Wickes Class Destroyer (1917)

One hundred and eleven Wickes class destroyers were completed for the U.S. Navy, the first being delivered in 1918 and most of the balance being commissioned in 1919. They were a more powerful version of the preceding Caldwell class, capable of 35 knots.

They proved wet boats and lacked range for convenient, sustained operations. This would be alleviated in changes made in the subsequent Clemson class, though none of those would be completed before the war's end.

Overview of 111 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Wickes	Bath Iron Works	26 Jun, 1917	25 Jun, 1918	31 Jul, 1918	Broken up Mar, 1945
Philip	Bath Iron Works	1 Sep, 1917	25 Jul, 1918	24 Aug, 1918	Broken up Feb, 1947
Woolsey	Bath Iron Works	1 Nov, 1917	17 Sep, 1918	30 Sep, 1918	Collision 26 Feb, 1921
Evans	Bath Iron Works	28 Dec, 1917	30 Oct, 1918	11 Nov, 1918	Broken up Oct, 1944
Little	Fore River	18 Jun, 1917	11 Nov, 1917	6 Apr, 1918	Sunk 5 Sep, 1942
Kimberly	Fore River	21 Jun, 1917	14 Dec, 1917	26 Apr, 1918
Sigourney	Fore River	25 Aug, 1917	16 Dec, 1917	15 May, 1918	1947
Gregory	Fore River	25 Aug, 1917	27 Jan, 1918	1 Jun, 1918	Sunk 5 Sep, 1942
Stringham	Fore River	19 Sep, 1917	30 Mar, 1918	2 Jul, 1918
Dyer	Fore River	26 Sep, 1917	13 Apr, 1918	1 Jul, 1918
Colhoun	Fore River	19 Sep, 1917	21 Feb, 1918	13 Jun, 1918	Sunk 30 Aug, 1942
Stevens	Fore River	20 Sep, 1917	13 Jan, 1918	24 May, 1918
McKee	Union Iron Works	29 Oct, 1917	23 Mar, 1918	7 Sep, 1918
Robinson	Union Iron Works	31 Oct, 1917	28 Mar, 1918	19 Oct, 1918	Broken up 1946
Ringgold	Union Iron Works	20 Oct, 1917	14 Apr, 1918	14 Nov, 1918	Broken up 1947
McKean	Union Iron Works	12 Feb, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	25 Feb, 1919	Torpedoed 17 Nov, 1943
Harding	Union Iron Works	12 Feb, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	24 Jan, 1919
Gridley	Union Iron Works	1 Apr, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	8 Mar, 1919
Fairfax	Mare Island	10 Jul, 1917	15 Dec, 1917	6 Apr, 1918	Broken up 1949
Taylor	Mare Island	15 Oct, 1917	14 Feb, 1918	1 Jun, 1918
Bell	Fore River	16 Nov, 1917	14 Jan, 1918	31 Jul, 1918
Stribling	Fore River	14 Dec, 1917	29 May, 1918	16 Aug, 1918	Expended 28 Jul, 1937
Murray	Fore River	22 Dec, 1917	8 Jun, 1918	21 Aug, 1918
Israel	Fore River	26 Jan, 1917	22 Jun, 1918	21 Aug, 1918
Luce	Fore River	9 Feb, 1918	29 Jun, 1918	11 Sep, 1918
Maury	Fore River	25 Feb, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	23 Sep, 1918
Lansdale	Fore River	20 Apr, 1918	21 Jul, 1918	26 Oct, 1918
Mahan	Fore River	4 May, 1918	4 Aug, 1918	24 Oct, 1918
Schley	Union Iron Works	29 Oct, 1917	28 Mar, 1918	20 Sep, 1918
Champlin	Union Iron Works	29 Oct, 1917	7 Apr, 1918	11 Nov, 1918	Expended 12 Aug, 1936
Mugford	Union Iron Works	20 Dec, 1917	14 Apr, 1918	25 Nov, 1918
Chew	Union Iron Works	2 Jan, 1918	26 May, 1918	12 Dec, 1918
Hazelwood	Union Iron Works	24 Dec, 1917	22 Jun, 1918	20 Feb, 1919
Williams	Union Iron Works	25 Mar, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	18 Apr, 1919
Crane	Union Iron Works	7 Jan, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	18 Apr, 1919
