View source for USS Tucker (DD-374)

{{short description|Mahan-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|USS Tucker}}
{{coord missing|Pacific Ocean}}
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Uss Tucker DD-374.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Tucker'' off the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia]], 2{{nbsp}}March 1937
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=''Tucker''
|Ship namesake=[[Samuel Tucker (naval officer)|Samuel Tucker]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Norfolk Navy Yard]]
|Ship laid down=15 August 1934
|Ship launched=26 February 1936
|Ship commissioned=23 July 1936
|Ship struck=2 December 1944
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Struck [[Naval mine|mine]] off [[Espiritu Santo]], [[New Hebrides]], 4{{nbsp}}August 1942
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class={{sclass|Mahan|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1500|LT|t|0|lk=in}} ([[standard load]])
*{{convert|1725|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|341|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship power=*{{convert|46,000|shp|lk=on}}
*4 [[water-tube boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=2 [[Propeller shaft|shafts]] 2 geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|37|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|6940|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|12|kn}}
|Ship complement=158 officers and enlisted men
|Ship sensors=*1 × [[gun director]] above bridge
|Ship armament=*5 × single [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[DP gun]]s
*3 × quadruple [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 in (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*4 × single [[M2 Browning|.50 cal (12.7 mm)]] AA machine guns
*2 × [[depth charge]] stern racks
*Depth charge projectors (aka [[K-guns]])
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Tucker'' (DD-374)''' was one of 18 {{sclass|Mahan|destroyer}}s built for the [[United States Navy]] and was commissioned in 1936. ''Tucker''{{'}}s [[main battery]] consisted of five [[Dual-purpose gun|dual-purpose]] [[38 caliber 5-inch (127 mm) guns]].

First assigned to the [[United States Battle Fleet]] in [[San Diego]], [[California]], ''Tucker'' operated along the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] and in the [[Hawaiian Islands]]. After participating in [[naval exercise]]s in the [[Caribbean Sea]], she returned to duty in [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]]. She then went on a goodwill tour to New Zealand, returning to Hawaii and docking at [[Pearl Harbor]]. When the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked Pearl Harbor]] on 7{{nbsp}}December 1941, ''Tucker'' was undergoing an overhaul and was not attacked. Soon afterward, she began escorting convoys between the West Coast and Hawaii. ''Tucker'' was then tasked with escort duty to islands in the [[South Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]].

''Tucker'' steamed out of port on 1 August 1942, escorting a [[cargo ship]] to [[Espiritu Santo]]. They entered its harbor three days later, where the destroyer unknowingly entered a defensive [[minefield]] laid by the US Navy. ''Tucker'' struck at least one [[Naval mine|mine]] that tore her almost in two, sinking her and killing three sailors; the rest of the crew survived.

==Design==

===General characteristics===
The [[Mahan-class destroyer]]s were improved versions of the preceding [[Farragut-class destroyer (1934)|''Farragut'' class]].{{sfn|Reilly| 1983| p=28}} The ''Mahan''s' [[standard displacement]] was {{convert|1500|LT|t|0|lk=in}} larger, and they were equipped with a more efficient steam [[propulsion]] system and designed to carry 12 torpedo tubes, an increase of four over the Farragut-class.
{{snf|Friedman| 2004| p=88}}

''Tucker'' [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{cvt|1500|LT|t|0|lk=on}}
at [[standard load]] and {{convert|1725|LT|t}} at [[deep load]]. The ship's [[length overall|overall length]] was {{convert|341|ft|m|1}}, her [[beam (nautical)|beam]] was {{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|1}}, and her [[draft (hull)|draft]] was {{convert|10|ft|7|in|m|1}}. Her peace-time complement consisted of 158 officers and enlisted men.{{snf|Friedman|2004|pp=465–466}}

She had a [[Tripod mast|tripod]] [[foremast]] and a pole mainmast. To improve the [[antiaircraft]] [[field of fire (weaponry)|field of fire]], her [[tripod]] foremast was constructed without nautical [[rigging]].{{sfn|Friedman|2004|p=88}} The destroyer was fitted with emergency [[diesel generators]], replacing the storage batteries of earlier destroyers. Gun crew shelters were also built fore and aft for the superimposed guns. A third set of quadruple torpedo tubes was added, with one mounted on the [[centerline (nautical)|centerline]] and two in the side positions.{{sfn |Friedman|2004|p=88}}

