DesRon 48
World War II Destroyer Squadron 48
During World War II, American destroyers in the Pacific were organized into several levels of sub-units under CINCPAC, the commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet. A typical task force with four aircraft carriers might employ 16 destroyers, so the basic operational destroyer unit was a division, also known as DesDiv, with four or five destroyers; typically, two divisions formed a squadron, or DesRon.
| Unit | Full Name | Strength | Rank of commanding officer |
|---|---|---|---|
| ComDesPac | Commander, Destroyer Force Pacific | Rear Admiral | |
| ComDesFot | Commander, Destroyer Flotilla | 2 flotillas | Rear Admiral |
| ComTaskFlot | Commander, Task Flotilla | 6 task flotillas | Commodore |
| ComDesRon | Commander, Destroyer Squadron | 68 squadrons | Captain |
| ComDesDiv | Commander, Destroyer Division | 136 divisions | Captain or Commander |
Destroyer division composition could be quite fluid, with ships coming and going for special missions, maintenance, fleet errands, training and shore leave. Reports frequently mention squadrons and divisions minus one or two ships and plus one or two ships. For example, at the Leyte invasion DesRon 48 lacked Bullard but added Gansevoort.
DesRon 48 comprised DesDivs 95 and 96. DesDiv 95 usually consisted of Abbot, Erben, Hale, Stembel (the DesRon 48 flagship) and Walker.
DesDiv 96 comprised Black, Bullard, Chauncey and Kidd.
That’s nine Fletcher-class destroyers and nearly 3,000 sailors, roughly the size of an army brigade.
The commanding officers of DesRon 48 during World War II were Captains J.T. Bottom, W.J. Marshall and H.H. Henderson; each simultaneously commanded DesDiv 95. The commanding officers of DesDiv 96 were Commanders Chester E. Carroll (formerly skipper of Abbot), T.H. Kobey and L.C. Chamberlin. Individual destroyers usually rated a commander as skipper, although often a lieutenant commander would take command and be promoted to commander within a few months.
Commanders of squadrons and divisions could hoist distinctive flags. ComDesRon rated a white swallow-tailed broad pennant trimmed top and bottom by a blue border, with the large numerals 48 in the middle. ComDesDiv rated a burgee trimmed in red, with the numerals 95 or 96.
The squadron flagship, which was usually Erben or sometimes Stembel in DesRon 48, was also known as the “squadron leader.”
DesRon 48 veterans organize joint reunions for their destroyer crewmates, including post-war crewmembers who were not part of DesRon 48. Kidd survives as a museum, moored in the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
| Click on an image to see ship’s brief history | ||
 Abbot |
 Black |
 Bullard |
 Chauncey |
 Erben |
 Hale |
 Kidd |
 Stembel |
 Walker |