Hart	Union Iron Works	4 Jan, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	26 May, 1919
Ingraham	Union Iron Works	12 Jan, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	15 May, 1919	Expended 23 Jul, 1937
Ludlow	Union Iron Works	7 Jan, 1918	9 Jun, 1918	23 Dec, 1918
Rathburne	WIlliam Cramp & Sons	12 Jul, 1917	27 Dec, 1917	24 Jun, 1918
Talbot	WIlliam Cramp & Sons	12 Jul, 1917	20 Feb, 1918	20 Jul, 1918
Waters	WIlliam Cramp & Sons	26 Jul, 1917	9 Mar, 1918	8 Aug, 1918
Dent	WIlliam Cramp & Sons	30 Aug, 1917	23 Mar, 1918	9 Sep, 1918
Dorsey	WIlliam Cramp & Sons	18 Sep, 1917	9 Apr, 1918	16 Sep, 1918	Grounded 9 Oct, 1945
Lea	WIlliam Cramp & Sons	18 Sep, 1917	29 Apr, 1918	2 Oct, 1918
Lamberton	Newport News	1 Oct, 1917	30 Mar, 1918	22 Aug, 1918
Radford	Newport News	2 Oct, 1917	5 Aug, 1918	30 Sep, 1918	Expended 5 Aug, 1936
Montgomery	Newport News	2 Oct, 1917	23 Mar, 1918	26 Jul, 1918	Mined 17 Oct, 1944
Breese	Newport News	10 Nov, 1917	11 May, 1918	23 Oct, 1918	Sold 10 May, 1946
Gamble	Newport News	12 Nov, 1917	11 May, 1918	28 Nov, 1918	Kamikaze 17 Feb, 1945
Ramsay	Newport News	21 Dec, 1917	8 Jun, 1918	14 Feb, 1919
Tattnall	New York Shipbuilding	1 Dec, 1917	5 Sep, 1918	26 Jun, 1919
Badger	New York Shipbuilding	9 Jan, 1918	24 Aug, 1918	29 May, 1919
Twiggs	New York Shipbuilding	23 Jan, 1918	28 Sep, 1918	28 Jul, 1919	Broken up 1952
Babbitt	New York Shipbuilding	19 Feb, 1918	30 Sep, 1918	24 Oct, 1919
De Long	New York Shipbuilding	21 Feb, 1918	29 Oct, 1918	20 Sep, 1919	Grounded 1 Dec, 1921
Jacob Jones	New York Shipbuilding	21 Feb, 1918	20 Nov, 1918	20 Oct, 1919	Torpedoed 28 Feb, 1942
Buchanan	Bath Iron Works	29 Jun, 1918	2 Jan, 1919	20 Jan, 1919	Expended 28 Mar, 1942
Aaron Ward	Bath Iron Works	1 Aug, 1918	10 Apr, 1919	21 Apr, 1919	Broken up 1948
Hale	Bath Iron Works	7 Oct, 1918	29 May, 1919	12 Jun, 1919	Broken up 1945
Crowninshield	Bath Iron Works	5 Nov, 1918	24 Jul, 1919	6 Aug, 1919	Broken up 1949
Tillman	Charleston Navy Yard	29 Jul, 1918	7 Jul, 1919	30 Apr, 1921	Broken up 1945
Boggs	Mare Island	15 Nov, 1917	25 Apr, 1918	23 Sep, 1918	Sold 27 Nov, 1946
Kilty	Mare Island	15 Dec, 1917	25 Apr, 1918	17 Dec, 1918
Kennison	Mare Island	14 Feb, 1918	8 Jun, 1918	17 Dec, 1918
Ward	Mare Island	15 May, 1918	1 Jun, 1918	24 Jul, 1918	Kamikazed 7 Dec, 1944
Claxton	Mare Island	25 Apr, 1918	14 Jan, 1919	13 Sep, 1919	Sold Oct, 1944
Hamilton	Mare Island	8 Jun, 1918	15 Jan, 1919	7 Nov, 1919
Tarbell	William Cramp & Sons	31 Dec, 1917	28 May, 1918	27 Nov, 1918
Template:US-Yarnell	William Cramp & Sons	2 Feb, 1917	19 Jan, 1918	29 Nov, 1918	Broken up 1952
Upshur	William Cramp & Sons	19 Feb, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	23 Dec, 1918
Greer	William Cramp & Sons	24 Feb, 1918	1 Aug, 1918	31 Dec, 1918
Elliot	William Cramp & Sons	23 Feb, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	25 Jan, 1919
Roper	William Cramp & Sons	19 Mar, 1918	17 Aug, 1918	15 Feb, 1919
Breckinridge	William Cramp & Sons	11 Mar, 1918	17 Aug, 1918	27 Feb, 1919
Barney	William Cramp & Sons	26 Mar, 1918	5 Sep, 1918	14 Mar, 1919
Blakely	William Cramp & Sons	26 Mar, 1918	19 Sep, 1918	8 May, 1919
