USS Decatur (DD-5)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Decatur.

The second USS Decatur was a Bainbridge-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named in honor of Stephen Decatur.

USS Decatur steaming at high speed, while running trials in 1902.
History
United States
Name	Decatur
Namesake	Commodore Stephen Decatur
Builder	William R. Trigg Company, Richmond, Virginia
Laid down	26 July 1899
Launched	26 September 1900
Commissioned	19 May 1902
Decommissioned	20 July 1919
Stricken	15 September 1919
Fate	Sold, 3 January 1920 and broken up for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type	Bainbridge-class destroyer
Displacement	420 long tons (430 t) (standard) 592 long tons (601 t) (full load)
Length	245 ft (74.7 m) (pp) 250 ft (76.2 m) (oa)
Beam	23 ft 7 in (7.2 m)
Draft	6 ft 6 in (2 m) (mean)
Installed power	4 × Thornycroft boilers 8,000 ihp (6,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Vertical triple expansion engines 2 × Propellers
Speed	29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph) (designed speed)
Complement	3 officers 72 enlisted men
Armament	2 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber guns 5 × 6-pounder (57 mm (2.2 in)) guns 2 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes

Construction

Decatur was launched on 26 September 1900 by William R. Trigg Company, Richmond, Virginia; sponsored by Miss M. D. Mayo, great-grandniece of Commodore Decatur; and commissioned on 19 May 1902.

Pre-World War I

Decatur was designated lead vessel of the 1st Torpedo Flotilla with which she conducted drills and maneuvers along the Eastern Seaboard and in the Caribbean until December 1903, when the flotilla departed Norfolk for the Asiatic Station, sailing by way of the Suez Canal.

Arriving at Cavite, Philippines, on 14 April 1904, Decatur exercised along the China coast and cruised in Philippine waters until placed in reserve at Cavite on 5 December 1905. For the next three years, she made infrequent cruises, including one to the southern Philippines in January–February 1908 and Saigon in May 1908.

Decatur ran aground on a sand bar in the Philippines on 7 July 1908 while under the command of Ensign Chester W. Nimitz. The ship was pulled free the next day, and Nimitz was court-martialed, found guilty of neglect of duty, and issued a letter of reprimand.

Placed out of commission on 18 February 1909, Decatur was placed in commission in reserve on 22 April 1910 and in full commission on 22 December. She resumed operations with the Torpedo Flotilla, cruising in the southern Philippines and between ports of China and Japan until on 1 August 1917, when she departed for the Mediterranean.

World War I

Assigned to US Patrol Squadrons, Decatur arrived at Gibraltar on 20 October for patrol and convoy duty in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean until on 8 December 1918. Decatur arrived at Philadelphia on 6 February 1919 and was decommissioned there on 20 June. She was sold to Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company on 3 January 1920.

Noteworthy commanding officers

• Lieutenant Lloyd Horwitz Chandler (19 May 1902 – 22 April 1904) (Later Rear Admiral)
• Lieutenant Dudley Wright Knox (22 April 1904 – 24 March 1906) (Later Commodore)
• Ensign Chester William Nimitz (1 July 1908 – 29 July 1908) (Later Fleet admiral and Chief of Naval Operations) – Nimitz-class aircraft carrier named for him
• Lieutenant commander Harry Adrian McClure (31 January 1918 – 4 August 1918) (Later Commodore)

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• Jackson, Robert "Fighting Ships of The World." London: Amber Books Ltd, 2004 Pg.153 ISBN 9781840136470
• O'Neal, Kirkman (1974) O'Neal Steel: Memoirs of Kirkman O'Neal. Birmingham: private printing – includes a wartime diary kept by Lieutenant Kirkman O'Neal serving aboard the Decatur from January to December 1918.