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Crane (DD-109)

William M. Crane, born in 1776 at Elizabethtown, N.J., was appointed midshipman in 1799 and captain in 1814. Serving as a lieutenant in Congress, he won honors for his gallant fighting in the attacks on Tripoli in 1804. Captain Crane was assigned command of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1827 and acted as one of the commissioners in the negotiations with the Ottoman Empire. He was on the Board of Navy Commissioners and the first Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography from 1842 until his death 18 March 1846.

(DD-109: displacement 1,060; length 314'5"; beam 31'9"; draft 8'6"; speed 35 knots; complement 100; armament 4 4-inch, 12 21-inch torpedo tubes; class Wickes)

Crane (Destroyer No. 109) was launched 4 July 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. M. McGuire; and commissioned 18 April 1919, Lt. Cmdr. William F. Gresham in command.

Clearing San Francisco on 21 April 1919, Crane arrived at Newport, R.I., on 13 May. She sailed for duty in European waters on 5 June, visiting ports in England and France and joining the escort for the troop transport George Washington (Id.No. 3018) carrying President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference. Returning to New York on 27 July, Crane was assigned to the Pacific Fleet, and arrived at San Francisco on 1 September. There she participated in the Naval Review, during which she was visited by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on 4 September. After operations off the coast of Washington, Crane -- placed in reserve at San Diego on 26 January 1920 -- was reclassified to DD-109 on 17 July 1920, and participated in occasional maneuvers until decommissioned on 7 June 1922 at San Diego.

Recommissioned on 18 December 1939, Cmdr. Marion Y. Cohen in command, Crane joined the Neutrality Patrol in the Pacific. She continued patrols and provided training for U.S. Naval Reservists and Armed Guard crews until the outbreak of the war.

Crane remained on the west coast on antisubmarine patrol, local escort duty, training exercises, and screening duty for amphibious exercises until 22 April 1944, when she was assigned to the West Coast Sound Training School. After the war, she departed San Diego on 2 October 1945, and arrived at Philadelphia on 19 October.  Decommissioned on 14 November 1945, she was  sold on 1 November 1946.

Published: Wed Apr 11 18:46:11 EDT 2018