Allied Warships

USS Edsall (i) (DD 219)

Destroyer of the Clemson class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Clemson
Pennant	DD 219
Built by	William Cramp and Sons (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	15 Sep 1919
Launched	29 Jul 1920
Commissioned	26 Nov 1920
Lost	1 Mar 1942
Loss position	13° 45'S, 106° 47'E

History	Around 1800 hours on 1 March 1942 the Japanese battlecruisers Hiei and Kirishima and heavy cruisers Chikuma and Tone engage the damaged USS Edsall (Lt.Cdr. Joshua James Nix, USN) with gunfire. The Japanese ships fire over 1300 rounds at the Edsall and score only two hits. An air strike on the Edsall by the nearby carriers is requested. Soryu launches nine dive bombers and the Akagi eight. The aircraft hit Edsall with 550lb and 1100lb bombs and set her on fire. Eventually Edsall goes dead in the water. The heavy cruiser Chikuma moves in and destroys the stationary Edsall with 6" gunfire. Around 1900 hours Edsall slides beneath the waves in position 13º45'S, 106º47'E.

Commands listed for USS Edsall (i) (DD 219)

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	Abel Charles Jules Sabalot, USN	9 May 1939	24 May 1940
2	Lt.Cdr. Edwin Mason Crouch, USN	24 May 1940	13 Oct 1941 (1)
3	Lt. Joshua James Nix, USN	13 Oct 1941	2 Mar 1942

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Notable events involving Edsall (i) include:

20 Jan 1942
EDSALL, ALDEN, & three RAN corvettes, KATOOMBA, DELORAINE, & LITHGOW combine to sink the Japanese KRS-class mine-laying submarine I-124 off Port Darwin, Australia after the sub attacked ships entering the port.

9 Feb 1942
Around 0800 hours, HrMs De Ruyter (Cdr. E.E.B. Lacomblé, RNN and flagship of Rear-Admiral K.W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) and HrMs Tromp (Cdr. J.B. de Meester, RNN), were joined by eight US destroyers USS Whipple (Lt.Cdr. E.S. Karpe, USN), USS Pillsbury (Lt.Cdr. H.C. Pound, USN), USS Edsall (Lt.Cdr. J.J. Nix, USN), USS Alden (Lt.Cdr. L.E. Coley, USN), USS Stewart (Lt.Cdr. H.P. Smith, USN), USS John D. Edwards (Lt.Cdr. H.E. Eccles, USN), USS Barker (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Miller, USN) and USS Bulmer (Lt.Cdr. D.A. Harris, USN).

At 1700 hours the Dutch destroyers HrMs Piet Hein (Lt.Cdr. J.M.L.I. Chompff, RNN), HrMs Banckert (Lt.Cdr. L.J. Goslings, RNN) and HrMs Van Ghent (Lt.Cdr. P. Schotel, RNN) also joined. Van Ghent developed engine trouble and was later replaced by HrMs Kortenaer (Lt.Cdr. A. Kroese, RNN). (After repairs Van Ghent re-joined the task force on the 11th.)

Around 2130 hours the US destroyers USS Edsall and USS Alden were detached and sent to Tjilatjap. (2)

27 Feb 1942
On 27 February 1942, she picked up 177 survivors from the aircraft transport USS Langley, which was damaged by Japanese aircraft. She then sunk the Langley with torpedoes and gunfire. The next day the survivors from Langley went aboard the oiler USS Pecos. Edsall then headed back to Tjilatjap but she never reached it. (3)