- USS Welborn C. Wood (DD-195)
USS "Welborn C. Wood" (DD-195) was a "Clemson"-class
destroyer in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II . She served with theUnited States Coast Guard as USCGD "Wood". She was later transferred to theRoyal Navy as HMS "Chesterfield".As USS "Welborn C. Wood"
Named for
Welborn C. Wood , she was laid down on24 September 1918 atNewport News, Virginia , by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company; launched on6 March 1920 ; sponsored by Miss Virginia Mary Tate; designated DD-195 during the assignment of alphanumeric hull number designations on17 July 1920 ; and commissioned at theNorfolk Navy Yard on14 January 1921 , Lieutenant (Junior Grade)Leon W. Mills in temporary command pending the arrival of Lt. (jg.)Brady J. Dayton 11 days later."Welborn C. Wood" operated off the eastern seaboard with the Atlantic Fleet, on a routine schedule of exercises and maneuvers until decommissioned at Philadelphia on
8 August 1922 .As USCGD "Wood"
During the 1920s
Prohibition gave rise to smuggling of illicit liquor into the United States. In an attempt to deal with this problem, 25 older destroyers were transferred by the Navy to the Treasury Department for service with the Coast Guard to try to enforce a complete Prohibition. Some began to show signs of wear and tear after the often arduous pace of operations on theRum Patrol and required replacement. Accordingly, five of the newer "flush deck" destroyers were transferred to the Treasury Department in 1930 and 1931."Welborn C. Wood" was transferred to the Coast Guard on
1 October 1930 and was simultaneously struck from the Navy list. Reconditioned and commissioned, on15 April 1931 , atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , the destroyer was renumbered CG-19. She arrived at her permanent station,New London, Connecticut , a week later to operate on theRum Patrol . Shifting south toFlorida waters for target practice soon thereafter, she returned to New London upon the conclusion of her exercises and operated out of that port into the autumn of 1932.After another period of routine patrols off the eastern seaboard, she operated with the Navy in
Cuba n waters, offNueva Gerona , in September and October 1933, interrupting her scheduled target practices. Released from this duty on6 November , she sailed north for New York that day, followed by a brief period in New London. The repeal of Prohibition in late 1933 obviated the need for the destroyer's law enforcement duty, and "Welborn C. Wood" was decommissioned once more at Philadelphia on21 May 1934 .Back in the Navy
While the warship lay in reserve, she was reinstated on the Navy list with many of her sisters in Philadelphia's reserve basin as the world situation slowly worsened. On
1 September 1939 , German forces invaded Poland, triggering treaty obligations for France and the UK and hence acasus belli for theSecond World War .President Franklin D. Roosevelt swiftly ordered a
Neutrality Patrol to sea, ostensibly to safeguard American coastlines. The Atlantic Squadron found itself hard pressed to meet the initial demands of the patrol and required additional ships. Accordingly, 77 light minelayers and destroyers on both coasts (San Diego and Philadelphia) were recommissioned for duty on the Neutrality Patrol to augment the units already at sea.On
4 September 1939 , "Welborn C. Wood" was recommissioned at Philadelphia, Lieutenant CommanderRobert E. Cronin in command. She was fitted out for sea and soon sailed to join the Neutrality Patrol. The destroyer conducted these operations interspersed with accelerated training evolutions off the eastern seaboard and into theCaribbean and gulf regions.British destroyer forces had suffered heavily since the outbreak of war and urgently needed reinforcement. Accordingly, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill approached President Roosevelt and theDestroyers for Bases Agreement was established.As of 2005, no other ship has been named USS "Welborn C. Wood".
As HMS "Chesterfield"
"Welborn C. Wood" became one of the first of the 50 over-age destroyers to be transferred to the British government in return for 99-year leases on base sites in the Western Hemisphere as part of the
Destroyers for Bases Agreement . She and the rest of her division, Destroyer Division 67, arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on6 September 1940 . The outgoing US crew familiarised the incoming British crew over the few days prior to the turnover ceremony. On9 September 1940 "Welborn C. Wood" unfurled theUnion Flag ; she was subsequently struck from the Navy list on8 January 1941 .The destroyer was renamed HMS "Chesterfield" (I28). During fitting out, she twice rammed
HMS Churchill (I45) (formerly "Haraden" DD-138) which was lying alongside, before she sailed for theBritish Isles . As part of the first "Town" flotilla, "Chesterfield" sailed forBelfast, Northern Ireland , and arrived at her destination on18 November . Shifting toPlymouth on22 November , the destroyer underwent a refit at Chatham before joining the 11th Escort Group,Western Approaches Command , based atGreenock . "Chesterfield" was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original4"/50 caliber gun s and three of the tripletorpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additionaldepth charge stowage and installation of hedgehog. [Lenton&Colledge (1968) pp.92-94]From 1941 to 1943, "Chesterfield" escorted convoys in the North Atlantic. "Chesterfield" was assigned to Escort Group B-7 of the
Mid-Ocean Escort Force during the winter of 1942-43. [Rohwer&Hummelchen (1992) p.185] Screening Convoy HX-222 with Escort Group C-1 [Rohwer&Hummelchen (1992) p.188] on17 January 1943 , the destroyer attacked U-268 with a depth charge barrage, only to suffer damage from her own charges. Limping to Plymouth for repairs soon thereafter, the ship remained there until November 1943.Allocated to the 5th Western Approaches Command for duty as a target vessel for aircraft, she remained engaged in this significant, but unglamorous, duty through 1944. Subsequently placed in reserve at
Grangemouth ,Firth of Forth , on17 January 1945 "Chesterfield" was eventually broken up for scrap in 1947.ee also
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List of United States Navy destroyers Notes
References
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*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w5/welborn_c_wood.htm
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