USS Crane (DD-109)
in the Panama Canal, 1919
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USS Crane (DD-109) was a Wickes class destroyer that entered service too late for the First World War, but that served with the Neutrality Patrol and off the US West Coast during the Second World War.
The Crane was named after a US Naval officer who served in the Barbary War and the War of 1812.
The Crane was launched at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp, San Francisco, on 4 July 1918 and commissioned on 18 April 1919 with Lt Commander W.F. Gresham in command.
The Crane left San Francisco on 21 April 1919 heading for the East Coast, and reached Newport, Rhode Island on 13 May. She carried out one brief tour of duty in European waters, leaving the United States on 5 June to visit Britain and France. She also provided part of the escort for the transport George Washington as she carried President Woodrow Wilson to the peace conference. The Crane reached New York on 27 July, less that two months after leaving US waters.
The Crane was allocated to the Pacific Fleet, and reached San Francisco on 1 September. She arrived in time for the Naval Review of 4 September 1919, when she hosted Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. She then took part in exercises off the coast of Washington State, before she was placed into the reserve at San Diego on 26 January 1920. She emerged from time to time over the next two years to take part in manoeuvres, but was decommissioned on 7 June 1922.
The Crane was recommissioned on 18 December 1939 after the outbreak of the Second World War. She was allocated to the Neutrality Patrol in the Pacific, and carried out a mix of patrols and training cruises for Naval Reservists and Armed Guard crews for the next two years.
After the American entry into the war the Crane was used for a mix of anti-submarine patrols, escort duties, training exercises and to protect amphibious landing exercises on the west coast. On 22 April 1944 she was assigned to the West Coast Sound Training School at San Diego, one of two schools used for training in anti-submarine warfare, where she remained for the rest of the war.
On 2 October 1945 the Crane departed from San Diego for the last time. She reached Philadelphia on 19 October, where she was decommissioned on 14 November 1945 and sold for scrap on 1 November 1946.
Displacement (standard) |
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Displacement (loaded) |
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Top Speed |
35kts design |
Engine |
2 shaft Parsons turbines |
Range |
2,500nm at 20kts (design) |
Armour - belt |
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- deck |
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Length |
314ft 4.5in |
Width |
30ft 11.5in |
Armaments |
Four 4in/ 50 guns |
Crew complement |
100 |
U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Norman Friedmann .
The standard history of the development of American destroyers, from the earliest torpedo boat destroyers to the post-war fleet, and covering the massive classes of destroyers built for both World Wars. Gives the reader a good understanding of the debates that surrounded each class of destroyer and led to their individual features.
