USS Parker (DD-48)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Parker.
Parker off New York City in May 1921
USS Parker (DD-48) off New York City in May 1921
History
United States
NameParker
NamesakeCommodore Foxhall A. Parker, Jr.
OrderedMarch 1911[4]
Builder
Cost$760,068.39 (hull and machinery)[2]
Yard number384[3]
Laid down11 March 1912[5]
Launched8 February 1913[1]
Sponsored byMrs. Henry W. Hand[1]
Commissioned20 January 1914[5]
Decommissioned6 June 1922[1]
Stricken8 March 1935[5]
Identification
Fatescrapped after 23 April 1935[1]
General characteristics [6]
Class and typeAylwin-class destroyer
Displacement1,036 long tons (1,053 t)[5]
Length305 ft 3 in (93.04 m)[5]
Beam30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)[5]
Draft9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) (mean)[7]
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 29.5 kn (33.9 mph; 54.6 km/h)
  • 29.55 kn (34.01 mph; 54.73 km/h) (Speed on Trial)[7]
Complement5 officers 96 enlisted[8]
Armament

USS Parker (Destroyer No. 48/DD-48) was an Aylwin-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 Foxhall A. Parker, Jr., a U.S. Navy officer who served in the American Civil War, and as Superintendent of United States Naval Academy.

Parker was laid down by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia in March 1912 and launched in February 1913. The ship was a little more than 305 ft (93 m) in length, just over 30 ft (9.1 m) abeam, and had a standard displacement of 1,036 long tons (1,053 t). She was armed with four 4 in (100 mm) guns and had eight 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. Parker was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to 29.5 kn (33.9 mph; 54.6 km/h).

After her January 1914 commissioning, she assisted her sister ship Aylwin when that ship suffered an explosion in one of her fire rooms in April. After the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, Parker served as an escort for the fourth group of the first American troop convoy of the war. Afterwards, she patrolled the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland. Parker rescued nine survivors of a torpedoed British hospital ship in February 1918, and her crew received accolades from the British Parliament, the Admiralty, and U.S. Navy officials.

Upon returning to the U.S. after the war in July 1919, Parker rejoined the Atlantic Fleet. Parker was decommissioned in June 1922. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in March 1935, and ordered scrapped in April.

  1. ^ a b c d e Naval History & Heritage Command. "Parker (DD-48) i". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 762. 1921.
  3. ^ "Parker (6104407)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Gardiner, p. 122.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bauer and Roberts, p. 170.
  6. ^ "USS Parker (DD-48)". Navsource.org. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Table 10 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 714. 1921.
  8. ^ a b "Table 16 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 749. 1921.