USS Graham (DD-192),
Guantanamo Bay, 1920
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USS Graham (DD-192) was a Clemson class destroyer that had a short active career with the US Navy before being sold for scrap in 1922.
The Graham was named after William A. Graham, the Secretary of the Navy in 1805-52, when he organised Perry’s Expedition to Japan.
The Graham was launched at Newport News on 22 March 1919 and commissioned on 13 March 1920. Her first task was to act as one of three moving picture boats that carried the camera men who were filming the International Cup Race, run by the New York Yacht Club, in July 1920. After the race was over she joined the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet at Newport, Rhode Island. She took part in exercises in training off the east coast, and then over the winter of 1920-21 in Guantanamo Bay and the Panama Canal Zone. In 1921 she took part in a fleet exercise off the coast of South America, and visited Callao (Peru) and Balbaa in the Canal Zone. She then returned to Hampton Roads, before taking part in the Presidential Fleet Review at Norfolk, Virginia in April 1921.
In May 1921 she was used to test a series of experimental bottom paints, applied in strips along the base of the hull while in dry dock.
In the summer of 1921 the Graham took part in the bombing tests carried out using old German warships. In October 1921 she was part of the 20th Division when it escorted General Foch on SS Paris to New York at the start of a lengthy visit to the United States. This was followed by a spell of anti-aircraft practices.
On 12 November 1921 the Graham was partly removed from service when she was given a reduced complement. On 16 December, while heading from New York to Charleston, she collided with the SS Panama off the coast of New Jersey. She suffered damaged that forced her to return to New York. In 1922 the US Navy was looking to reduce the number of destroyers in commission. Most of the ships were decommissioned at Philadelhia and remained in the reserve for the next two decades, but the Graham was decommissioned at New York and sold for scrap on 19 September 1922, possibly because of the damage suffered in the collision.
Displacement (standard) |
1,190t |
Displacement (loaded) |
1,308t |
Top Speed |
35kts |
Engine |
2-shaft Westinghouse geared tubines |
Range |
2,500nm at 20kts (design) |
Armour - belt |
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- deck |
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Length |
314ft 4in |
Width |
30ft 10.5in |
Armaments |
Four 4in/ 50 guns |
Crew complement |
114 |
Launched |
22 March 1919 |
Commissioned |
13 March 1920 |
Decommissioned |
31 March 1922 |
Sold for scrap |
19 September 1922 |
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.
