USS Monaghan (DD-32)
before the First World War
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USS Monaghan (DD-32) was the name ship of the Monaghan class of destroyers. She served off the US East Coast and then from Europe during the First World War, and with the Coast Guard in the 1920s.
The Monaghan was named after John Robert Monaghan, a junior US naval officer who was killed during a joint US and British operation off Samoa in 1899.
The Monaghan was laid down on 1 June 1910 at Newport News, launched on 18 February 1911 and commissioned on 21 June 1911. She joined the Atlantic Fleet, and took part in the normal peacetime activities of the fleet, which included summers spent on the East Coast and winters in Cuban waters.
In March 1914 the Monaghan was part of the Second Division, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Torpedo Flotilla, which then included Terry (DD-25), Sterett (DD-27), Monaghan (DD-32) and Walke (DD-34).
The Monaghan took part in the US intervention in Mexico in 1914, and anyone who served on her on 26-28 April 1914 was entitled to the Mexican Service Medal.
In 1914 she was part of the Second Division, US Atlantic Fleet Torpedo Flotilla (alongside the Sterett (DD-27), Terry (DD-25) and Walke (DD-34)), and she was still part of the division in 1916.
After the US entry into the First World War in April 1917 the Monaghan conducted a series of patrols along the US East coast. She was then used to escort troop convoys carrying the American Expeditionary Force to Europe, operating as far as the mid Atlantic.
In November 1917 she moved to Europe, and carried out anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties for the next year.
Anyone who served on her between 14 August 1917 and 11 November 1918 qualified for the First World War Victory Medal.
The Monaghan was decommissioned on 4 November 1919. She was assigned to the Coast Guard on 7 June 1924 and recommissioned on 30 June 1925 as CG-15. She began operations from New London in May 1926, and operated between New London and St. Petersburg until 1 June 1930 when she moved to Boston. She was decommissioned by the Coast Guard on 29 January 1931 and returned to the Navy on 8 May 1931. She lost her name and became just DD-32 on 1 July 1933, so her name could be reused (on the Farragut class destroyer USS Monaghan (DD-354)). She was struck off on 5 July 1934 and sold for scrap on 22 August 1934.
Displacement (standard) |
787t |
Displacement (loaded) |
883t |
Top Speed |
29.5kt design |
Engine |
3-shaft Parsons turbines |
Range |
2,175nm at 15kts on trial |
Length |
292ft 8in |
Width |
27ft |
Armaments |
Five 3in/50 guns |
Crew complement |
89 |
Launched |
18 February 1911 |
Commissioned |
21 June 1911 |
Fate |
Sold for scrap 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.
