Sinking
With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Hobson's schedule of training intensified. She took part in amphibious exercises off North Carolina and in Puerto Rico in 1950–51, and took part in carrier operations as a plane guard and screening ship.
During one such operation on the night of 26 April 1952, Hobson was steaming in formation with carrier Wasp (CV-18) about 600 miles (1000 kilometers) west of the Azores at 38°27'N 41°21'WG. Wasp needed to turn to recover aircraft, so the surrounding ships had two options, slow down and let Wasp turn, or cross in front of the carrier. The Hobson's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander W.J. Tierney and the ship's Officer Of The Deck, Lieutenant William Hoefer, argued over which option was to be carried out. The Commanding Officer won, and decided to cross the bow. Lt. Hoefer announced on the deck "Prepare for collision!, Prepare for collision!" The Hobson crossed the carrier's bow and was struck amidships. The force of the collision rolled the destroyer-minesweeper over, breaking her in two. Rodman (DD-456) and Wasp rescued many survivors, but the ship and 176 of her crew were lost, including Tierney. With no time to don lifejackets, some survivors were left treading water in the Atlantic Ocean for up to four hours.
Read more about this topic: USS Hobson (DD-464)
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