Read A Sonarman & Tin Can Sailor Ivan Burmeister's Summary of the Craven’s Travels and Summary of Task Groups.
Also, be sure to read details about the USS Craven's participation in "the most perfect torpedo attack in US Naval history."

This history was provided by the USS Craven reunion association.

Picture contributed by Stan Hullender,
son of Martin W. Hullender, Chief Yeoman,
assigned to the USS Craven August 1941-July 1945.

Named after the U.S. Navy hero, Commander Tunis Augustus Macdonough Craven, who died when his Yankee ship, the Tecumseh, sank in Mobile Bay by a Confederate mine on August 5, 1864. The first Craven was commissioned as a Torpedo Boat in 1899. The second Craven was Destroyer No. 70, commissioned in 1918 and later transferred to the English Navy in 1940.

The Gridley Class Destroyer, U.S.S. Craven, DD-382, was authorized by the Vinson-Trammell Bill in an act of Congress dated March 21, 1934. A contract for her construction was signed on October 2, 1934, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in the amount of $3,784,000 for the hull and machinery of the ship. Construction began with the laying of the keel by Bethlehem's Fall River Shipyard at Quincy, Massachusetts, on June 3, 1935. Mrs. Frank (Ellen Learned) Craven, Commander Craven's daughter, sponsored all three ships.

The Craven was launched on February 25, 1937 and commissioned, after a shakedown cruise, into the U.S. Navy at Charleston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts on September 2, 1937. Lt. Comdr. Watson O. Bailey, USN, assumed command . Other officers were as follows: Lt. Arleigh A. Burke, Executive Officer; Lt. W.P. Chilton, Gunnery Officer; Lt. F.C. Marggraff, Jr., Engineering Officer; Lt(jg) H.L. Reiter, Jr., First Lieutenant; Lt(jg) N.E. Blaisdell, Torpedo Officer; and Ensign A.T. Hathaway, Assistant Engineering Officer. An additional fifty-four enlisted men reported on board for duty from various ships, the Receiving Station at Boston Navy Yard, and the Naval Training Station at Newport, Rhode Island. The ship remained at the Navy Yard, holding drills, checking and testing machinery and equipment, taking on fuel and stores and receiving additional crew members aboard until the second week in October to begin their shakedown cruise.

Other destroyers in the Gridley Class and serving in the same areas were the Gridley DD-380, Maury DD-401, McCall DD-400, Bagley DD-386, Stack DD-406, Sterett DD-407, Lang DD-399, Ralph Talbot DD-390, Blue DD-387, Mugford DD-389, Jarvis DD-393 and Helm DD-388. The Warrington DD-383, was in the Atlantic and capsized during a hurricane in September 1944 off the Bahamas. It was of the Somers Class, but had similar hull, armament and weight features. All of these ships had four quad-torpedo mounts capable of firing 16 torpedoes within minutes.

Characteristics of the Craven were: Displacement, 1,500 tons; Length, 341 feet; Beam, 39 feet; Draft, 14 feet; Flank Speed, 39 knots. There are claims that the top speed was as high as 42 knots. The Craven had a fuel capacity of 525 long tons (160,000 gallons of fuel oil), which gave her a cruising range of nearly 8,000 miles at a speed of 15 knots. Quite often during the war-time engagements, the fuel bunkers became very low and when finally filled, took 90,000 to 100,000 gallons. The empty bunkers were often filled with sea water for ballast, especially if the sea was rough and scheduled fueling was not near.

The peace-time complement was 8 officers and 150 crew. The complement in 1944 was 19 Officers, 13 Chiefs, and 248 crewmen. The Craven had twin screws which were powered by Parson's geared-steam-turbines of a designed total of 50,000 shaft horsepower. Both the turbines and the boilers were also constructed by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. Surprisingly, Craven's 50,000 shaft horsepower considerably exceeded that of nearly all of the old pre-war battleships. The older BB's ranged in power from 26,500 S.H.P. in the Oklahoma Class to 40,000 S.H.P. in the New Mexico Class. The new BB's like the North Carolina Class, commissioned in April, 1941, weighted 35,000 tons and had 121,000 S.H.P. There were four separate boiler rooms with the four stacks combined into one large stack which was a specific silhouette characteristic. There were two separate engine rooms that could operate individually to the two screws.

