USS Edwards (DD-265)

USS Edwards (DD-265) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy and transferred to the Royal Navy where she served as HMS Buxton (H96) and later in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Edwards.

History
United States
Name: USS Edwards
Namesake: William W. Edwards
Builder: Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum Victory Yard
Laid down: 3 June 1918
Launched: 10 October 1918
Commissioned: 24 April 1919
Decommissioned: 8 October 1940
Stricken: 8 January 1941
Identification: DD-265
Fate: Transferred to U.K., 8 October 1940
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Buxton
Acquired: 8 October 1940
Commissioned: 8 October 1940
Identification: H96
Honours and
awards:		 Atlantic 1941-42
Fate: Transferred to Canada, August 1942
Canada
Name: HMCS Buxton
Acquired: August 1942
Identification: H96
Honours and
awards:		 Atlantic 1942-43
Fate: Sold for scrap, 21 March 1946
General characteristics
Class and type: Clemson-class destroyer
Displacement: 1,215 tons
Length: 314 ft 4 in (95.81 m)
Beam: 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m)
Draft: 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
Propulsion:
  • 26,500 shp (19.8 MW);
  • geared turbines,
  • 2 screws
Speed: 35 kn (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range: 4,900 nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement: 120 officers and enlisted
Armament:

Service history

United States Navy

Named for Midshipman William W. Edwards, she was launched 10 October 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum, Massachusetts; sponsored by Miss Julia Edwards Noyes, whose great-grandfather was the uncle of Midshipman Edwards; and commissioned 24 April 1919 at Boston Navy Yard, Commander P. L. Wilson in command.

In May 1919 Edwards carried spare parts for airplanes and seaplanes to St. John's, Newfoundland, as reserves for the historic first transatlantic seaplane flight made by Navy planes. She sailed from Boston, Massachusetts 28 May to report to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, for duty with the Food Administration. Arriving at Gibraltar in June, she took part in escorting the naval transport George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson into Brest, then visited England and Germany before returning to the United States on 25 August.

Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Edwards sailed from New York on 17 September 1919 and arrived at the destroyer base at San Diego, California on 13 October where she was placed in reduced commission with a partial complement 1 November 1919. In February 1920 she moved to Puget Sound Navy Yard, but returned to San Diego a year later where she remained in reserve, occasionally putting to sea for target practice. She was placed out of commission 8 June 1922.

Recommissioned 18 December 1939, Edwards was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol, and after overhaul, left the west coast 22 March for Galveston, Texas. She patrolled the Gulf and east coast until fall, then sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she was decommissioned 8 October 1940, and delivered to the British government as one of the destroyers exchanged for bases.

World War II

Commissioned in the Royal Navy 8 October 1940 as HMS Buxton (H96) for service in the third "Town" Flotilla, the destroyer served in Canadian waters briefly as the U-boat war intensified; she was then allocated to 6th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, for the vital duty of keeping the supply line open to Britain. Buxton was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4"/50 caliber guns and one of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of hedgehog.[1] In August 1942, when newer escorts were available, she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Buxton, assigned to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) based at Halifax. After undergoing refit in Boston from December 1942 to March 1943 she rejoined the WLEF in April, 1943. She was withdrawn from service that August and used as a static training ship at Halifax and then Digby, Nova Scotia, until the end of 1944.[2] She was finally paid off early in 1945.

Notes
  1. Lenton & Colledge (1968) pp.92-94
  2. "HMS, later HMCS Buxton, destroyer". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
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References


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