===Machinery===
''Tucker'' was fitted with four [[water-tube boiler]]s built by either [[Babcock & Wilcox]] or [[Foster Wheeler]]. They generated the steam that propelled the two [[General Electric]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, developing {{convert|46,000|shp|abbr=on|lk=on}} for a maximum speed of {{convert|37|kn|lk=in}}. ''Tucker'' carried a maximum of {{convert|523|LT|t}} of [[fuel oil]], with a trial range of {{convert|7300|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}. The ship's
wartime ranges were {{convert|6940|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn|lk=in}} and {{convert|4360|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn|lk=in}}.
The ship's design incorporated a new generation of propulsion machinery. The boilers were capable of reaching {{convert|650–700|F|C|sigfig=2}}, powering the high-pressure turbines with [[double reduction gearing|double-reduction gears]] that enabled the turbines to run faster and more efficiently than in previous destroyer designs.{{sfn|Friedman|2004|p=88}}

===Armament===
''Tucker''{{'}}s [[main battery]] consisted of five [[Dual-purpose gun|dual-purpose]] [[38 caliber 5-inch (127 mm) guns]], equipped with the MK{{nbsp}}33 gun [[fire-control system]].{{sfn|Friedman|2004|p=465}}
The ship's antiaircraft battery had four water-cooled [[.50 caliber machine gun]]s (12.7&nbsp;mm).{{sfn|Hodges|Friedman|1979|p=111}} The ship was fitted with three quadruple torpedo-tube mounts for twelve {{convert|21|in|mm|adj=on|0}} [[torpedo]]es, guided by the Mark{{nbsp}}27 torpedo fire-control system. Those on the [[port and starboard]] sides could only fire to their side, but the centerline mount could fire to both sides.{{sfn|Friedman|2004|p=465}} She was rigged for two [[depth charge]] roll-off racks and for depth charge projectors ([[K-gun]]s).{{sfn|Friedman|2004|p=86}} In early 1942, the Navy began to refit the ''Mahan''-class destroyers with new antiaircraft armament, although most of the class was not refitted until sometime in 1944. (The source, Hodges and Friedman, do not indicate if ''Tucker'' was refitted). {{sfn|Hodges|Friedman|1979|p=145}}

==Construction and service history==

''Tucker'' was the second vessel to be named for [[Samuel Tucker (naval officer)|Samuel Tucker]], who had been an officer in the [[Continental Navy]] and the United States Navy.{{sfn|Parkin|1996|p=67}} ''Tucker''{{'}}s [[keel]] was laid down on 15{{nbsp}}August 1934. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 26{{nbsp}}February 1936 and [[Ceremonial ship launching|christened]] by a third cousin of Tucker. The ship was commissioned in the United States Navy on 23{{nbsp}}July.{{sfn|Parkin|1996|p=68-69}}

[[File:USS Tucker.jpg|thumb|alt=Naval warship rigged with sails|''Tucker'' rigged with sails, June 1940]]
After her [[shakedown cruise]], she joined destroyer forces attached to the United States Battle Fleet in [[San Diego]], [[California]]. She operated with them along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian islands as part of Destroyer Squadron{{nbsp}}3 of the Destroyer Division.
In February 1939, she took part in [[Fleet Problem&nbsp;XX]], a naval exercise held in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and observed by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. As tensions with Japan increased, the fleet was ordered to return to Hawaiian waters.{{sfn|NHHC}}

In June 1940, ''Tucker'' steamed from Hawaii to a location east of [[Wake Island]] for fleet exercises. In ''United States Navy Destroyers of World War II,'' John Reilly, Jr. described the uncommon method used to power the vessel on its return to Hawaii: {{blockquote|... Tucker stretched her fuel supply by rigging Sails. Her homemade [[foresail]] and [[mainsail]] moved Tucker at an estimated 3.4 knots, letting her maintain [[Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z)#steerageway|steerageway]] as she loitered on station several days.{{sfn|Reilly|1983|p=30}}}}