The Bridge contained the helm wheel, within sight of the compass and true-bearing azimuth. The rudder of the ship was controlled by electro-hydraulic pressure following the turning of the helm wheel. An after-steering manual system was available if the bridge control failed. The helmsman was expected to keep the ship on the assigned course. The Captain stayed on the Bridge almost all the time while at sea. He had a bunk in the Captain's Sea-Going Cabin on the Bridge. Also in the Bridge house was a chart table with log book, maps, etc. as needed. Communication throughout the ship was by ship's intercom, voice tubes or ship's telephone headsets. Two lookout stations, port and starboard, were manned with binoculars watching for surface and air contacts. The Sonar stack, Navigational equipment and Ship's clock were in the Captain's Cabin.

The Combat Information Center, CIC, was directly below the Bridge. It contained the Surface-Search Radar, SG, and Air-Search Radar, SC. An operator constantly manned the SG radar to identify any surface contacts, ships, boats, land, periscopes, etc. The radar screen up on the mast usually turned 360 degrees for searching all contacts. The radar signal was seen on the scope as a green line. A contact would cause a "pip" on the line. The operator would rotate the screen back and forth to get the bearing, and determine the range by the distance from the reference to the "pip". An operator manned the SC radar to identify any planes in the area. This radar screen also turned 360 degrees up on the mast. There was an Identification, Friend or Foe, IFF, system that was coded to match the same code assigned to friendly planes. If a contact was made, and the codes did not match, it was assumed that it was the enemy.

A plotting table was manned by one or more men to plot targets with respect to the ship. The glass top surface showed a symbol where the ship was located with respect to the current plot. The symbol moved with respect to the course and speed of the ship determined by the Dead Reckoning Tracer, DRT. When the SG operator or Sonar operator gave a bearing and distance on the "Mark", the plotter would dot the position of the ship on the table, then plot the target position with respect to bearing and distance from the dot. In this way, the action could be seen of the ship's and target 's movements. All information was relayed to the Bridge on the intercom.

The radio shack received and sent telegraphic messages--usually coded. Decoding for messages directed to the ship for immediate action was done primarily by the Captain or Executive Officer. Other telegraphic messages not involving current action were decoded by assigned, qualified officers. Other communication to other ships, if in sight, was by semaphore and blinker light by the signalmen on the bridge and flags hoisted on the yardarms. Telephone between ships, (TBS), could be used between ships within a Task Force. It had a limited range so there wasn't much danger for enemy ships to listen in.

The Craven's primary armament consisted of four 5-inch, 38-caliber dual-purpose guns. The 5" was the diameter and caliber of the gun barrel and projectile. The length of the rifle barrel was 190 inches (5" X 38 calibers), hence the expression of 5"/38 for these guns. Lengths of gun barrels varied on ships. The longer the barrel, the longer range. The U.S.S. Vella Gulf, CG-72, the new Ticonderoga Class Aegis guided missile cruiser has two 5"/54 guns (gun barrel length, 270 inches), that are automatically loaded and fired.

The Craven's 5-inchers used high-speed power drives for train and elevation, using either local handwheel control or remote director control. These semi-automatic, rapid-fire weapons were good for anti-aircraft protection, firing salvos at surface targets, or for shore bombardment. They could fire a 54-pound high-explosive projectile more than 18,000 yards (over ten miles), and could reach out to over six miles when used for anti-aircraft defense. Each gun could fire an average of 15 rounds per minute, but highly-trained Destroyer gun crews were able to exceed 20 rounds per minute. The gun was loaded manually, one crewman loading the projectile, one man loading the powder cartridge, one man cranking the elevation and one man cranking the bearing, or electronically aimed and fired by the fire control director. One man stood by with asbestos gloves to catch the hot, expended, powder cartridge after the gun fired. A direct hit was not necessary to destroy the target, especially if the proximity-fused projectiles (X-ray) were used. With this type of projectile, the fuse would sense when it was close to the target, explode the projectile and the shrapnel was enough to destroy the target.

