USS Jenkins, DD-42

WWI "Flivver Type" Destroyer

USS Jenkins DD-42 under way in 1918

USS Jenkins (DD-42) was laid down 24 March 1911 by the Bath Iron Works of Bath Maine and launched 29 April 1912. Miss Alice Jenkins who was the daughter of Rear Admiral Jenkins had the honor of bestowing the name of USS Jenkins on the newly launched hull. USS Jenkins was commissioned on 15 June 1912 with Lt. Commander E. H. De Lany in command. On the government-measured course off the coast of Maine the Jenkins set a speed record on May 21, 1912. That day on her first speed trial she bested the navy’s fastest destroyer the USS Jouett, which had the record at 33.02 knots. The Jenkins turned in a speed of 33.119 knots to make her the fastest destroyer in the navy at the time.

The Jenkins entered the Navy Yard at Boston on August 4, 1912 with damage reported to one of her propellers. It was thought that she had hit a submerged obstruction and the yard workers put her in dry-dock to access the damage and make repairs.

In October of 1912, the bulk of the United States Navy gathered in the Hudson River off Manhattan Island. There, on October 14, the fleet was reviewed by President William Howard Taft, who apparently had decided against campaigning in his re-election struggle against Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. (Ironically, Roosevelt would be shot that same day while campaigning in Milwaukee.) Taft, accompanied by Secretary of the Navy George von Lengerke Meyer, was able to view what the New York Times called "the greatest assemblage of naval strength ever assembled." While this may have been hyperbolic exaggeration, the ships gathered at New York did represent a significant naval force. The vessels ranged from auxiliaries to the new "Super-Dreadnought" battleships Arkansas and Wyoming, both recent additions to the fleet. The 24 destroyers present at the review represented a cross-section of the US Navy's early efforts at ships of this class. Some were newly built modern vessels others had been languishing in the Reserve Fleet. During this Fleet Review the Jenkins was one of the 24 destroyers and she was still under command of Lt. Commander E. H. De Lany.

The Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes was being escorted out to sea from New York on July 17, 1913 by the battleships USS Arkansas and Delaware and the Destroyers USS Fanning, Jarvis and Jenkins. Once the Minas Geraes was given a departing salute by the American ships the fleet of escorts turned south for Newport. At about 11:30 that evening the Arkansas cut across the bow of the Fanning too quickly and the Captain of the Fanning orders his engines reversed. But a few moments later the Fanning struck what was believed to be unknown submerged wreckage. This was about 2 miles east of Fire Island and nearly 40 miles off the entrance of Ambrose Channel. The Jarvis and Jenkins escorted the Fanning safely back to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

In the years that preceded World War I Jenkins, based at Newport, R.I., trained with the Atlantic Fleet, sailing to the Caribbean for winter maneuvers operating along the East Coast in summer.

At the beginning of April 1914 the Jenkins and her destroyer flotilla were based at Pensacola, Florida. The flotilla under the command of rear Admiral Simms consisted of the Fanning, Beal, Jarvis, Jenkins, Jouett, Henley, Drayton, McCall, Warrington, Patterson, Spalding, Ammen, Burrows, and Trippe. About the same time in Washington DC, Congress had just passed a resolution justifying the President’s use of armed force in Mexico. And at the Navy Department the mid-night oil was burning as they were seen to be a major player in the Presidents use of armed forces. Rear Admiral Sims on April 20, was given orders to sail at best speed to Vera Cruz, Mexico to aid the United States naval forces already in the area. Aboard his flagship the USS Birmingham, Admiral Sims steamed south for Mexico. In a 2-day dash his flotilla of 14 destroyers arrived on station off Vera Cruz and Tampico.

On May 4, 1914 the Jenkins is just off the Panuco, River near Tampico. The Captain of the Jenkins is advised by the Constitutionalists ashore in Tampico that if any American ships came into the river they would empty and ignite the oil reserves held above the city of Tampico, which would cause certain destruction to the city. The Jenkins was reporting that little firing could be heard ashore and things seemed quiet. The rebels were reported to be bringing artillery they had captured at Monterey, but at the present time there was no signs of its arrival. The Navy Department advised the Jenkins that there were not any intentions for them to enter the river there.

When released from this duty the Jenkins took a cruise eastward across the mid-Atlantic. By the beginning of June 1914 the Jenkins was in the waters of the Canary Islands just off the western coast of Africa. As she is anchored off Lobos Island the Captain of the Jenkins receives a dispatch from the Navy Department ordering him to sail to Tuxpan, Mexico to protect American’s living in that area of Mexico.

For the most of 1916 the Jenkins operated out of the Boston and Portsmouth, NH Navy Yards under the command of Lt. Frederick Vallette McNair, Jr. Life was a routine of several days in port and then a few days out at sea. This is known from newspaper articles such as this notation from the Friday June 2, 1916 edition of The Portsmouth Herald. On June 1 she had arrived in Boston coming from Rockport, Maine. “Several of the crew of the destroyer Jenkins enjoyed shore liberty on Thursday evening. The ship will put to sea today.” At 1:00 O’clock on the afternoon of June 2 she sailed back north again for Portland, Maine.

