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USS Sharkey (DD-281)
Encyclopedia
USS Sharkey (DD-281) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
following World War I
. She was named for William J. Sharkey
.
, Squantum, Massachusetts; launched on 12 August 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Mary E. Sharkey; and commissioned on 28 November 1919, Commander E. D. Washburn, Jr., in command.
Immediately after commissioning, Sharkey was sent to the rescue of SS Powhatan and was one of four ships standing by as the stricken vessel was taken under tow. She then completed shakedown out of Newport, Rhode Island
, and departed that port on 28 January 1920 for Guantanamo Bay
. Late in April, she steamed to Boston for repairs. When the work was completed, she joined the Reserve Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet
, at Charleston, South Carolina
, on 5 October.
Sharkey got underway on 10 May 1921 for summer operations out of Newport and returned to Charleston on 24 October. She departed again on 29 May 1922 for exercises off Norfolk, Virginia
, which lasted until she entered the Boston Navy Yard
for repairs on 2 December.
Sharkey sailed on 11 January 1923 for the Caribbean
, and participated in Fleet Problem I off Panama
and in combined fleet exercises until sailing from the Caribbean on 2 April for the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Departing the yard on 11 August, she participated in maneuvers off Newport and, between 31 August and 4 September, the Fisherman's Races at Gloucester, Massachusetts
before departing Newport on 1 October 1923 for exercise areas off Norfolk. She spent the period from 18 November 1923 to 3 January 1924 in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
On 4 January 1924, Sharkey sailed from Lynnhaven Roads, Virginia
, with the Scouting Fleet
for the annual fleet concentration in the Caribbean. The exercises lasted from 11 January to 28 February, after which Sharkey underwent overhaul at Boston from 3 March to 14 June. Between 10 July and 28 July, she operated with off Bermuda
testing a range finder for destroyers and, after repairs to a bent propeller, completed the trials between 5 September and 24 September with . Following more exercises, she arrived at Philadelphia on 1 November 1924.
On 10 January 1925, Sharkey departed Philadelphia for the Caribbean. On 26 January, she embarked the President and Cabinet of Haiti
for a short cruise, and then trained with the fleet in the Caribbean until 28 March. She made reserve training cruises from Philadelphia between 14 April and 6 May; but, on the latter date, damaged a turbine and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs. She resumed reserve training cruises between 23 July and 5 September 1925 and cruised to Guantanamo and back between 19 September and 20 November.
Sharkey returned to Guantanamo on 13 January 1926, and transited the Panama Canal on 4 February to participate in Fleet Problem VI off the west coast of Central America. She returned to Norfolk on 21 February and remained there undergoing overhaul until 23 April. On 17 June, she departed Newport with her division for Europe. She visited northern European ports between 29 June and 20 November 1926; then spent three months in the western Mediterranean and visited the eastern Mediterranean from 20 February to 7 May 1927. She next made a one-week cruise in the Black Sea, visiting Romania and Bulgaria before returning to Newport on 11 July 1927. She spent the remainder of the year in making naval reserve cruises and twice undergoing repairs at Norfolk.
Sharkey arrived at Guantanamo on 11 January 1928 and operated with the fleet in the Caribbean until 31 March. After training reserves off Norfolk and Newport, she underwent overhaul at Norfolk from 29 July to 2 October. She exercised off Charleston for two months and returned to Norfolk for the Christmas holidays. Underway on 4 January 1929, Sharkey transited the Panama Canal
on the 20th and participated in Fleet Problem IX and combined fleet exercises off Panama. Again transiting the canal on 7 March, she continued exercises with the fleet in the Caribbean until 27 April. After exercises and reserve training cruises on the east coast, she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 22 July for overhaul.
on 22 October 1930 and sold for scrapping on 17 January 1931 to Boston Iron and Metal Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
As of 2005, no other ship has been named Sharkey.
Clemson class destroyer
The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II.The Clemson-class ships were commissioned by the United States Navy from 1919 to 1922, built by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, New York Shipbuilding...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She was named for William J. Sharkey
William J. Sharkey
William J. Sharkey was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I.-Biography:Born in Auburn, New York, Sharkey attained the enlisted rate of Chief Gunners Mate...
