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"Luckiest ship in the US Navy"?

Discussion in 'Naval Warfare in the Pacific' started by Hummel, Jun 6, 2012.

  1. Hummel

    Hummel Member

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    I've been trying to remember which US destroyer in the Pacific was the luckiest of them all -- was it the O'Bannon or the Moosbruger or the Fletcher? I seem to remember that Tom Clancy mentioned the ship in one of his books, but I REALLY don't feel like rummaging through 7-10 books to find this one reference. I'd deeply appreciate guidance in this one. Thank you.
     
    Hummel, Jun 6, 2012
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  2. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Google "ww2 luckiest ship in the Navy" and you'll find there were many :confused:
    Fletcher is mentioned as well as
    ...." USS Phoenix (CL-46), a light cruiser of the Brooklyn class that her crew came to call the ‘‘luckiest ship in the Navy.” Despite heavy involvement in action throughout World War II, she would sustain few casualties among the crew and never receive more than minor damage. That luck would hold for over 40 years."http://ww2.dcmilitary.com/stories/121009/waterline_28120.shtml
     
    Biak, Jun 6, 2012
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  3. Hummel

    Hummel Member

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    The ship I am thinking of didn't have a single Purple Heart during the war. I just remembered that when I read your response, Biak. I did the Google thing, but didn't come across what I was thinking of -- though I don't **think** it was the Fletcher.
     
    Hummel, Jun 6, 2012
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  4. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Maybe this one?

    RIDING ON LUCK: THE SAGA OF THE USS LANG (DD-399) by Rex A. Knight. The USS Lang was their adoptive mother, and they her adopted sons. They took what she was able to offer and lived and worked and fought, and were endeared to her for a lifetime. Never would they say, "We brought her home!" It was always "She brought us home!" And indeed she did, through one of the most turbulent times in recorded modern history.

    They called her the "Lucky Lang." Commissioned 30 March 1939, she ranged from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean, from Scotland to the Mediterranean, before traversing the Panama Canal to engage the enemy in the Pacific at Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Kwajalein, Saipan, Leyte, and Okinawa. She wreaked havoc along the "Tokyo Express" route and helped decimate Japanese air power. Though heavily involved in nearly every major campaign of the war in the Pacific, the destroyer USS Lang survived it all with hardly a scratch. She lost but three men and not a single surviving member of her roster rolls received the slightest enemy inflicted wound. No other U.S. Naval warship could boast such a record, over such an extended time, involving an equal number of actions. Even the sum of her hull numbers-399-adds up to 21, a lucky number to be sure. Riding On Luck is the story of how the "luckiest ship in the Navy" served crew and country through some of the fiercest and best-known battles of WWII. A harrowing tale told by the son of a former Lang sailor.
    Military.com - RIDING ON LUCK: THE SAGA OF TH
     
    Biak, Jun 6, 2012
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  5. ford51

    ford51 recruit

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    My father-in-law was an RT/3 on the USS Dale (DD353) During all the major battles in the pacific, from the Aleutians to Iwa Jima.
    I have a book written by Micheal Olsen "Tales fron the Tin-Can, or Luckiest ship in the Navy". Indeed it was. Not a single death due to combat.
     
    ford51, Jun 11, 2012
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