The German U-boat U-53 in October of 1916 was operating in the waters off the east coast of the United States and Canada. The U-53 sinks several ships and on October 8 at 4:30 in the evening the U-53 sinks the SS Stephano on her way from St. Johns, N. F. bound for New York. The USS Balch rescues 140 passengers and crew from the sea and later transfers them to the USS Jenkins where she transported them to Newport News.

On the same day the SS Stephano was sunk the fishing vessel Victor and Ethan was accidentally sunk by the SS Harry Luchenbach, 30-miles south by east of the Light Ship off Providence, RI. The Harry Luchenbach picked up the 17 fishermen and placed them on the light ship. They spent 3 days there and while stranded witnessed the destruction the U-53 was causing in the area. The fishermen saw the U-53 sink several ships and say that they saw at least two different German U-boats. On the third day the Jenkins came to the light ship and picked up the stranded fishermen and took them to Newport.

At the opening of 1917 the Jenkins was in reduced commission at the Charleston Navy Yard. Due to recent tensions with Germany the US Navy gave orders for several ships to be ready for duty on Neutrality Patrols off the east coast of the United States. Yard workers were put on a 24-hour schedule to get several ships ready for sea. The schedule from the Charleston Yard was to have the USS Rhode Island ready by February 18, 1917, the Kearsage ready by February 21, the Jenkins ready by February 20 and the Nebraska ready on March 16.

As the war raged in Europe, Jenkins continued neutrality patrol operations along the North American coast in search of possible German U-boats. The patrols and maneuvers sharpened her war-readiness, so that, true to Navy tradition, she was ready for any eventuality when she sailed for Europe on 26 May 1917. Once her duties were finished in Mexican waters the Jenkins was ordered to report to the Boston Navy Yard.

From excerpts of the USS Jenkins War Diary is this entry from May 19, 1917. “At the Navy Yard Boston. The crew is gradually taking shape. When we arrived at the yard we were short handed and most of the men we had were raw recruits some of whom were enlisted in February and March on the ship and others were fresh from the Training Station after a short period of training. The fleet had been directed to fill out our complement but from the appearance of most of the men they sent they must have been unloading their sweepings on us.  A number of these men were transferred to the USS Virginia (Receiving Ship at Boston) as totally undesirable.”

While at Newfoundland on May 28, 1917 one of the Jenkins crew died. Watertender Edward Oliver Joy succumbs to the effects of respiratory disease, which was likely the Spanish Flu.

The Jenkins under command of Lt. Commander James Lawrence Kauffman along with her division consisting of the USS Patterson, USS Paulding, USS Warrington, USS Drayton, and the USS Trippe arrived in Queenstown on June 1, 1917. Based at Queenstown, Ireland, Jenkins and her sister destroyers patrolled the eastern Atlantic, escorting convoys and rescuing survivors of sunken merchantmen. She continued escort and patrol duty for the duration of the war. Though she made several submarine contacts no results were determined.

On June 10, 1917 while the Jenkins was convoying a merchant vessel, the HMS Laburnum came along to relieve her. The HMS Laburnum was a 250-foot Minesweeper of the British Royal Navy of the Acacia Class built in 1915.

Being that it was very dark that day and although the Laburnum saw the Jenkins at least five minutes before the collision, it appears that the Jenkins did not see the Laburnum until they were right on top of one another and it was too late to avoid collision. The Laburnum struck the Jenkins abreast the forward fire-room, but was only going 4 or 5 knots, the engine having been previously reversed. Only a few rivets were popped and water flooded a few spaces on the Jenkins and there were no injuries. She made repairs and was back in service in short order.

On June 13, 1917 a "Court of Enquiry" to investigate the collision between the British sloop Laburnum and the U.S. destroyer Jenkins was begun. The court was composed of the President, Captain C. D. Carpendale, Royal Navy (HMS Colleen), Commander Cochrane of the Myosotis, Royal Navy, and Captain Joseph Tassuig, USN. It was what the navy called a Board of Investigation as no oaths were taken. It was thought that probably it is the first time in history that a court composed of British and American Naval Officers ever sat together. The procedure was carried out as contemplated, and the findings of the court were approved by both Admiral Bayly (RN), and Admiral Sims (USN). The Court stated the following, “We did not find anybody to blame, but laid it to one of those things that must be expected where a large number of ships are operating at night without navigation lights, and in a confined area.” The Court was only in session from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

While repairs were being made there was time for Liberty in Ireland but on June 23, 1917 Liberty parties were revoked due to troubles in Cork, Ireland. This was noted in the ships War Diary, “23 June 1917 – In dock, Haul bow line, Queenstown, Ireland. Made all preparations to grant leave, but during the afternoon watch received orders from Vice-Admiral not to grant permission of officers or enlisted men to visit Cork on account of the expected trouble upon return of the prisoners in England.”

