USS Chase (DD-323)

Reuben Chase was born on 23 June 1754. He joined USS Ranger as a seaman in 1777 and served during John Paul Jones' daring raid into British waters. Chase was appointed a midshipman on USS Bonhomme Richard on 18 March 1779, and took part in the historic victory over HMS Serapis on 23 September 1779.

The Clemson class was a repeat of the preceding Wickes class although more fuel capacity was added.[1] The ships displaced 1,290 long tons (1,310 t) at standard load and 1,389 long tons (1,411 t) at deep load. They had an overall length of 314 feet 4 inches (95.8 m), a beam of 30 feet 11 inches (9.4 m) and a draught of 10 feet 3 inches (3.1 m). They had a crew of 6 officers and 108 enlisted men.[2]

Performance differed radically between the ships of the class, often due to poor workmanship. The Clemson class was powered by two steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by four water-tube boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) intended to reach a speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 371 long tons (377 t) of fuel oil which was intended gave them a range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[3]

The ships were armed with four 4-inch (102 mm) guns in single mounts and were fitted with two 1-pounder guns for anti-aircraft defense. In many ships a shortage of 1-pounders caused them to be replaced by 3-inch (76 mm) guns. Their primary weapon, though, was their torpedo battery of a dozen 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in four triple mounts. They also carried a pair of depth charge rails. A "Y-gun" depth charge thrower was added to many ships.[4]

Chase, named for Reuben Chase, was launched 2 September 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Francisco, California; sponsored by Mrs. J. A. Annear; and commissioned 10 March 1921. Cruising primarily along the west coast of the United States, Chase took part in training operations and fleet maneuvers. She took part in the Presidential Fleet Review at Seattle, Washington, in 1923, and in 1927 cruised in Nicaraguan waters to protect American interests while civil war took place in that country. In 1928 she cruised to Hawaii with members of the Naval Reserve on board for training, and in 1929 she operated off San Diego, California with Saratoga (CV-3) and Lexington (CV-2) assisting the development of US carrier aviation.

Designated for scrapping under the provisions of the London Naval Treaty, Chase was decommissioned at San Diego 15 May 1930, and broken up during 1931.

• Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-733-X.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/323.htm