USS ''Benham'' (Destroyer No. 49/DD-49) was an built for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
prior to the
American entry into World War I
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry
...
. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Andrew E. K. Benham
Andrew Ellicott Kennedy Benham (April 10, 1832 – August 11, 1905) was an American admiral. In his early career, he served in China, the Pacific and Paraguay. During the American Civil War, he took part in the capture of Port Royal, South Carolina ...
.
''Benham'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
by
William Cramp & Sons
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century.
Company hi ...
of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in March 1912 and
launched in March 1913. The ship was a little more than in length, just over
abeam
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
, and had a standard
displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of . She was armed with four guns and had eight
18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical 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 (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s. ''Benham'' was powered by a pair of
steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s that propelled her at up to .
After her January 1914
commissioning, she assisted her
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
when that ship suffered an explosion in one of her fire rooms in April. After a period in reserve, ''Benham'' served on
Neutrality Patrol
On September 3, 1939, the British and French declarations of war on Germany initiated the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) established a combined air and ship patrol of the United States Atlantic coa ...
duty. As a part of that duty in October 1916, she was one of several U.S. destroyers sent to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine off the
Lightship Nantucket
The station named ''Nantucket'' or ''Nantucket Shoals'' was served by a number of lightvessels (also termed lightships) that marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals south of Nantucket Island. The vessels, given numbers as their "name," had the sta ...
. She picked up officers and crew from a Dutch
cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
before the U-boat sank it. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, ''Benham'' was sent overseas to patrol the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
out of
:Queenstown, Ireland. ''Benham'' made several unsuccessful attacks on U-boats. During her overseas service, ''Benham'' was rammed by and nearly sunk.
Upon returning to the United States after the war in January 1919, ''Benham'' was placed in reduced commission. After alternating periods of activity and time in reserve, ''Benham'' was
decommission
Decommissioning is a general term for a formal process to remove something from an active status, and may refer to:
Infrastructure
* Decommissioned offshore
* Decommissioned highway
* Greenfield status of former industrial sites
* Nuclear decommi ...
ed at Philadelphia in July 1922. She was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) 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 t ...
in March 1935 and ordered
scrapped
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
in April.
Design and construction
''Benham'' was authorized in March 1911 as the third of four ships of the , which was almost identical to the s authorized at the same time.
[The is considered a part of the by ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' (p. 122), but is classed separately by the United States Navy. See, for example, ] Construction of the vessel—like her three sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s—was awarded to William Cramp & Sons
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century.
Company hi ...
of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
which laid down her keel on 14 March 1912.[ On 22 March 1913, ''Benham'' was launched by sponsor Edith Wallace Benham, daughter of the ship's namesake, Andrew Ellicot Kennedy Benham. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of the American admiral.][ As built, the destroyer was in length, ]abeam
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...
, and drew
Drew may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places
;In the United States
* Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Drew, Mississippi, a city
* Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community
* Drew County, Arkansas
* ...
.[ The ship had a standard ]displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of and displaced when fully loaded.[
''Benham'' had two ]steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s that drove her two screw propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s, and an additional pair triple-expansion steam engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...
s, each connected to one of the propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
s, for cruising purposes. Four oil-burning boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
s powered the engines, which could generate , moving the ship at the design speed of ;[ ''Benham'' exceeded her contracted speed in her trials in December 1913, when she averaged over five runs off the ]Delaware Breakwater
The Delaware Breakwater is a set of breakwaters east of Lewes, Delaware on Cape Henlopen that form Lewes Harbor. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1976.
The original and breakwaters were built in 1828 ...
.
''Benham''s main battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
consisted of four /50 caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
Mark 9 guns,[The ''50'' denotes the length of the gun barrels; in this case, the gun is 50 ]calibers
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as its bore, or in this case. The Mark number is the version of the gun; in this case, the ninth U.S. Navy design of the 4-inch/50 gun. with each gun weighing in excess of .[ The guns fired ]armor-piercing
Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour.
