View source for USS Noa (DD-343)

{{short description|US Navy Clemson-class destroyer in service 1921–1944}}
{{Other ships|USS Noa}}
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|Ship image=[[File:USS Noa (DD-343).jpg|300px|USS Noa (DD-343)]]
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1944}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=[[Loveman Noa]]
|Ship ordered=6 October 1917
|Ship builder=[[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia]]
|Ship laid down=18 November 1918
|Ship launched=28 June 1919
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=15 February 1921
|Ship decommissioned=11 November 1934
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship recommissioned=1 April 1940
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
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|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sank following collision 12&nbsp;September&nbsp;1944
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= [[Clemson-class destroyer|''Clemson''-class]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=1,190&nbsp;tons
|Ship length={{convert|314|ft|6|in|m}}
|Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|8|in|m}}
|Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|3|in|m}}
|Ship propulsion=*26,500&nbsp;shp (20&nbsp;MW);
*geared turbines,
*2 screws
|Ship speed={{convert|35|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range=*4,900 [[Nautical mile|nmi]] (9,100 km)
*&nbsp;@ 15 [[knot (unit)|kt]]
|Ship complement=150 officers and enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns, 1 × [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun, 4 × 3 [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
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The first '''USS ''Noa'' (DD-343/APD-24)''' was a [[Clemson-class destroyer|''Clemson''-class]] [[destroyer]] in the [[United States Navy]] following [[World War I]]. She was named for [[Midshipman]] [[Loveman Noa]]. At the beginning of [[World War II]] she was converted to a [[High-speed transport]] and redesignated APD-24.

==History==
''Noa'' was built by the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]], [[Portsmouth, Virginia]]. Authorized 6 October 1917, she was laid down 18 November 1918. She was launched on 28 June 1919, sponsored by Mrs. Albert Morehead, sister of Midshipman Loveman Noa; and commissioned 15 February 1921.

Following shakedown out of Virginia, ''Noa'' operated out of [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. Through May 1922, she participated in Atlantic Coast training maneuvers. In late May, she sailed for duty on the [[Asiatic Station]], steaming via the [[Mediterranean]] and [[Aden]] and [[Ceylon]]. She reached [[Singapore]] 14 August and on 30 September, she arrived at her new home yard at [[Cavite]], [[Philippines|Philippine Islands]]. Through the summer of 1922, ''Noa'' remained active on the Asiatic station. She patrolled Chinese and Philippine waters and attempted to protect American interests during the [[Chinese Civil War]], which was renewed in November 1922.

On 27 February 1927, the ''Noa'' arrived at [[Nanjing]], China, relieving [[USS Simpson (DD-221)|USS ''Simpson'']] as the ship stationed there "to protect American lives and property."<ref>{{cite web | last = Roy C. | first = Smith III | title = The Last Powder Monkey | publisher = AmericanHeritage.com | url = http://www.americanheritage.com/content/last-powder-monkey }}</ref> On 24 March 1927, with her sister ship, [[USS William B. Preston (DD-344)|USS ''William B. Preston'']], and Royal Navy light cruiser [[HMS Emerald (D66)|HMS ''Emerald'']], she helped to [[Nanking incident of 1927|rescue foreigners]] from Nanjing. The three ships used their main batteries to lay down a barrage of shrapnel and high explosive on Socony Hill, driving back hostile Chinese forces and also halting sniping along the [[Nanjing Bund]] and a sortie by [[Kuomintang]] gunboats. This allowed refugees to retreat down the hill to the safety of U.S. and British warships.<ref>{{cite book | last = Beede | first = Benjamin R. | title = The War of 1898, and U.S. Interventions, 1898–1934: An Encyclopedia | publisher = Taylor & Francis | date = 1994 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti0000unse_o8w2/page/356 356–357] | url = https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti0000unse_o8w2/page/356 | isbn = 0-8240-5624-8 }}</ref> ''Noa'' also participated in the periodic fleet exercises which were intended to keep crew and equipment at peak efficiency.

