.gif)
USS Welborn C. Wood (DD-195)
Encyclopedia
USS Welborn C. Wood (DD-195) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II
. She served with the United States Coast Guard
as USCGD Wood. She was later transferred to the Royal Navy
as HMS Chesterfield.
, she was laid down on 24 September 1918 at Newport News, Virginia
, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
; launched on 6 March 1920; sponsored by Miss Virginia Mary Tate; designated DD-195 during the assignment of alphanumeric hull number designations on 17 July 1920; and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 14 January 1921, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Leon W. Mills in temporary command pending the arrival of Lt. (jg.) Brady J. Dayton 11 days later.
Welborn C. Wood operated off the eastern seaboard with the Atlantic Fleet
, on a routine schedule of exercises and maneuvers until decommissioned at Philadelphia on 8 August 1922.
gave rise to smuggling of illicit liquor into the United States. In an attempt to deal with this problem, 25 older destroyers were transferred by the Navy to the Treasury Department
for service with the Coast Guard to try to enforce a complete Prohibition. Some began to show signs of wear and tear after the often arduous pace of operations on the Rum Patrol
and required replacement. Accordingly, five of the newer "flush deck" destroyers were transferred to the Treasury Department in 1930 and 1931.
Welborn C. Wood was transferred to the Coast Guard on 1 October 1930 and was simultaneously struck from the Navy list
. Reconditioned and commissioned, on 15 April 1931, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, the destroyer was renumbered CG-19. She arrived at her permanent station, New London, Connecticut
, a week later to operate on the Rum Patrol
. Shifting south to Florida
waters for target practice soon thereafter, she returned to New London upon the conclusion of her exercises and operated out of that port into the autumn of 1932.
After another period of routine patrols off the eastern seaboard, she operated with the Navy in Cuba
n waters, off Nueva Gerona
, in September and October 1933, interrupting her scheduled target practices. Released from this duty on 6 November, she sailed north for New York that day, followed by a brief period in New London. The repeal of Prohibition in late 1933 obviated the need for the destroyer's law enforcement duty, and Welborn C. Wood was decommissioned once more at Philadelphia on 21 May 1934.
for the Second World War.
President
Franklin D. Roosevelt swiftly ordered a Neutrality Patrol
to sea, ostensibly to safeguard American coastlines. The Atlantic Squadron found itself hard pressed to meet the initial demands of the patrol and required additional ships. Accordingly, 77 light minelayers and destroyers on both coasts (San Diego and Philadelphia) were recommissioned for duty on the Neutrality Patrol to augment the units already at sea.
On 4 September 1939, Welborn C. Wood was recommissioned at Philadelphia, Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Cronin in command. She was fitted out for sea and soon sailed to join the Neutrality Patrol. The destroyer conducted these operations interspersed with accelerated training evolutions off the eastern seaboard and into the Caribbean
and gulf regions.
British destroyer forces had suffered heavily since the outbreak of war and urgently needed reinforcement. Accordingly, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
approached President Roosevelt and the Destroyers for Bases Agreement
was established.
As of 2005, no other U.S. Navy ship has been named USS Welborn C. Wood.
. She and the rest of her division, Destroyer Division 67, arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia
, on 6 September 1940. The outgoing US crew familiarised the incoming British crew over the few days prior to the turnover ceremony. On 9 September 1940 Welborn C. Wood unfurled the Union Flag
; she was subsequently struck from the Navy list on 8 January 1941.
The destroyer was renamed HMS Chesterfield (I28). During fitting out, she twice rammed HMS Churchill (formerly Haraden DD-138) which was lying alongside, before she sailed for the British Isles
. As part of the first "Town"
flotilla, Chesterfield sailed for Belfast, Northern Ireland, and arrived at her destination on 18 November. Shifting to Plymouth
on 22 November, the destroyer underwent a refit at Chatham
before joining the 11th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command
, based at Greenock
. Chesterfield was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4"/50 caliber guns and three of the triple torpedo
tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge
stowage and installation of hedgehog
.
From 1941 to 1943, Chesterfield escorted convoys in the North Atlantic. Chesterfield was assigned to Escort Group B-7 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force
during the winter of 1942-43. Screening Convoy HX-222 with Escort Group C-1 on 17 January 1943, the destroyer attacked U-268
with a depth charge barrage, only to suffer damage from her own charges. Limping to Plymouth for repairs soon thereafter, the ship remained there until November 1943.
Allocated to the 5th Western Approaches Command for duty as a target vessel for aircraft, she remained engaged in this significant, but unglamorous, duty through 1944. Subsequently placed in reserve at Grangemouth
, Firth of Forth
, on 17 January 1945 Chesterfield was eventually broken up for scrap in 1947.
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...
during 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...
. She served with the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
as USCGD Wood. She was later 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...
as HMS Chesterfield.
As USS Welborn C. Wood
Named for Welborn C. WoodWelborn C. Wood
Welborn Cicero Wood was an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War.Born in Georgia, Wood was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 6 September 1895. He served as a midshipman on the battleship Texas during the war with Spain in 1898, before graduating with the...
, she was laid down on 24 September 1918 at Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
Northrop Grumman Newport News
Newport News Shipbuilding , originally Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , was the largest privately-owned shipyard in the United States prior to being purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2001...
; launched on 6 March 1920; sponsored by Miss Virginia Mary Tate; designated DD-195 during the assignment of alphanumeric hull number designations on 17 July 1920; and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 14 January 1921, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Leon W. Mills in temporary command pending the arrival of Lt. (jg.) Brady J. Dayton 11 days later.
