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USS Sturtevant (DD-240)
Encyclopedia
USS Sturtevant (DD-240) was a Clemson-class
destroyer
in the United States Navy
during World War II
. She was the first ship named for Albert D. Sturtevant
.
Sturtevant was laid down on 23 November 1918 and launched on 29 July 1920 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; sponsored by Mrs. Curtis Ripley Smith; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 21 September 1920. Lieutenant Commander
Ewart G. Haas assumed command of Sturtevant on 4 November 1920.
, and thence proceeded to New York City. On 30 November, she departed New York to join the United States Naval Forces, European Waters. She reached Gibraltar
on 10 December, and after four days continued on to the Adriatic Sea
. On the 19th, she arrived at her new base, Split
on the Croatia
n coast (then in Kingdom of Yugoslavia
). For the next six months, she conducted various missions from Split to the ports on the Adriatic littoral.
On 16 June 1921, the destroyer was reassigned from the Adriatic detachment to the Constantinople
detachment, and, three days later commenced docking and overhaul at Constantinople. During this assignment, Sturtevant conducted drills in the Sea of Marmara
, between the twin straits, the Dardanelles
and the Bosporus
, and operated in the Black Sea
. She visited Samsun
, Turkey
; Burgas
, Bulgaria
; and Sulina
and Brăila
on the coast of Romania
. From 25 October to 28 November, she flew the flag of Admiral
Mark L. Bristol. Following this duty, the ship visited the ports of Beirut
and Jaffa
and then Alexandria
, Egypt
, and the Isle of Rhodes. In late December, she returned to Turkey at Samsun, thence to Constantinople in January 1922, before reentering the Black Sea to visit southern Russia.
From 1921 to 1923, the Russian Civil War
and a drought brought a great famine to Russia, particularly to the usually food-rich Volga region of southern Russia. America responded with nearly 1000000 ST (907,184.7 t) of food which the Bolshevik
accepted, often as surreptitiously as possible. Sturtevant investigated potential ports of debarkation in southern Russia for the supplies soon to be shipped by the American Relief Administration. To this end, she visited Odessa
, Sevastopol
, Novorossiysk
, Theodosia, and Yalta
between early February and mid-April. Thereafter, through the end of the year, she made voyages across the Black Sea to various Russian ports in conjunction with the relief operation. She stopped at numerous other foreign ports on the voyages, including Samsun, Trebizond, and Mudania, Turkey. From July-October, she made a round-trip voyage back to the U.S., during which she was overhauled at the New York Navy Yard and exercised out of Yorktown, Virginia
. On 1 October, Sturtevant was ordered back to the eastern Mediterranean and, the following day, got underway for Gibraltar. She arrived there on the 14th and continued on to Turkey, reaching Mudania on the 27th. For the next seven months, the destroyer visited the ports of the eastern Mediterranean and those along the coast of the Black Sea. In addition to ports of call of the previous cruises, she visited Varna
, Bulgaria; Mersina and Smyrna
, Turkey; Piraeus
, Greece; and Naples
, Italy. From the latter port, she sailed for Gibraltar in late May 1923, and by 12 June was back at the Navy Yard in New York. She operated along the Atlantic seaboard through the end of the year, conducting gunnery exercises in October at the southern drill grounds off Virginia
. In November, the ship paid an Armistice Day
visit to Baltimore, Maryland. Three days before the end of the year, Sturtevant became flagship
of Division 41, Squadron 14, Scouting Fleet
.
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In early January, Sturtevant proceeded to the Panama Canal Zone
to participate in a war problem with the Scouting Fleet. At the end of the month, she sailed with the Fleet, via Culebra Island, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
, and the British West Indies
, conducting tactical exercises along the way. In May, the destroyer returned north and operated along the east coast for the remainder of the year. In January 1925, Sturtevant again headed south. After a month and a half of operations in the Caribbean
, she transited the Panama Canal and entered the Pacific. She visited San Diego and San Francisco in California in April before getting underway for the Hawaiian Islands
. From late April-mid-June, the ship participated in a joint Army
-Navy war problem simulating the attempt of an enemy force to capture the island of Oahu
. On 11 June, she set a course for San Diego and arrived on the 17th. The destroyer started on her return voyage to the Atlantic on the 22nd and reached New York City on 16 July. She cruised the Atlantic coast until mid-October, and then proceeded south for winter maneuvers out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Transiting the Panama Canal in late January 1926, she participated in fleet exercises on the Pacific side. Returning to the Atlantic side of the isthmus to resume drills and exercises in the vicinity of Cuba, Sturtevant steamed north to Boston, Massachusetts during the first week in May.
From May 1926 to January 1931, Sturtevant continued to operate with the Atlantic Fleet
in Destroyer Division 41 (DesDiv 41), Destroyer Squadron 14 (DesRon
14). Each year summer operations along the north and central Atlantic coast of the U.S. were alternated with winter maneuvers in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
. During the fall of 1930, she was assigned Charleston, South Carolina
as her homeport, but was ordered north again in January 1931 for decommissioning. On 30 January 1931, Sturtevant was placed out of commission at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. She was recommissioned there on 9 March 1932, and on 30 April reported for duty to the Commander, Special Service Squadron
at Coco Solo
in the Canal Zone. For the next two years, the destroyer plied waters of the Gulf and the Caribbean, supporting the activities of the marines ashore in Nicaragua
, Haiti
, Cuba, and other Latin American republics. Early in 1934, she left the Special Service Squadron to rejoin the destroyers of the Scouting Force. During this tour of duty, she was home ported at Norfolk, Virginia
.
