Porter-class destroyer
USS
McDougal
(DD-358)
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| USS
McDougal
|
Namesake
| Rear Admiral
David McDougal
|
Builder
| New York Shipbuilding Corporation
|
Laid down
| 18 December 1933
|
Launched
| 17 July 1936
|
Commissioned
| 23 December 1936
|
Decommissioned
| 24 June 1946
|
Stricken
| 15 August 1949
|
Fate
| Sold 2 August 1949
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Porter
-class
destroyer
|
Displacement
| 1,850 tons, 2,597 tons full
|
Length
| 381 ft 1 in (116.15 m)
|
Beam
| 36 ft 11 in (11.25 m)
|
Draught
| 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
|
Propulsion
| 50,000 shp (37,285 kW); Geared Turbines, 2 screws
|
Speed
| 37 knots (69 km/h)
|
Range
| 6,500 nm@ 12 knots (12,000 km@ 22 km/h)
|
Complement
| 194 officers and enlisted
|
Armament
| |
The second
USS
McDougal
(DD-358/AG-126)
was a
Porter
-class
destroyer
in the
United States Navy
. She named for Rear Admiral
David Stockton McDougal
.
[1]
McDougal
was laid down by
New York Shipbuilding Corporation
,
Camden, New Jersey
, 18 December 1933; launched 17 July 1936; sponsored by Miss Caroline McDougal Neilson; and commissioned 23 December 1936.
[1]
Pre World War II service
[
edit
]
After
shakedown
,
McDougal
operated directly under the Office of the
Chief of Naval Operations
until mid-1937, when she steamed to the Pacific for duty with the
Scouting Force
and later the
Battle Force
. Operating out of
San Diego, California
, she served as
flagship
for Destroyer Squadron 9. As a heavily armed destroyer leader, she took part in type-training, readiness cruises, and battle problems in the eastern Pacific and in the Caribbean operating area.
[1]
McDougal
returned to the Atlantic coast with her division in the spring of 1941 to operate along the east coast. Between 5 and 7 August she escorted
Augusta
carrying President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
to
Placentia Bay
,
Newfoundland
, where, from 9 to 12 August, he met
British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
for the first time to discuss the menace of the Axis Powers and to formulate "common principles" for peace in the postwar world. On 10 August
McDougal
transported President Roosevelt to and from
HMS
Prince of Wales
during the only meeting of the two leaders on board the
battleship
. The President and the Prime Minister completed formulation of the eight-point declaration, embodied in the
Atlantic Charter
, 12 August; thence, both British and American ships departed
NS Argentia
later that day.
McDougal
screened
Augusta
to the coast of
Maine
14 August before resuming operation along the eastern seaboard.
[1]
South Atlantic patrol
[
edit
]
Assigned to convoy escort duty in the South Atlantic,
McDougal
steamed for
Cape Town
,
South Africa
, from the Caribbean early in December. While battling heavy seas off
Cape of Good Hope
, she received news of the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
. She returned to
Trinidad
30 December; thence, she departed for patrol duty off the South American coast 18 January 1942. During the next several months she carried out patrol and escort duty between Brazilian and Caribbean ports; and, following overhaul at
Charleston, South Carolina
during July and August, she cruised via Caribbean ports to the
Panama Canal
where she arrived 31 August.
[1]
Pacific Service
[
edit
]
Assigned to the
Southeast Pacific Force
,
McDougal
began patrol duty along the Pacific coast of Latin America 7 September. During the next 2 years she cruised out of
Balboa
,
Panama Canal Zone
, north to
Nicaragua
and south to the
Straits of Magellan
. She patrolled the southeast Pacific westward to the
Galapagos
and
Juan Fernandez Islands
and touched coastal ports in
Ecuador
,
Peru
, and
Chile
. She returned to New York 4 September 1944.
[1]
Return to Atlantic
[
edit
]
Resuming convoy escort duty 12 September 1944,
McDougal
sailed for the
United Kingdom
in the screen of convoy CU 39. During the next 6 months she made four round trips between New York and British ports; and, after arriving New York 5 March 1945 with ships of UC 57, she sailed the same day for overhaul at Charleston.
[1]
Post World War II and fate
[
edit
]
She cruised to
Casco Bay
11 to 15 September and began support duty with the Operational Development Force,
Atlantic Fleet
(TF 69). Reclassified
AG-126
on 17 September, she carried out experimental operations helping to improve naval gunnery and radar. Her duties during the remainder of 1945 sent her to
Boston
,
Newport
, and
Norfolk
. She arrived in Boston 15 December, thence resumed operations out of Norfolk 29 March 1946.
[1]
She steamed to New York 15 to 16 June and decommissioned at
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
, 24 June 1946.
[1]
Assigned to duty as a training ship for the
Naval Reserve
,
McDougal
was placed in service 13 January 1947. She operated under control of the 3d Naval District while based at
Brooklyn
. She was placed out of service 8 March 1949 and sold to the H. H. Buncher Company,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, 2 August. Her name was struck from the
Navy List
15 August, and she was removed from naval custody 22 September 1949.
[1]
McDougal
did not earn any battle stars during World War II.
References
[
edit
]
This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
. The entry can be found
here
.