Clemson class destroyer
Encyclopedia
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with 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...
from after 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...
through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
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 Corporation, 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...
, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
, Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
and Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
, some quite rapidly. The Clemson class was a minor redesign of the Wickes class
Wickes class destroyer
The Wickes-class destroyers were a group of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917-1919. Along with the 6 preceding Caldwell class and 155 subsequent Clemson-class destroyers, they formed the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" class. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World...
, and was the last pre-World War II class of flush-decker destroyers to be built for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Until the , the Clemsons were the most numerous class of destroyers commissioned in the United States Navy, and were known colloquially as "four-stackers" or "four-pipers."
Design evolution
As finally built, the Clemson class would be a fairly straight forward expansion of the Wickes-class destroyers. While the Wickes class had given good service there was a desire to build a class more tailored towards the anti-submarine role, and as such several design studies were completed mainly about designing the class with better range. These designs included a reduction in speed to between 26 and 28 knots, freeing up displacement for depth charges and more fuel..jpg)
In operation
As with the preceding class, the Class Type found that the tapered stern, which made for a nice depth charge deployment feature, dug into the water and increased the turning radius. While the increased rudder size helped, the answer would be in a redesigned stern. They were reported to be prone to heavy rolling in light loaded conditions. The flush deck gave the hull great strength but this also made the deck very wet.History
Fourteen ships of the class were involved in the Honda Point DisasterHonda Point Disaster
The Honda Point Disaster was the largest peacetime loss of U.S. Navy ships. On the evening of September 8, 1923, seven destroyers, while traveling at 20 knots , ran aground at Honda Point, a few miles from the northern side of the Santa Barbara Channel off Point Arguello on the coast in Santa...
in 1923, of which seven were lost.
Most never saw wartime service, as many were decommissioned in 1930 and scrapped as part of the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
. In 1936 only some 169 of the flush deck destroyers would be left, four of them Caldwell class and the rest of them Wickes and Clemson class.
Nineteen were transferred to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1940 as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement
Destroyers for Bases Agreement
The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty mothballed destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions...
where they became part of the Town class. Others were upgraded or converted to highspeed transports or seaplane tenders and served through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Most ships remaining in service during World War II were rearmed with dual-purpose 3"/50 caliber guns to provide better anti-aircraft protection. The AVD seaplane tender conversions received 2 guns; the APD transport, DM minelayer, and DMS minesweeper conversions received 3 guns, and those retaining destroyer classification received 6. Their original low-angle 4"/50 caliber guns (Mark 9) were transferred to Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June, 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft...
for anti-submarine protection. For the ships converted to minesweepers, the twelve 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes were replaced by minesweeping gear.
was scuttled at Soerabaja
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
on March 2, 1942, following the surrender of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
to the Japanese. She was raised, repaired and recomissioned as a patrol boat by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. She was recaptured by the US Navy following the end of World War II. In addition, 17 Clemson-class destroyers were lost during the war.