USS Selfridge (DD-320)
Encyclopedia
The first USS Selfridge (DD-320) was a Clemson-class
Clemson class destroyer
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...

 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...

 in 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...

 following 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...

. She was named for Thomas O. Selfridge
Thomas O. Selfridge
Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War and was the father of Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr....

.

History

Selfridge was laid down on 28 April 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...

, San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

; launched on 25 July 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Katherine Kellond, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Selfridge; and commissioned on 17 February 1921, Commander A. S. Farquhar in command.

Selfridge arrived at her home port, San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, on 16 March 1921 and remained there until June 1922, when she proceeded to the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 area for exercises with the fleet. She returned to San Diego on 12 September for further training. On 6 February 1923, she sailed with the Battle Fleet
Battle Fleet
The United States Battle Fleet or Battle Force was part of the organization of the United States Navy from 1922 to 1941.The General Order of 6 December 1922 organized the United States Fleet, with the Battle Fleet as the Pacific presence. This fleet comprised the main body of ships in the Navy,...

 for the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...

 and conducted exercises there from 26 February to 31 March before returning to San Diego on 11 April. She then underwent overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard from 30 May to 16 July and rejoined the fleet for summer exercises off Washington. On 10 September, she returned to San Pedro, having rescued en route survivors of SS Cuba which had been wrecked on San Miguel Island
San Miguel Island
San Miguel Island is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Channel Islands at , including offshore islands and rocks. Prince Island, off...

 on 8 September.

On 2 January 1924, Selfridge departed San Diego with the Battle Fleet and participated in exercises 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...

 with the United States Fleet
United States Fleet
The United States Fleet was an organization in the United States Navy from 1922 until after World War II. The abbreviation CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet. This title was disposed of and officially replaced by COMINCH in December 1941 . This...

 from 17 January to 6 April. Returning to San Diego on 22 April, she departed on 25 June for exercises off Puget Sound. She was overhauled at Mare Island between 5 August and 1 October and returned to San Diego on 2 October.

Selfridge departed San Diego on 1 April 1925 with the fleet and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 27 April for exercises. Departing on 25 June, she underwent overhaul at Bremerton from 9 August to 3 October and returned to San Diego on 6 October.

On 1 February 1926, Selfridge sailed from San Diego with the Battle Fleet and participated in exercises off Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 before returning to San Diego on 1 April. She arrived in the Puget Sound area on 10 July 1926 and, after receiving repairs at Mare Island from 9 August to 22 September, returned to San Diego on 24 September. In February 1927, she again sailed for the Canal Zone with the fleet and, after transiting the canal on 4 March, conducted exercises in the Caribbean until 22 April. With the fleet, she then visited New York and participated in a joint Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

-Navy exercise in Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...

 before arriving at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 on 29 May for a Presidential Review. She was then assigned duty with the Special Service Squadron
Special Service Squadron
The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the 1920s and 1930s.Under the United States Fleet, the squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.-Commanders:* C.H. Hockson 1907 * Henry...

 protecting lives and property of United States and other foreign citizens in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 and helping peacekeeping operations. She also carried out two patrols off that country, from 18 June to 2 July and 16 July to 26 July. She then proceeded to Mare Island, underwent overhaul there, and returned to San Diego on 30 September.

Selfridge departed San Diego on 9 April 1928 and, after conducting Fleet Problem VIII with the fleet en route, arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 on 28 April. She returned to San Diego on 23 June and, after a two-week training cruise to Honolulu, underwent overhaul at Mare Island from 26 July to 19 September. She resumed exercises at San Diego and, between 27 January and 11 March 1929, participated in the fleet concentration off Panama.

Fate

She returned to San Diego on 22 March 1929 and was decommissioned there on 8 February 1930. Selfridge was struck from the Navy list
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 3 November 1930, scrapped at the Mare Island Navy Yard, and her hulk was sold on 2 September 1931 to Marine Salvage Company, Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

.

External links

  • Mare Island Navy Yard - 1928. Elbridge Ayer Burbank
    Elbridge Ayer Burbank
    Elbridge Ayer Burbank was an American artist who sketched and painted more than 1200 portraits of Native Americans from 125 tribes. He studied art in Chicago and in his 30s traveled to Munich, Germany for additional studies with notable German artists...

    pencil sketch.
  • http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/320.htm
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