USS O'Brien (DD-51)
Encyclopedia
USS O'Brien (Destroyer No. 51/DD-51) was the lead ship
of her class
of destroyer
built for the United States Navy
prior to the American entry into World War I
. The ship was the second US Navy vessel named in honor of Jeremiah O'Brien
and his five brothers Gideon, John, William, Dennis, and Joseph who, together on the sloop Unity, captured a British warship during the American Revolutionary War
.
O'Brien was laid down by William Cramp and Sons
of Philadelphia
in September 1913 and launched in July 1914. The ship was a little more than 305 ft (93 m) in length, just over 31 ft (9.4 m) abeam
, and had a standard displacement of 1050 LT (1,066.9 MT). She was armed with four 4 in (101.6 mm) guns and had eight 21 in (533.4 mm) torpedo tube
s. O'Brien was powered by a pair of steam turbine
s that propelled her at up to 29 kn (35.3 mph; 56.8 km/h).
After her May 1915 commissioning, O'Brien sailed off the east coast
and in the Caribbean
. She was one of seventeen destroyers sent out to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine off the Lightship Nantucket
in October 1916. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, O'Brien was sent overseas to patrol the Irish Sea
out of Queenstown, Ireland.
After returning to the United States in January 1919, O'Brien revisited European waters in May to serve as one of the picket ships for the NC-type
seaplane
s in the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic. O'Brien was decommissioned at Philadelphia in June 1922. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
in March 1935 and sold for scrapping
in April.
of the , which was an improved version of the s authorized in 1911. Construction of the vessel was awarded to William Cramp and Sons
of Philadelphia
which laid down her keel on 8 September 1913. On 20 July 1914, O'Brien was launched by sponsor Miss Marcia Bradbury Campbell, great-great-granddaughter of Gideon O’Brien, one of the ship's namesakes. Gideon and his four brothers—John, William, Dennis, and Joseph—were crewmen aboard sloop Unity, under the command of their brother Jeremiah O’Brien, when that vessel captured on 12 June 1775 during the American Revolutionary War
; the destroyer O'Brien was named after all six brothers, and was the second US Navy vessel named in their honor. As built, the destroyer was 305 in 3 in (93.04 m) in length, 31 in 1 in (9.47 m) abeam
, and drew 9 in 6 in (2.9 m). The ship had a standard displacement of 1050 LT (1,066.9 MT) and displaced 1171 long tons (1,189.8 MT) when fully loaded.
O'Brien had two Zoelly steam turbine
s that drove her two screw propellers, and an additional pair triple-expansion steam engines, each connected to one of the propeller shafts, for cruising purposes. Four oil-burning White-Forster boilers powered the engines, which could generate 17000 shp, moving the ship at up to 29 knots.
O'Briens main battery
consisted of four 4 in (101.6 mm)/50 cal Mark 9 guns,The 50 denotes the length of the gun barrels; in this case, the gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as its bore, or 200 inches (5.1 m) in this case. The Mark number is the version of the gun; in this case, the ninth US Navy design of the 4-inch/50 gun. with each gun weighing in excess of 6100 lb (2,766.9 kg). The guns fired 33 lb (15 kg) armor-piercing
projectile
s at 2900 ft/s (883.9 m/s). At an elevation
of 20°, the guns had a range of 15920 yd (14,557.2 m).
O'Brien was also equipped with eight 21 in (533.4 mm) torpedo tube
s. The General Board of the United States Navy
had called for two anti-aircraft guns for the O'Brien-class ships, as well as provisions for laying up to 36 floating mines. From sources, it is unclear if these recommendations were followed for O'Brien or any of the other ships of the class.
, and Hampton Roads, Virginia. In fleet exercises off New York
in November, O'Brien collided with the destroyer , in a minor incident that carried away part of Draytons topmast
and wireless
gear. In December, she was assigned to the 5th Division, Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet
. From early 1916-spring of 1917, she operated with the Fleet along the East Coast and in Cuba
n waters.