The fire-control system on the ship consisted of three major elements--the director, the range-keeper (computer), and the gyroscopic stable-element. These three components, working together, provided the necessary fire-control information and transmitted it electrically to both the 5" guns and the torpedo mounts. The director crew located the target with the telescopes of the range-finder and determined its range and bearing. The range-keeper, which was linked to the director, calculated the information and kept it constantly corrected for the pitch and roll of the ship as determined by the gyroscopic stable-element. Other variables, such as the course and speed of both our ship and the target, ballistics, and wind direction and speed, were also fed into the computer. Electrically connected to the gun mounts, the computer transmitted the necessary orders to the guns where the electro-hydraulic mounts could automatically position them in train and elevation. Fuze-setting information for the projectiles was provided in a like manner. The guns could also be set, pointed and trained manually by the gun crews using the information furnished by the fire-control system; however, the guns were usually operated in automatic mode directly from the fire-control system.

The 20mm Oerlikon machine-guns were installed on the Craven early in the war as added weapons against attacking aircraft and closer range shelling. The Craven had 7 single-mount tubs installed wherever space would permit. The guns fired an explosive projectile, 20mm caliber, with a range of about 4,000 yards at the rate of about 450 rounds per minute. The accuracy of the gunners firing these weapons was increased considerably by including tracer rounds. The glowing ball of burning tracer helped the gunners follow the tracjectory of the shells to the target.

The torpedo battery on the Gridley Class destroyers was the largest carried by any other ships in the Navy. There were sixteen twenty-one-inch torpedoes which were carried in four quadruple torpedo mounts; two quadruple mounts being located amidships on the main deck on each side of the ship. Each torpedo weighed more than 2,200 pounds, which included about 600 pounds of high explosive in the warheads and later increased to 1,100 pounds of torpex explosive. The Craven used the Mark XV warhead much of the time. These "tin-fish" were 21 inches in diameter and used an air-alcohol superheated gas turbine system to propel them through the water. The "steam-driven" torpedoes were controlled by a course set by use of gyroscopes while the torpedo was still in its tube, prior to firing. They could maintain a speed of 46 knots for a torpedo run of 4,500 yards. Two slower speed-settings were available, which increased the range. Each of these torpedoes cost approximately $10,000 at the beginning of WWII. A fused warhead was developed early in the war which sensed the target without actually hitting it while it was close enough to damage the target. Unfortunately, these warheads malfunctioned too often and reported cases showed that the torpedo actually went through the target without exploding. The fused device could be bypassed and the contact exploder used.

One of the major tasks for the Destroyer in WWII was that of killing submarines. The Craven carried a large supply of depth-charges, or Ashcans, with which to attack the subs when they were located by sonar or visual observation. These were simple weapons resembling 25 or 50 gallon oil drums. These thin-skinned charges were filled with 600 pounds of T.N.T., and were detonated by a pressure sensitive exploder that could be manually set to explode at varying depths of water. The depth settings were made by the depth-charge crew just before the Ashcan was rolled into the water from one of the two sets of inclined racks at the stern of the ship. The Craven also had four K-guns, two on each side of the ship, which fired another type of depth charge off to the side of the ship. These charges had 300 pounds of T.N.T., were streamlined in shape and would sink faster in the water. A combination of dropping off the Ashcan from the stern and firing the K-gun charges to both sides of the ship produced a better pattern of charges sinking down and around the submarine. A direct hit was not necessary to damage the sub. The force of the underwater explosion close-aboard was usually enough to crush the sub's hull or cause severe leakage or internal damage to the sub. The charges could be released or fired either electrically from the fire-control director or manually by the crew members at the racks or K-guns. It was still necessary for the men at the charges to set the required depth on the charges by hand.

The submarines were located by visual sighting by planes or lookouts, Radar if surfaced or Sonar if submerged. The Sonar, "Sound-Navigation-Range", was a method where a high-frequency signal was sent out through the Sonar head extended below the ship 's keel. The head could be turned 360 degrees relative to the ship's course but usually from 60 degrees port to 60 degrees starboard, searching for targets in the forward quarters of the ship's movement. If the signal, "ping", hit a target, it would bounce back to the head and the sound would be heard at the Sonar stack located and operated in the Captain's Cabin on the Bridge. The frequency of the signal was converted to an audible sound and the Sonarman could hear it and analyze the sound as a very probable contact of a sub or that of a school of fish, whale, or other underwater object such as a shallow ocean bottom. On later models of Sonar, this signal would also show up as a "pip" on the scope of the Sonar stack, flicking left or right on the upward vertical movement of the entire cycle of the pinging. The operator would swing the Sonar head back and forth a few degrees until the "pip" remained in the center. This would then reference the true bearing of the target.

