- USS Robinson (DD-88)
The first USS "Robinson" (DD-88) was a "Wickes"-class
destroyer in theUnited States Navy , later transferred to theRoyal Navy , as HMS "Newmarket".As USS "Robinson"
Named for
Isaiah Robinson , she was laid down31 October 1917 by theUnion Iron Works ,San Francisco ,California ; launched28 March 1918 ; sponsored by MissEvelyn Tingey Selfridge ; and commissioned at theMare Island Navy Yard 19 October 1918 , Comdr.George Wirth Simpson in command."Robinson" cleared
San Francisco Bay 24 October 1918 for the east coast of theUnited States . Transiting thePanama Canal 3 November 1918 , she set course by way of Guantanamo Bay for Norfolk where she arrived on8 November .On
10 January 1919 "Robinson" put to sea from Norfolk to conduct winter training out of Guantanamo Bay, which ended atNew York Harbor 14 April 1919 . She then prepared for lifeguard duty supporting the first transatlantic flight from America toEurope to be attempted byNavy Seaplane Division Number 1 ."Robinson" got underway from Norfolk on
30 April , arrived at Halifax,Nova Scotia ,4 May 1919 , and stood out toward the entrance of the harbor on the afternoon of8 May . At 7:44 p.m., she sighted the first of the Navy seaplanes, theNC-3 , approach the harbor on the first leg of the transatlantic flight. Two days later "Robinson" took station at sea to assist in guarding the flight of the two seaplanes toTrepassey Bay , Newfoundland, then returned to Halifax11 May and got underway on the 14th to act as plane guard for seaplaneNC-4 which had been delayed by repairs atChatham Naval Air Station , and passed overhead at 4:45 p.m., on15 May , to join the other two seaplanes at Trepassey Bay.After NC-4 faded from view, "Robinson" set course for station on the
Azores route to be followed by the seaplanes from Trepassey Bay,16 May 1919. These seaplanes would be guided on their 1,380-mile flight to the Azores, by "Robinson" and other destroyers who poured smoke from their funnels in daylight and fired starshells or turned on searchlights during the night. The first seaplane passed "Robinson" abeam an hour before midnight of16 May 1919, and the two others also passed within the next 20 minutes.The NC-4 covered the flight in 15 hours and 13 minutes setting down at Horta, the emergency stop in the Azores Islands. This seaplane had found its way above the dense fog which completely blinded the pilots of the others. An hour before the NC-4 landed, the NC-1 was forced to the water about 45 miles off
Flores Island and the NC-3 had also descended about 35 miles fromFayal . The NC-1 sank in the heavy seas and Robinson joined in the search for the NC-3 which refused all assistance and finally taxied toPonta Delgada under its own power."Robinson" anchored at Horta, Fayal Island, the afternoon of
19 May and stood out of the harbor the next morning to transport newspaper reports to Ponta Delgada where she arrived that afternoon. On25 May 1919, she was en route to Station Number Seven (coord|38|10|N|17|40|E|) to cover the fourth leg of the transoceanic flight of the lone NC-4. She sighted the seaplane at 1:30 on the afternoon of26 May and the NC-4 faded from view on its way to a royal welcome by the Portuguese atLisbon on25 May and atPlymouth ,England , on the 31st, terminating the historic 4,500-mile flight."Robinson" returned to Ponta Delgada on
28 May 1919 and put to sea on2 June to arrive at Newport on the 8th. She underwent overhaul in theNorfolk Navy Yard and conducted operations in local areas of Newport until her arrival at New York on30 September 1919. She joined five other destroyers off Sandy Hook on the afternoon of1 October , then made rendezvous offFire Island with the transport "George Washington" to act as honor escort for the King ofBelgium . She cleared port on6 October for operations offKey West and Pensacola,Florida , visitingBeaufort, South Carolina , on her return voyage to New York where she arrived5 November 1919.On
22 November 1919, "Robinson" stood out of New York Harbor, leading the second section of the honor detachment on the port quarter of HMS "Renown", flying the standard of thePrince of Wales , in company with HMS "Constance". She was relieved of her royal escort duty offNantucket Shoals and returned to New York on25 November . After a visit to Savannah, and voyage repairs in thePortsmouth Navy Yard , she clearedBoston Harbor on14 January 1920 for fleet maneuvers off Guantanamo Bay and near thePanama Canal . She returned to New York on1 May 1920 and entered the Portsmouth Navy Yard on25 May 1920 for a year of inactivity. She shifted from the yard to Newport on25 May 1921 for local operations until10 October , then visited New York before her arrival atCharleston, South Carolina , on19 November 1921. After several months in local waters off Charleston, she entered thePhiladelphia Navy Yard where she decommissioned3 August 1922 ."Robinson" remained inactive until
23 August 1940 when she recommissioned for transfer to the British Government under terms of the destroyers-in-exchange-for-bases agreement. The transfer was effected at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on26 November 1940 when "Robinson" was renamed HMS "Newmarket" and taken over by a care and maintenance party of theRoyal Canadian Navy . She was commissioned in theRoyal Navy on5 December 1940, and struck from the U.S. Navy list8 January 1941 .See USS "Robinson" for other ships of this name.
As HMS "Newmarket"
"Newmarket" departed Halifax on
15 January for the United Kingdom, calling at St. John's and arriving atBelfast on the 26th and atPlymouth, England , on the 30th.After a short refit in the
Humber , she began convoy escort work in the Western Approaches Command and on2 June 1941 , was unsuccessfully attacked by an aircraft in the northwestern approaches. Later that month she proceeded toSheerness , and was in dockyard hands until November when she joined the 8th Escort Group, atDerry . "Newmarket" was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original4"/50 caliber gun s and one of the tripletorpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additionaldepth charge stowage and installation of hedgehog. [Lenton&Colledge (1968) p.92]On
3 January 1942 , "Newmarket" had to leave Convoy HX-166 because of boiler trouble, and proceeded toLough Foyle . On the 30th she arrived at Liverpool, and was under refit until the end of March.In April 1942, she escorted the Russian convoy PQ-14, but, a month later, was allocated for duty as an aircraft target ship in the
Firth of Forth . She refitted atLeith between December 1942 and February 1943, and later in the year, refitted again at Rosyth, Scotland. In September 1943, "Newmarket" was reduced to care and maintenance status at Rosyth but resumed duty as an aircraft target ship from the spring of 1944, until after the end of the war in Europe. She was scrapped atLlanelli in September1945 .See also
* USS "Robinson" for other ships of this name
*List of United States Navy destroyers
*List of Royal Navy destroyers
*List of World War II ships
*List of ship launches in 1918
*List of ship commissionings in 1918
*List of ship decommissionings in 1943 Notes
References
*
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r7/robinson-i.htmExternal links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/088.htm NavSource Photos]
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