At 0530 on 8 October 1916, wireless
reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the Lightship Nantucket
, off the eastern end of Long Island
. After an SOS
from the British steamer was received at about 1230, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves
ordered O'Brien and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors.According to a report in The New York Times
on 9 October the other ships, in addition to O'Brien, were the flotilla's destroyer tender
, , and fifteen other destroyers: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . A firsthand account of the events by a quartermaster from destroyer , published on 22 October 1916, indicates that ship was present as well.
For the initial report, see:
For the account of McDougals quartermaster, see: The American destroyers arrived on the scene at about 1700 when the U-boat, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose
, had called at Newport on 7 October 1916, the day before the attacks, to drop off a letter for Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff
, the German Ambassador to the United States, and had exchanged courtesy visits with Admirals Albert Gleaves
and Austin M. Knight
before departing. was in the process of stopping the Holland-America Line cargo ship . Shortly after, U-53 stopped the British passenger ship . As Rose had done with three other ships U-53 had sunk earlier in the day,The other three ships were the British cargo ships West Point and , and the Norwegian tanker
. he gave passengers and crew aboard Blommersdijk and Stephano adequate time to abandon the ships before sinking the pair. In total, 226 survivors from U-53s five victims were rescued by the destroyer flotilla.
In February 1917, one of O'Briens gun crews hit a target at 5000 yd (4,572 m) eight times in eight attempts with one of the destroyer's 4 in (101.6 mm) guns, a feat which earned the crew and O'Brien recognition in The Independent, a weekly newsmagazine published in Boston.
when the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April, entering World War I
. After fitting out at Brooklyn Navy Yard
, she got underway from New York
on 15 May with , , , and , and joined convoy at Halifax, Nova Scotia
, en route to Ireland. Upon arrival at Queenstown on 24 May, O'Brien was assigned to the 6th Destroyer Division which cooperated with the British forces. She patrolled off the Irish coast in company with other destroyers answering distress calls and meeting eastbound convoys to escort them through the war zone.
While escorting SS Elysia 12 nmi (13.8 mi; 22.2 km) off Queenstown on 16 June, lookouts on O'Brien sighted a periscope
. Heading toward the submarine
for an attack, a lookout in the foretop saw the submerged boat pass close along the starboard side. A depth charge
was dropped but no immediate evidence of damage was found. Nearly three hours later, the British vessel reported a large patch of oil in approximately the same position. The next morning, Cushing also reported and confirmed Jessamines report. The British Admiralty
believed the submarine was probably seriously damaged. However, later investigation reveals that German submarine , the submarine in question, continued to operate and completed her cruise.
In the summer of 1918, O'Brien was transferred to the French coast where she continued her antisubmarine patrols through the end of the war.
on 11 November, which ended all fighting, O'Brien transported mail and passengers between Brest, France
, and Plymouth
, England. She returned to New York on 8 January 1919, but returned to European waters in May when she served as one of the rescue pickets stationed along the route across the Atlantic flown by three Navy NC-type
seaplane
s in the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic.
In July 1920, she was assigned the hull code of DD-51 under the US Navy's alphanumeric classification system. O'Brien was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 5 June 1922. The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 8 March 1935, and broken up
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and her materials sold for scrap on 23 April.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of her class
O'Brien class destroyer
The O'Brien class of destroyers was a class of six ships designed by and built for the United States Navy shortly before the United States entered World War I. The O'Brien class was the third of five classes of destroyers that were known as the "thousand tonners", because they were the first U.S...
of destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
built for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
prior to the American entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The ship was the second US Navy vessel named in honor of Jeremiah O'Brien
Jeremiah O'Brien
Captain Jeremiah O’Brien was a captain in the Massachusetts State Navy. Prior to its existence Captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818) was a captain in the Massachusetts State Navy. Prior to its existence Captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818) was a captain in the Massachusetts State...
and his five brothers Gideon, John, William, Dennis, and Joseph who, together on the sloop Unity, captured a British warship during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
O'Brien was laid down by William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in September 1913 and launched in July 1914. The ship was a little more than 305 ft (93 m) in length, just over 31 ft (9.4 m) abeam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
, and had a standard displacement of 1050 LT (1,066.9 MT). She was armed with four 4 in (101.6 mm) guns and had eight 21 in (533.4 mm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s. O'Brien was powered by a pair of steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s that propelled her at up to 29 kn (35.3 mph; 56.8 km/h).
