View source for USS Paulding

{{Short description|Paulding-class destroyer}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:Paulding (DD22). Starboard side, camouflaged, 1918 - NARA - 530782.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Paulding'' (DD-22) port side, camouflaged, Queenstown, Ireland, 1918
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1930}}
|Ship name=''Paulding''
|Ship namesake=[[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Hiram Paulding|Hiram A. Paulding]]
|Ship original cost=$652,928.16<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762 |title= Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919 |journal= Congressional Serial Set |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |year= 1921 |page= 762 }}</ref>
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Bath Iron Works]] [[Bath, Maine]]
|Ship laid down=24 July 1909
|Ship launched=12 April 1910
|Ship acquired=
|Ship sponsor=Miss Emma Paulding
|Ship commissioned=29 September 1910
|Ship decommissioned=August 1919
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=28 June 1934
|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Surface combatant type|Hull symbol]]:DD-22
*[[International Code of Signals|Code letters]]:NON
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Oscar}}{{ICS|November}}
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Transferred to the [[United States Coast Guard]], returned 1930 and scrapped in 1934
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard}}
|Ship name=''Paulding''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=
|Ship acquired=28 April 1924<ref name="ROM436">{{cite book | url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/RecordofMovements.pdf | title=Record of Movements Vessels of the United States Coast Guard 1790 -December 31, 1933 | publisher=TREASURY DEPARTMENT | year=1989 | location=Washington | pages=436}}</ref>
|Ship commissioned=23 January 1925<ref name="ROM436" />
|Ship decommissioned=18 October 1930<ref name="ROM436" />
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship identification=[[Hull classification symbol#United States Coast Guard vessels|Hull symbol]]:CG-17
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Transferred back to the United States Navy, 18 October 1930<ref name="ROM436" />
|Ship notes= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/022.htm | title=USS Paulding (DD-22) | publisher=Navsource.org | access-date=June 16, 2015}}</ref>
|Ship class= {{sclass|Paulding|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|742|LT|t|abbr=on|lk=on}} normal
*{{convert|887|LT|t|abbr=on}} full load
|Ship length={{convert|293|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|27|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|8|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} (mean)<ref name="congress" />
|Ship power={{convert|12000|ihp|kW|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*4 × [[boiler]]s
*3 × [[Steam turbine|Parsons Direct Drive Turbines]]
*3 × [[Drive shaft#Marine drive shafts|shafts]]
|Ship speed=*{{convert|29.5|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}
*{{convert|30.80|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} (Speed on [[Sea trial|Trial]])<ref name="congress">{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762 |title= Table 11 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919 |journal= Congressional Serial Set |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |year= 1921 |page= 731 }}</ref>
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=4 officers 87 enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*5 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50]] [[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] guns
*6 × [[American 18 inch torpedo|18 inch (450 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s (3 × 2)
|Ship armor= 
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Paulding'' (DD-22)''' was the [[lead ship]] of {{sclass|Paulding|destroyer}}s in the [[United States Navy]]. She was named for [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Hiram Paulding|Hiram A. Paulding]] (1797-1878). She was in commission from 1910 to 1919 and saw service in [[World War I]].

After her Navy service, ''Paulding'' served in the [[United States Coast Guard]] as '''USCGC ''Paulding'' (CG-17)''' from 1924 to 1930.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Paulding'' was [[Keel-laying|laid down]] by the [[Bath Iron Works]] Corporation at [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], [[Maine]], on 24 July 1909. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 12 April 1910, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Miss Emma Paulding, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 29 September 1910, [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[Yates Stirling Jr.]] in command.  She was the first American destroyer solely fueled by [[fuel oil]].

==United States Navy==
Assigned to the [[Atlantic Torpedo Fleet]], ''Paulding'' operated primarily off the [[United States East Coast]] until after the [[United States]] entered [[World War I]] on 6 April 1917. During April 1917, she patrolled off the [[New England]] coast and in May 1917 she prepared for distant service. On 21 May 1917, she got underway for the [[United Kingdom]], arriving at [[Cobh|Queenstown]], [[Ireland]], to escort [[convoy]]s and protect them from [[Imperial German Navy]] [[U-boat]]s. She served on that duty through the end of the war.

