Just the Facts: USS Cassin Young

The USS Cassin Young is on display in the Charlestown Navy Yard. It's one of only four historic Fletcher destroyers on public display around the country. It launched in 1943, rescued survivors from the USS Princeton and later lost 22 crew members in kamikaze attacks off Okinawa. The destroyer requires costly repairs that go beyond the National Parks Service budget. As of now, it's future is uncertain. For a fuller history, see accompanying article The History and Future of the USS Cassin Young.

• Where is it?
  Dry Dock 1, Charlestown Navy Yard
• When was it built?
  It was launched September 12, 1943 and commissioned on December 31, 1943.
• Who built it?
  Bethlehem Steel Corporation at San Pedro, California
• What was it built for and who was the first occupant?
  It was built as part of a fleet of Fletcher-class destroyers at the outset of World War II. The ship was named for Captain Cassin Young (1894–1942), who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism at Pearl Harbor. Young was killed at Guadalcanal. During its years of duty the Cassin Young operated in the central Pacific as picket ship, assigned to warn other US ships of possible enemy counterattack; aided in shooting down aircraft; and was itself the victim of several kamikaze attacks. In one of the last kamikaze attacks in the war, 22 men on the Cassin Young were killed and 45 were injured. USS Cassin Young was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for its determined service and gallantry.
• Why was it built?
  As part of the destroyer fleet that would fight World War II in the central Pacific, USS Cassin Young was built to handle a wartime crew of 345.
• How was it built?
  It has a steel hull. It is 376 feet, 6 inches in length; has a beam of 39 feet, 6 inches; a draft of 17 feet, 9 inches and displacement of 2,050 tons. Its armaments included five 5" dual purpose guns, several torpedoes, and several depth charges.
• What are the future plans for the structure?
  USS Cassin Young has been a museum ship at the Charlestown Navy Yard since 1981. Like its compatriot naval ship USS Constitution, USS Cassin Young attracts every year thousands of tourists and navy buffs. (Boston Globe reported the USS Cassin Young received 203,000 visitors in 2009.) On August 9, 2010, for the first time in 30 years USS Cassin Young was moved for repair into Dry Dock #1 at the Charlestown Navy Yard. The Globe also reported that the National Park Service, which shares responsibility for the ship with the US Navy, halted the repairs several months ago. Apparently corrosion to the hull at the water line is much more extensive than first thought and the repair bill is beyond the budget of the National Park Service. The fate of the ship at this time is questionable. Options include moving it into Dry Dock 2, which is currently flooded; giving up the attempt to make it again sea-worthy as a floating museum and instead secure it on land, where it could still remain a museum; or, in perhaps the worst case scenario, scrap it.

UPDATE: In late July 2010, Cassin Young closed to the public in preparation for dry-docking. On 9 August 2010, she was moved into Historic Dry Dock #1 in BNHP for the first time in 30 years for some much needed repairs to her hull. On 4 September 2012, the ship was closed to the public to allow contractors to make final repairs to the hull. She returned to her position at Pier 1 on 14 May 2013. On 4 June 2013, she was moved to the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina in East Boston while repairs were made to her berth in Charlestown. By September 2013, she had returned to her museum berth.