After her May 1915 commissioning, O'Brien sailed off the east coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. She was one of seventeen destroyers sent out to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine off the Lightship Nantucket
Lightship Nantucket
The Lightship Nantucket station was the name given to the lightvessel which marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals in Massachusetts. Several ships have been commissioned and served at the Nantucket Shoals lightship station and have been called Nantucket...
in October 1916. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, O'Brien was sent overseas to patrol the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
out of Queenstown, Ireland.
After returning to the United States in January 1919, O'Brien revisited European waters in May to serve as one of the picket ships for the NC-type
NC-4
The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat which was designed by Glenn Curtiss and his team, and manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. In May 1919, the NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in the United States and making the crossing as far as Lisbon,...
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s in the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic. O'Brien was decommissioned at Philadelphia in June 1922. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
in March 1935 and sold for scrapping
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in April.
Design and construction
O'Brien was authorized in March 1913 as the lead shipLead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the , which was an improved version of the s authorized in 1911. Construction of the vessel was awarded to William Cramp and Sons
William Cramp and Sons
thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...
of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
which laid down her keel on 8 September 1913. On 20 July 1914, O'Brien was launched by sponsor Miss Marcia Bradbury Campbell, great-great-granddaughter of Gideon O’Brien, one of the ship's namesakes. Gideon and his four brothers—John, William, Dennis, and Joseph—were crewmen aboard sloop Unity, under the command of their brother Jeremiah O’Brien, when that vessel captured on 12 June 1775 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
; the destroyer O'Brien was named after all six brothers, and was the second US Navy vessel named in their honor. As built, the destroyer was 305 in 3 in (93.04 m) in length, 31 in 1 in (9.47 m) abeam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
, and drew 9 in 6 in (2.9 m). The ship had a standard displacement of 1050 LT (1,066.9 MT) and displaced 1171 long tons (1,189.8 MT) when fully loaded.
O'Brien had two Zoelly steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s that drove her two screw propellers, and an additional pair triple-expansion steam engines, each connected to one of the propeller shafts, for cruising purposes. Four oil-burning White-Forster boilers powered the engines, which could generate 17000 shp, moving the ship at up to 29 knots.
O'Briens main battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
consisted of four 4 in (101.6 mm)/50 cal Mark 9 guns,The 50 denotes the length of the gun barrels; in this case, the gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as its bore, or 200 inches (5.1 m) in this case. The Mark number is the version of the gun; in this case, the ninth US Navy design of the 4-inch/50 gun. with each gun weighing in excess of 6100 lb (2,766.9 kg). The guns fired 33 lb (15 kg) armor-piercing
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
projectile
Projectile
A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....
s at 2900 ft/s (883.9 m/s). At an elevation
Elevation (ballistics)
In ballistics, the elevation is the angle between the horizontal plane and the direction of the barrel of a gun, mortar or heavy artillery. Originally, elevation was a linear measure of how high the gunners had to physically lift the muzzle of a gun up from the gun carriage to hit targets at a...
of 20°, the guns had a range of 15920 yd (14,557.2 m).
O'Brien was also equipped with eight 21 in (533.4 mm) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s. The General Board of the United States Navy
General Board of the United States Navy
The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, effectively a naval general staff. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by John Davis Long. The order was officially recognized by Congress in 1916...
had called for two anti-aircraft guns for the O'Brien-class ships, as well as provisions for laying up to 36 floating mines. From sources, it is unclear if these recommendations were followed for O'Brien or any of the other ships of the class.
Pre-World War I
O'Brien was commissioned into the United States Navy on 22 May 1915 under the command of Lieutenant Commander C. E. Courtney, after which she conducted her shakedown cruise between Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, and Hampton Roads, Virginia. In fleet exercises off New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in November, O'Brien collided with the destroyer , in a minor incident that carried away part of Draytons topmast
Topmast
The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these.The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower mast, at the top...
and wireless
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
gear. In December, she was assigned to the 5th Division, Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
. From early 1916-spring of 1917, she operated with the Fleet along the East Coast and in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n waters.