From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armour carried on many warsh ...
projectile
A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found in ...
s at . At an elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of 20°, the guns had a range of .[ In early 1917, ''Benham''s single guns were replaced with twin guns on an experimental basis. However, before ''Benham'' departed for overseas service during World War I, her original single gun mounts had been restored.][ ''Benham'' was also equipped with four twin mount ]torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical 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 (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s.[
]
Pre-World War I
USS ''Benham'' was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on 20 January 1914 under the command of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
Charles J. Train. In February and March, ''Benham'' conducted a shakedown cruise
Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise s ...
to the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
and, in April, began operations out of Hampton Roads, Virginia
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...
.[ On 6 April, ''Benham'' and ]sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s and were exercising off the North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
coast, about off the Diamond Shoals lightship
Diamond Shoal Light is an inactive offshore lighthouse marking Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras.
History
Diamond Shoals, which extend many miles out from Cape Hatteras, is considered to be one of the most dangerous spots on the Atlantic seaboar ...
. An explosion ripped through the forward fire room on ''Aylwin'', injuring three men. ''Benham'' loaded the three wounded sailors and sped to the naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, while ''Parker'' took on the remainder of ''Aylwin''s crew. One of the injured men died on ''Benham'' before landfall was made in Virginia;[ another died a short time later.] ''Aylwin'' remained afloat but, unmanned, was towed into Norfolk by ''Parker'' and U.S. Navy tug .[ The crews of all three destroyers raised $250 to help defray funeral expenses for the widow of one of the men.][ In July, the ''Benham'' went into reserve at the ]New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
. She came back into active service on 21 December 1914.[
In August 1916, the U.S. Navy conducted what '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called the "greatest war game undertaken by the American Navy." In the scenario, a 'Blue' force defended the East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
against a 'Red' force attempting an amphibious landing. ''Benham'', scouting for the Blue force, was the first to spot the inbound Red transports and their escorts, but an attack on the transports by the Red force was repulsed, leading to a Blue victory.
Prior to the entrance of the United States into World War I, she served on Neutrality Patrol
On September 3, 1939, the British and French declarations of war on Germany initiated the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) established a combined air and ship patrol of the United States Atlantic coa ...
duty, trying to protect American and neutral-flagged merchant ships from interference by British or German warships and U-boats.[ In the course of performing those duties, ''Benham'' was at ]Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, in early October 1916. At 05:30 on 8 October, wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the Lightship Nantucket
The station named ''Nantucket'' or ''Nantucket Shoals'' was served by a number of lightvessels (also termed lightships) that marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals south of Nantucket Island. The vessels, given numbers as their "name," had the sta ...
, off the eastern end of Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. After an SOS
is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...
from the British steamship ''West Point'' was received at about 12:30, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves
Albert Gleaves (January 1, 1858 – January 6, 1937) was a decorated admiral in the United States Navy, also notable as a naval historian.
Biography
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Gleaves graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877. A ...
ordered ''Benham'' and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors.[According to a report in '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on 9 October the other ships, in addition to ''Benham'', were the flotilla's destroyer tender
A destroyer tender or destroyer depot ship is a type of depot ship: an auxiliary 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 ...
, , and 15 other destroyers: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . A firsthand account of the events by a quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...
from destroyer , published on 22 October 1916, indicates that ship was present as well.
For the initial report, see:
For the account of ''McDougal''s quartermaster, see: The American destroyers arrived on the scene about 17:00 when the U-boat, under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer and ...
'' Hans Rose
Hans Rose (April 18, 1885 – December 6, 1969) was one of the most successful and highly decorated German U-boat commanders in the '' Kaiserliche Marine'' during . He sank 79 ships for a total of during the war.
World War I
In September 1916, ...
