Naval History and Heritage Command

The unnamed Destroyer No. 133 was laid down on 7 October 1918 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works; named Hale on 23 January 1919 in General Order No. 449;  launched on 29 May 1919; sponsored by Miss Mary Hale, granddaughter of the late Senator Hale; and commissioned at the Boston [Mass.] Navy Yard on 12 June 1919, Cmdr. Allan S. Farquhar in command.

USS Hale  joined Destroyer Squadron 3, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and after training exercises departed on 11 July 1919 for Europe. On this cruise, the ship paid goodwill visits to European and Mediterranean ports, assisted in the execution of the Austrian Armistice in October, and joined the American detachment in Turkish waters. USS Hale (DD-133)  then carried refugees, relief officials, and freight between the ports of Greece, Bulgaria, and Russia, showing the flag in the vital Mediterranean and Balkan area. She returned to Philadelphia on 31 March 1920 and resumed her schedule of training and development exercises along the Eastern Coast. On 17 July 1920, the ship was redesignated to DD-133. USS Hale (DD-133) was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 22 June 1922 and remained in reserve until 1 May 1930, when she was re-commissioned.

USS Hale (DD-133) was recommissioned at San Diego on 30 September 1939, less than a molnth bafter hostilities began in Europe with the German invasion of Poland.  She departed on 25 November for Neutrality Patrol in the Caribbean. Her base was changed to Galveston, Tex., on 22 February 1940, and later to Key West, Fla., but the ship continued to patrol the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Proceeding ultimately to Philadelphia on 1 September 1940, she prepared for transfer to Great Britain as a part of the famous destroyers for bases agreement. USS Hale (DD-133) arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 6 September 1940 and was decommissioned three days later. Entering the Royal Navy, she became HMS Caldwell. USS Hale (DD-133), meanwhile, was stricken from the Navy Register on 1 January 1941.

During her career in the British Navy, Caldwell was assigned to escort duty in the Atlantic and later in the Caribbean. She joined the Royal Canadian Navy in mid-1942, and while returning to St. John's, Newfoundland, on 18 December 1942, was seriously damaged during a heavy gale. She became disabled, and was found drifting helplessly by Wanderer on 21 December. Caldwell was then towed to St. John's and later to Boston. Ready for sea again in May 1943, the ship resumed convoy duty with the Royal Canadian Navy until 1 December, when she returned to Tyne and was placed in reserve. Caldwell was broken up for scrap in September 1944.

For a complete history of USS Hale (DD-133) please see its DANFS page.