Henry Russell Kenyon Jr. was born on 4 February 1916 in Bronxville, New York. He enlisted in the United States Navy on 5 November 1940. He was discharged in 1941 to accept an appointment as Aviation Cadet and was commissioned Ensign on 4 August 1941. After undergoing advanced flight training Kenyon joined Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) for duty in the Pacific Theater.
Kenyon flew as a member of that squadron from the aircraft carrierUSS Hornet in the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942. After takeoff, the squadron lost contact with the rest of Hornet's strike force, and subsequently found the Japanese carriers alone. Knowing that they lacked fighter cover, Kenyon and his comrades attacked until all were shot down. Ens. Kenyon was presumed dead 5 June 1942 and was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroic actions.
After her shakedown cruise off Bermuda, Henry R. Kenyon returned to Boston. She was underway on 26 January 1944 on a tour of convoy escort duty in the Caribbean, a fertile field for Germansubmarines. Returning to Boston again on 6 June, the ship underwent training in Casco Bay, Maine, and had her torpedo tubes replaced by additional antiaircraft guns. Assigned to an Atlantic escort group, she made five transatlantic voyages between 4 July 1944 and 30 August 1945, providing antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection in the Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean.
Pacific Waredit
With the Battle of the Atlantic won, the destroyer escort proceeded on 15 May from Norfolk, Virginia through the Panama Canal and into the western Pacific theater. Arriving off Leyte on 7 July, she spent the remainder of the war escorting ships in the Philippines and to New Guinea and Okinawa. After the surrender of Japan in August, Henry R. Kenyon continued to operate in the Philippines and off the coast of Japan until departing Manila for the United States on 26 November.
^K. Jack Bauer and Stephen S. Roberts, Register of Ships of the U. S. Navy, 1775–1990, p. 231.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Henry R. Kenyon (DE-683).
navsource.org: USS Henry R. Kenyon
hazegray.org: USS Henry R. Kenyon
January 01, 1970
henry, kenyon, buckley, class, destroyer, escort, service, with, united, states, navy, from, 1943, 1947, sold, scrap, 1970, history, united, states, name, builderfore, river, shipyard, quincy, massachusetts, laid, down29, september, 1943, launched30, october, . USS Henry R Kenyon DE 683 was a Buckley class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1947 She was sold for scrap in 1970 History United States NameUSS Henry R Kenyon BuilderFore River Shipyard Quincy Massachusetts Laid down29 September 1943 Launched30 October 1943 Commissioned30 November 1943 Decommissioned3 February 1947 Stricken1 December 1969 FateSold for scrap 22 October 1970 General characteristics Displacement1 740 tons full 1 400 tons standard Length306 ft 93 m Beam 36 ft 9 in 11 20 m Draft 13 ft 6 in 4 11 m PropulsionGE turbo electric drive 12 000 hp 8 9 MW two propellers Speed23 knots 43 km h Range4 940 nautical miles at 12 knots 9 200 km at 22 km h Complement15 officers 198 men Armament3 3 in 76 mm DP guns 3 21 in 53 cm torpedo tubes 1 1 1 in 28 mm quad AA gun 8 20 mm AA cannon 1 hedgehog projector 2 depth charge tracks 8 K gun depth charge projectors The ship was named in honor of Ensign Henry R Kenyon Jr 1916 1942 a naval aviator in squadron VT 8 who was killed in action in the Battle of Midway Contents 1 Namesake 2 History 2 1 Battle of the Atlantic 2 2 Pacific War 2 3 Fate 3 References 4 External linksNamesake editHenry Russell Kenyon Jr was born on 4 February 1916 in Bronxville New York He enlisted in the United States Navy on 5 November 1940 He was discharged in 1941 to accept an appointment as Aviation Cadet and was commissioned Ensign on 4 August 1941 After undergoing advanced flight training Kenyon joined Torpedo Squadron 8 VT 8 for duty in the Pacific Theater Kenyon flew as a member of that squadron from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in the Battle of Midway on 4 June 1942 After takeoff the squadron lost contact with the rest of Hornet s strike force and subsequently found the Japanese carriers alone Knowing that they lacked fighter cover Kenyon and his comrades attacked until all were shot down Ens Kenyon was presumed dead 5 June 1942 and was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroic actions History editHenry R Kenyon was launched by Bethlehem Steel Co s Fore River Shipyard Quincy Massachusetts on 30 October 1943 sponsored by Mrs Verna Markham Kenyon widow and commissioned on 30 November 1943 Battle of the Atlantic edit After her shakedown cruise off Bermuda Henry R Kenyon returned to Boston She was underway on 26 January 1944 on a tour of convoy escort duty in the Caribbean a fertile field for German submarines Returning to Boston again on 6 June the ship underwent training in Casco Bay Maine and had her torpedo tubes replaced by additional antiaircraft guns Assigned to an Atlantic escort group she made five transatlantic voyages between 4 July 1944 and 30 August 1945 providing antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection in the Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean Pacific War edit With the Battle of the Atlantic won the destroyer escort proceeded on 15 May from Norfolk Virginia through the Panama Canal and into the western Pacific theater Arriving off Leyte on 7 July she spent the remainder of the war escorting ships in the Philippines and to New Guinea and Okinawa After the surrender of Japan in August Henry R Kenyon continued to operate in the Philippines and off the coast of Japan until departing Manila for the United States on 26 November Arriving at San Diego California on 17 December she remained in that port except for periodic training cruises until decommissioning on 3 February 1947 She joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet and berthed at Mare Island Calif later to be moved to Stockton Calif Fate edit Henry R Kenyon was stricken from the Navy Register on 1 December 1969 The ship was sold for scrap on 22 October 1970 1 References editThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here K Jack Bauer and Stephen S Roberts Register of Ships of the U S Navy 1775 1990 p 231 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Henry R Kenyon DE 683 navsource org USS Henry R Kenyon hazegray org USS Henry R Kenyon Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Henry R Kenyon amp oldid 1182843925, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
