View source for USS Colahan

{{Short description|Fletcher-class destroyer}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Colahan (DD-658) in 1957.jpg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1966}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=Charles E. Colahan
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Bethlehem Mariners Harbor]], [[Staten Island, New York]]
|Ship laid down=24 October 1942
|Ship launched=3 May 1943
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=23 August 1943
|Ship decommissioned=1 August 1966
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 August 1966
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sunk as a target, 18 December 1966
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Fletcher|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=2,050 tons
|Ship length=376 ft 6 in (114.7 m)
|Ship beam=39 ft 8 in (12.1 m)
|Ship draft=17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
|Ship propulsion=*60,000 shp (45 MW)
*2 propellers
|Ship speed={{convert|35|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=6500 [[nautical mile|nm]] at 15 kn (12,000 km at 28 km/h)
|Ship complement=319
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*5 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|5-inch 38 caliber]] guns,
*4 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] AA guns,
*4 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] AA guns,
*10 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s,
*6 × [[depth charge]] projectors,
*2 × depth charge tracks
|Ship armour=
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|Ship aircraft=
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'''USS ''Colahan'' (DD-658)''' was a {{sclass|Fletcher|destroyer}} of the [[United States Navy]].

==Namesake==
[[File:Charles E Colahan.jpg|thumb|left|Charles E Colahan]]
Charles Ellwood Colahan was born on 25 October 1849 in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. He graduated from the [[United States Naval Academy]] 4 June 1869. His career included command of {{USS|Chesapeake||6}}, {{USS|Indiana|BB-1|6}} and {{USS|Cleveland|C-19|6}}.  On 1 July 1900, he was promoted from the rank of vice lieutenant-commander to commander in the U.S. Navy.<ref>Charles E. Colahan, in "[https://books.google.com/books?id=_LGIAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Charles+E.+Colahan%22&pg=PA575 Officers of the Line]." ''Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America: Fifty-Sixth Congress'', Vol. 32, 6 December 1900, p. 575. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Senate and Government Printing Office, 1909.</ref>

Following a lengthy illness, Colahan died at his home in [[Lambertville, New Jersey]] on 11 March 1904. His funeral was held in the United States Naval Academy chapel on 14 March. The full complement of officers and professors who were employed by the Naval Academy at the time attended the funeral and marched with the casket to the Navy cemetery where Colahan's remains were interred. Also accompanying the casket were the Naval Academy Band, a brigade of Naval Academy midshipmen, who were commanded by Commander W. F. Fullam, U.S.N., and a group of serving seamen. The pallbearers were: Honorary, Commander [[Charles J. Badger]], U.S.N.; Commander [[William F. Halsey]], U.S.N.; Lieutenant Commander W. C. P. Muir, U.S.N.; Professors Philip R. Alger and Nathaniel M. Terry, U.S.N.; and W. H. G. Bullard, U.S.N.<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=UMwCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA516 Commander Charles E. Colahan]" (obituary). ''The United Service: A Monthly Review of Naval and Military Affairs'', Vol. V, Third Series, p. 516. New York, New York: L.R. Hamersly, Jr., 1904.</ref>

==Construction and commissioning==
''Colahan'' was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 3 May 1943 by [[Bethlehem Steel]] Co., [[Staten Island, New York|Staten Island, N.Y.]], sponsored by Mrs. P. C. Hinkamp, adopted granddaughter of Commander Colahan; and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 23 August 1943.

==Service history==

===World War II===
''Colahan'' arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 11 December 1943 to join the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]. She sortied with Task Force 52 (TF 52) for the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign|invasion of the Marshall Islands]] on 19 January 1944, and screened {{USS|Mississippi|BB-41|2}} during her bombardment of [[Enubuj]] and [[Kwajalein]] Islands on 31 January.

After repairs and training at Pearl Harbor, ''Colahan'' sailed on 31 May 1944 to rejoin the [[United States Fifth Fleet|5th Fleet]], operated on [[radar picket]], shore bombardment and fire support duty during the bombardment, capture, and [[Battle of Guam (1944)|occupation of Guam]] from 12 July to 15 August and screened air strikes in support of the [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|invasion of the southern Palaus]] from 29 August to 28 September. ''Colahan'' screened the [[Fast Carrier Task Force]] (then [[United States Third Fleet|3rd Fleet's]] TF 38, later 5th Fleet's TF 58) as it prepared for the [[Battle of Leyte|Leyte assault]] with air strikes on the [[Nansei Shoto]] and [[Taiwan|Formosa]] from 10–14 October, then began strikes in the [[Philippines]] until 20 October, day of the landings. [[Aircraft carrier|Carriers]] she guarded struck the retiring Japanese forces after the [[Battle of Surigao Strait]] phase of the massive [[Battle for Leyte Gulf]] of 24–26 October. Continued air operations in the Philippines claimed her services until she put into [[Ulithi]] for repairs late in December after riding out [[Typhoon Cobra (1944)|"Halsey's Typhoon"]].

