USS Killen, a 2050-ton Fletcher class destroyer built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, was commissioned in May 1944. She arrived at Manus, Admiralty Islands, in September 1944 to begin combat operations against Japan. A month later Killen was part of the huge armada that assaulted Leyte, in the Central Philippines. After several days of providing gunfire support for the landings there, on the night of 24-25 October she took part in the Battle of Surigao Strait, in which one of her torpedoes damaged the Japanese battleship Yamashiro. On 1 November 1944, while still off Leyte, the destroyer was attacked by several enemy planes and shot down four, but was hit by a bomb that killed fifteen of her crew.
Repairs at Manus and at San Francisco, California, kept Killen out of action for the rest of 1944 and the first four months of 1945. She rejoined the Seventh Fleet in early May. In June and July 1945 Killen supported the invasion of Borneo, then went to the North Pacific for the final month of the war. After Japan's surrender she covered the occupation effort until departing the Far East in mid-November to return to the United States. Decommissioned in July 1946, Killen spent the next dozen years as part of the Pacific Reserve fleet.
Killen was removed from "mothballs" for target duty during the 1958 nuclear weapons tests in the Central Pacific. She took part in further explosive tests during the early 1960s. The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1963 and was used thereafter as a target at the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range. In 1975, after a dozen years of battering by guided missiles and other weapons, Killen's hulk was scuttled in shallow water near the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.
This page features, and provides links to, selected views related to USS Killen (DD-593).
For other pictures related to this ship, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 19-N-66369 USS Killen (DD-593) Off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 1 June 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 31, Design 11d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 61KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-66367 USS Killen (DD-593) Off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 1 June 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 31, Design 11d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-69370 USS Killen (DD-593) Underway off Richmond Beach, Washington, 8 June 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 31, Design 11d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 165KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-69368 USS Killen (DD-593) Underway off Richmond Beach, Washington, 8 June 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 31, Design 11d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 115KB; 740 x 600 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-69369 USS Killen (DD-593) Underway off Richmond Beach, Washington, 8 June 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 31, Design 11d. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 129KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-84434 USS Killen (DD-593) At the Hunter's Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, California, following overhaul and battle damage repairs, 2 April 1945. Note the railcar crane at right. Circles mark recent alterations to the ship. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 555 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-84435 USS Killen (DD-593) Close-up view of the ship's midships area, taken at the Hunter's Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, California, following overhaul and battle damage repairs, 2 April 1945. Note her 26-foot motor whaleboat, smokestack and torpedo tubes. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 122KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-84437 USS Killen (DD-593) Close-up view of the ship's port quarter, taken at the Hunter's Point Navy Yard, San Francisco, California, following overhaul and battle damage repairs, 2 April 1945. Circles mark recent alterations to the ship. Note Killen's propeller guard, depth charge racks and "teardrop" depth charges. Ships in the background are USS Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) and USS Hughes (DD-410). Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 129KB; 740 x 550 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-470495 Invasion of Brunei Bay, Borneo, June 1945 USS Killen (DD-593) refueling from an oiler, while en route to the Brunei Bay landings on 9 June 1945. Photographed from USS Aulick (DD-569). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 108KB; 595 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-65837 USS Killen (DD-593) Mrs. Inez Cowdrey christens the ship, during launching ceremonies at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, 10 January 1943. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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For other pictures related to this ship, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 30 November 2002
Page divided 31 March 2003