The first USS ''Sumner'' (DD-333) was a ''Clemson''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

in service with 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 ...

from 1921 to 1930. She was scrapped in 1934.

History

''Sumner'' was named for Allen M. Sumner. She was laid down at

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, on 27 August 1919 by the

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 ...

; launched on 27 November 1920; sponsored by Miss Margaret Sumner; and commissioned on 27 May 1921, Lieutenant Commander Donald B. Beary in command. Four days later, ''Sumner'' joined Destroyer Division 49, Squadron 13, Flotilla 2 of the Pacific Fleet. Her naval career lasted almost nine years and occurred during a period of relative naval calm. On only four occasions did she depart from her routine of training, maneuvers, and patrols. The first such break came in 1924, when the revolution against the Obregón government in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

rose to such intensity that the lives and property of Americans in the country were endangered. Accordingly, on 17 January, while was dispatched to

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

, ''Sumner'' and five other destroyers joined in sailing to

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to protect the resident Americans. ''Sumner'' resumed her normal west coast operations in early April 1924 and was so employed until mid-1925. On 1 July 1925, she joined the

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and a division of light

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s from the

Scouting Force 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 ...

in departing

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for a cruise to Australia and New Zealand. The force visited

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

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, then continued on to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia, and to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, Lyttelton,

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and

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, New Zealand. The fleet returned to the west coast on 26 September, and ''Sumner'' resumed training duties and patrols. In March 1927, she transited the

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to participate in maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean. During that cruise and the maneuvers, she made it as far north as

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, before returning to the Pacific Ocean in June 1927. After a voyage to

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 ...

and operations in that area, conducted in 1928, ''Sumner'' returned to her activities along the west coast until the spring of 1930.

Fate

On 29 March 1930, she was decommissioned 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 ...

, and her name was struck from the

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on 18 November. Between then and 1934, she continued to serve the Navy - first as a

barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

for submarine crews; then as a test ship for structural strength tests. Finally, on 12 June 1934, her hulk was sold in accordance with the terms of the London Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armaments.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumner (DD-333) Clemson-class destroyers Ships built in San Francisco 1920 ships