USS ''Edwards'' (DD-265) 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 ...

and transferred to 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 ...

where she served as HMS ''Buxton'' (H96) and later in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

during

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 ...

Namesake

William W. Edwards was born c. 1790 in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

. He was appointed a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

on 1 September 1811. In 1813 he was assigned to and was killed in the action with on 14 August 1813.

Service history

United States Navy

''Edwards'' was launched 10 October 1918 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; sponsored by Miss Julia Edwards Noyes, whose great-grandfather was the uncle of Midshipman Edwards; and commissioned 24 April 1919 at

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

. In May 1919 ''Edwards'' carried spare parts for airplanes and seaplanes to St. John's, Newfoundland, as reserves for the historic first transatlantic seaplane flight made by Navy planes. She sailed from

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

28 May to report to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, for duty with the Food Administration. 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 ...

in June, she took part in escorting the naval transport carrying

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Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

into Brest, then visited

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and

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before returning to the United States on 25 August. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, ''Edwards'' sailed from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

on 17 September 1919 and arrived at the destroyer base at

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on 13 October where she was placed in reduced commission with a partial complement 1 November 1919. In February 1920 she moved to

Puget Sound Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

, but returned to San Diego a year later where she remained in reserve, occasionally putting to sea for target practice. She was placed out of commission 8 June 1922. Recommissioned 18 December 1939, ''Edwards'' was assigned to the

Neutrality Patrol On September 3, 1939, the British and French declarations of war on Germany initiated the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States Navy Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) established a combined air and ship patrol of the United States Atlantic co ...

, and after overhaul, left the west coast 22 March for

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. She patrolled the Gulf and east coast until fall, then sailed to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, where she was decommissioned 8 October 1940, and delivered to the British government as one of the destroyers exchanged for bases.

World War II

Commissioned in the Royal Navy 8 October 1940 as HMS ''Buxton'' (H96) for service in the third "Town" Flotilla, the destroyer served in

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waters briefly as the

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war intensified; she was then allocated to 6th Escort Group,

Western Approaches Command Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

, for the vital duty of keeping the supply line open to Britain. ''Buxton'' was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original

4"/50 caliber gun The 4″/50-caliber gun (spoken "four-inch-fifty-caliber") was the standard low-angle, quick-firing gun for the United States, first appearing on the monitor and then used on "Flush Deck" destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. It was also ...

s and one of the triple

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

mounts to reduce topside weight for additional

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

stowage and installation of

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. The ...

. In August 1942, when newer escorts were available, she was transferred to the

as HMCS ''Buxton'', assigned to the

Western Local Escort Force Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point (WOMP or WESTOMP) near Newfoundland where ships of the Mid ...

(WLEF) based at Halifax. After undergoing refit in Boston from December 1942 to March 1943 she rejoined the WLEF in April, 1943. She was withdrawn from service that August and used as a static training ship at Halifax and then

Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is a Canadian town in southwestern Nova Scotia. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the ...

, until the end of 1944. She was finally paid off early in 1945.

Notes

References

* *

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Edwards''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards (DD-265) Clemson-class destroyers Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 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 Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom