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USS Gamble (DD-123/DM-15)

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Gamble (DD-123/DM-15)

USS Gamble (DD-123) was laid down on 12 November 1917 at Newport News, Va., by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.; launched on 11 May 1918; sponsored by Miss Evelyn H. Jackson, relative of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels; and commissioned at Norfolk on 29 November 1918, Cmdr. Harry J. Abbett in command.

After a post-commissioning dry dock period (3–11 December 1918), USS Gamble (DD-123) sailed on 15 December to Newport, R.I., to load torpedoes and then continued on to New York City, arriving on the 17th. USS Gamble (DD-123) completed her trials off Rockland, Me., on 18 February and arrived at Boston [Mass.] Navy Yard the following day. On 21 February, Gamble was among the ships that steamed out to meet the troop transport George Washington (Id. No. 3018), which was carrying President Woodrow Wilson back to the U.S. from peace negotiations in Paris, to escort her into Boston Harbor on the 23rd.

USS Gamble (DD-123) arrived at New York City to join with the rest of Destroyer Division 12 on 26 June 1919. Two days later, World War I drew to its formal conclusion when the Allied Powers and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles. On 19 July 1919, USS Gamble (DD-123) stood out with Destroyer Division 12 and other ships of the Pacific Fleet, beginning their journey to the West Coast. USS Gamble (DD-123) transited the Panama Canal (24–25 July) and called at Balboa in the Canal Zone for three days to refuel and load fresh provisions. The ship returned to San Diego on 27 October 1920 and then (3–6 November) participated in maneuvers with a battleship force, acting as an antisubmarine screen for battleships Texas (BB-35) and New York (BB-34). 

On 15 August 1921, USS Gamble (DD-123) arrived at Mare Island for overhaul, with drydocking from 1-9 September. The ship was reclassified and given the new identification number DM-15 on 13 June 1930. Joined by USS Radford (DD-120), Breese, and Montgomery, USS Gamble (DD-DM-15) departed the Bay Area on 20 September and returned to San Diego late the following day, where she continued her upkeep routine for the rest of the year. She returned to San Diego on the 17th and commenced inactivation procedures. USS Gamble (DM-15) was decommissioned on 17 June 1922 and was held in reserve at San Diego.

On 24 May 1930, the Navy reactivated and recommissioned USS Gamble (DD-DM-15), Cmdr. Alexander Sharp in command. For the next several years, Gamble operated in the Hawaiian Islands, following a routine training regimen with the ships in her division that culminated with the annual fleet problems. As Europe plunged into World War II, USS Gamble (DM-15) was once again recommissioned at San Diego on 25 September 1939.

For several months, some hope remained that USS Gamble (DM-15) would be repaired and would rejoin the Fleet, but on 1 June 1945 the battered minelayer was decommissioned, and her name was stricken from the Navy Register on 22 June. On 16 July 1945, USS Gamble (DM-15) was towed outside Apra Harbor, Guam, and sunk.

For a complete history of USS Gamble (DD-123/DM-15) please see its DANFS page.