USS Downes (DD-45)

USS Downes (DD-45) underway in 1915 undergoing sea trials.
History
United States
Name	Downes
Namesake	Captain John Downes
Builder	New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey
Cost	$805,490.17[1]
Laid down	27 June 1912
Launched	8 November 1913
Sponsored by	Mrs. M. H. Simons, great-granddaughter of Captain Downes
Commissioned	11 February 1915
Decommissioned	6 June 1922
Stricken	5 July 1934
Identification	Hull symbol:DD-45 Code letters:NIN
Fate	Transferred to the United States Coast Guard, 28 April 1924 Sold 22 August 1934, broken up for scrap
Notes	Downes lost her name to new construction 1 July 1933
United States
Name	Downes
Acquired	28 April 1924[2]
Commissioned	14 October 1924[2]
Decommissioned	18 November 1930[2]
Identification	Hull symbol:CG-4
Fate	Returned to the Navy on 22 May 1931.
General characteristics [3]
Class and type	Cassin-class destroyer
Displacement	1,072 long tons (1,089 t)[4]
Length	305 ft 3 in (93.04 m)
Beam	31 ft 2 in (9.50 m)
Draft	9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) (mean)[4]
Installed power	oil fired boilers 16,000 ihp (12,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Direct Drive Turbines With Triple Expansion Cruising Engines 2 × shafts
Speed	29.5 kn (33.9 mph; 54.6 km/h) 29 kn (33 mph; 54 km/h) (Speed on Trial)[4]
Complement	5 officers 96 enlisted (USN)[5] 6 officers, 82 enlisted (USCG)[6]
Armament	USN: 4 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 caliber guns 8 × 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (4 × 2) USCG: 3 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 cal guns 1 × 1-pdr[6]

The first USS Downes (DD-45) was a Cassin-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was later transferred to the United States Coast Guard, where she was designated CG-4. She was named for Captain John Downes.

Construction

Downes was launched on 8 November 1913 by New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey. She was sponsored by Mrs. M. H. Simons, great-granddaughter of Captain Downes and outfitted for service at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Downes was commissioned on 11 February 1915.

World War I

Downes conducted her shakedown off New York and in Chesapeake Bay, and then returned to Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she was placed in ordinary from 4 October 1915 – 26 May 1917 for the construction and installation of new machinery by the contractor. Fitted out for distant service, she sailed from New York on 18 October 1917 for Devonport, England, arriving on 7 November.

Downes was based at Queenstown, Ireland, from 17 November 1917 – 5 December 1918, and operated on convoy escort duty inbound to British ports, across the channel, and outbound to rendezvous with the ocean escorts. She patrolled against submarines off the Irish coast, making numerous attacks with no sure results and with other destroyers aided distressed ships. On two occasions her efficiency won commendations from the British Admiralty, once for her protection of the torpedoed Manley and again for the rescue and salvage of a British submarine.

Inter-war period

Downes arrived at Brest, France on 6 December to meet and escort President Woodrow Wilson embarked in George Washington, passing in review before returning to Queenstown on 14 December. The day after Christmas she sailed for the United States, arriving at Norfolk, Virginia on 18 January 1919. After winter maneuvers in Cuban waters, she returned to New York on 14 March. Downes reported to Norfolk on 5 May for overhaul and on 31 May was placed in ordinary. Returned to full commission, she sailed for Newport, Rhode Island on 12 May 1921 for summer maneuvers.

From 22 October – 20 March 1922, she lay at Charleston, South Carolina, and on 24 March arrived at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Downes was placed out of commission there on 6 June and laid up.

She was transferred to the United States Coast Guard on 28 April 1924. She initially served at the Academy as a practice ship. Later, she was part of the Rum Patrol.^[6] Returned to Naval custody at Philadelphia on 22 May 1931, Downes was scrapped and sold on 22 August 1934 in accordance with the London Naval Treaty.

Citations

References

• Bauer, Karl Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. United States of America: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 350. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
• Griffin, R. M. (May 1915). "Descriptions and Trials of U.S. Torpedo Boat Destroyer Downes". Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers. XXVII (2): 409–425.
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Photo gallery of Downes at NavSource Naval History

This page was last edited on 23 April 2024, at 00:04