Osmond Ingram Destroyer: Clemson-Class DD-255

• Osmond Ingram (Destroyer No. 255) had a designation of DD-255, displacement of 1,215, a length of 314-4, a beam of 31-8, a draft of 9-10, a speed of 35 knots, a complement of 122, and armament of 4 4-, 1 3-, 12 21- tt. it was of the Clemson class
• Osmond Kelly Ingram was born in Pratt City, Alabama, on August 4, 1887, and entered the Navy on November 24, 1903
• Ingram served in Cassin when it was attacked by a German submarine off Ireland on October 16, 1917
• As a Gunner's Mate First Class, Ingram spotted an approaching torpedo and realized it would strike close by explosives
• Ingram rushed to jettison the ammunition and was blown overboard when the torpedo struck
• Ingram was the first enlisted man killed in action in World War I, sacrificing himself to save his ship and shipmates
• Osmond Ingram (Destroyer No. 255) was laid down on October 1.5, 1918, by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass
• It was launched on February 23, 1919, and sponsored by Mrs. N. E. Ingram, Osmond Ingram's mother
• The destroyer was commissioned at Boston on June 28, 1919, with Lt. Comdr. M. B. DeMott in command
• Its designation was AVD-9 from August 2, 1940, until November 4, 1943, reverted to DD-255 until June 22, 1944, and completed service as APD-35
• After several years of Atlantic service, Osmand Ingram decommissioned on June 24, 1922, and went into reserve at Philadelphia
• It was converted to a seaplane tender and recommissioned on November 22, 1940
• The ship sailed for San Juan, Puerto Rico, its home port from January 15, 1941
• It tended patrol planes through the area bounded by Trinidad, Antigua, and San Juan
• It then sailed to base in the Panama Canal Zone, tending patrol craft at Salinas, Ecuador, and in the Galapagos through June 1942
• After returning to destroyer functions, Osmond Ingram completed 1942 on escort duty between Trinidad and Recife and Belem
• The ship sailed north to Argentia, Newfoundland, to join a hunter/killer group formed around the Bogue (CVE-9)
• This group was among the most successful antisubmarine forces in the Atlantic, beating the U-boats and securing vital passage
• Osmond Ingram sank its first enemy submarine, U-172, with gunfire on December 13, 1943, after it was forced to surface by depth charges
• Similar performance by other ships in the group led to a Presidential Unit Citation
• After a convoy to Gibraltar in early 1944, Osmond Ingram served on escort duty between New York and Trinidad until June
• It entered Charleston Navy Yard for conversion to a high-speed transport
• The ship joined amphibious forces in the Mediterranean in time for pre-invasion assaults off the French coast on August 14, 1944
• It escorted convoys along the French and Italian coasts until returning to Norfolk in late December
• Assigned to the Pacific, Osmond Ingram had varied war service, escorting to New York via Panama to San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Ulithi
• It sailed on April 2, 1945, with an assault force for Okinawa, escorting convoys to Saipan and Guam and patrolled the defense lines for Hagushi Anchorage
• In July, it escorted ships between Leyte and Hollandia, New Guinea, and in August, began patrols through the Philippines and to Borneo
• Aided in the occupation of Japan, calling at Wakayama, Kure, and Nagoya
• Osmond Ingram decommissioned at Philadelphia on January 8, 1946, was struck from the Navy List on January 21, 1946
• It was sold for scrapping to Hugo Neu, New York, on June 17, 1946
• Osmond Ingram received 6 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation for World War II service

The Osmond Ingram (DD-255) was a Clemson-class destroyer. Gunner's Mate First Class Osmond Ingram sacrificed himself to save his shipmates during a German submarine attack. He was the first enlisted man killed in action in World War I.