Skip to main content
Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Tags
Related Content
Topic
  • Boats-Ships--Destroyer
Document Type
  • Ship History
Wars & Conflicts
File Formats
Location of Archival Materials

Osborne (DD-295)

(DD-295: dp. 1,190; l. 314-5-; b. 31-8-; dr. 9-4-; s. 35 k.; cpl. 120; a. 4 4-, 1 3-, 12 21- tt.; cl. Clemson)

Lt. Weedon E. Osborne was born 13 November 1892 in Chicago, III. Appointed a Lt. (jg) and a dental surgeon in the Navy 8 May 1917, he was assigned duty with the 6th Marines Regt, 26 March 1918. During the advance on Boursches, France, in the Chateau Thierry area, he sought to aid the wounded and was killed while attempting to carry an injured officer to safety on 6 June. He was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary herosim under fire...."

Osborne (DD-295) was laid down 23 September 1919 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Squantum, Mass.; launched 29 December 1919; co-sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Osborne Fisher, sister of Lt. W. E. Osborne and Mrs. C. H. Cox-and commissioned 17 May 1920, Lt. Dennis L. Ryan in command.

Commissioned into a peacetime navy curtailed by a retrenching Congress, the undermanned four stacker departed Boston 25 June to join DesRon 3, Atlantic Fleet. The limited coastal operations of 1920 were supplemented by 2 months of fleet exercises and battle problems off Cuba during the first quarter of 1921. Whether operating out of Charleston, her normal base of operations, or out of the Brooklyn or Philadelphia Navy Yards Osborne regularly steamed southward early each year for these competitive exercises and large scale tactical manuevers. These beneficial testing periods brought a familiarization not only with the Caribbean area but also the Pacific coast of Panama. Steaming from Boston 18 June 1925, DD-295 had a chance to "show the flag" on an extensive year long cruise in the western half of the Mediterranean Sea and along the western European coastline.

Her sailing days ended 20 September 1929 upon entering the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Osborne decommissioned 1 May 1930 with her crew transferring to the newly recommissioned Taylor (DD-94). In accordance with the agreements reached at the London Naval Disarmament Conference of 1930, she was struck from the Navy List 22 October 1930 and sold for scrap 17 January 1931.

Published: Thu Mar 03 12:19:58 EST 2016