_underway%2c_during_the_1920s_(NH_71032).jpg) USSThompson, during the middle or later 1920s | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Thompson |
| Namesake | Richard W. Thompson |
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation,Union Iron Works, San Francisco |
| Laid down | 25 September 1918 |
| Launched | 15 January 1919 |
| Commissioned | 16 August 1920 |
| Decommissioned | 4 April 1930 |
| Stricken | 22 June 1930 |
| Fate | Sunk as target, February 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Clemson-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,308 tons |
| Length | 314 ft 4 in (95.8 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft 11 in (9.4 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 10 in (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 4,900 nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 122 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
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USSThompson (DD-305), aClemson-classdestroyer of theU.S. Navy named in honor ofSecretary of the NavyRichard W. Thompson (1809–1900), never saw action against an enemy. She was the first Navy ship of that name; the second,Thompson (DD-627), named forRobert M. Thompson, served duringWorld War II and theKorean War.
Thekeel of the firstThompson waslaid down on 25 September 1918, atSan Francisco, by theBethlehem Steel Corporation. She waslaunched on 15 January 1919, sponsored by Mrs. Herbert H. Harris, and wascommissioned at theMare Island Naval Shipyard,Vallejo, California, on 16 August 1920.
On 4 September,Thompson departed San Francisco for a shakedown training cruise which took her as far southward asMagdalena Bay inBaja California Sur. She returned toSan Diego, on 29 September, to operate with the Battle Fleet as part of Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 32, Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 11. After initial fleet operations off the west coast,Thompson departed from San Diego on 7 January 1921, to take part in fleet maneuvers offPanama and later off theChilean coast, south ofValparaíso.
Departing from Valparaíso on 4 February, she steamed with DesDiv 32 toBalboa,Canal Zone, and thence toLa Unión, El Salvador. Departing that port on 27 February, she proceeded north and soon resumed operations out of San Diego. Her cruises ranged as far north asSeattle, Washington.
Following her return from exercises to the northward on 21 June she operated off the California coast. On 10 December she departed San Diego and steamed to thePuget Sound Naval Shipyard,Bremerton, Washington, for regular overhaul.
Upon completion of the refit,Thompson headed for San Diego on 8 February 1922, for resumption of operations with the Battle Fleet. In the following years, she worked out of San Diego and took part in winter and spring maneuvers off Panama, on occasion transiting thePanama Canal for fleet exercises in theCaribbean Sea.
On 15 April 1926,Thompson steamed with the Fleet from San Francisco for fleet problems in Hawaiian waters. Upon completion of this training on 1 July she departedPearl Harbor with the Fleet, bound for a goodwill cruise to Australia and New Zealand. After calling atPago Pago, Samoa, on 10 and 11 July, she arrived inMelbourne on 23 July. In company withsister shipsKennedy,Decatur, andFarquhar,Thompson left Melbourne on 6 August and made port atDunedin, New Zealand, four days later.
Putting out to sea after a 10-day visit there,Thompson visitedWellington from 22 to 24 August. She then proceeded home across the Pacific, via Pago Pago and Pearl Harbor, and reached San Diego on 26 September.
For the remainder of her career,Thompson continued her operations with DesDiv 32, DesRon 11. Early the next year, she made a brief visit to the east coast, calling atNorfolk, Virginia,Newport, Rhode Island, and New York City, before returning to San Diego and serving out the rest of her days in operations along the west coast.
Under the terms of the 1930London Naval Treaty limiting naval tonnage and armaments,Thompson was decommissioned on 4 April 1930, struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 22 June 1930; and sold for scrap on 10 June.
Following her sale, she served as afloating restaurant in lowerSan Francisco Bay during the depression years of the 1930s. In February 1944, the Navy repurchased the ship and partly sank her in the mud flats of San Francisco Bay, south of theSan Mateo Bridge, where Army and Navy aircraft carried out bombing runs with dummy bombs.
Portions of the wreck remain above the waterline to this day. She is commonly referred to as the "South Bay Wreck" and many tide tables reference her as a calculation point.[1]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in February 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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37°33′10″N122°09′27″W / 37.5529°N 122.1576°W /37.5529; -122.1576