At 0530 on 8 October 1916, wireless
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the Lightship Nantucket
Lightship Nantucket
The Lightship Nantucket station was the name given to the lightvessel which marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals in Massachusetts. Several ships have been commissioned and served at the Nantucket Shoals lightship station and have been called Nantucket...
, off the eastern end of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. After an SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
from the British steamer was received at about 1230, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves
Albert Gleaves
Albert Gleaves was an admiral in the United States Navy, also notable as a naval historian.-Biography:...
ordered O'Brien and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors.According to a report in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on 9 October the other ships, in addition to O'Brien, were the flotilla's destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
, , and fifteen other destroyers: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . A firsthand account of the events by a quartermaster from destroyer , published on 22 October 1916, indicates that ship was present as well.
For the initial report, see:
For the account of McDougals quartermaster, see: The American destroyers arrived on the scene at about 1700 when the U-boat, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose
Hans Rose
Lieutenant Commander Hans Rose was one of the most successful and highly decorated German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during .Rose was one of the most respected and brave U-boat commanders and famous for his humanity and fairness in battle...
, had called at Newport on 7 October 1916, the day before the attacks, to drop off a letter for Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff
Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff
Johann Heinrich Graf von Bernstorff was a German politician and the ambassador to the United States and Mexico from 1908 to 1917.- Early life :...
, the German Ambassador to the United States, and had exchanged courtesy visits with Admirals Albert Gleaves
Albert Gleaves
Albert Gleaves was an admiral in the United States Navy, also notable as a naval historian.-Biography:...
and Austin M. Knight
Austin M. Knight
Austin Melvin Knight was an admiral in the United States Navy. He was commander in chief of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet from 1917 to 1918...
before departing. was in the process of stopping the Holland-America Line cargo ship . Shortly after, U-53 stopped the British passenger ship . As Rose had done with three other ships U-53 had sunk earlier in the day,The other three ships were the British cargo ships West Point and , and the Norwegian tanker
Tank ship
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
. he gave passengers and crew aboard Blommersdijk and Stephano adequate time to abandon the ships before sinking the pair. In total, 226 survivors from U-53s five victims were rescued by the destroyer flotilla.
In February 1917, one of O'Briens gun crews hit a target at 5000 yd (4,572 m) eight times in eight attempts with one of the destroyer's 4 in (101.6 mm) guns, a feat which earned the crew and O'Brien recognition in The Independent, a weekly newsmagazine published in Boston.
World War I
Returning from winter maneuvers off Cuba in March 1917, the ship was in the York RiverYork River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
when the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April, entering World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After fitting out at Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
, she got underway from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 15 May with , , , and , and joined convoy at Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, en route to Ireland. Upon arrival at Queenstown on 24 May, O'Brien was assigned to the 6th Destroyer Division which cooperated with the British forces. She patrolled off the Irish coast in company with other destroyers answering distress calls and meeting eastbound convoys to escort them through the war zone.
While escorting SS Elysia 12 nmi (13.8 mi; 22.2 km) off Queenstown on 16 June, lookouts on O'Brien sighted a periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
. Heading toward the submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
for an attack, a lookout in the foretop saw the submerged boat pass close along the starboard side. A depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
was dropped but no immediate evidence of damage was found. Nearly three hours later, the British vessel reported a large patch of oil in approximately the same position. The next morning, Cushing also reported and confirmed Jessamines report. The British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
believed the submarine was probably seriously damaged. However, later investigation reveals that German submarine , the submarine in question, continued to operate and completed her cruise.
In the summer of 1918, O'Brien was transferred to the French coast where she continued her antisubmarine patrols through the end of the war.
Inter-war period
After the signing of the ArmisticeArmistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
on 11 November, which ended all fighting, O'Brien transported mail and passengers between Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, England. She returned to New York on 8 January 1919, but returned to European waters in May when she served as one of the rescue pickets stationed along the route across the Atlantic flown by three Navy NC-type
NC-4
The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat which was designed by Glenn Curtiss and his team, and manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. In May 1919, the NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in the United States and making the crossing as far as Lisbon,...
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s in the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic.
In July 1920, she was assigned the hull code of DD-51 under the US Navy's alphanumeric classification system. O'Brien was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 5 June 1922. The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 8 March 1935, and broken up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and her materials sold for scrap on 23 April.