USS Ringgold ( DD - 500 ) USS " Ringgold " ( DD - 500 ) , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Cadwalader Ringgold ( 1802 – 1867 ) . " Ringgold " was laid down 25 June 1942 by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Kearny , N . J . ; launched 11 November 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Arunah Sheperdson Abell , grand niece of Rear Adm . Cadwallader Ringgold ; and commissioned 30 December 1942 , Commander Thomas F . Conley in command . World War II . Shakedown , which took " Ringgold " from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , and back , extended through 18 February 1943 . Additional training maneuvers kept her operating in the vicinity of Trinidad until mid - July . Departing New York en route to the Pacific 21 July , she transited the Panama Canal on the 27th and reported to Commander - in - Chief , Pacific Fleet , at Pearl Harbor , where she hoisted the pennant of Commander , Destroyer Division 50 . Gilbert Islands campaign , September – November 1943 . After several weeks of training , " Ringgold " joined a fast carrier task force built around , , and . The force worked over Marcus Island 1 September 1943 and then moved on to conduct a raid in the Gilberts . The carrier planes conducted seven strikes 18 – 19 September on Tarawa and Makin . A Japanese diarist recorded that Tarawa " is a sea of flames " ; nine parked planes and five vessels were destroyed . Most importantly , planes from returned with a set of low oblique photos of the lagoon side of Betio , and these proved to be most useful in planning the assault on Tarawa . On 5 – 6 October , the largest fast carrier force organized to that time , comprising " Essex " , " Yorktown " , " Lexington " , " Independence " , , and , Rear Adm . Alfred E . Montgomery in command , struck at Wake Island . The target was also shelled by battleships , cruisers , and destroyers . The next target was Tarawa , taken by the Southern Attack Force commanded by Rear Adm . Harry W . Hill in . His ships transported the tough 2d Marine Division , all of whose components had fought on Guadalcanal . Destroyers " Ringgold " and were scheduled for an early entrance into the lagoon 20 November . Just before sundown on the 19th , " Ringgold " thrust ahead of the main body of the attack force to secure a radar fix on a turning point just north of Mavana . Charts of the area , however , were inaccurate . On several , Betio was oriented incorrectly . Fortunately , the submarine had reconnoitered the area and had reported the error , and thus a new approach chart was improvised on board " Maryland " . Accurate radar fixes were thus possible . Unfortunately , " Nautilus " ' excellent reconnaissance work was ill - rewarded . At 22 : 00 , as " Ringgold " and pushed ahead of the attack force , they picked up a radar contact . Word had been passed to watch for the submarine , but it was believed that she had moved westward that afternoon to rescue a downed flier , and that she would submerge once she encountered friendly forces . But " Nautilus " , being near a reef , did not submerge . Admiral Hill , anxious to avoid any encounters with possible Japanese patrols , gave the order to take the contact under fire . " Ringgold " ' s first salvo struck the base of the sub ' s conning tower . Although it ruptured her main induction valve , it did not explode . Nautilus submerged in " dire circumstances " , but her damage control people worked both well and fast , so that she was able to make it to Abemama and complete her mission . Shortly after 05 : 00 counterbattery fire commenced , and at 06 : 22 came the scheduled naval bombardment , which resulted in a systematic going - over for Betio . Minesweeper s and , under cover of a smoke screen , swept a channel from the transport area into the lagoon during the bombardment , and they used their own guns to bark replies to Japanese shore batteries . Then , while " Pursuit " placed marked buoys , " Requisite " led both " Ringgold " and " Dashiell " into the lagoon . A gallant sight they were as , shells falling all around them , they sped into the lagoon . " Ringgold " took two hits , both duds , although one managed to knock out her port engine . Her Chief Engineer , Lt . Comdr . Wayne A . Parker , is said to have imitated the legendary Dutch boy by plugging a hole with his body while emergency repairs were made . Larger craft could not yet venture into the lagoon , and so this bold quartet provided all the frontal fire that the beach defenses received , firing in so lusty a fashion that additional ammunition had to be lightered in to them before the day ended . Of the 5 , 000 men ashore by the end of the - day , nearly 1 , 500 had been killed or wounded . What most helped these Marines throughout that gruesome day was the presence of destroyers " Ringgold " and " Dashiell " , relieved by and . They provided close on - call gunfire support , while carrier aircraft bombed and strafed Japanese positions almost continuously until sunset . But the " air support provided at Tarawa was slight in strength and elementary in technique compared with what was done 