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There has been two ships named Thatcher.
Both named after
Rear Admiral Henry K. Thatcher USN
Civil War Union Blockade Commander
Mississippi River
Henry K Thatcher, born in Thomaston, Me., May 26 1806.
Midshipman on 4 May 1823, rose in rank to Rear Admiral on 25 July 1866.,
He had a busy career until 1868. He died at Boston on 5 April.1880.
DD514 was the second ship named after him .
The first was a 'four piper" DD 162 launched in 1918 ,scrapped in '46
Thanks to Bob Traver for this information.
Taken from Dictionary of American Navy Fighting Ships, Vol VII.
If you want to read the history of the DD162, go to this DANFS site.
History of USS Thatcher DD162
Thanks to Bill Starns
THATCHER STATISTICS
Standard Displacement: 2,050 tons.
Armament: 5 5"38 caliber dual purpose
guns
--------- 10 40mm AA guns.
--------- 10 2.1mm AA guns.
--------- 10 Torpedo Tubes
Length overall: 376.5 ft.
Beam: 39.7 ft.
Draft: 13.9 ft.
Speed: 35.2 knots
Complement: 329 officers and men.
Class: Fletcher
THATCHER HISTORY
The second Thatcher (DD-514) was
laid down on 20 June 1942 at Bath,
Maine, by the Bath Iron Works
Corp., launched on 6 December 1942,
sponsored by Miss Charlotte L. Hyde, and
commissioned on 10 February
1943, Lt. Comdr. Leland R. Lampman in
command.
The destroyer held her shakedown
training in Casco Bay and was then
assigned escort duty. She
stood out of New York on 29 April with
convoy UGF-8 for Casablanca and returned
with GUF-8 on 31 May. On 11
June, Thatcher departed the east coast
for duty in the Pacific. She joined the
Pacific Fleet on the 19th and, after
calling at Mare Island for armament
modifications, arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 31 July.
On 22 August, Thatcher joined
the fast carrier group of Rear Admiral
Charles A. Pownall. It steamed
toward Marcus Island and launched air
attacks against that enemy base on the
31st. The group returned to
Pearl Harbor on 7 September.
The following week, the
destroyer got underway for the New
Hebrides and arrived at Espiritu Santo
on
the 27th. She performed escort duty
between Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal
and then screened a resupply
convoy to Vella Lavella in mid-October.
In late October, Task Force (TF) 39,
composed of Cruiser Division 12
and Destroyer Divisions (DesDiv) 45 and
46, was assembled at Purvis Bay to
support the landings on
Bougainville. The force including
Thatcher in DesDiv 46 sortied on 30
October.
It bombarded the Buka-Bonis
airfields on the night of 31 October and
1 November and then made a
highspeed run to the southern tip of the
island to shell airfields in the
Shortlands. After the landings on Cape
Torokina on 1 November, TF 39 protected
the amphibious forces from enemy
interference. That afternoon TF
39 was ordered to intercept a force of
enemy cruisers and destroyers that had
left Rabaul to destroy American
shipping in Empress Augusta Bay.
At 0227 on 2 November, radar on
the American ships showed surface blips
at a range of slightly over
35,000 yards. The battle began when the
destroyers of DesDiv 45 fired a salvo of
25 torpedoes at the
Japanese ships. However, due to a right
turn by the enemy to close and to get
into battle formation, all of the
torpedoes missed.DesDiv 46 composed of
Thatcher, Spence (DD-512) Converse
(DD-509), and Foote (DD-511) was
protecting
the rear of the American formation.
These ships held their fire until 0352
when they launched 19 torpedoes
against two Japanese destroyers without
scoring. However, the American cruisers
had been tallying hits on
Sendai which was soon a blazing wreck.
During the ensuing melee, Foote was hit
by a torpedo that blew off her
stern. Spence sideswiped Thatcher, but
the resulting damage did not threaten
the survival of either ship.
Finally, Spence took a hit below the
water line that let salt water
contaminate her fuel oil. While the
Japanese
lost the cruiser Sendai and the
destroyer Hatsukaze, the United States
suffered no total losses as Foote was
towed to port and repaired. The next day
the Japanese attacked TF 39 with over
100 aircraft. They lost over 20
planes while scoring two hits on
Montpelier (CL-57).