Biddle	William Cramp & Sons	22 Apr, 1918	3 Oct, 1918	22 Apr, 1919
Du Pont	William Cramp & Sons	2 May, 1918	22 Oct, 1918	30 Apr, 1919
Bernadou	William Cramp & Sons	4 Jun, 1918	7 Nov, 1918	19 May, 1919
Ellis	William Cramp & Sons	8 Jul, 1918	30 Nov, 1918	7 Jun, 1919
Cole	William Cramp & Sons	25 Jun, 1918	11 Jan, 1919	19 Jun, 1919
J. Fred Talbott	William Cramp & Sons	8 Jul, 1918	14 Dec, 1918	30 Jun, 1919
Dickerson	New York Shipbuilding	25 May, 1918	12 Mar, 1919	3 Sep, 1919	Kamikazed 2 Apr, 1945
Leary	New York Shipbuilding	6 Mar, 1918	18 Dec, 1918	5 Dec, 1919	Torpedoed 24 Dec, 1943
Schenck	New York Shipbuilding	26 Mar, 1918	23 Apr, 1919	30 Oct, 1919
Herbert	New York Shipbuilding	4 Apr, 1918	8 May, 1919	21 Nov, 1919
Palmer	Fore River	29 May, 1918	18 Aug, 1918	22 Nov, 1918	Torpedoed 7 Jan, 1945
Thatcher	Fore River	8 Jun, 1918	31 Aug, 1918	14 Jan, 1919	Sold May, 1946
Walker	Fore River	18 Jun, 1918	14 Sep, 1918	31 Jan, 1919
Crosby	Fore River	23 Jun, 1918	28 Sep, 1918	24 Jan, 1919
Meredith	Fore River	26 Jun, 1918	22 Sep, 1918	29 Jan, 1919
Bush	Fore River	4 Jul, 1918	27 Oct, 1918	19 Feb, 1919
Cowell	Fore River	15 Jul, 1918	23 Nov, 1918	17 Mar, 1919	Broken up 1949
Maddox	Fore River	20 Jul, 1918	27 Oct, 1918	10 Mar, 1919	Broken up 1952
Foote	Fore River	7 Aug, 1918	14 Dec, 1918	21 Mar, 1919	Broken up 1949
Kalk	Fore River	17 Aug, 1918	21 Dec, 1918	29 Mar, 1919	Jul, 1945
Burns	Union Iron Works	15 Apr, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	7 Aug, 1919	Sold 2 Apr, 1932
Anthony	Union Iron Works	18 Apr, 1918	10 Aug, 1918	19 Jun, 1919	Expended 22 Jul, 1937
Sproston	Union Iron Works	20 Apr, 1918	10 Aug, 1918	11 Jul, 1919	Expended 20 Jul, 1937
Rizal	Union Iron Works	26 Jun, 1918	21 Sep, 1918	28 May, 1919
Mackenzie	Union Iron Works	4 Jul, 1918	29 Sep, 1918	25 Jul, 1919	Sold 21 Jun, 1945
Renshaw	Union Iron Works	8 May, 1918	21 Sep, 1918	31 Jul, 1919
O'Bannon	Union Iron Works	12 Nov, 1918	28 Feb, 1919	27 Aug, 1919
Hogan	Union Iron Works	25 Nov, 1918	12 Apr, 1919	28 Jan, 1920	Expended 8 Nov, 1945
Howard	Union Iron Works	9 Dec, 1918	26 Apr, 1919	28 Jan, 1920
Stansbury	Union Iron Works	9 Dec, 1918	16 May, 1919	8 Jan, 1920
Hopewell	Newport News	19 Jan, 1918	8 Jan, 1918	21 Mar, 1919	Torpedoed 19 Aug, 1941
Thomas	Newport News	23 Mar, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	25 Apr, 1919	Broken up 1949
Haraden	Newport News	30 Mar, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	7 Jun, 1919	Sold Aug, 1945
Abbot	Newport News	5 Apr, 1918	4 Jul, 1918	19 Jul, 1919	Broken up 1948
Bagley	Newport News	11 May, 1918	19 Oct, 1918	27 Aug, 1919	Broken up 1945

Armament

4-in Guns

• one 4-in/50cal gun forward
• two 4-in/50cal guns, on platform athwart second and third funnels
• one 4-in/50cal gun right aft or on deckhouse aft

3-in Gun

Some units:

• one 3-in.23cal A.A. gun, on aft deckhouse or right aft

Others:

• two 1-pdr A.A. guns, one sometimes forward behind the foremost 4-in gun

Torpedoes

• four triple 21-in torpedo tubes, two on each broadside, aft

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Gray, Randal (editor) (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. (on Amazon.com).