Photos and the story

Thatcher

Class	Fletcher class
Type	Destroyer (DD)
Hull	DD-514
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Launched	1942-12-06
Commissioned	1943-02-10
Fate	Afloat. Survived the war. Sold for scrap, 23 January 1948
Armament (class)	Five single 5-inch guns, two funnels, and two sets of torpedo tubes.
Command	Lampman, Leland Ralph Captain, 10 February 1943 – 4 August 1944 Cockell, William Arthur Captain, 4 August 1944 – 10 April 1945 Chandler, Charles Richardson Captain, 10 April 1945 – 23 November 1945

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

Thatcher was a Fletcher-class destroyer, DD-514. Bath Iron Works laid her down on 20 June 1942, launched her on 6 December 1942, and commissioned her on 10 February 1943. Lieutenant Commander Leland Ralph Lampman was her captain.

On the night of 1–2 November 1943 she was in Austin's rear division off Empress Augusta Bay, between Spence and Converse, with Foote astern. She was slightly damaged. She was not sunk.

The cruisers sank Sendai. That fire is not credited to one ship. Myoko collided with Hatsukaze and cut off her bow. Thatcher was among the American destroyers that finished Hatsukaze, with Claxton, Spence, and Stanly. Not one of them is credited alone.

On 19 July 1945 a kamikaze heavily damaged her off Okinawa. She was not sunk. She was not repaired for more fighting. She was decommissioned on 18 November 1945 and sold for scrap on 23 January 1948.

The pictures on this page are the originals.