USS Wainwright (DD-62)

USS Wainwright, c. 1916–1922
History
United States
NameUSS Wainwright
Namesake
Ordered1913
Builder
Yard number151
Laid down1 September 1914
Launched12 June 1915
Sponsored byMiss Evelyn Wainwright Turpin
Commissioned12 May 1916
Decommissioned3 June 1922
Stricken2 April 1926
IdentificationDD-62
Fatetransferred to U.S. Coast Guard, 2 April 1926
Acquiredreturned from U.S. Coast Guard, 27 April 1934
Reinstated27 April 1934
Stricken5 July 1934
FateSold on 22 August 1934
United States
NameUSCGC Wainwright
Acquired2 April 1926
Commissioned30 July 1926, New London, Connecticut
Decommissioned29 March 1934
IdentificationCG-24
Fatereturned to U.S. Navy, 27 April 1934
General characteristics
Class & typeTucker-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,060 long tons (1,080 t)
  • 1,205 long tons (1,224 t) fully loaded
Length315 ft 3 in (96.09 m)
Beam29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
Draft9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Propulsion
Speed30 knots (56 km/h)
Complement99 officers and enlisted
Armament

USS Wainwright (Destroyer No. 62/DD-62) was a Tucker-class destroyer built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of U.S. Navy officers Jonathan Wainwright, his cousin, Commander Richard Wainwright, and his son, Jonathan Wainwright, Jr..

Wainwright was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding of Camden, New Jersey, in September 1914 and launched in June of the following year. The ship was a little more than 315 feet (96 m) in length, just under 30 feet (9.1 m) abeam, and had a standard displacement of 1,090 long tons (1,110 t). She was armed with four 4-inch (10 cm) guns and had eight 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. Wainwright was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to 30 knots (56 km/h).

After her May 1916 commissioning, Wainwright sailed in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Wainwright was part of the first U.S. destroyer squadron sent overseas. Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland, Wainwright made several unsuccessful attacks on U-boats, and rescued survivors of several ships sunk by the German craft.

Upon returning to the United States after the war, Wainwright resumed operations with the destroyers of the Atlantic Fleet until May 1922, when she was decommissioned. In April 1926, Wainwright was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the "Rum Patrol". She operated under the name USCGC Wainwright (CG-24) until April 1934, when she was returned to the Navy. She was sold for scrap in August 1934.