_and_uss_indianapolis_(ca-35).jpg)
s along the eastern seaboard. The destroyer operated out of Norfolk, in the North Atlantic until early March 1942, then escorted a convoy from New York to the Canal Zone. There she reported for duty to the Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, screening convoys between the various ports of the Caribbean until late April.
from the water, but caused no apparent damage. Thinking herself under submarine
attack, the destroyer dropped two depth charge
barrages. About a minute after she dropped the second barrage of charges, a second detonation rocked the ship. She began to settle rapidly, but on an even keel
. Minutes later, a third explosion ripped her keel apart beneath the after deckhouse. The midships section sank immediately, and the stern settled soon thereafter. The bow
, curiously, remained above water for several hours. Finally, however, all but the crow's nest
disappeared beneath the waves. Sturtevant went down off Key West
about 8 mi (12.9 km) north of the Marquesas Keys
. Fifteen of her crew were lost with the ship.
Sturtevant lies as two sections in 60 ft (18.3 m) of water.
It was later determined that Sturtevant passed through an American-laid minefield whose existence the crew had not been notified of. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 8 May 1942.
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...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was the first ship named for Albert D. Sturtevant
Albert D. Sturtevant
Albert Dillon Sturtevant was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I.-Biography:Sturtevant was born in Washington, D.C.. On 24 March 1917, he and 28 others enlisted in the Naval Reserve Forces as the First Yale Unit. Two days later, they were all commissioned ensigns...
.
Sturtevant was laid down on 23 November 1918 and launched on 29 July 1920 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; sponsored by Mrs. Curtis Ripley Smith; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 21 September 1920. Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Ewart G. Haas assumed command of Sturtevant on 4 November 1920.
Inter-war period
Sturtevant sailed to Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, 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 thence proceeded to New York City. On 30 November, she departed New York to join the United States Naval Forces, European Waters. She reached Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 10 December, and after four days continued on to the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. On the 19th, she arrived at her new base, Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
on the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n coast (then in Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
). For the next six months, she conducted various missions from Split to the ports on the Adriatic littoral.
On 16 June 1921, the destroyer was reassigned from the Adriatic detachment to the Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
detachment, and, three days later commenced docking and overhaul at Constantinople. During this assignment, Sturtevant conducted drills in the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
, between the twin straits, the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
and the Bosporus
Bosporus
The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...
, and operated in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. She visited Samsun
Samsun
Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
; Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
; and Sulina
Sulina
Sulina is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania and of the continental European Union.-History:...
and Brăila
Braila
Brăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi.According to the 2002 Romanian census there were 216,292 people living within the city of Brăila, making it the 10th most populous city in Romania.-History:A...
on the coast of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. From 25 October to 28 November, she flew the flag of Admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
Mark L. Bristol. Following this duty, the ship visited the ports of Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
and then Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and the Isle of Rhodes. In late December, she returned to Turkey at Samsun, thence to Constantinople in January 1922, before reentering the Black Sea to visit southern Russia.
From 1921 to 1923, the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
and a drought brought a great famine to Russia, particularly to the usually food-rich Volga region of southern Russia. America responded with nearly 1000000 ST (907,184.7 t) of food which the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
accepted, often as surreptitiously as possible. Sturtevant investigated potential ports of debarkation in southern Russia for the supplies soon to be shipped by the American Relief Administration. To this end, she visited Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
, Theodosia, and Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
between early February and mid-April. Thereafter, through the end of the year, she made voyages across the Black Sea to various Russian ports in conjunction with the relief operation. She stopped at numerous other foreign ports on the voyages, including Samsun, Trebizond, and Mudania, Turkey. From July-October, she made a round-trip voyage back to the U.S., during which she was overhauled at the New York Navy Yard and exercised out of Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 220 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
. On 1 October, Sturtevant was ordered back to the eastern Mediterranean and, the following day, got underway for Gibraltar. She arrived there on the 14th and continued on to Turkey, reaching Mudania on the 27th. For the next seven months, the destroyer visited the ports of the eastern Mediterranean and those along the coast of the Black Sea. In addition to ports of call of the previous cruises, she visited Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, Bulgaria; Mersina and Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, Turkey; Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, Greece; and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy. From the latter port, she sailed for Gibraltar in late May 1923, and by 12 June was back at the Navy Yard in New York. She operated along the Atlantic seaboard through the end of the year, conducting gunnery exercises in October at the southern drill grounds off 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...
. In November, the ship paid an Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
visit to Baltimore, Maryland. Three days before the end of the year, Sturtevant became flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Division 41, Squadron 14, 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...
.