In short order the yard-workers had the Jenkins back in duty status and she was again out at sea protecting the convoys. By October of 1917 as seen from a typical entry in her War Diary, her days were filled with reports of U-boat attacks and rescues.

On the second day of January 1918 Lt. Commander Kauffman relinquishes his command of the Jenkins to Lt. Commander Timothy Jerome Keleher. He would command the Jenkins for the rest of the war and was her last active duty commanding officer.

In the second week of January 1918 a 14-ship convoy leaves Halifax, Nova Scotia bound east out into the open Atlantic. In this convoy was the 560-foot American Line SS New York carrying 143 casual officers and 2 casual enlisted men. The SS New York was originally built for the Inman Line in 1888 and was then named the SS City of New York. In February 1893, the Inman Line was merged into the American Line and by an act of Congress the renamed New York was transferred to the US flag. She served the United States Navy as the USS Harvard during the Spanish American War and the USS Plattsburg later in World War I, and she is also remembered for nearly colliding with the HMS Titanic.

Four days after leaving the relative safety of Halifax, the convoy in which the SS New York is steaming in the mid-Atlantic in dangerous waters. On the evening of January 15, 1918 at 7:40 in the evening the USS Jenkins steaming with her lights darkened approaches the area where the SS New York was in the convoy, and her gunners who were a bit on edge due to the darkness of the evening believes she is a German U-boat and opens fire on the Jenkins. This causes the captain of the Jenkins to switch on his running lights to identify himself to the New York. But by then the gunners aboard the New York got off one shot, which hit the Jenkins before they realized whom they were shooting at. The shell from the New York hits the water just short of the Jenkins and ricocheted off the surface and hits a stanchion and the No. 5 gun shield aboard the Jenkins.

At the No. 5 gun on the Jenkins the shell hits Seaman 2c William Lusso who is instantly killed. Seaman O. H. Davis was struck on his inner left thigh, tearing an area about as large as the palm of the hand, severing three leg muscles, and lacerating the scrotum but not entirely through. Chief Boatswain’s Mate H. D. Krieg was struck by a fragment on the right foot, severing three toes; also two superficial scalp wounds on the left side of his head. Coxswain H. H. Berg was struck by fragments, one in the right leg above the knee causing a minor abrasion, one on the end of the left little finger, and on his right cheek, none of which were very serious. Gunners Mate 2c A. N. Neas was struck on his right thigh, making a shallow gash about one and one half inches in length. Chief Boatswain’s Mate Kreig was from Garber, Iowa and was the first man from Iowa to be injured during the war. He was serving in his third enlistment at the time of the accident and had served a total of 14-months on active service during the war. By December of 1918 Kreig had recovered from his injuries and was ready to again join the crew of the Jenkins.

A call for medical help is sent out from the Jenkins and the USS Shaw, another of the escorting destroyers, comes to the aid of the Jenkins. Commander M. S. Davis on the Shaw brings his destroyer quickly along side of the Jenkins and passes a line and rigs for a transfer of men. Commander Davis sends over to the Jenkins his Assist. Surgeon and a Chief Pharmacists mate. This effort likely saved the lives of those injured aboard the Jenkins. Commander Davis was later awarded a commendation from Vice-Admiral Sims who expressed appreciation and satisfaction of seamanship of Commander Davis in displaying skillful handling of the Shaw when placed along side of the Jenkins on a dark and rough sea.

While working out of Queenstown, a second death among the crew occurred. Watertender James Conrad Mullen passes away on July 23, 1918 also from Respiratory disease.

Early in the morning of August 13, 1918 a field of seventeen transports under the escort of HMS Roxburgh, is sighted. The destroyer’s consisting of the USS Terry DD-25 and the USS Jenkins, joins with the convoy to add extra protection. Two of the ships in the convoy were the HMS Margha and the HMS Anselm, both ships carried units of the 71st Artillery CAC. On Thursday August 15, the convoy safely sailed into Liverpool, with flags flying and the band playing on the deck for the first time since leaving Halifax.

Following the signing of the Armistice 11 November 1918, Jenkins sailed for home, arriving Boston 3 January 1919. Jenkins operated along the Atlantic coast until arriving at Philadelphia 20 July, and she remained there until her decommissioning 31 October 1919. There after she was berthed with the reserve fleet until she was sold for scrap in 1935. Jenkins was part of the 85 destroyers of the “Red Lead Fleet” anchored in the Reserve Basin of the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The fleet got its name from the red rust-preventing paint slapped on the ships when decommissioned. Her name was stricken from the navy on March 8, 1935. Jenkins was scrapped in 1935 in accordance with the Treaty of London.

An undated war-time photo of the Jenkins

Another undated photo of the Jenkins. In this view she does not have her war-time paint and this may be a pre-war photo.