The first USS ''Swasey'' (DD-273) 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 ...

and 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 ''Rockingham'' (G58).

Service history

USS ''Swasey''

Named for Charles Swasey, ''Swasey'' 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 ...

on 27 August 1918 by the

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...

, Squantum, Massachusetts; launched on 7 May 1919; sponsored by Ms. Mary L. Swasey; and commissioned on 8 August 1919. ''Swasey'' was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and, after completing fitting out and sailing to the west coast, arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

in the fall of 1919. She served there until the summer of 1922, when she returned to

San Diego, California 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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. ''Swasey'' was decommissioned at San Diego on 10 June 1922 and assigned to the reserve fleet for the next 17 years. ''Swasey'' was reactivated on 18 December 1939 and – after an overhaul and sea trials – transferred to Britain on 26 November 1940 under the

Destroyers for Bases Agreement The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rights ...

. ''Swasey'' 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 January 1941.

HMS ''Rockingham''

''Rockingham'' was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original /50 cals and three 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 ...

. ''Rockingham'' was assigned to Escort Group B-1 of the

Mid-Ocean Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British, and Canadian escorts to these co ...

for convoys ON 96, SC 105, SC 119, ON 171, HX 230 and HX 236 during the winter of 1942–43.Rohwer&Hummelchen (1992) pp.124,135,139,170,185,194,199,202&209 ''Rockingham'' sank on 27 September 1944 while under tow after striking a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

Notes

References

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External links

*http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/273.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Swasey (DD-273) Clemson-class destroyers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1919 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers converted from Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by mines World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in September 1944