| USS Edwards (DD-265) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Career (United States) |  |
| Name: | USS Edwards (DD-265) |
| Namesake: | William W. Edwards |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum Victory Yard |
| Laid down: | 3 June 1918 |
| Launched: | 10 October 1918 |
| Commissioned: | 24 April 1919 |
| Decommissioned: | 8 October 1940 |
| Struck: | 8 January 1941 |
| Fate: |
Transferred to U.K., 8 October 1940 |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: | HMS Buxton (H96) |
| Acquired: | 8 October 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 8 October 1940 |
| Honours and awards: | Atlantic 1941-42 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Canada, August 1942 |
| Career (Canada) |  |
| Name: | HMCS Buxton (H96) |
| Acquired: | August 1942 |
| Honours and awards: | Atlantic 1942-43 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Clemson-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,215 tons |
| Length: | 314 ft 4 in (95.8 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 8 in (9.7 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft 3 in (2.8 m) |
| Propulsion: |
26,500 shp (20 MW); geared turbines, 2 screws |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h) |
| Range: |
4,900 nmi (9,100 km) @ 15 kt |
| Complement: | 120 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
4 × 4 in/50 (102 mm) guns, 1 × 3 in/23 (76 mm) gun, 12 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes. |
USS Edwards (DD-265) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy and transferred to the Royal Navy where she served as HMS Buxton (H96) and later in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.
As USS Edwards[]
Named for Midshipman William W. Edwards, she was launched 10 October 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum, Massachusetts; sponsored by Miss Julia Edwards Noyes, whose great-grandfather was the uncle of Midshipman Edwards; and commissioned 24 April 1919 at Boston Navy Yard, Commander P. L. Wilson in command.
In May 1919 Edwards carried spare parts for airplanes and seaplanes to St. John's, Newfoundland, as reserves for the historic first transatlantic seaplane flight made by Navy planes. She sailed from Boston, Massachusetts 28 May to report to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, for duty with the Food Administration. Arriving at Gibraltar in June, she took part in escorting George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson into Brest, then visited England and Germany before returning to the States 25 August.
Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Edwards sailed from New York 17 September 1919 and arrived at the destroyer base at San Diego, California 13 October where she was placed in reduced commission with a partial complement 1 November 1919. In February 1920 she moved to Puget Sound Navy Yard, but returned to San Diego a year later where she remained in reserve, occasionally putting to sea for target practice. She was placed out of commission 8 June 1922.
Recommissioned 18 December 1939, Edwards was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol, and after overhaul, left the west coast 22 March for Galveston, Texas. She patrolled the Gulf and east coast until fall, then sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she was decommissioned 8 October 1940, and delivered to the British Government as one of the destroyers exchanged for bases.
As HMS Buxton and HMCS Buxton[]
Commissioned in the Royal Navy 8 October 1940 as HMS Buxton (H96) for service in the third "Town" Flotilla, the destroyer served in Canadian waters briefly as the U-boat war intensified; she was then allocated to 6th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, for dangerous and vital duty keeping the supply line open to Britain. Buxton was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4"/50 caliber guns and one of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of hedgehog.[1] In August 1942, when newer escorts were available, she was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as a member of the Western Local Escort Force based at Halifax. After undergoing refit in Boston from December 1942 to March 1943 she rejoined the WLEF in April, 1943. She was withdrawn from service that August and used as a static training ship at Halifax and then Digby, Nova Scotia, until the end of 1944.[2] She was finally paid off early in 1945.
Notes[]
- ↑ Lenton&Colledge (1968) pp.92-94
- ↑ http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-11US-Buxton.htm
References[]
- Lenton, H.T. and Colledge J.J. (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- naval-history.net: HMS Buxton
External links[]
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The original article can be found at USS Edwards (DD-265) and the edit history here.