- USS Moody (DD-277)
USS "Moody" (DD-277) was a "Clemson"-class
destroyer in theUnited States Navy followingWorld War I . She was named for JusticeWilliam Henry Moody .History
"Moody" was laid down
December 9 ,1918 and launchedJune 28 ,1919 byBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation ; and commissionedDecember 10 ,1919 Commander James D. Wilson in command.Assigned to the
U.S. Pacific Fleet , "Moody" departed Boston9 February 1920 , loaded torpedoes and ammunition atNewport, Rhode Island , and steamed viaNew York , Guantanamo and thePanama Canal to the west coast, arrivingSan Diego, California on the 31st. The flush-decked four stacker operated along theCalifornia coast through June and then departedSan Francisco, California 1 July forWashington where on the 10th she joined the cruise of Secretary of the NavyJosephus Daniels , Interior Secretary John B. Payne, and AdmiralHugh Rodman , Commander of the Pacific Fleet, toAlaska . On an inspection tour of Alaskan coal and oil fields and looking for possible fleet anchorages, the cruise touched at nine ports including Sitka,Duncan Day , and Juneau, and lasted for nearly 1 month. "Moody" returned to San Diego31 August to operate off the California coast in training and in battle exercises for 2 months. She put into San Diego10 October , remaining there and decommissioning15 June 1922 .The destroyer recommissioned
27 September 1923 , Lt. E. A. Zehner in command. Assigned to Destroyer Squadrons,Battle Fleet , the ship operated along the Pacific coast for the next 19 months and then on27 May 1925 departedBremerton, Washington for fleet exercises in theHawaiian Islands . Operating out ofPearl Harbor andLahaina Roads for 1 month, she then departed Pearl1 July for the South Pacific, stopped at Pago Pago,American Samoa , and then made good will visits toMelbourne ,Australia , andDunedin andWellington ,New Zealand . Returning viaHonolulu to San Diego26 September , "Moody" then resumed west coast operations into 1927, including a voyage toPanama between February and April 1926.On
17 February 1927 , she sailed from San Diego for tactical maneuvers with theUnited States Fleet in theCaribbean . Proceeding through the Panama Canal4 March , she arrived Guantanamo18 March and operated out of that port andGonaives on Fleet Problem 7, involving the defense of the Panama Canal until22 April . She then proceeded to New York for repairs, sailing for home16 May , arriving San Diego25 June .The destroyer remained in service with the Battle Fleet through mid-1929. From April to June 1928, she made another cruise to Hawaii with the fleet for the extensive exercises of Fleet Problem 8. She sailed to
Mexico andPanama in early 1929 and then in July cruised to the Pacific Northwest, as far north asKetchikan .Fate
"Moody" decommissioned at San Diego
2 June 1930 . She was towed toMare Island Navy Yard arriving on the 8th. The destroyer was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on3 November in accordance with the London Treaty limiting naval armaments. Most of her superstructure was sold as scrap metal10 June 1931 and she was sold toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer for about US$35,000. Ex-"Moody" was altered to represent a German destroyer, and charges ofdynamite were set at carefully planned locations. On the afternoon21 February 1933 , the first charge was detonated, splitting ex-"Moody" between two watertight compartments so she continued to float after breaking up. Then two other detonations breached the watertight bulkheads, sinking the hulk later that evening. The explosions and sinkings were filmed as the destruction caused bytorpedo es from the fictional American submarine "AL-14" (played by USS "S-31" (SS-136)) in the 1933submarine movie "Hell Below ".References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m14/moody.htm
External links
*http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/277.htm
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