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USS Jacob Jones (DD-130)

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Jacob Jones (DD-130)

USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) was laid down 21 February 1918 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 20 November 1918; sponsored by Mrs. Cazenove Doughton, great-granddaughter of Commodore Jacob Jones; and commissioned 20 October 1919 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Lt. Comdr. P. H. Bastedo in command.

After fitting out at Philadelphia, USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) sailed 4 December for shakedown in the Atlantic. She arrived Pensacola, Fla., 22 December to continue her training and departed 3 January 1920 for the Pacific. Arriving San Diego 26 January, she operated along the California coast on antiaircraft and firing exercises. She entered Mare Island Navy Yard 17 August for repairs and overhaul and assumed a reserve status. Returning to duty with Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, 18 June 1921, she operated out of San Diego until decommissioning 24 June 1922.

Recommissioned 1 May 1930, USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) trained in coastal waters from Alaska to Mexico as a plane guard for the Navy's budding aircraft carriers. Following Battle Fleet maneuvers during August, she entered Mare Island in November for repairs. USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) steamed from Boston 1 December for maneuvers off Haiti. On 13 February 1932 she departed the Caribbean to begin 13 months of plane guard duty and torpedo practice along California. She returned to Guantanamo, Cuba, 1 May 1933 for general drill and battle problem exercises, and on the 26th she sailed for Norfolk to undergo self-upkeep on rotating reserve.

After attending the Presidential Regatta in September, USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) prepared to sail for Europe to join Squadron 40-T in the Mediterranean. Organized in September 1936 to protect and evacuate Americans from Spain during the civil war, the squadron remained in the western Mediterranean cultivating friendly relations with European nations while protecting American interests. Returning briefly to Norfolk 6 December, she sailed to Key West for further ASW training. She resumed her operations with the Neutrality Patrol in March 1941, patrolling the waters from Key West to Yucatan Channel. USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) maintained her Caribbean operations throughout the summer.

At the first light of dawn 28 February 1942, undetected German submarine U-578 fired a spread of torpedoes at the unsuspecting destroyer. The deadly "fish" sped unsighted and two "or possibly three" struck the destroyer's port side in rapid succession. USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) remained afloat for about 45 minutes, allowing her survivors to clear the stricken ship in four or five rafts. Within an hour of the initial explosion USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) plunged bow first into the cold Atlantic; as her shattered stern disappeared, her pressure-fused depth charges exploded, killing several survivors on a nearby raft.

For a complete history of USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) please see its DANFS page.