From 30 December 1944 to 22 January 1945, ''Colahan'' resumed duty as advanced radar picket for the 3rd Fleet raids on Formosa, [[Luzon]], [[Camranh Bay]] in [[Indo-China]], [[Hong Kong]], and [[Hainan]] Island which were coordinated with the [[Battle of Luzon|Lingayen assault]]. On 10 February, she put to sea to serve on the scouting line as TF 58 swept close to Japan for air strikes in the [[Tokyo]] area. ''Colahan'' served on radar picket duty off Iwo Jima as it was invaded on 19 February, and for 5 days afterward, returning to Ulithi for repairs and replenishment.

''Colahan'' operated with TF 58 in preparations for the [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa operation]], from 14 March to 1 April, screening during air strikes on [[Kyūshū]] and [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]]. Continuing carrier task force operations after the initial assault, she went to the aid of {{USS|Hazelwood|DD-531|2}} on 29 April, rescuing some 140 survivors of the ''[[kamikaze]]'' victim. After replenishing at [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]], [[Leyte (island)|Leyte]], ''Colahan'' rejoined TF 38 on 13 June for the last great series of air raids against the [[Japan]]ese home islands. On 24 July 1945, she mistook the  U.S. Navy [[submarine]] {{USS|Toro|SS-422}} for a Japanese picket boat while ''Toro'' was on the surface south of [[Shikoku]] performing lifeguard duty for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] air strikes and opened gunfire at a range of {{convert|7,400|yd|sigfig=2}}, straddling ''Toro'' with her first [[salvo]].<ref name=hinmanpp300301>Hinman & Campbell, pp. 300–301.</ref> ''Toro'' [[Crash dive|crash-dived]] to a depth of {{convert|400|ft|0}}, sustaining no damage or casualties, and later reported that ''Colohan'' was still firing as ''Toro'' passed a depth of {{convert|150|ft|0}}.<ref name=hinmanpp300301/>

[[Surrender of Japan|Hostilities with Japan ended]] on 15 August 1945. Entering [[Sagami Wan]] on 27 August 1945, ''Colahan'' became harbor entrance control vessel for [[Tokyo Bay]] until 3 September. On 8 October, she aided the Japanese MV ''Kiri Marti'', which had gone aground on [[Miyake Shima]], and transferred the survivors to [[Okubo]].

Clearing Tokyo Bay on 31 October 1945, ''Colahan'' returned to [[Naval Station San Diego|San Diego]] where she was placed out of commission in reserve on 14 June 1946 and assigned to the [[12th Naval District]] for use in training [[United States Naval Reserve]] personnel.

===1950-1966===
Recommissioned on 16 December 1950, ''Colahan'' had training from her [[home port]] at San Diego until 20 August 1951, when she cleared [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] for service in the [[Korean War]] with the [[United States Seventh Fleet|7th Fleet]]. Conducting shore bombardment and fire support to aid forces ashore, she also had antisubmarine training off Okinawa before returning to the west coast on 10 March 1952. On 1 November 1952, she sailed again from San Diego to bombard [[Korea]]n targets and screen carriers, as well as serve on the [[Taiwan Patrol]] and train off Okinawa. She returned to the west coast 1 June 1953, and in 1954–1957, returned to the Far East for service with the 7th Fleet. From 1958 to 1963, her operations have been along the west coast, training members of the Naval Reserve. In August 1961, she and her Naval Reservists were deployed to the active fleet as part of [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy's]] response to the Berlin wall crisis. After several months of training, she was deployed to the Western Pacific on 2 February 1962.  On 15 April 1962 she escorted the USS Princeton, LPH-5 to South Vietnam so it could deliver helicopters and advisors to Soc Trang. She returned from the WestPac cruise on 17 July 1962, resuming the training of Naval Reserve personnel through the end of 1963. 

''Colahan'' was decommissioned and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 August 1966. She was sunk as target off [[California]] on 18 December 1966. 

As a sidenote, ''Colahan'' appears in the opening credits of the 1954 MGM film 'Men of the Fighting Lady' while underway alongside an aircraft carrier during high lining personnel between the 2 ships.

==Awards==
''Colahan'' received eight [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service, and five for [[Korean War]] service.

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/colahan.html}}
===Bibliography===
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=hkupDwAAQBAJ&dq=LApon+raton&pg=PA181 Hinman, Charles R., and Douglas E. Campbell. ''The Submarine Has No Friends: Friendly Fire Incidents Involving U.S. Submarines During World War II''. Syneca Research Group, Inc., 2019.] {{ISBN|978-0-359-76906-3}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Colahan (DD-658)}}
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/658.htm navsource.org: USS ''Colahan'']
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd658txt.htm hazegray.org: USS ''Colahan'']

{{Fletcher class destroyer}}
{{July 1945 shipwrecks}}
{{1966 shipwrecks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colahan (Dd-658)}}
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Staten Island]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Fletcher-class destroyers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War II]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in July 1945]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1966]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the California coast]]