View source for USS Meredith (DD-165)

{{Short description|Wickes-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|USS Meredith}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS Meredith (DD-165) at Boston, Massachusetts (USA), on 4 February 1919 (NH 50021).jpg|300px|USS Meredith (DD-165)]]
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1922}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=[[Jonathan Meredith]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Fore River Shipbuilding]] Company, [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
|Ship laid down=26 June 1918
|Ship launched=22 September 1918
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=29 January 1919
|Ship decommissioned=28 June 1922
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=7 January 1936
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping 29 September 1936
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|1202|-|1208|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} (standard)
*{{Convert|1295|-|1322|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|314|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|9|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 [[steam turbines]]
|Ship speed= {{Convert|35|kn|lk=in}} (design)
|Ship range={{convert|2500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn}} (design)
|Ship power=*{{Convert|27000|shp|kW|abbr=on|lk=in}}
*4 [[water-tube boiler]]s
|Ship complement=6 officers, 108 enlisted men
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[4"/50 caliber gun|4-inch (102&nbsp;mm) guns]]
*2 × single [[QF 1-pounder pom-pom|1-pounder]] [[AA gun]]s
*4 × triple [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*2 × [[depth charge]] rails
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Meredith'' (DD-165)''' was a {{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}} built for the [[United States Navy]] during World War I. She was the first destroyer in the United States Navy that named for a marine.

==Description==
The ''Wickes'' class was an improved and faster version of the preceding {{sclass|Caldwell|destroyer|0}}. Two different designs were prepared to the same specification that mainly differed in the turbines and boilers used. The ships built to the [[Bethlehem Steel]] design, built in the Fore River and Union Iron Works [[shipyard]]s, mostly used [[Yarrow boiler]]s that deteriorated badly during service and were mostly scrapped during the 1930s.<ref name=gg3>Gardiner & Gray, p. 124</ref> The ships displaced {{convert|1202|-|1208|LT|t|0}} at [[Displacement (ship)|standard]] load and {{convert|1295|-|1322|LT|t|0}} at [[deep load]]. They had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|314|ft|4|in|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|30|ft|11|in|1}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|9|ft|10|in|1}}. They had a crew of 6 officers and 108 enlisted men.<ref>Friedman, pp. 401–03</ref>

Performance differed radically between the ships of the class, often due to poor workmanship. The ''Wickes'' class was powered by two [[steam turbine]]s, each driving one [[propeller shaft]], using steam provided by four [[water-tube boiler]]s. The turbines were designed to produce a total of {{convert|27000|shp|lk=in}} intended to reach a speed of {{convert|35|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried {{convert|225|LT|t|0}} of [[fuel oil]] which was intended gave them a range of {{convert|2500|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn}}.<ref>Friedman, pp. 39–42, 401–03</ref>

The ships were armed with four [[4"/50 caliber gun|4-inch (102&nbsp;mm) guns]] in single mounts and were fitted with two  [[QF 1-pounder pom-pom|1-pounder]] guns for anti-aircraft defense. Their primary weapon, though, was their torpedo [[Artillery battery#Naval usage|battery]] of a dozen [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s in four triple mounts. In many ships a shortage of 1-pounders caused them to be replaced by 3-inch (76&nbsp;mm) [[anti-aircraft gun|anti-aircraft (AA) guns]].<ref name=gg3/> They also carried a pair of [[depth charge]] rails. A "Y-gun" depth charge thrower was added to many ships.<ref>Friedman, p. 45</ref>

==Construction and career==
''Meredith'', named for [[Jonathan Meredith]], was laid down 26 June 1918 by [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]; launched 22 September 1918; sponsored by Mrs. William F. Meredith, wife of the great-grandnephew of Sergeant Meredith; and commissioned at [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] 29 January 1919. Assigned to Destroyer Force, [[U.S. Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]], ''Meredith'' proceeded to [[Newport, Rhode Island]], for torpedoes and 18 February began a shakedown cruise to [[Cuba]]. However, she received orders 22 February to join five other destroyers as escort to ''George Washington'', returning President [[Woodrow Wilson]] from France to Boston. On 26 February, she resumed her shakedown.

''Meredith'' departed New York 1 May for [[Trepassey Bay]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], to serve as a guide post for the first [[transatlantic flight|transoceanic flight]], as [[NC-4|Navy Curtis]] flying boats spanned the Atlantic from [[Long Island]] to [[Plymouth]], England. Returning to Boston 22 May, ''Meredith'' cruised the east and gulf coasts with Destroyer Flotilla 2 until November, then served out of Newport for training, particularly target practice, until November, when she went into repair at [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]].

Rejoining her division at [[Charleston, South Carolina]], 26 January 1922, she participated in maneuvers until 5 April when she went into [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] for inactivation. Decommissioned 28 June 1922, ''Meredith'' remained at Philadelphia until, in accordance with the [[London Naval Treaty]], she was sold for scrapping 29 September 1936.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1982|isbn=0-87021-733-X}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/meredith-i.html}}

==External links==
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/165.htm NavSource Photos]

{{Wickes-class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith (DD-165)}}
[[Category:Wickes-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]