Upon return to the United States on 14 August 1929, ''Noa'' went into the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] for overhaul before assignment to West Coast operations. Through the next five years, she operated out of San Diego as a unit of the [[Battle Fleet]]. During the fall and winter of 1929, ''Noa'' was called upon to assist in plane guard duties with carriers {{USS|Langley|CV-1|3}} and {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|3}}, off the [[California]] coast. She thus participated in the early development of U.S. carrier-group tactics. She also took part in the fleet exercises from 1930 to 1934. ''Noa'' served as cruise ship for [[Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps]] students from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] from 17 June to 8 July 1934. She then steamed for [[Philadelphia]] on 14 August 1934, decommissioned there on 11 November 1934, and was placed in reserve.

==World War II==
''Noa'' recommissioned at Philadelphia on 1 April 1940 and was fitted with a [[seaplane]] which nested just forward of the after deckhouse, replacing the after [[torpedo tube]]s. At the same time, a boom for lifting the aircraft was stepped in place of the mainmast. She steamed for the [[Delaware Capes]] in May and conducted tests with an XSOC-1 seaplane piloted by Lt. G. L. Heap. The plane was hoisted onto the ocean for takeoff and then recovered by ''Noa'' while the ship was underway. Lt. Heap also made an emergency flight 15 May to transfer a sick man to the Naval Hospital at Philadelphia.

Such dramatic demonstrations convinced the [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] that destroyer-based scout planes had value, and on 27 May, he directed that six new destroyers of the soon-to-be-constructed [[Fletcher class destroyer|''Fletcher''-class]] (DD 476–481) be fitted with catapults and handling equipment. Because of mechanical deficiencies in the hoisting gear, the program was cancelled early in 1943. The concept thus failed to mature as a combat technique, but the destroyer-observation seaplane team was to be revived under somewhat modified conditions during later amphibious operations.

[[File:USS Noa at Naval Academy in Annapolis 1941.jpg|thumb|USS ''Noa'' (DD-343) at the [[United States Naval Academy]] on 1 May 1941.]] 
''Noa'' spent much of the next two years on experimental assignments and on midshipman training operations out of [[Annapolis, Maryland]]. She underwent availability at [[Boston Navy Yard]] the first week of December 1941 and then participated in [[Chesapeake Bay]] exercises through 27 December. Next, she steamed for [[Key West, Florida]] and participated in the shakedown of major fleet units in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. After acting as a plane and screen guard for the carrier {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|2}}, she steamed for [[Hampton Roads]]. En route, a large wave carried away part of her bridge and she put in at Charleston, S.C. for emergency repairs.

She then steamed for Boston via [[Bermuda]]. Upon completion of repairs at Boston Navy Yard, she was directed to conduct Atlantic coast antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrols, commencing 25 March 1943. At 09.03 hours on 3 April 1943, the unescorted ''[[SS Gulfstate|Gulfstate]]'' (Master James Frank Harrell, lost) was hit by two torpedoes from [[German submarine U-155 (1941)|U-155]] about 50 miles southeast of Marathon Key, Florida, while steaming a nonevasive course at 10.5 knots. Eight officers, 26 crewmen and nine armed guards were lost. Three of the wounded were later transferred to ''Noa'' for medical treatment.<ref>{{cite web
|url= https://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/05/shipwrecks-world-war-ii-oil-leak-uboat
|title= How Hitler's U-Boats Are Still Attacking Us
|access-date= 21 May 2013
|author= Julia Whitty
|date= 21 May 2013
|work= Blue Marble
|publisher= [[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]
|quote= The vessel ranked worst [on NOAA's Remediation of Underwater Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET) project] risk assessment scale is the WWII tanker the ''Gulfstate'', torpedoed and sunk off the Florida Keys in 1943.
}}</ref> She also participated in the training program for the Navy's Sound School at [[Key West]]. Until 28 July, she operated out of Key West, assigned training, patrol, rescue, and convoy escort duties.
 
''Noa'' reported to the Sixth Amphibious Forces 31 July. During August and September, she was converted, at Norfolk Navy Yard, to a high speed transport and was reclassified '''APD-24''' on 10 August 1943. Work was completed 17 September and after shakedown in the [[Chesapeake river]], she departed Norfolk 18 October and escorted {{USS|Sumter|APA-52|3}} to San Diego via the Panama Canal, arriving 2 November.