,[ 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 Graf von Bernstorff (14 November 1862 – 6 October 1939) was a German politician and ambassador to the United States from 1908 to 1917.
Early life
Born in 1862 in London, he was the son of one of the most powerful politicians ...
, the German Ambassador to the United States, and had exchanged courtesy visits with Admirals Albert Gleaves
Albert Gleaves (January 1, 1858 – January 6, 1937) was a decorated admiral in the United States Navy, also notable as a naval historian.
Biography
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Gleaves graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877. A ...
and Austin M. Knight
Austin Melvin Knight (December 16, 1854 – February 26, 1927) was an admiral in the United States Navy. He was commander in chief of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet from 1917 to 1918. His 1901 textbook ''Modern Seamanship'' was a standard reference for ov ...
before departing. was in the process of stopping the Holland America Line
Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...
cargo ship . Shortly after, ''U-53'' stopped the British passenger ship .[Long, pp. 93–94.] 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 ''Strathdene'', and the Norwegian tanker ''Christian Knutsen''.] he gave passengers and crew aboard ''Blommersdijk'' and ''Stephano'' adequate time to abandon the ships before sinking the pair.[Long, p. 93.] In total, 226 survivors from ''U-53''s five victims were rescued by the destroyer flotilla. ''Benham'' picked up the captain of and crewmen from ''Blommersdijk'' for transport to Newport.
World War I
After the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, ''Benham'' was one of the first group of destroyers chosen for anti-submarine duty in European waters. She departed Tompkinsville, New York
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City. Named for Daniel D. Tompkins, sixth Vice President of the United States (1817-1825), the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing U ...
on 17 May and arrived in Queenstown, Ireland on 24 May. Four days later, the destroyer began the first of many tours of duty at sea hunting U-boats and shepherding convoys to their destinations.[
Her first encounter with U-boats came on 13 July when she was apparently attacked by two submarines. They launched a total of three torpedoes at ''Benham'', but she and her convoy evaded them. The destroyer then drove them away with a depth charge attack. On 30 July, while she was on her way to Queenstown, the destroyer spied the wake of another torpedo some from her. Immediately, she charged to the attack with guns and depth charges. Later, her crew sighted air bubbles and oil on the surface. The British Admiralty commended her for probable damage to a German U-boat. The destroyer continued her patrols out of Queenstown until June 1918 when she moved to ]Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...
, her base of operations through the end of the war.[
In September 1917, during her European wartime service, ''Benham'' was rammed by the British HMS ''Zinnia''.] The event is not mentioned in the ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy.
When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...
'';[ the extent of the damage to both ships is unknown.
A photograph from the U.S. Navy's ]Naval History & Heritage Command
The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...
website shows a nearly sunken ''Benham'' moored between two ships.[
]
Postwar
On 21 December 1918, ''Benham'' put to sea from Brest for the last time and began the voyage back to the United States. Rejoining the Atlantic Fleet at the beginning of 1919, the warship participated in the annual fleet maneuvers held in Cuban waters and then made a cruise to the Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
in May. Upon her return to the United States that summer, she was placed in ordinary
''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...
at Norfolk on 28 June. Active again in 1921, she patrolled the eastern seaboard until assigned duty as plane guard and tender to the Atlantic Fleet Air Squadrons. That duty terminated in May 1922, and she stood into Philadelphia on 12 May to prepare for inactivation.[
''Benham'' was ]decommission
Decommissioning is a general term for a formal process to remove something from an active status, and may refer to:
Infrastructure
* Decommissioned offshore
* Decommissioned highway
* Greenfield status of former industrial sites
* Nuclear decommi ...
ed at Philadelphia on 7 July 1922.[ The ship was struck from the ]Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) 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 t ...
on 8 March 1935,[ and, on 23 April, was ordered ]scrapped
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries.
Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the cit ...
.[
]
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benham (Dd-49)
Aylwin-class destroyers
Ships built by William Cramp & Sons
1913 ships
World War I destroyers of the United States