USS Lamson (DD-328) from Above |
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USS Lamson (DD-328) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Atlantic Fleet during the 1920s, and spent a year in European waters, before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers.
The Lamson was named after Roswell Hawkes Lamson, who served in the Civil War taking part in a series of attacks on coastal targets.
The Lamson was laid down by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corps at San Francisco on 13 August 1919, launched on 1 September 1920when she was sponsored by Miss Annette Rolph and commissioned on 19 April 1921. She was then assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, reaching Charleston, South Carolina, on 28 December 1921. From then until 1925 she took part in the normal routine of the Atlantic Fleet, with summers off the US East Coast and winters in the Caribbean.
From June 1925 until July 1926 the Lamson served with the US Naval Forces in Europe. She left Boston on 18 June 1925 and spent most of her time in the Mediterranean.
The Coghlan and Lamson arrived at Alexandria, Egypt in late October 1925, ready to move to the Syrian coast. They were then posted to Beirut, to protect US interests during a period of unrest in Syria. The movement was triggered by an outbreak of violence in Damascus. On 22 December 1925 they both arrived at Naples, Italy, having moved there from Beirut.
On 3 April 1926 the ships of Destroyer Division 27 were photographed at Venice, when the division contained the Preston (DD-327), Lamson (DD-328), Coghlan (DD-326) and Bruce (DD-329).
She was back in the US by July 1927, and rejoined the Scouting Fleet on the East Coast.
Destroyer Division 27 at Venice, 3 April 1926
USS Lamson (DD-328) and USS Whitney (AD-4) in the Hudson River, 1927
By 1929 it was clear that the Lamson’s Yarrow boilers were badly worn. The US Navy decided to swap thirty four of the badly worn destroyers for almost fresh sister-ships that had been in the reserves for most of the 1920s. The Lamson was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 1 May 1930and sold for scrap on 17 January 1931, helping to fulfil the terms of the London Naval Treaty.
Displacement (standard) |
1,190t |
Displacement (loaded) |
1,308t |
Top Speed |
35kts |
Engine |
2-shaft Westinghouse geared turbines |
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 |
1 September 1920 |
Commissioned |
19 April 1921 |
Sold for scrap |
18 October 1934 |
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.
