_leaving_the_Philadelphia_Naval_Shipyard_on_4_August_1932_(NH_64545).jpg) USSMcFarland leaving Philadelphia Naval Yard on 4 August 1932 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | McFarland |
| Namesake | John McFarland |
| Builder | New York Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 31 July 1918 |
| Launched | 30 March 1920 |
| Commissioned | 30 September 1920 |
| Decommissioned | 8 November 1945 |
| Stricken | 19 December 1945 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 29 October 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Clemson-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,190 tons |
| Length | 314 ft 5 in (95.8 m) |
| Beam | 31 ft 8 in (9.7 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 4,900 nmi (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 122 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSMcFarland (DD-237/AVD-14) was aClemson-classdestroyer in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. She was named forAmerican Civil War sailor andMedal of Honor recipientJohn McFarland.
McFarland waslaid down on 31 July 1918 andlaunched on 30 March 1920 by theNew York Shipbuilding Corporation; sponsored by Miss Louisa Hughes; andcommissioned on 30 September 1920.
McFarland, having served a month with theAtlantic Fleet, departed for European waters on 30 November 1920. For the next two months she operated in theEnglish Channel, sailing forGibraltar on 31 January 1921. On 9 March she arrived atSplit for a four-month tour with theAdriatic Detachment. In July she continued eastward, and atConstantinople, on 31 July, joined ships of theTurkish Waters Detachment.
Returning to the United States only once (8 July to 22 October 1922),McFarland remained in theBlack Sea and easternMediterranean area until spring 1923. During that period she performed quasi-diplomatic and humanitarian roles necessitated by the aftermath ofWorld War I. She cruised regularly to Black Sea andAnatolian ports, distributing American relief supplies toRussian,Greek, andTurkish refugees and providing transportation, mail, and communications facilities.
McFarland returned to New York and on 15 September 1923 joined theScouting Fleet atNewport, Rhode Island. With only two interruptions, she operated along theEast coast and in theCaribbean for the next 17 years. The first interruption came with a cruise toHawaii for the 1925 fleet problem involving an attack onOahu; the second, a year out of commission, inreserve, atPhiladelphia, 1931. On 2 August 1940,McFarland, undergoing conversion, was redesignated AVD-14,seaplane tender (destroyer). On 5 October she was recommissioned in full and assigned to thePacific Fleet.
McFarland was heavily damaged during the early morning of 19 September 1923 after being rammed on the port side forward of herbridge by thebattleshipArkansas during night maneuvers off of theCape Cod Canal. The training exercise was being undertaken byArkansas, the battleshipFlorida, the auxiliary shipAntares and aflotilla of a dozen destroyers.McFarland was towed toBoston Navy Yard by the destroyerSturtevant.[1][2]
On 7 December 1941,McFarland, operating out ofPearl Harbor, was conductingantisubmarine maneuvers offMaui. Receiving word of the Japaneseattack, she patrolled to the southwest, returning to Oahu on 9 December. For the next seven months she operated from Pearl Harbor, completing several voyages toPalmyra Atoll andJohnston Islands. On these missions she carriedMarine reinforcements to the islands and returned with civilian personnel.
McFarland sailed for the South Pacific 2 June 1942. She arrived atNoumea on 16 June and within a month she made her first contact with an enemy submarine inBulari Pass, 15 July. In August, as theGuadalcanal offensive neared, she assumed tender duties in theEspiritu Santo –Santa Cruz Islands area. Assigned to keeping the supply lines open,McFarland carried supplies to the embattled island and evacuated wounded marine personnel while the planes she tendered performed scouting and fighting missions.
On 16 October,McFarland was unloading cargo and embarking wounded personnel inLunga Roads when she was attacked by ninedive bombers. While the first seven scored no hits, the eighth hit agasoline barge in tow alongside the tender's starboard quarter. The blazing barge was cut loose as the ninth plane made its run. At least one bomb hitMcFarland's stern, knocking out her rudder and steering engine. Her crew shot down one plane, but lost eleven of its members in the fight; five killed, six missing, with an additional 12 critically wounded. For this action, the ship was awarded the first ever US NavyPresidential Unit Citation.
McFarland was towed toFlorida Island, where she moored to the beach in the upper channel (later called McFarland Channel) ofTulagi harbor. She completed makeshift repairs to her hull by 26 November and sailed to Espiritu Santo, where further repairs increased her seaworthiness. On 17 December she began to make her way back to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 29 December.
Repairs completed by 17 April 1943,McFarland sailed for the west coast. RedesignatedDD-237 on 1 December 1943, and homeported atSan Diego, California for the remainder of the war, she operated withaircraft carriers as they conducted training exercises and pilot qualification landings. On 30 September 1945, she sailed for the east coast.
Decommissioned at Philadelphia on 8 November 1945, she was struck from theNavy Register on 19 December. Herhulk was sold forscrap on 29 October 1946 to the North American Smelting Company, Philadelphia.
McFarland received twobattle stars for her World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