A closer inspection of Thatcher
revealed that her collision with Spence
had sprung her starboard
shaft and had caused extensive dishing
of her starboard side amidships. She
steamed to Purvis Bay and was
routed onward to Noumea where the
misaligned screw was repaired. She then
returned to Espiritu Santo where
she received orders to proceed to the
United States for further repairs. On 20
November, Thatcher got
underway as an escort for Birmingham
(CL-62), and the ships arrived at San
Francisco on 14 December 1943.
After her damage had been corrected at
the Mare Island Navy Yard, Thatcher
stood out of San Francisco on 11
February 1944 and steamed to Pearl
Harbor for refresher training before
rejoining TF 39 on 14 March.
The task force covered the
unopposed landings on Emirau Island on
the 20th. On 26 March, Thatcher
was reassigned to TG 58.3 of the Fast
Carrier Task Force. She escorted the
carriers as their aircraft flew
strikes against Palau, Yap, Ulithi and
Woleai in the Caroline Islands from 30
March to 1 April. The task group
then retired to the Marshall Islands to
prepare for their next assault against
Japanese bases
On 13 April, Thatcher escorted
the fast carriers to New Guinea as they
launched strikes against
Hollandia Wakde, Sawar, and Sarmi on the
21st and 22d to support landings at
Aitape and at Tanahmerah and
Humboldt Bays. On 29 April, aircraft
from the carriers began a two-day attack
against Truk, Ponape, and
Satawan. On 1 May, Thatcher was in the
screen of the bombardment group that
shelled Ponape.
Thatcher returned to Majuro on 4
May to enter a floating drydock for
repairs. She returned to sea late
in the month for refresher training and
firing exercises. On 26 May, her number
3 5-inch gun accidentally fired
into her starboard, midships,
20-millimeter mount killing five men and
causing considerable structural damage.
Repairs were completed in time for the
destroyer to accompany TG 58.4 to the
Mariana Islands.
While operating with the group
near Saipan on 12 June, Thatcher and
Charles Ausburne (DD-570)
were ordered to rescue some aviators in
the water near Pagan Island. The two
destroyers closed to within five
miles of the enemy-held island before
reaching the pilots. It was shortly
before dark and, as Charles Ausburne
was picking them up, Thatcher
investigated a ship which had been
sighted about six miles northward. She
found a small wooden freighter and took
it under fire. The size of the fires
which broke out on the target and the
subsequent explosions indicated that her
cargo was oil and ammunition. Survivors
in the water refused the
lifelines thrown to them.
Thatcher rejoined her sister
destroyer, and they made a sweep of the
island seeking further targets.
They soon made radar contact, and both
ships began firing at 12,000 yards but
observed no hits. When they
had closed the range to 4,700 yards,
Ausburne fired star shells which
revealed a ship similar to the vessel
Thatcher had sunk. She then fired
another salvo which set the ship afire.
The destroyers found no other targets
before they rejoined the task group the
next morning.
The carriers conducted air
strikes against the Bonin Islands on 15
and 16 June and returned to the
Saipan area. On 18 June, when TF 58
prepared for a major battle with the
Japanese fleet, Thatcher's group
took station on the northern flank of
the force. During the ensuing action
later referred to as the "Great
Marianas Turkey Shoot" only a few
Japanese planes broke through the
American fighter cover, and they
caused no damage. Meanwhile, the
Japanese lost over 300 aircraft.
The next day, Thatcher and TG
58.4 were detached from the
westward-moving task force to refuel and
to continue strikes against Rota and
Guam. In the early morning of the 20th,
carrier aircraft of the group shot
down 18 enemy planes and destroyed 52
more on the ground. On 27 June, Thatcher
was with the destroyer
squadron that was detached to accompany
Miami (CL-89) and Houston (CL-81) on a
bombardment mission
against Rota and Guam. Thatcher and two
other destroyers shelled Rota, setting
fire to a sugar mill and other
buildings, and then joined the other
ships off Guam to bombard airfields,
shipping, storage tanks, and other
worthwhile targets. Thatcher shelled the
same islands again three days later and
continued the operation
through 1 July.