On 24 February 1918, ''Paulding'' was proceeding in a scouting line with the destroyers {{USS|Davis|DD-65|6}} and {{USS|Trippe|DD-33|6}} in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] off the south coast of Ireland bound for Queenstown when she sighted the British [[Royal Navy]] submarine {{HMS|L2}}′s [[periscope]].  Mistaking ''L2'' for a German [[U-boat]], she headed for the periscope at [[flank speed]] and opened gunfire. ''L2'' had sighted the destroyers and, assuming that the destroyers had not seen her periscope, submerged to {{convert|90|ft|0}}, but upon hearing ''Paulding'' open fire, she dove to {{convert|200|ft|0}}. ''Paulding'' dropped two [[depth charge]]s, the first of which shook ''L2'' severely and jammed her [[diving plane]]s in a hard-upward position. This caused ''L2'' to take on a tremendous inclination, and her [[stern]] struck the [[seabed]] at a depth of {{convert|300|ft|0}}. Four more depth charges exploded, again shaking the submarine. ''L2''′s [[commanding officer]] gave the order to blow the number 5 and 6 [[ballast tank]]s, and ''L2'' surfaced [[Bow (ship)|bow]]-first. ''Davis'' dropped a depth charge near her, and then all three destroyers opened gunfire on her from a range of about {{convert|1,500|yd|sigfig=3}}. One round struck ''L2''′s [[pressure hull]] just abaft her [[conning tower]]. Some of ''L2'''s crew emerged from her conning tower, waved their hands and a [[White Ensign]], and fired a [[smoke grenade]]. The destroyers ceased fire immediately. ''L-2'' did not sustain serious damage, and ''Davis'' escorted her to [[Berehaven]], Ireland.<ref name=proceedingsmistakenattacks>[https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1934/december/mistaken-attacks-world-war Doughty, Leonard Jr., Lieutenant Commander, "Mistaken Attacks in the World War," ''Proceedings'', October 1934.]</ref> The force commander of British submarines, [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Martin Dunbar-Nasmith]], commended ''L2'' and the destroyers for the action in his report on the [[friendly fire]] incident. [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[Lewis Bayly (Royal Navy officer)|Lewis Bayly]], the Royal Navy′s [[Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland]], in his endorsement of Nasmith′s report, wrote, "Had ''L-2'' not been very skillfully and coolly handled, she would have been lost. The U. S. destroyers deserve great credit for their smartness in attack, and for their quickness in recognizing the submarine as British."<ref name=proceedingsmistakenattacks/>

''Paulding'' returned to the United States after the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice with Germany]] brought World War I to an end on 11 November 1918. She was decommissioned in August 1919 and placed in the [[Reserve Fleet]].

==United States Coast Guard==
The U.S. Navy loaned ''Paulding'' to the [[United States Coast Guard]] from 28 April 1924 to 18 October 1930. As USCGC ''Paulding'', she served on the [[Rum Patrol]] during [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] with her [[home port]] at [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]].

''Paulding'' was sent to find the Coast Guard [[United States Coast Guard Cutter|cutter]] {{USCGC|CG-238}} during a [[gale]] in February 1927 off [[Cape Cod]], Massachusetts. The {{convert|75|ft|m|abbr=on}} vessel had already foundered, and ''Paulding'' spent two days in the storm, losing much topside equipment, including one of her [[Funnel (ship)|stacks]].

On 17 December 1927, ''Paulding'' accidentally rammed and sank the U.S. Navy [[submarine]] {{USS|S-4|SS-109}} while ''S-4'' was surfacing. ''S-4'' sank with the loss of all hands. An inquiry absolved the Coast Guard of blame.

==Final disposition==
Returned to the U.S. Navy on 18 October 1930, ''Paulding'' again joined the Reserve Fleet and was laid up at [[League Island]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. She was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 28 June 1934 and sold for scrap in accordance with the terms of the [[London Naval Treaty]].

==Honors and awards==
* {{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|name=World War I Victory Medal ribbon|width=106}} [[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with DESTROYER clasp<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/navy-mc-awards-manual-rev1953/pt4-campaign-service-medals.html |title=Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual [Rev. 1953], Pt. 4 - Campaign and Service Medals| page=51 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1953 |website=www.history.navy.mil |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{commons category|USS Paulding (DD-22)}}
{{reflist}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/paulding.html}}

{{Paulding class destroyer}}
{{February 1918 shipwrecks}}
{{1927 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulding (DD-22)}}
[[Category:Paulding-class destroyers]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine]]
[[Category:1910 ships]]
[[Category:Friendly fire incidents of World War I]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1927]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard]]