. Being live, had it hit, it might have gone off in spite of the built in safeties in the fuze. I trusted those built in safeties then, learned later that they did fail.  Had one fail when a 40 MM projectile exploded  just clear the bore, WW2 ammo in RVN. The case was also split which resulted in  broken  the extractors. I shifted guns, a twin mt and only using one gun, and continued firing our support mission. You guessed it, USS Harnett County, the advar shows the gun mount, it was the right gun.

jud   

Edited May 16, 2016 by jud