She returned to Eniwetok on 6
July with the task group and remained
there for a week before heading
back toward the Marianas. The destroyer
served with TF 58 until 2 August when
she was detached to join the
3d Fleet at Eniwetok. She then joined TG
30.8, the fleet oiler and transport
group established to support
Admiral Halsey's 3d Fleet. The ship
stood out of Eniwetok on 26 August with
several oilers and arrived at
Seeadler Harbor on the 31st. She spent
the next three months with various units
of the group as it provided
fuel, mail, and planes for TF 38. They
first operated in the vicinity of Palau
and Yap when the carriers struck
west of the Carolines. TG 30.8 then
moved to Ulithi as the carriers shifted
their strikes westward to the
Philippines and Formosa.
Thatcher then joined TG 38.3 for
operations in the Philippine Islands. On
14, 15, and 16 December, the
carriers launched strikes against Luzon
to support the landings on Mindoro. The
group retired to refuel, but the
rapidly falling barometer indicated a
typhoon approaching. Thatcher was fueled
to 50 percent capacity before
the hoses parted due to rough seas. The
task force attempted to steam out of the
danger area but was near the
center of the storm on the 17th and
18th. Three United States destroyers
were lost. When the weather cleared
and the fleet reassembled, Thatcher
joined TG 30.8, a supply group, and
served with it until 7 January 1945.
On 8 January, Thatcher joined a
special fueling group composed of six of
the fastest oilers, two escort
carriers, and eight destroyers to
conduct fueling operations in the China
Sea for the fast carriers. They
accompanied the fast carriers into the
South China Sea and took station midway
between the Philippines and
the coast of Indochina. The destroyer
remained on station until the 20th when
she headed for Guam with a
group of empty oilers. Arriving at Apra
Harbor on the 27th, she left for Ulithi
and the Philippines the following week.
Thatcher joined the 7th Fleet at
Leyte on 10 February and, three days
later, escorted a convoy to
Subic Bay. From 19 February to 3 March,
the destroyer provided fire support for
the Army forces ashore.
Following two weeks of escort duty, the
destroyer joined TG 78.3, the Visayan
Attack Group. The group sailed
on 15 March and headed directly to the
landing beaches on the south coast of
Panay.
Thatcher was off the landing
beaches on 18 March and fired her only
bombardment of the day against
two groups of Japanese cut off by
guerrillas in villages near the assault
area. The 40th Infantry Division landed
at 0900 and met very little opposition.
As Army troops landed at Negros
Occidental on the 29th, the destroyer
assisted with call fire and continued
the task until 5 April when she was
relieved. She refitted at San Pedro to
prepare for action in the Ryukyus.
On 13 May, Thatcher got underway
for Kerama Retto, near Okinawa. The
destroyer was assigned to
radar picket duty to detect and
intercept enemy aircraft before they
could enter the transport anchorages. On
20 May, she detected large numbers of
Japanese aircraft approaching the
anchorage. All ships opened fire,
and Thatcher maneuvered to bring all
batteries to bear on the attacking
planes. As a low-flying "Oscar"
passed down her port side, she increased
her speed to 25 knots and commenced
firing with her 20- and
40-millimeter guns. The kamikaze climbed
steeply, did a wingover, and dived into
the destroyer, striking her aft
of the bridge. All power and steering
control on the bridge were lost, both
radars and the gyro system were out
all external communications were lost,
and there was a six- by nine-foot hole
between the keel and the bilge.
Boyd (DD-544) and Pavlic (APD-70) came
alongside to remove the wounded and help
extinguish fires. With
14 killed or missing and 53 wounded, the
stricken ship limped into Kerama Retto.
Thatcher awaited drydock
entry until 1 July. On the 13th, she was
ready for sea and had to ride out a
typhoon in Buckner Bay. On the 19th,
a kamikaze slipped into the bay and
dived on the destroyer. His aim was not
as accurate as his predecessor,
and he bounced off the port side, above
the water line, to explode and burn
alongside. Damage was slight, and
only two men were wounded.
Thatcher got underway for the
United States on 26 July. After calling
at Ulithi, Majuro, Eniwetok,
Johnston Island, and Hawaii, she arrived
at Bremerton on 20 August. A survey
board decided that the ship
should be scrapped, and she was
decommissioned on 23 November 1945.
Thatcher was struck from the Navy
list on 5 December 1945 and sold on 23
January 1948 to the Lerner Co., Oakland,
Calif., for scrap.
Thatcher was awarded 12 battle stars
for World War II service..
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