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USS SIGOURNEY (DD-81)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NAJB

CLASS - WICKES (LITTLE)
Built to a different set of plans (Bethlehem) than the Wickes (Bath)
The Little Versions Were Considered Less Successful Than The Bath Designed Ships, With Few Remaining In Service Past 1936.
Displacement 1,154 Tons, Dimensions, 314' 5" (oa) x 31' 8" x 9' 10" (Max)
Armament 4 x 4"/50, 2 x 1pdr AA (1 x 3"/23AA In Some Ships), 12 x 21" tt..
Machinery, 24,200 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 35 Knots, Crew 103.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Fore River, Quincy on August 25 1917.
Launched December 16 1917 and commissioned May 15 1918.
Sigourney was placed into reserve at Philadelphia November 1 1919
and decommissioned there on June 26 1922. Recommissioned August 23 1940
Sigourney sailed to Halifax where she was decommissioned.
Transferred to Britain November 26 1940, Stricken January 8 1941.
Renamed HMS Newport (G54).
Fate Broken up for scrap in 1947.

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- James Butler Sigourney, born in Boston, Mass., was appointed Midshipman on 16 January 1809. He served in Wasp and then became sailing master of Nautilus. He was captured with his ship shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812; and, after his exchange had been effected, he was placed in command of Asp, a schooner fitted out to defend the Chesapeake Bay. On 14 July 1813, Asp was attacked by three British barges but succeeded in driving them off. On a second attack, however, Asp was boarded, and Sigourney was killed at his post on deck.Robert M. Cieri
Sigourney 201kUSS Sigourney (DD 81) post WW1 date and place unknown. Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.Darryl Baker
Sigourney 270kBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts, 1918. Shown: Hull 274 (USS Little), Hull 275 (USS Kimberley), Hull 276 (USS Sigourney), Hull 277 (USS Gregory), Hull 280 (USS Colhoun), Hull 281 (USS Stevens). Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels Collection. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.Mike Mohl
Sigourney 178kFore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts. Ships fitting out at the Fore River shipyard, 19 March 1918. The six destroyers are Little (DD-79), Kimberly (DD-80), Sigourney (DD-81), Gregory (DD-82), Colhoun (DD-85) and Stevens (DD-86), which had builder's hull numbers 274-277 and 280-281 respectively. The freighter at right is Katrina Luckenbach, yard hull # 267, which served as USS Katrina Luckenbach in 1918-19. Most of the equipment on the pier is for her. Note the large submarine being built in the background, under the revolving crane. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Fred Weiss
Sigourney 79kPhoto #: NH 41809, USS Sigourney (Destroyer # 81) at the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 9 February 1919. She had served in European waters during June-December 1918. Panoramic photograph, taken by J.C. Crosby, Naval Photographer, 11 Portland Street, Boston. The ship inboard of Sigourney appears to be USS Kentucky (Battleship # 6). Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, D.C. Crosby Collection. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Joe Radigan
Sigourney 91kPhiladelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania: Warships in the Reserve Basin, 18 November 1919, as seen by a Philadelphia Evening Ledger photographer. Ships are (from left to right): USS Wisconsin (Battleship # 9); USS Illinois (Battleship # 7); USS Alabama (Battleship # 8); a Pittsburgh class armored cruiser; two battleships, probably Connecticut class; USS Stringham (Destroyer # 83); USS Craven (Destroyer # 70); USS Maury (Destroyer # 100); and USS Sigourney (Destroyer # 81). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Fred Weiss
On British Service
HMS Newport (ex-USS Sigourney, DD-81) delivered to the Canadians at Halifax on 26 November 1940, Newport commissioned on 5 December 1940 and arrived at Belfast en-route to Devonport on 30 December 1940. Slightly damaged there in an air raid, she then broke down on passage south, and made temporary repairs at Milford Haven and later Cardiff, finally arriving at Devonport for refit on 16 January 1941, a refit that lasted until 29 September 1941. Manned by the Royal Norwegian Navy on completion, she was allocated to 43rd Escort Group; however further defects caused four weeks repair at Liverpool from 23 October 1941, after which she joined 7th Escort Group based at Liverpool. Employed briefly in the North Atlantic, Newport collided with the destroyer HMS Beverley on 25 March 1942, repaired initially at Liverpool to 13 May 1942, then to Devonport to 10 September 1942, finally passing to Southampton where she completed repair on 20 May 1943. her Norwegian crew left her, and she paid off, in June 1942 so that she finally completed repair as a Royal Navy ship. By the time repair, including re-tubing her boilers, was completed, she was no longer required as an escort so joined Western Approaches Command as an air target ship, transferring to Rosyth Command in March 1944. She finally paid off on 4 July 1945, and arrived at Granton on 18 february 1947 to be broken up by Malcolm Brechin. (History thanks to Robert Hurst.)
Sigourney 11kUndated, as HMS Newport.Joe Radigan
Sigourney 109kNorwegian-manned destroyer HMS Newport (G58, ex-USS Sigourney, DD-81), underway in Plymouth Sound just after recommissioning in September 1941. Photo Dave Scoble Collection. Photo and text from "The Royal Navy at Devonport Since 1900" by Lt. Cdr. Ben Warlow, RN.Robert Hurst
Sigourney 77kThe 'Town' class destroyer HMS Newport (ex-USS Sigourney, DD-81) flying the Norwegian flag and probably taken shortly after completion of the Devonport refit in November 1941, secured to mooring buoy in Plymouth Sound. Photo # FL 3310 from the collections of the Imperial War Museum.Robert Hurst
Sigourney 91kAs above.Robert Hurst

USS SIGOURNEY DD-81 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

CDR Walter Newhall Vernou    May 15 1918 - Aug 29 1918 (Later RADM)
CDR William Dillworth Puleston    Aug 29 1918 - Oct 16 1918
CDR William Ancrum    Oct 16 1918 - Nov 1 1919
LT Evan Greenwood Hanson    Jul 4 1921 - Jun 26 1922
(Decommissioned June 26 1922 - August 23 1940)
LCDR Harman Brown Bell Jr.    Aug 23 2940 - Nov 26 1940

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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