Allied Warships

USS Niblack (DD 424)

Destroyer of the Benson / Gleaves class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Benson / Gleaves
Pennant	DD 424
Built by	Bath Iron Works (Bath, Maine, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	8 Aug 1938
Launched	18 May 1940
Commissioned	1 Aug 1940
End service	Jun 1946
History	Decommissioned in June 1946. Stricken 31 July 1968. Sold 16 August 1973 and broken up for scrap.

Commands listed for USS Niblack (DD 424)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	Lt.Cdr. Edward Robison Durgin, USN	1 Aug 1940	31 Jul 1942
2	Lt.Cdr. Walter Leo Dyer, USN	31 Jul 1942	24 Apr 1943
3	T/Cdr. Ray Russell Conner, USN	24 Apr 1943	25 Oct 1944 (1)
4	T/Cdr. Thomas Glover Warfield, USN	25 Oct 1944	23 Mar 1945
5	Robert Edward Lapides, USNR	23 Mar 1945	12 Dec 1945
6	Lt. Partee Wilson Crouch, Jr., USN	12 Dec 1945	Jun 1946

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Notable events involving Niblack include:

11 Apr 1941
While picking up survivors from the Dutch merchant Saleier, the US destroyer USS Niblack (Lt.Cdr Edward R. Durgin) picked up a sonar contact and attacked it with 3 depth charges. This action is often mentioned as first military action between Germany and the USA in the Second World War, but no U-boat reported being under attack on that day in the area, so the contact was probably false.

16 Mar 1942
HMS H 50 (Lt. H.B. Turner, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with USS Niblack and USCGC Ingham. (2)

17 Mar 1942
HMS H 50 (Lt. H.B. Turner, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with USS Niblack and USCGC Ingham. (2)

1 May 1942
HrMs O 9 (Lt. J.F. Drijfhout Van Hooff, RNN) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMCS Rosthern (Cdr. P.B. Cross, RCNVR), USS Niblack (Lt.Cdr. E.R. Durgin, USN), HMS Lowestoft (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) F.B. Proudfoot, RN) and HMS Pelican (Cdr. G.V. Gladstone, RN). (3)

18 Aug 1942
HMS H 43 (Lt. J.C.Y. Roxburgh, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with aircraft, HMS Monkshood (Lt. G.W. McGuiness, RNR), USS Gleaves, USS Mayo, USS Niblack and USS Benson. (4)

19 Aug 1942
HMS H 43 (Lt. J.C.Y. Roxburgh, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with USS Niblack, USS Benson, USS Gleaves and USS Mayo. (4)

15 Jan 1944
The light cruisers HMS Penelope (Capt. G.D. Belben, DSC, AM, RN), HMS Dido (Capt. J. Terry, RN), HMS Phoebe (Capt. C.P. Frend, RN), USS Brooklyn (Capt. R.W. Cary, Jr., USN) and the destroyers HMS Teazer (Lt.Cdr. A.A.F. Talbot, DSO and Bar, RN), USS Niblack (T/Cdr. R.R. Conner, USN) and USS Trippe (T/Cdr. R.C. Williams, USN) conducted exercises off Malta. (5)

18 Jan 1944
Around 1545/18, The light cruisers HMS Penelope (Capt. G.D. Belben, DSC, AM, RN), USS Brooklyn (Capt. R.W. Cary, Jr., USN) and the destroyers HMS Loyal (Lt.Cdr. H.E.F. Tweedie, DSC, RN), USS Niblack (T/Cdr. R.R. Conner, USN) and USS Trippe (T/Cdr. R.C. Williams, USN) departed Malta for Naples. They arrived at Naples around 1015/19. (6)

19 May 1944
German U-boat U-960 was sunk in the Mediterranean north-west of Algiers, in position 37°20'N, 01°35'E, by the US destroyers USS Niblack, USS Ludlow and Wellingtons (Sqdn 36) and Venturas (Sqdn 500).