USS Caldwell, a 1125-ton (normal displacement) destroyer built by the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, was the name ship of a class of six destroyers that reintroduced the soon to be widely used "flush deck" hull form to the U.S. destroyer force. She was commissioned at the beginning of December 1917 and crossed the Atlantic to the European war zone during the first quarter of 1918. Based at Queenstown, Ireland, Caldwell was employed on patrol and convoy escort duties for the rest of World War I, and also took part in experiments with submarine detection equipment. In December 1918, about a month after the fighting ended, she was one of the destroyers that escorted President Woodrow Wilson into Brest, France. Following her return to the U.S. early in 1919, Caldwell operated along the Atlantic Coast. In August 1920 her crew was reduced and she thereafter performed limited active service. USS Caldwell was decommissiond in late June 1922 and laid up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania. She was sold at the end of June 1936.
USS Caldwell was named in honor of Lieutenant James R. Caldwell (1778-1804), who was killed in action at Tripoli on 7 August 1804.
This page features all the views we have concerning USS Caldwell (Destroyer # 69, later DD-69).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
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The following photograph shows a camouflaged destroyer that MAY be USS Caldwell (Destroyer # 69):
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 7 November 2004
New image added 18 November 2005