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USS Jenkins (DD-42)

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USS Jenkins (DD-42)
USS Jenkins (DD-42) moored in a European port, possibly Queenstown, Ireland, circa 1918. She is painted in dazzle camouflage.
History
United States
NameJenkins
NamesakeRear Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins
BuilderBath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Cost$650,712.43[1]
Laid down24 March 1911
Launched29 April 1912
Sponsored byMiss Alice Jenkins
Commissioned15 June 1912
Decommissioned31 October 1919
Stricken8 March 1935
Identification
FateSold for scrap in 1935
General characteristics [2]
Class and typePaulding-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 742 long tons (754 t) normal
  • 887 long tons (901 t) full load
Length293 ft 10 in (89.56 m)
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) (mean)[3]
Installed power12,000 ihp (8,900 kW)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 29.5 kn (33.9 mph; 54.6 km/h)
  • 31.27 kn (35.98 mph; 57.91 km/h) (Speed on Trial)[3]
Complement4 officers 87 enlisted[4]
Armament

The first USS Jenkins (DD-42) was a modified Paulding-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named for Rear Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins.

Construction and commissioning

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Jenkins was laid down on 24 March 1911 by Bath Iron Works at Bath, Maine. She was launched on 29 April 1912, sponsored by Miss Alice Jenkins, daughter of Rear Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins, and commissioned on 15 June 1912.

Pre-World War I

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In the years that preceded World War I, Jenkins, based at Newport, Rhode Island, trained with the United States Atlantic Fleet, steaming to the Caribbean for winter maneuvers and operating along the United States East Coast in summer. In addition, she steamed to Tampico, Mexico, in mid-April 1914 to support the American occupation of Veracruz. On 1 October 1916 she collided with the lighter Trilby at Sandwich, Massachusetts, that resulted in damage to Trilby.[5]

World War I

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As the war raged in Europe, Jenkins continued patrol operations along the North American coast in search of possible German U-boats. The patrols and maneuvers sharpened her war-readiness, so that she was ready for any eventuality when she sailed for Europe on 26 May 1917.

Based at Queenstown, Ireland, Jenkins and her sister destroyers patrolled the eastern Atlantic, escorting convoys and rescuing survivors of sunken merchant ships. She continued escort and patrol duty for the duration of the war. Though she made several submarine contacts, no results were determined.

On 16 January 1918, Jenkins and the destroyer USS Shaw were escorting the American armed passenger ship SS New York in the Irish Sea during a voyage to Liverpool, England. As darkness fell at around 18:00, Jenkins took station astern of New York while Shaw continued to patrol ahead. At about 19:30, the U.S. Navy gun crews manning New York′s forward guns sighted a suspicious object on her port beam, and they fired seven rounds at it. New York swung slightly to starboard, and the guns received orders to cease firing. Meanwhile, New York′s after gun crew sighted Jenkins on New York′s starboard quarter. Believing Jenkins still to be astern of New York and not realizing that New York′s swing to starboard had placed Jenkins on her starboard quarter, the after gun fired one shot. It hit Jenkins, killing one man and wounding four. Jenkins immediately turned on her running lights, and New York ceased fire.[6]

Following the signing of the Armistice with Germany on 11 November 1918, Jenkins sailed for the United States, arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, on 3 January 1919.

Inter-war period

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Jenkins operated along the U.S. East Coast until arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 20 July 1919. She remained there until decommissioning on 31 October 1919. While in reserve, she received hull classification symbol DD-42 when the U.S. Navy adopted its modern hull classification system on 17 July 1920.

Jenkins never returned to active service. She was scrapped in 1935 in accordance with the London Naval Treaty.

Notable commander officers

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References

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  1. ^ "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 762. 1921.
  2. ^ "USS Jenkins (DD-42)". Navsource.org. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Table 10 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 714. 1921.
  4. ^ "Table 16 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 749. 1921.
  5. ^ "Records of the T. A. Scott co". mysticseaport.org. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  6. ^ Doughty, Leonard, Jr., Lieutenant Commander, "Mistaken Attacks in the World War," Proceedings, October 1934.
  7. ^ "Military Times Hall of Valor Awards for James Laurence Kauffman". militarytimes.com. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
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