''Noa'' steamed for [[Pearl Harbor]] 4 November, arriving 10 November for a week of yard availability. Underway 19 November, she escorted SS ''J. H. Kincaid'' to [[Espiritu Santo]], [[New Hebrides]], via [[Samoa]], arriving 4 December. She departed 5 December and steamed to [[Buna, Papua New Guinea|Buna]], [[New Guinea]], where she assumed duty as landing craft control ship 11 December. In this capacity, she steamed between Buna, and [[Cape Cretin]], New Guinea. She was detached from this duty and anchored off [[Cape Sudest]] 21 December.

She steamed for [[Cape Gloucester (Papua New Guinea)|Cape Gloucester]], [[New Britain]], 25 December and arrived just before dawn the next day. After a preliminary bombardment by naval and army air units, ''Noa'' landed 144 officers and men of the First Marine Division. She returned to Cape Sudest via Buna 27 December to take on 203 more First Division Marines, who reinforced the forces at Cape Gloucester 29 December. Her operations in the Cape Gloucester landings extended through 1 March 1944. ''Noa's'' participation in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]] operation also took her through the Green Island landings (15–19 February).

In the [[Purvis Bay]] area of the [[Solomon Islands]], she performed patrol and escort operations 21 February – 7 March. She next steamed to [[Tassafaronga Point]], [[Guadalcanal]], and took on Fourth Marine Division troops for the [[Emirau Island]] assault of 23 March. By 8 April, she was back at Cape Cretin, New Guinea, where she took on troops for the Hollandia amphibious operations that extended from late April through 1 May.

''Noa'' steamed for Pearl Harbor 11 May, arrived 23 May, and embarked units of the Second Marine Division for transport to Saipan. She patrolled assigned areas off Saipan 15 June and that day shot down a raiding aircraft. The next day, she landed her troops and continued patrol operations until 24 June, when she steamed to Eniwetok Atoll. ''Noa'' departed Eniwetok 30 June and escorted {{USS|Clamp|ARS-33|3}} to [[Saipan]], arriving 4 July. She conducted patrol and screening operations off [[Tinian]] and Saipan through the next week. During the Guam operations of 12 July – 15 August, ''Noa'' served as a screening ship. By 16 August, she had returned to Guadalcanal and the next day, she commenced patrol operations out of Purvis Bay.

Departing Purvis Bay 6 September, she steamed for the Palau Islands to conduct underwater demolition activities. While en route, she was rammed by {{USS|Fullam|DD-474|3}} at 0350, 12 September 1944. She immediately began to settle. Rescue efforts were performed by the crew of ''Fullam'' in an attempt to save the sinking ''Noa''; numerous members of the team received battlefield commissions, including Seaman Joseph DeSisto. The order to abandon ship was given at 0501, but by 0700, ''Noa''{{'}}s [[commanding officer]], [[Lieutenant Commander]] H. Wallace Boud, USNR had returned to her with a [[Marine salvage|salvage]] party, including [[Lieutenant|Lt]]. George A. Williams, [[Engineering Officer]] of the ''Noa'' who also testified at the court martial of the ''Fullam''{{'}}s commander. Salvage efforts failed, however, and the second order to abandon ship was given at 1030; the old ship sank by the stern at 1034 with no loss of life. The commanding officer of ''Fullam'' was [[Court martial|court-martialed]] in November 1944 in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]].

==Awards==
*[[File:Yangtze Service Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] [[Yangtze Service Medal]]
*[[File:American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] [[American Defense Service Medal]]
*[[File:American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] [[American Campaign Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with five [[battle star]]s 
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite journal|last1=Davis |first1=Rick E.|last2=Wright|first2=Christopher C.|year=2010 |title=USN Aircraft-Handling Destroyers 1919 to 1943, Part I: 1919–1941|journal=Warship International|volume=XLVII|issue=3|pages=265–278|issn=0043-0374 |name-list-style=amp}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/noa-i.html}}

==External links==
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/343.htm Photos of USS Noa (DD-343/APD-24)]. Photographic History of the United States Navy. ''NavSource Naval History''.

{{Clemson class destroyer}}
{{Flush-decker high speed transport}}
{{September 1944 shipwrecks}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noa (Dd-343)}}
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:Clemson-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1944]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States]]