.
History
Sharkey was laid down on 14 April 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding CorporationBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...
, Squantum, Massachusetts; launched on 12 August 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Mary E. Sharkey; and commissioned on 28 November 1919, Commander E. D. Washburn, Jr., in command.
Immediately after commissioning, Sharkey was sent to the rescue of SS Powhatan and was one of four ships standing by as the stricken vessel was taken under tow. She then completed shakedown out of Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, and departed that port on 28 January 1920 for Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
. Late in April, she steamed to Boston for repairs. When the work was completed, she joined the Reserve Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, at Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, on 5 October.
Sharkey got underway on 10 May 1921 for summer operations out of Newport and returned to Charleston on 24 October. She departed again on 29 May 1922 for exercises off Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, which lasted until she entered the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
for repairs on 2 December.
Sharkey sailed on 11 January 1923 for the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, and participated in Fleet Problem I off Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and in combined fleet exercises until sailing from the Caribbean on 2 April for the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Departing the yard on 11 August, she participated in maneuvers off Newport and, between 31 August and 4 September, the Fisherman's Races at Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
before departing Newport on 1 October 1923 for exercise areas off Norfolk. She spent the period from 18 November 1923 to 3 January 1924 in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
On 4 January 1924, Sharkey sailed from Lynnhaven Roads, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, with the Scouting Fleet
Scouting Fleet
The Scouting Fleet was part of the United States Fleet in the United States Navy, and renamed the Scouting Force in 1930.Established in 1922, the fleet consisted mainly of older battleships and initially operated in the Atlantic...
for the annual fleet concentration in the Caribbean. The exercises lasted from 11 January to 28 February, after which Sharkey underwent overhaul at Boston from 3 March to 14 June. Between 10 July and 28 July, she operated with off Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
testing a range finder for destroyers and, after repairs to a bent propeller, completed the trials between 5 September and 24 September with . Following more exercises, she arrived at Philadelphia on 1 November 1924.
On 10 January 1925, Sharkey departed Philadelphia for the Caribbean. On 26 January, she embarked the President and Cabinet of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
for a short cruise, and then trained with the fleet in the Caribbean until 28 March. She made reserve training cruises from Philadelphia between 14 April and 6 May; but, on the latter date, damaged a turbine and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs. She resumed reserve training cruises between 23 July and 5 September 1925 and cruised to Guantanamo and back between 19 September and 20 November.
Sharkey returned to Guantanamo on 13 January 1926, and transited the Panama Canal on 4 February to participate in Fleet Problem VI off the west coast of Central America. She returned to Norfolk on 21 February and remained there undergoing overhaul until 23 April. On 17 June, she departed Newport with her division for Europe. She visited northern European ports between 29 June and 20 November 1926; then spent three months in the western Mediterranean and visited the eastern Mediterranean from 20 February to 7 May 1927. She next made a one-week cruise in the Black Sea, visiting Romania and Bulgaria before returning to Newport on 11 July 1927. She spent the remainder of the year in making naval reserve cruises and twice undergoing repairs at Norfolk.
Sharkey arrived at Guantanamo on 11 January 1928 and operated with the fleet in the Caribbean until 31 March. After training reserves off Norfolk and Newport, she underwent overhaul at Norfolk from 29 July to 2 October. She exercised off Charleston for two months and returned to Norfolk for the Christmas holidays. Underway on 4 January 1929, Sharkey transited the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
on the 20th and participated in Fleet Problem IX and combined fleet exercises off Panama. Again transiting the canal on 7 March, she continued exercises with the fleet in the Caribbean until 27 April. After exercises and reserve training cruises on the east coast, she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 22 July for overhaul.
Fate
She was ordered decommissioned instead, and was towed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard by on 2 October 1929 and decommissioned there on 1 May 1930. Sharkey was struck from the Navy listNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 22 October 1930 and sold for scrapping on 17 January 1931 to Boston Iron and Metal Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
As of 2005, no other ship has been named Sharkey.
External links
- http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/281.htm