USS Walker (DD-163)
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The first USS ''Walker'' (DD-163) was a that saw service 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 ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. She was named for Admiral
John Grimes Walker John Grimes Walker (March 20, 1835 – September 16, 1907) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served during the Civil War. After the war, he served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, head of the Lighthouse Board, and command ...
.


History

''Walker'' 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 19 June 1918 at
Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...
, by the
Fore River Shipbuilding Company Fore may refer to: *Fore people, a highland people of Papua New Guinea * Fore (golf), a warning yelled by golfers * Fore Abbey, a 6th century abbey in Ireland * Fore River (Maine), a river *''Fore!'', the 4th album by Huey Lewis and the News * Fore ...
under contract from Bethlehem Steel Co. The destroyer was launched on 14 September 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Francis Pickering Thomas. ''Walker'' was commissioned at the
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 ...
on 31 January 1919. ''Walker'' got underway on 20 February to rendezvous with the transport as it returned from France with President
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 ...
. Upon completion of this duty, the new destroyer returned to Boston, where she was soon assigned to Division 18, Destroyer Force. She proceeded to
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 ...
, and loaded her full allotment of
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es at the Naval Torpedo Station. She sailed for the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
on 6 March and, soon after her arrival in the Caribbean fell into the Fleet's regular schedule of
exercises Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovasc ...
and maneuvers. ''Walker'' conducted tactical exercises off
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
, and gunnery exercises out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the late winter of 1919 and early spring of 1920 before she headed north. After steaming into
New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
on 14 April, the destroyer was sent to her base at Newport. Early the next month, she supported the Navy's NC-boat transatlantic flights. Initially stationed at
Trepassey Bay Trepassey Bay is a natural bay on the southeast end of the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the countr ...
from 6 May to 8 May, she later operated at sea from 10 to 17 May, serving as one of the chain of picket ships to provide the NC
flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...
s with position reports and bearings. When this mission was completed, she returned to Newport on 20 May. Her next port of call was
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
, in early June for a two-day visit during
Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...
graduation exercises, after which ''Walker'' headed south and transited the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
on 24 July. She called briefly at
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
, Mexico, for two days before steaming for southern
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, arriving at
Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...
on 8 August. Based at
San Diego 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 ...
, ''Walker'' conducted local operations off the
United States West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. states of Calif ...
into late 1920, when she was assigned to the Reserve Destroyer Flotilla. She embarked naval reservists for an indoctrination cruise on 27 October 1920 and remained in "rotating reserve" duty, conducting periodic target practices, full-power runs, and undergoing overhauls at the
Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...
. Decommissioned on 7 June 1922, as part of an austerity program, ''Walker'' was placed in
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...
at San Diego, where she remained into the 1930s. After 16 years in reserve the ship was struck from the Navy list on 28 March 1938 and slated for disposal by sale. Logistics requirements of U.S. West Coast naval districts, however, resulted in the former destroyer being placed back on the list and earmarked for conversion to a water barge. Redesignated YW-57 on 1 April 1939, the ship was undergoing conversion at the Mare Island Navy Yard when the Navy again decided to change the vessel's role. With the outbreak of war in Europe and the possibility of American involvement in the conflict, the ship was slated for use as a
damage control In navies and the maritime industry, damage control is the emergency control of situations that may cause the sinking of a watercraft. Examples are: * rupture of a pipe or hull especially below the waterline and * damage from grounding (run ...
hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
.


Fate

Designated as the damage control hulk ''DCH-1'' on 11 July 1940, the vessel was based at the Destroyer Base, San Diego, and used for training exercises in formulating and evolving new damage control techniques. In the following year, as the Pacific Fleet's base had been moved from San Diego to
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
, plans were made to tow ''DCH-1'' (which had been stripped of propulsion machinery during the initial conversion work to ''YW-57'') to the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
. She was re-designated as IX-44 on 17 February 1941. On 28 December 1941, while being towed from San Diego, California, to Pearl Harbor, by the oiler , ''DCH-1'' was cast adrift and scuttled by gunfire from ''Neches'' at .http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-Chron/USN-Chron-1941.html under date Dec 7, Sun - which is the incorrect date.


Fiction

USS ''Walker'' was used in the ''
Destroyermen The ''Destroyermen'' series is a series of alternate history books written by American writer and historian Taylor Anderson. The fifteen books in the series are '' Into the Storm'', ''Crusade'' (both 2008), ''Maelstrom'' (2009), '' Distant Thun ...
'' series by Taylor Anderson. In the books, ''Walker'' and her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
are pursued by superior Japanese naval forces after the
Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea (, ) was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 27 February 1942 and in secondary actions over succ ...
and seek refuge in a squall. The squall transports ''Walker'' and ''Mahan'' to an alternate earth, one where a different evolutionary path occurred. Anderson also uses other decommissioned ships in the series: and the . ''Walker'' also appears in the seventh mission of the campaign of the video game Battlestations Midway, although she is shown as a ''Clemson'' class destroyer rather than a ''Wickes'' class.


References

*


External links


NavSource Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker (DD-163) Wickes-class destroyers World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1918 ships Maritime incidents in December 1941