''Tucker'' continued operating between Hawaii and the West Coast into February 1941. She then set course for New Zealand on a goodwill tour, arriving in [[Auckland]] on 17 March. Returning to Pearl Harbor, she took part in routine exercises at sea before returning to her homeport of San Diego on 19{{nbsp}}September. After a short stay, ''Tucker'' steamed to Hawaii in November as part of Task Force{{nbsp}}19, operating again in the Hawaiian Islands. Shortly afterward, she put into Pearl Harbor for an overhaul by a [[destroyer tender]].{{sfn|NHHC}}

When the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, ''Tucker'' was one of five destroyers moored at berth X–9, East Loch, alongside the destroyer tender {{USS|Whitney|AD-4|2}}.{{sfn|Roscoe|1953|pp=47–48}} Even before ''Tucker''{{'}}s [[general quarters]] alarm could be sounded, one of her on-deck sailors began firing a 50-caliber machine gun at the first wave of Japanese aircraft. When the second wave attacked, every ship that could opened fire. ''Tucker''{{'}}s gunners scored hits on at least two aircraft: one crashed in a cane field, another in flames disappeared over a mountaintop. Still undergoing overhaul, much of ''Tucker''’s machinery had been torn down for repairs. Despite the crew's efforts, she was unable to get [[underway]] until that evening.{{sfn|Parkin|1996|p=68}}

After her overhaul, ''Tucker'' patrolled off Pearl Harbor and spent several months escorting convoys between Hawaii and the West Coast. With new orders, she steamed to the South Pacific for convoy duty. ''Tucker'' then escorted the [[seaplane tender]] {{USS|Wright|AV-1|2}} to [[Tutuila]], [[American Samoa]], as part of the drive to fortify outposts. She then escorted her charge to [[Suva]], [[British Fiji|Fiji]], and proceeded to [[Noumea]], [[New Caledonia]]. Steaming on for Australia, she arrived at [[Sydney]] on 27{{nbsp}}April. After taking on fuel, she visited [[Melbourne]], [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], and [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]] before steaming back to Sydney. ''Tucker'' and  ''Wright'' returned to Suva, arriving on 3{{nbsp}}June 1942. For the remainder of June and into the first week of July, ''Tucker'' operated out of Suva before relieving the cruiser {{USS|Boise|CL-47|2}} of convoy escort duties on 10{{nbsp}}July. On{{nbsp}}30 July, the ship arrived at Auckland and the following day started back for Suva.{{sfn|NHHC}}

==Fate==
[[File:DD-374 sunk 5Aug1942 EspirituSanto NAN09-10-86.jpg|thumb|alt=Naval ship struck by a mine and sinking|USS ''Tucker'' (D-374) sinking south of Espiritu Santo,  5 August 1942]]

On 1{{nbsp}}August 1942 ''Tucker'' left Suva, escorting the cargo ship SS ''Nira Luckenbach'' to [[Espiritu Santo]], [[New Hebrides]].{{sfn|NHHC}} On 4{{nbsp}}August ''Tucker'' led the cargo ship into the harbor at Espiritu Santo, as she headed into the western entrance, she struck at least one [[Naval mine|mine]]. The explosion tore her hull nearly in two at the [[Funnel (ship)|No.{{nbsp}}1 stack]], killing all three crew members on watch in the forward [[fire room]]. The rest of the ship's company survived.
''Nira Luckenbach'' and other vessels rescued sailors from their sinking ship. ''Tucker''{{'}}s [[stern]] sank the following morning; a diving party scuttled and sank her [[bow (ship)|bow]].{{sfn|Roscoe|1953|p=165}} The ship had steamed into the [[Segond Channel]] unaware that the minelayers {{USS|Gamble|DD-123|2}}, {{USS|Breese|DD-122|2}}, and {{USS|Tracy|DD-214|2}} had laid mines at its western entrance. An investigation revealed that ''Tucker's'' captain had not been informed of the minefield.{{sfn|Rohwer|2005|p=184}} She was stricken from the ''[[Naval Vessel Register]]'' on 2{{nbsp}}December 1944.{{sfn|NHHC}} ''Tucker''{{'}}s loss was a setback to the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]], which was trying to assemble every available ship for the [[Battle of Guadalcanal]].{{sfn|Roscoe|1953|p=165}}