The time of the "ping" going out and back and the speed of sound through salt water would determine the distance to the target when automatically divided by two. The Sonar operator would then establish the bearing and distance of the target for every report to the Captain and CIC. This information would be plotted with respect of the ship's position to determine the attack angle. If the "ping" sound coming back was slightly higher than the "ping" going out, the target is moving toward our ship. If lower, it's moving away. This is called Doppler. Like hearing a train whistle as a train is coming to or going away from you. All of these factors are considered to establish or confirm the target and make a good run on the sub. Most of our sound search was from 2,000 to 5,000 yards. Escort ships for the Task Forces or convoys would be stationed accordingly to protect everybody.

During the shake down cruise, the Craven steamed alone to Hampton Roads, Virginia, Colon Canal Zone, through the Panama Canal to Panama City, Guayaquil, Ecuador, then back to Balboa, Canal Zone. After a bit of shore leave, it passed through the Panama canal into the Caribbean Sea to Kingston, Jamaica to take on stores from the Army and Navy installations there. The next stop was Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for a short liberty, then back to the Boston Navy Yard by December 14, 1937. During the next eight months, Craven, together with a number of other new DD's, remained in the Boston area awaiting installation of the electro-hydraulic equipment for the 5" guns and gun-director.

On the second week of August 1938, the ship joined the light-cruiser Raleigh (CL-7) and the destroyers Bagley (DD-386) and Blue (DD-387) at Norfolk, Virginia and left for San Diego, California. Prior to arriving at San Diego and during the last week in August, the ships separated to take various stations along the air-route from San Diego to Hawaii to act as plane guards and potential rescuers for the ferry flight of the planes of Patrol Squadron Four. This was the first sizeable flight of a group of seaplanes from the States to Hawaii. The flight encountered no problems, and we didn't even see any of the planes.

The ships arrived at San Diego on September 21, 1938 and berthed in Pyramid Cove, San Clemente Island, in company with the Battleships Maryland (BB-48, SOPA), Nevada (BB-36), Mississippi (BB-41), Tennessee (BB-43), West Virginia (BB-48), Colorado (BB-45), Oklahoma (BB-37), Idaho (BB-42), the aircraft Carrier Ranger (CV-4), light Cruisers Cincinnati (CL-6), Detroit (CL-8), Concord (CL-10), and Raleigh (CL-7). Also present were the Destroyers Bagley, Blue, Moffett, Henley, and the Destroyers of DesDiv 28.

On September 21, 1938, Lt. Cmdr. Arleigh A. Burke, Chief Observer, who had much previous fleet experience determining the accuracy of naval gunfire, left the ship for the U.S.S. Blue. On October 14, 1938, Commander Destroyer Division Eleven came aboard. His pennant was hoisted in Craven and hauled down in Henley. Later in the month, he transferred his flag to the Moffett. The Craven remained in the San Diego area conducting various drills and exercises for the rest of 1938 with various units of the U.S. Fleet.

On January 7, 1939, the ship then steamed through the Panama Canal, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Culebra, Virgin Islands, Cienfuegos Harbor, Cuba, Bonaives, Haiti and the Norfolk Navy Yard by April 14, 1939. Left for San Diego on April 21st, arriving on May 14th. Left San Diego for Oakland, Calif. for Navy Yard repairs, arriving on July 1. Left for San Diego, arriving on Sept. 21where it remained until April 1, 1940. Left for San Pedro, Calif., then proceeded with U.S. Fleet for the Hawaiian Islands, arriving on April 14, 1940. Left the Islands for San Francisco, arriving on June 1. Arrived at San Diego on the 7th, then departed for the Hawaiian Islands and arrived at Lahaina, Maui June 14. Operated around the Islands out of Pearl Harbor until October 14th, then returned to San Diego, arriving October 21st. Remained there throughout the rest of 1940.

