USS Patterson (DD-392)

USS Patterson (DD-392)

USS Patterson (DD-392) was a Bagley-class destroyer of the United States Navy. The Bagley class was part of the 1,500-ton destroyer series built in the late 1930s, carrying an exceptionally heavy torpedo armament of sixteen tubes in four quadruple mounts. All eight ships of the class were stationed at Pearl Harbor as Destroyer Squadron 4 on 7 December 1941. Three were lost in combat during the Guadalcanal campaign. Two survivors were used as targets during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946.

Named for Commodore Daniel Todd Patterson, who commanded the New Orleans naval station and led the defense of Louisiana against British forces during the War of 1812, USS Patterson was built by Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington and commissioned in September 1937. At the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942, Patterson was one of the first Allied ships to detect the approaching Japanese cruiser force. She broadcast the warning "Strange ships entering harbor" and immediately engaged, but the Allied force was still caught largely off guard in one of the worst naval defeats in U.S. history. Patterson took a hit that killed 10 men but continued fighting. The ship served through the rest of the Pacific war.

USS Patterson earned 11 battle stars for service in: Pearl Harbor, Savo Island, Guadalcanal, Eastern Solomons, New Guinea, Saipan, Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, Okinawa. Decommissioned May 1946. Sold for scrap September 1947.

This collection features apparel and merchandise honoring USS Patterson (DD-392) and the men who served aboard her. 1,646 tons standard displacement. 341 feet in length. Four 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose guns. Sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes in four quadruple mounts. Top speed 38.5 knots. Crew of 158.