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
to participate in a war problem with the Scouting Fleet. At the end of the month, she sailed with the Fleet, via Culebra Island, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
, conducting tactical exercises along the way. In May, the destroyer returned north and operated along the east coast for the remainder of the year. In January 1925, Sturtevant again headed south. After a month and a half of operations in 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...
, she transited the Panama Canal and entered the Pacific. She visited San Diego and San Francisco in California in April before getting underway for the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
. From late April-mid-June, the ship participated in a joint Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
-Navy war problem simulating the attempt of an enemy force to capture the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. On 11 June, she set a course for San Diego and arrived on the 17th. The destroyer started on her return voyage to the Atlantic on the 22nd and reached New York City on 16 July. She cruised the Atlantic coast until mid-October, and then proceeded south for winter maneuvers out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Transiting the Panama Canal in late January 1926, she participated in fleet exercises on the Pacific side. Returning to the Atlantic side of the isthmus to resume drills and exercises in the vicinity of Cuba, Sturtevant steamed north to Boston, Massachusetts during the first week in May.
From May 1926 to January 1931, Sturtevant continued to operate with the Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
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...
in Destroyer Division 41 (DesDiv 41), Destroyer Squadron 14 (DesRon
DESRON
A destroyer squadron is a naval squadron or flotilla usually consisting of destroyers rather than other types of vessel. In some navies other vessels, such as frigates, may be included. In English the word "squadron" tends to be used for larger and "flotilla" for smaller vessels, both may be used...
14). Each year summer operations along the north and central Atlantic coast of the U.S. were alternated with winter maneuvers in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. During the fall of 1930, she was assigned 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...
as her homeport, but was ordered north again in January 1931 for decommissioning. On 30 January 1931, Sturtevant was placed out of commission at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. She was recommissioned there on 9 March 1932, and on 30 April reported for duty to the Commander, Special Service Squadron
Special Service Squadron
The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the 1920s and 1930s.Under the United States Fleet, the squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone.-Commanders:* C.H. Hockson 1907 * Henry...
at Coco Solo
Coco Solo
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base established in 1918 on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama....
in the Canal Zone. For the next two years, the destroyer plied waters of the Gulf and the Caribbean, supporting the activities of the marines ashore in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, 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...
, Cuba, and other Latin American republics. Early in 1934, she left the Special Service Squadron to rejoin the destroyers of the Scouting Force. During this tour of duty, she was home ported at 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....
.
World War II
In the latter half of 1935, the ship was reassigned to the Battle Force, located in the Pacific. After operating out of San Diego until 20 November, she was decommissioned once again. On 26 September 1939, Sturtevant was recommissioned once more. By mid-1940, she was back in the Atlantic escorting convoys and conducting neutrality patrolNeutrality Patrol
At the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the hostilities in Europe, President Franklin D...
s along the eastern seaboard. The destroyer operated out of Norfolk, in the North Atlantic until early March 1942, then escorted a convoy from New York to the Canal Zone. There she reported for duty to the Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, screening convoys between the various ports of the Caribbean until late April.
Convoys escorted
| Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HX 155 HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom... |
18-25 Oct 1941 | from Newfoundland Dominion of Newfoundland The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland... to Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... prior to US declaration of war |
|
| ON 31 ON convoys The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:... |
4-15 Nov 1941 | from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 162 HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom... |
29 Nov-7 Dec 1941 | from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war | |
| HX 169 HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom... |
10-18 Jan 1942 | from Newfoundland to Iceland | |
| ON 59 ON convoys The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:... |
3-5 Feb 1942 | from Iceland to Newfoundland |
Fate
On 26 April 1942, she departed Key West in company with a convoy. Just over two hours out of port, a violent explosion lifted Sturtevants sternStern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
from the water, but caused no apparent damage. Thinking herself under submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
attack, the destroyer dropped two depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
barrages. About a minute after she dropped the second barrage of charges, a second detonation rocked the ship. She began to settle rapidly, but on an even keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
. Minutes later, a third explosion ripped her keel apart beneath the after deckhouse. The midships section sank immediately, and the stern settled soon thereafter. The bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
, curiously, remained above water for several hours. Finally, however, all but the crow's nest
Crow's nest
A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the mainmast of a ship or structure, that is used as a lookout point.This position ensured the best view of the approaching hazards, other ships or land. It was the best device for this purpose until the invention of radar.In early ships it was...
disappeared beneath the waves. Sturtevant went down off Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
about 8 mi (12.9 km) north of the Marquesas Keys
Marquesas Keys
The Marquesas Keys form an uninhabited island group about 30 miles west of Key West, 4 miles in diameter, and inhabited by mangrove. They are an unincorporated area of Monroe County, Florida and belong to the Lower Keys Census County Division. They are protected as part of the Key West National...
. Fifteen of her crew were lost with the ship.
Sturtevant lies as two sections in 60 ft (18.3 m) of water.
It was later determined that Sturtevant passed through an American-laid minefield whose existence the crew had not been notified of. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval 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 8 May 1942.
External links
- U.S.S. STURTEVANT DD-240 "as-built" artist’s conception
- "The Death of his First Love", a secondhand eyewitness account of Sturtevants sinking by crewmember Thomas Joseph Burns RdM1c
