The first USS ''Evans'' (DD–78) was a in 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 ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, later transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as HMS ''Mansfield''.

Construction and career

United States Navy

Named for Robley Dunglison Evans, she was launched on 30 October 1918 by

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...

; sponsored by Mrs. D. N. Sewell, granddaughter 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 ...

Evans. The ship was commissioned on 11 November 1918, Commander

Frank H. Sadler Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

in command. After a training and outfitting period which included a maiden voyage 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 ...

, ''Evans'' departed

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, ...

on 10 June 1919 for European waters, where she operated until 22 August, returning then to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She sailed once more on 11 September, and after patrolling off

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, reached her assigned home port,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, on 14 November. Through the next two years, ''Evans'' joined in a training schedule which found her ranging the eastern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, Chile, to

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

. She was placed in reserve at San Diego 6 October 1921, and decommissioned on 29 May 1922. Recommissioned on 1 April 1930, she operated out of San Diego for six months, then was assigned to duty training members of the naval reserve out of New York City, where she arrived 6 December 1930. She returned to San Diego 26 March 1932, to sail with the Battle Fleet on training cruises and in exercises along the west coast and in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

n waters. Once more out of commission from 31 March 1937 to 30 September 1939, ''Evans'' arrived at

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

on 11 December 1939 for

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 in the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

, and exercises in various parts of the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. On 24 September 1940, she sailed from Key West for Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, where she was decommissioned 23 October 1940, and transferred to the

in the land bases for destroyers exchange.

Royal Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, and Royal Canadian Navy service

Commissioned as HMS ''Mansfield'', a , the destroyer had a truly international career, for between December 1940 and March 1942; she was on loan to the

exiled ''Exiled'' () is a 2006 Hong Kong action drama film produced and directed by Johnnie To, and starring Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung, Josie Ho, Roy Cheung and Lam Suet, with special appearances by Richie Jen and Simon Yam. The action ...

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, 3 ...

. As HNoMS ''Mansfield'', she raided a fish oil factory in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

hands at

Øksfjord Øksfjord ( sme, Ákšovuotna) is a village in Norway. Øksfjord is visited by the coastal service Hurtigruten boat daily, stopping here between stops at Skjervøy and Hammerfest. Since most of Loppa municipality is inaccessible by car, Øksfjord ...

near

Hammerfest Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...

, Norway. Her landing party destroyed the factory's essential machinery, and attempted to capture the local

quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for ''traitor''. The word ori ...

leader, but he escaped. With her Norwegian crew, she also served on escort duty in the North Atlantic, continuing in this vital assignment after she returned to the Royal Navy. ''Mansfield'' was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4-inch/50-caliber guns and one of the triple

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 ...

mounts to reduce topside weight for additional

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

stowage and installation of

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introducti ...

.Lenton & Colledge (1968) p.91 In March 1942 she was transferred to the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

as HMCS ''Mansfield'', and served with the Western Local Escort Force based on Halifax and St. John's. With newer escorts available, in November 1943 the veteran of service in four navies was reduced to care and maintenance service at Halifax, and on 22 June 1944 she was paid off (decommissioned). Her bell, still lettered "USS Evans", is preserved at the

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The museum is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

Notes

References

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External links

Photos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans (DD-78) Wickes-class destroyers Ships built in Bath, Maine 1918 ships Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers converted from Wickes-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Town-class destroyers of the Royal Norwegian Navy World War II destroyers of Norway