Welborn C. Wood operated off the eastern seaboard with the Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
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...
, on a routine schedule of exercises and maneuvers until decommissioned at Philadelphia on 8 August 1922.
As USCGD Wood
During the 1920s ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
gave rise to smuggling of illicit liquor into the United States. In an attempt to deal with this problem, 25 older destroyers were transferred by the Navy to the Treasury Department
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
for service with the Coast Guard to try to enforce a complete Prohibition. Some began to show signs of wear and tear after the often arduous pace of operations on the Rum Patrol
Rum Patrol
The Rum Patrol was an operation of the United States Coast Guard to interdict liquor smuggling vessels, known as "rum runners" in order to enforce prohibition in American waters. On 18 December 1917, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states by Congress...
and required replacement. Accordingly, five of the newer "flush deck" destroyers were transferred to the Treasury Department in 1930 and 1931.
Welborn C. Wood was transferred to the Coast Guard on 1 October 1930 and was simultaneously 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...
. Reconditioned and commissioned, on 15 April 1931, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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,...
, the destroyer was renumbered CG-19. She arrived at her permanent station, New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, a week later to operate on the Rum Patrol
Rum Patrol
The Rum Patrol was an operation of the United States Coast Guard to interdict liquor smuggling vessels, known as "rum runners" in order to enforce prohibition in American waters. On 18 December 1917, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states by Congress...
. Shifting south to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
waters for target practice soon thereafter, she returned to New London upon the conclusion of her exercises and operated out of that port into the autumn of 1932.
After another period of routine patrols off the eastern seaboard, she operated with the Navy 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, off Nueva Gerona
Nueva Gerona
Nueva Gerona is the capital city of the Isla de la Juventud special municipality of Cuba. The city is located between the hills of Caballos and Casas, about 3 km up the Río Casas, which provides a navigable waterway to the Caribbean Sea....
, in September and October 1933, interrupting her scheduled target practices. Released from this duty on 6 November, she sailed north for New York that day, followed by a brief period in New London. The repeal of Prohibition in late 1933 obviated the need for the destroyer's law enforcement duty, and Welborn C. Wood was decommissioned once more at Philadelphia on 21 May 1934.
Back in the Navy
While the warship lay in reserve, she was reinstated on the Navy list with many of her sisters in Philadelphia's reserve basin as the world situation slowly worsened. On 1 September 1939, German forces invaded Poland, triggering treaty obligations for France and the UK and hence a casus belliCasus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...
for the Second World War.
President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt swiftly ordered a Neutrality Patrol
Neutrality Patrol
At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
to sea, ostensibly to safeguard American coastlines. The Atlantic Squadron found itself hard pressed to meet the initial demands of the patrol and required additional ships. Accordingly, 77 light minelayers and destroyers on both coasts (San Diego and Philadelphia) were recommissioned for duty on the Neutrality Patrol to augment the units already at sea.
On 4 September 1939, Welborn C. Wood was recommissioned at Philadelphia, Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Cronin in command. She was fitted out for sea and soon sailed to join the Neutrality Patrol. The destroyer conducted these operations interspersed with accelerated training evolutions off the eastern seaboard and into 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...
and gulf regions.
British destroyer forces had suffered heavily since the outbreak of war and urgently needed reinforcement. Accordingly, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
approached President Roosevelt and 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...
was established.
As of 2005, no other U.S. Navy ship has been named USS Welborn C. Wood.
As HMS Chesterfield
Welborn C. Wood became one of the first of the 50 over-age destroyers to be transferred to the British government in return for 99-year leases on base sites in the Western Hemisphere as part of the Destroyers for Bases AgreementDestroyers 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...
. She and the rest of her division, Destroyer Division 67, arrived 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...
, on 6 September 1940. The outgoing US crew familiarised the incoming British crew over the few days prior to the turnover ceremony. On 9 September 1940 Welborn C. Wood unfurled the Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
; she was subsequently struck from the Navy list on 8 January 1941.
The destroyer was renamed HMS Chesterfield (I28). During fitting out, she twice rammed HMS Churchill (formerly Haraden DD-138) which was lying alongside, before she sailed for the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. As part of the first "Town"
Town class destroyer
The Town class destroyers were warships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for military bases in the Bahamas and elsewhere, as outlined in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between Britain and United States, signed on 2 September 1940...
flotilla, Chesterfield sailed for Belfast, Northern Ireland, and arrived at her destination on 18 November. Shifting to 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...
on 22 November, the destroyer underwent a refit at Chatham
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
before joining the 11th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command
Western Approaches Command
Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsible for the safety of British shipping in the Western...
, based at Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
. Chesterfield was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4"/50 caliber guns and three of the triple torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional 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...
stowage and installation of hedgehog
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
.
From 1941 to 1943, Chesterfield escorted convoys in the North Atlantic. Chesterfield was assigned to Escort Group B-7 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...
during the winter of 1942-43. Screening Convoy HX-222 with Escort Group C-1 on 17 January 1943, the destroyer attacked U-268
Unterseeboot 268
German submarine U-268 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.Commissioned on 29 July 1942, U-268 served with 8th U-boat Flotilla for training and later served with 1st U-boat Flotilla from 1 to 19 February 1943.-Service history:U-268 departed...
with a depth charge barrage, only to suffer damage from her own charges. Limping to Plymouth for repairs soon thereafter, the ship remained there until November 1943.
Allocated to the 5th Western Approaches Command for duty as a target vessel for aircraft, she remained engaged in this significant, but unglamorous, duty through 1944. Subsequently placed in reserve at Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
, Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, on 17 January 1945 Chesterfield was eventually broken up for scrap in 1947.