On October 31, 1941, Captain Allen C. Calvert assumed command of the Craven. The Craven and the Carrier Enterprise (CV-6) was returning from Wake Island after delivering Marines to that Island. The ships were scheduled to arrive at Pearl Harbor December 6, 1941. Both ships were delayed by heavy seas and was just 50 miles out of Pearl Harbor on Sunday, 0800 hours, December 7, when she received the news of the Japanese attack. After the attack, the Craven , Enterprise and other escort ships conducted a search for enemy carriers without success. Monday morning, the Craven docked at the Pearl Harbor base for provisions and readiness for a long assignment to Task Force 58 in the South Pacific.

A brief and general chronology of the Craven's operations and engagements after Pearl Harbor follows: Raids on the Marshalls, Gilberts and Wake Island February 1942. The ship returned to the West Coast in March 1942 for overhaul and outfitting with radar (Fox Dog, Sail Cast and Sail George). Returned to convoy and escort service in April 1942. Sailed from Pearl Harbor November 12 escorting transports to the Guadalcanal fighting area. Participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, Midway in June 1942, Solomons and Guadalcanal again in July-August 1942, New Guinea, Papau and New Caledonia in February 1943, Bismark Sea in March, New Georgia in June and the Vella Gulf battle between destroyers in August 1943. Departed September 23, 1943 for San Francisco (Mare Island) for overhaul. Returning to the South Pacific she joined the Task Force 58 screening carriers during air strikes on Eniwetok, Palau, and other atolls in the Marshall Island area, from February to April 1944.

Returned to Pearl Harbor in May 1944, then rejoined the 5th Fleet for the invasion of the Marianas, strikes on Guam, Saipan and screening carriers during the Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19-20, 1944. Continued screening carriers during the air strikes in July-September on the Bonins, Guam, and other islands. The Craven returned to Pearl Harbor October 11, 1944 and helped in training of Marines in amphibian landings at selected coasts and other assignments around the Islands. It was later assigned to the North Atlantic in January 1945 for anti-submarine duty against the German U-Boats and convoy duty to and from Europe for transports and freighters. We are very proud that all ships that stayed in the two convoys got to their destination safely. Those that had to drop out because of mechanical problems and heavy seas were sunk by torpedoes by the next morning. The North Atlantic is very rough in the winter and early spring. The Craven took a 53-degree roll one night. Inclination tests a few months earlier indicated that the ship could only take a 48-degree roll and not capsize.

We were in the middle of the Atlantic with a convoy on VE-Day. No celebration was possible because of the danger of U-Boat Captains that didn't get the word or may still wish to make a kill. We anchored in the harbor of South Hampton (no liberty) and in dry dock at Plymouth to repair a crack in the hull. Final return to New York City with convoy duty on May 29, 1945.

The Craven was assigned to the Western Mediterranean for peace keeping duties. We left Portland, Maine on June 22, 1945 for Gibraltar, then for a few days each to Naples, Oran, Casablanca, Palermo, Capri, Algiers, Marseilles several times. Returned to New York City on January 28, 1946. We were in Algiers on VJ-Day (August 15) and the the order was "Splice the Main brace"! That's a Navy term for decking the ship with all of the signal flags and celebrate. We didn't celebrate like the millions back in the States but we were just as happy.

Unusual assignments while in the Mediterranean were to deliver five U.S. Congressmen to a meeting on Capri and take the U.S. Ambassador and his family from Gibraltar to Tangiers. Tangiers was an International Port and warships were not allowed, but we entered the harbor and delivered our passengers anyway. That City will never see a ship steam into the harbor and leave so fast again!

After three weeks in New York City and leave for everyone, the Craven was ordered to join Admiral Blandy's Joint Task Force One to determine the effect of the Atom Bomb on naval warfare. This was to be the Bikini Atom Bomb test of July 1946 in the Pacific (Operation Crossroads). By the time the Craven got to Pearl Harbor, March 16, the order was changed to decommission the ship. This was completed April 19, 1946 and many of the crew were transferred to other ships involved in the test. The Craven was officially stricken from the Navy list on February 25, 1947 and sold October 2, 1947 for scrap to the Moore Dry Dock Company, and steamed under its own power to Oakland, California for scrapping.

The USS Craven received ten battle stars for three years, eight months service in World War II, serving in both the Pacific and Atlantic Theaters. Read details about the USS Craven's participation in "the most perfect torpedo attack in US Naval history."