Three days after ''Tucker'' sank, the seagoing tugboat {{USS|Navajo|AT-64|2}} arrived on site with divers, [[marine salvage|salvaging]] her guns, turbines, anchors and chains. During the remainder of the war, the Navy used the wreckage site for diver training; they did not undertake further salvaging.
Settling in just {{convert|60|ft}} of water, the ship was easily accessible to private salvors, who harvested anything of value, ransacking and further scattering ''Tucker''{{'}}s remains. Sport divers also had a destructive effect on the site, which by 1997 resembled an "underwater junkyard".{{sfn|Stone|1997|pp=78–79}} Mike Gerken, an underwater photojournalist, dove the ''Tucker'' wreckage site several times; in 2013 he eulogized ''Tucker'' and other sunken ships:

{{blockquote
|text=To see a ship with a distinguished record as the ''Tucker'' in such a poor state gave me pause for thought. I pondered that wrecks, like the ''Tucker'', will gradually disappear and to be saddened by this inevitable fact would be pointless. What is important is that the memory of these ships be kept alive by telling their stories.
|author=Mike Gerken
|title="The USS ''Tucker'': A Prestigious Past with an Inglorious End"
|source=''Wreck Diving Magazine''{{sfn|Gerken|2013}}
}}

''Tucker'' and [[SS President Coolidge|SS ''President Coolidge'']], a troopship, suffered similar fates less than three months apart; both were sunk in different locations of the same U.S. Navy minefield, and both later became diving sites.{{sfn|Gerken|2013}}

==Honors==
''Tucker'' received one [[battle star]] for her [[World War II]] service.{{sfn|Parkin|1996|p=69}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|year=2004|title=U.S. Destroyers|location=Annapolis, MD|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-442-5|author-link=Norman Friedman}}
*{{cite magazine|url=http://www.evolutionunderwater.com/uss-tucker|title=USS Tucker: A Prestigious Past with an Inglorious End|last=Gerken|first=Mike|magazine=Wreck Diving Magazine|issue=31|date=2013|access-date=27 October 2019|via=EvolutionUnderwater.com}}
*{{cite book|last1=Hodges|first1=Peter|last2=Friedman|first2= Norman|year=1979|title=Destroyer Weapons of World War 2|location=Annapolis, MD|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-87021-929-4}}
*{{cite web|author=NHHC|title=Tucker|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tucker-dd-374-ii.html|publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]|access-date=26 April 2016}}
*{{cite book|last=Parkin|first=Robert Sinclair|title=Blood on the Sea: American Destroyers Lost in World War II|url=https://archive.org/details/bloodonseaameric00park|url-access=registration|date=1996|publisher=Sarpedon|location=New York, NY|isbn=1-885119-17-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Reilly|first=John|date=1983|title=United States Navy Destroyers of World War II|location=Poole, Dorset, England|publisher=Blandford Press|isbn=0-7137-1026-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesnavy0000reil}}
*{{cite book|last=Roscoe|first=Theodore|title=U.S. Destroyer Operations in World War II|date=1953|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=0-87021-726-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesdest0000rosc}}
*{{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 – The Naval History of World War Two |date=2005|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=1-59114-119-2|edition=3rd Revised|author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
*{{cite book|last=Stone|first=Peter|title=The Lady and the President: The Life and Loss of the S. S. President Coolidge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THyca-AHdOEC&pg=PA79|year=1997|publisher=Oceans Enterprises|location=Yarram, Australia|isbn=978-0-95866572-8}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/tucker-dd-374-ii.html}}

===External links===
*{{cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Peter |title=The Lady and the President, The Life and Loss of the SS President Coolidge |url=http://www.oceans.com.au/pc.html |publisher=Oceans Enterprises |access-date=24 November 2019 |archive-date=28 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228192410/http://www.oceans.com.au/pc.html |url-status=dead }}

{{Mahan class destroyer}}
{{August 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker (DD-374)}}
[[Category:1936 ships]]
[[Category:Attack on Pearl Harbor]]
[[Category:Mahan-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1942]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia]]
[[Category:Ships present during the attack on Pearl Harbor]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by mines]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]