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USS Breckinridge (DD-148/ AG-112) was a Wickes class destroyer that spent most of the Second World War on convoy escort and anti-submarine duties in the Atlantic.
The Breckinridge was named after Joseph Cabell Breckinridge, a junior naval officer who was drowned on 11 February 1898 while serving on USS Cushing (Torpedo Boat No.1).
The Breckinridge was launched on 17 August 1918 and commissioned on 27 February 1919. She joined the Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, then based at Guantanamo Bay. Her main duty during this period was to help with development of sonar. She was decommissioned on 30 June 1922.
The Breckinridge was recommissioned in May 1930 and joined the Scouting Force on the East Coast. Towards the end of 1932 she accompanied the Scouting Force when it moved to the West Coast, and for the next few years she operated in a vast area that stretched from Alaska to Hawaii.
In May-September 1936 the Breckinridge was allocated to Training Squadron 10, operating off the east coast and in Cuban waters. She was then decommissioned for the second time in September 1936.
The Breckinridge was recommissioned in September 1939, and joined Division 66 of the Atlantic Squadron, part of the Neutrality Patrol. In December 1940 she joined the Inshore Patrol. From May 1941 she was based at Key West, Florida, where she conducted a mix of patrols and underwater experiments.
The Breckinridge served on the Caribbean Sea Frontier until December 1943, carrying out a mix of patrol and escort duties.
In December 1943 she joined the Atlantic Fleet and was allocated to TG 21.13, an hunter-killer anti-submarine group. She only took part in one operation with this group, which lasted from mid January-27 February 1944. The group was then dissolved.
On 22 March she joined TF 65, the escort for a convoy heading for the Atlantic. The trans-Atlantic crossing was peaceful, but on 11-12 April the convoy was attacked by the Luftwaffe and USS Holder (DE-401) was damaged.
The Breckinridge returned to Boston on 11 May. From 27 May 1944 until 7 February 1945 she served from Guantanamo Bay, once again serving with the Caribbean Sea Frontier.
At the start of April 1945 the Breckinridge became the flagship of Destroyer Division 54 of the Atlantic Fleet, based at New London, Conn, but this would be a short-lived appointment. On 30 June she became a miscellaneous auxiliary (AG-112), and departed to the Pacific, reaching San Diego on 21 August. She operated with Carrier Division 12 as a plane guard and escort vessel for the rest of her career.
The Breckinridge was decommissioned on 30 November 1945 and sold for scrap on 31 October 1946.
The Breckingridge earned one battle star during the Second World War, for the attack on Convoy UGS-37 on 11-12 April 1944
Displacement (standard) |
1,160t (design) |
Displacement (loaded) |
|
Top Speed |
35kts (design) |
Engine |
2 shaft Parsons turbines |
Range |
3,800nm at 15kts on trial (Wickes) |
Armour - belt |
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- deck |
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Length |
314ft 4in |
Width |
30ft 11in |
Armaments (as built) |
Four 4in/50 guns |
Crew complement |
114 |
Launched |
17 August 1918 |
Commissioned |
27 February 1919 |
Decommissioned |
30 November 1945 |
Sold |
31 October 1946 |