The first USS ''Abbot'' (DD-184) was a in the service of 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 ...

until traded to Britain at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as HMS ''Charlestown'' (I21), a .

Service history

As USS ''Abbot''

Named after

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Joel Abbot, she was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 5 April 1918 by the

Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

, launched on 4 July 1918, sponsored by Miss Louise Abbot, great-granddaughter of Cdre. Abbot, and commissioned on 19 July 1919. Based at

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 ...

, ''Abbot'' operated along the east coast and in the

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and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, especially in Cuban waters. The destroyer was placed out of commission at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

on 5 July 1922. After being laid up for almost 20 years, ''Abbot'' was recommissioned on 17 June 1940 and patrolled along the east coast until going out of commission once more at Halifax, in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, on 23 September 1940 to be transferred to Britain under terms of the agreement by which the U.S. exchanged 50 overage destroyers for bases on British colonial territory in the Atlantic. ''Abbot'' was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 8 January 1941.

As HMS ''Charlestown''

Temporarily named HMS ''Abbot'' and then quickly renamed HMS ''Charlestown'', the destroyer was assigned to the 17th Destroyer Division and arrived at

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland on 8 October. She took part in several minelaying operations along the west coast of Scotland. In September 1943, ''Charlestown'' was allocated to the Rosyth Escort Force to escort convoys along the east coast of Britain. ''Charlestown'' was damaged in a collision with the minesweeper off

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

, England in December 1944. Due to her age, it was decided not to repair her, and the destroyer was placed in reserve at

Grangemouth Grangemouth (; , ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area in the central belt of Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firt ...

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

. ''Charlestown'' was decommissioned on 15 January 1945 and was eventually scrapped.

References

External links

NavSource DD-184U.S.S. Abbot Home / DD 184 History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot (DD-184) Wickes-class destroyers Ships built in Newport News, Virginia 1918 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers converted from Wickes-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in December 1944