18 months later at Okinawa . " As the sun set , all combatants — except three destroyers — and transports withdrew to offshore areas for protection against air and submarine attack . The transports returned at 21 : 40 . " Ringgold " anchored inside the lagoon , " Anderson " cruised the southern shore , and " Frazier " was off the butt end of the island to provide call fire through the night . The Americans might well have been swept into the sea that night , if the Japanese had been able to mount a vigorous counterattack . But Rear Adm . Keiji Shibazaki , the Atoll Commander , could not counterattack . Half of his 4 , 500 men were already dead , and his communications had been broken by naval gunfire . He lacked control over units outside his command post , and the only troops that could launch such an attack were on the so - called " musket barrel " , which was under continued bombardment from the destroyers . By 27 November 1943 , both Tarawa and Abemama were secured . 1944 . After completing repairs in December , " Ringgold " took part in the assault and capture of Kwajalein and of Eniwetok Atolls during January and February 1944 , where she furnished close - in fire support for the landing forces . On 20 March she bombarded the shore installations at Kavieng , New Ireland , as a diversionary action for landings in the Northern Bismarck Archipelago . From 24 April until 1 May 1944 , she took part in the assault and capture of Hollandia , Dutch New Guinea . In June " Ringgold " took part in the Marianas operations . During the invasion of Guam she served as Landing Craft Control Vessel and provided gunfire support . During the initial landing , she dispatched 23 waves of landing craft to the beach . Next came the invasion of Morotai Island , in the Northern Moluccas , where " Ringgold " again provided gunfire support . On 20 October 1944 , American forces returned to the Philippines , and " Ringgold " again furnished fire support , this time for the landings on Panaon Island off southern Leyte . Two days later , she was ordered to Mare Island Naval Shipyard , California , for overhaul . 1945 . Early in February 1945 , " Ringgold " joined Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher ' s famed Fast Carrier Task Force ( then 5th Fleet ' s TF 58 , later 3rd Fleet ' s TF 38 ) for the first carrier strikes against the Japanese mainland and Okinawa in support of the Iwo Jima operation . Under cover of a weather front , the force launched its air groups at dawn , 16 February , 120 miles ( 220 km ) from target . Attacks against enemy air power were pressed into the heart of the Japanese homeland far into the next day . In the course of this 2 - day attack , the Japanese lost 416 planes in the air , 354 more on the ground and one escort carrier . After repairs at Ulithi and Pearl Harbor , " Ringgold " rejoined TF 58 in support of the Okinawa operation , joining up 4 June 1945 . Upon completion of this task , the force retired to San Pedro Bay , Leyte Gulf , the Philippines , arriving 13 June . On 1 July the ship again put to sea , this time with Admiral William Halsey ' s 3d Fleet Fast Carrier Task Force for strikes against the Japanese homeland . On the night of 15 – 16 July , with Destroyer Squadron 25 ( DesRon 25 ) and Cruiser Division 17 ( CruDiv 17 ) , " Ringgold " participated in an antishipping sweep 6 miles ( 10 km ) off the northern coast of Honshū , Japan . Again , on the night of 30 July , she participated in an antishipping sweep in Suruga Wan and bombarded the town of Shimizu , Honshū , Japan . Rejoining TF 38 on 31 July , " Ringgold " continued coastal operations with that force until the cease fire . Ordered to escort to Apra Harbor , Guam , 22 August , she arrived there 4 days later and underwent repairs . Steaming to Okinawa 16 September , " Ringgold " took on 83 passengers for Pearl Harbor , and then proceeded to the east coast of the United States . Decommissioning 23 March 1946 , she was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Charleston , South Carolina , where she remained into 1959 . Designated for transfer to the Federal Republic of Germany under the military assistance program , she underwent modernization and outfitting at the Charleston Naval Shipyard . " Zerstörer 2 " ( D171 ) . Formally transferred to the German Navy on 14 July 1959 , she was redesignated Zerstörer 2 ( D171 ) . Three former Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the " Kriegsmarine " commanded " Zerstörer 2 " during her career with the " Bundesmarine " . " Fregattenkapitän " Günter Kuhnke from 14 July 1959 until November 1960 , " Fregattenkapitän " Otto Ites from November 1960 until September 1962 and " Fregattenkapitän " Paul Brasack from September 1962 until March 1964 . The ship was transferred to Greece in 1981 . " Kimon " ( D42 ) . The ship was transferred to the Greek Navy on 18 September 1981 , and renamed Kimon ( D42 ) . " Kimon " was placed in reserve in 1987 . She was stricken and broken up for scrap in 1993 . Awards . " Ringgold " received 10 battle star s for World War II service . See also . See USS " Ringgold " for other ships of the same name .