USS Kearny (DD 432)
American Destroyer
| Name | USS Kearny (DD 432) | ||
| Type: | Destroyer (Gleaves-Benson) | ||
| Tonnage | 1,630 tons | ||
| Completed | 1940 - Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co, Kearny NJ | ||
| Owner | United States Navy | ||
| Homeport | |||
| Date of attack | 17 Oct 1941 | Nationality:  American | |
| Fate | Damaged by U-568 (Joachim Preuss) | ||
| Position | 57° 00'N, 24° 00'W - Grid AL 0146 | ||
| Complement | 199 officers and men (11 dead and 188 survivors). | ||
| Convoy | SC-48 | ||
| Route | |||
| Cargo | |||
| History | Completed in September 1940. Early 1941 USS Kearny (DD 432) was part of the Neutrality patrol in the Caribbean. In November 1942, the destroyer took part in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa and was credited with downing one aircraft. From 25 Nov 1943 until 18 Jan 1944, she was part of a hunter-killer task group formed around USS Core (CVE 13), which claimed one U-boat sunk on 1 January. Later took part in the Anzio-Nettuno landings and the landings in Southern France. In March 1946 the ship was decommissioned and scrapped in 1972. USS Kearny (DD 432) received three battle stars for her World War 2 service. | ||
| Notes on event | USS Kearny (DD 432) (LtCdr A.L. Danis, USN) was part of the Task Unit 4.1.4, which was detached from convoy ON-24 to reinforce the escort of convoy SC-48 under attack by U-boats southwest of Iceland on 15 Oct 1941. During the night of 16/17 October, U-568 tried to overtake convoy on its port side for several hours but each time a destroyer with two funnels, identified as of the A or D class, disturbed her approaches and finally a spread of four torpedoes was fired at the warship at 04.15 hours. The Germans observed one hit after 1 minute 39 seconds and the subsequent sinking of the destroyer after it broke in two. However, USS Kearny was not sunk by the hit on her starboard side abreast of #1 fire room but she was temporarily disabled because all power had been lost and unable to send a distress signal until 04.42 hours. The explosion killed eleven men and wounded 22 others, eight of them seriously. The crew of the destroyer managed to regain power from the after fire room and headed towards Iceland at 10 knots, escorted by USS Greer (DD 145) (LtCdr L.H. Frost, USN) and joined in the evening by USS Monssen (DD 436) (LtCdr R.N. Smoot, USN) coming from Hvalfjordur where the ships safely arrived on 19 October. After temporary repairs alongside the repair ship USS Vulcan (AR 5) she left Iceland to Boston on 25 December for permanent repairs and returned to service on 5 April 1942.
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| On board | We have details of 184 people who were on board. | ||
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