The third USS ''Dale'' (DD-290) was a in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. She was named for

Richard Dale Richard Dale (November 6, 1756 – February 26, 1826) was an American naval officer who fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry and was first lieutenant for John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head, England again ...

Service history

United States Navy

''Dale'' was launched 19 November 1919 by

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco-based shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917, it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuil ...

Squantum, Massachusetts Squantum is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, connected to the mainland by a causeway that crosses over a wetland area of the bay. Often thought of as a peninsula, Squantum proper is technically a barrier island as it is surrounded on all ...

; sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Peters; and commissioned 16 February 1920. From 3 March to 3 April 1920 ''Dale'' patrolled

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

waters aiding in the recalibration of radio compass stations in the 1st Naval District. Assigned to Destroyer Force,

U.S. Atlantic Fleet The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

, she operated with destroyer squadrons along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast, in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, and in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. Her activities included tactical exercises and battle practice; fleet maneuvers, war exercises, and fleet search problems; training naval reservists; and service from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

in the calibration of radio compass stations in the 5th Naval District. On 17 June 1924 ''Dale'' sailed from

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

under the command of William F. Halsey, Jr. to make courtesy visits to ports in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, England, France, Spain, and Portugal. Arriving at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 21 September, she cruised in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

until June, engaging in battle practice, intelligence work, and international goodwill calls. She departed Gibraltar on 2 July 1925 for New York City, arriving on 16 July. ''Dale'' operated with Destroyer Squadrons,

Scouting Fleet The Scouting Fleet is an important part of the U.S. Navy, established in 1922 as part of the reorganization of the Navy after World War I. It is one of the four core units of the newly formed "American Fleet", which together with the battle Fleet ...

, on the

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, in the Caribbean, and in the

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until arrival at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on 21 September 1929. She was decommissioned there on 1 May 1930 and sold on 17 January 1931.

Commercial banana boat

The destroyer equipped with a new propulsion plant, converted to a banana carrier and renamed MV ''Masaya'' operating for the Standard Fruit and Steamship Co., of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana from 1933.

United States Army and fate

With the Philippines cut off by Japanese forces the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...

attempted to use

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

s. Some were to make the attempt from Australia or

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, but some were to make the attempt directly from the United States. One recommendation, carried directly to the President of the United States, was the acquisition by bareboat charter and use of three World War I destroyers that had been converted to fast banana carriers, one immediately available in New Orleans. Cargos for two other vessels, then in the Caribbean, were to be sent to await their availability in New Orleans. Delays occurred, but ''Masaya'' departed New Orleans on 2 March 1942 with ''Matagalpa'' following on 11 March and ''Teapa'' on 18 March. All were delayed for repairs in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with reloading for

Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

. They reached

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

too late to relieve Corregidor. The ship was instead sent to the

Southwest Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...

, entering the Southwest Pacific Area command's permanent local fleet on 12 March 1942, where in an effort to support operations in Buna she was bombed and sunk five miles to the east of

Oro Bay Oro Bay is a bay in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, located southeast of Buna. The bay is located within the larger Dyke Ackland Bay. A port is operated by PNG Ports Corporation Limited with limited wharf facilities, located at . History Du ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

on 28 March 1943. Casualties were 10 killed + 1 DOW/4 wounded Pacific Wrecks profile of the SS Masaya
/ref>

References

Bibliography

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External links

NavSource

Don Fetterly. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dale (DD-290) Clemson-class destroyers Destroyers sunk by aircraft Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1919 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Maritime incidents in March 1943 Ships sunk by Japanese aircraft Dole plc