USS Paulding (DD-22)

USS Paulding (DD-22) was the lead ship of Paulding-class destroyers in the United States Navy. She served in the United States Coast Guard as CG-17. She was named for Rear Admiral Hiram A. Paulding USN (1797-1878).

USS Paulding (DD-22) port side, camouflaged, Queenstown, Ireland, 1918
History
United States
Name:	Paulding
Namesake:	Rear Admiral Hiram A. Paulding
Builder:	Bath Iron Works Bath, Maine
Cost:	$652,928.16[1]
Laid down:	24 July 1909
Launched:	12 April 1910
Sponsored by:	Miss Emma Paulding
Commissioned:	29 September 1910
Decommissioned:	August 1919
Stricken:	28 June 1934
Identification:	Hull symbol:DD-22 Code letters:NON
Fate:	Transferred to the United States Coast Guard, returned 1930 and scrapped in 1934
Circa 1924-1930 on Coast Guard service. (L-R) USCG Jouett (CG-13) ex. (DD-41), USCG Paulding (CG-17) ex. (DD-22) and USCG Beale (CG-9) ex. (DD-40).
United States
Name:	Paulding
Acquired:	28 April 1924[2]
Commissioned:	23 January 1925[2]
Decommissioned:	18 October 1930[2]
Identification:	Hull symbol:CG-17
Fate:	Transferred back to the United States Navy, 18 October 1930[2]
General characteristics [3]
Class and type:	Paulding-class destroyer
Displacement:	742 long tons (754 t) normal 887 long tons (901 t) full load
Length:	293 ft 10 in (89.56 m)
Beam:	27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft:	8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) (mean)[4]
Installed power:	12,000 ihp (8,900 kW)
Propulsion:	4 × boilers 3 × Parsons Direct Drive Turbines 3 × shafts
Speed:	29.5 kn (33.9 mph; 54.6 km/h) 30.80 kn (35.44 mph; 57.04 km/h) (Speed on Trial)[4]
Complement:	4 officers 87 enlisted
Armament:	5 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber guns 6 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (3 × 2)

Paulding was laid down by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at Bath in Maine on 24 July 1909, launched on 12 April 1910 by Miss Emma Paulding and commissioned on 29 September 1910, Lieutenant Commander Yates Stirling, Jr. in command.

United States Navy

Assigned to the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet, Paulding operated primarily off the east coast until after the United States entered World War I. During April 1917, she patrolled off the New England coast and in May, she prepared for distant service. On 21 May, she got underway for the United Kingdom, arriving at Queenstown, Ireland to escort convoys and protect them from German U-boats. On that duty throughout the war, she returned to the United States after the Armistice.

United States Coast Guard

Paulding was decommissioned in August 1919 and remained in the Reserve Fleet. From 28 April 1924 to 18 October 1930 she was loaned to the United States Coast Guard, where she served on the Rum Patrol. The vessel was stationed at Boston, Massachusetts.

Paulding was sent to find CG-238 during a gale in February 1927 off Cape Cod. The 75 ft (23 m) vessel had already foundered, and Paulding spent two days in the storm, losing much topside equipment, including one of her stacks. On 17 December 1927, she accidentally rammed and sank the U.S. Navy submarine S-4 while S-4 was surfacing, killing all on board. An inquiry absolved the Coast Guard of blame.

Returned to the Navy on 18 October 1930, she again joined the Reserve Fleet and was laid up at League Island. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 June 1934 and sold for scrap under the London Naval Treaty.

References

1. "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 762. 1921.
2. Record of Movements Vessels of the United States Coast Guard 1790 -December 31, 1933 (PDF). Washington: TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 1989. p. 436.
3. "USS Paulding (DD-22)". Navsource.org. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
4. "Table 11 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 731. 1921.

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.