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USS THORNTON (DD-270 / AVD-11)


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NWX

CLASS - CLEMSON As Built.
Displacement 1,215 Tons, Dimensions, 314' 5" (oa) x 31' 8" x 9' 10" (Max)
Armament 4 x 4"/50, 1 x 3"/23AA, 12 x 21" tt..
Machinery, 26,500 SHP; Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 35 Knots, Crew 114
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding, Squantum Ma. on June 3 1918.
Launched March 22 1919 and commissioned July 15 1919.
Decommissioned May 24 1922, Recommissioned March 5 1941.
Converted to Sea Plane Tender AVD-11 August 2 1940.
Beached and abandoned at Kerama Retto May 2 1945.
Decommissioned May 2 1945.
Fate Stricken August 13 1945. Donated to Ryukyu Islands government July 1957.

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Size Image Description Contributed
By
Thornton 69kPhoto #: NH 63072, Lieutenant Commander James S. Thornton, USN portrait photograph taken by Rondin, Place d'Armes, Cherbourg, France, circa 1864. Thornton was then Executive officer of USS Kearsarge. The original print is mounted on a Carte de Visite. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Thornton 135kUndated, USS Meade (DD-274), USS Bailey (DD-269) and USS Thornton (DD-270) anchored near the Evans, Coleman and Evans dock in Vancouver BC. Source: City of Vancouver Archives, Photo No. AM1506-S3-1-: CVA 447-2874, by Walter E. Frost.Mike Green
Thornton 150kPhoto #: NH 43158, Victory Destroyer Plant, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum, Massachusetts. Interior of the wet slips, photographed by Monks & Johnson, Boston, Massachusetts, between 27 April and 3 May 1919. The destroyer fitting out in the foreground is Thornton (Destroyer # 270, builder's # 350). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Thornton 80kPhoto #: NH 70864, USS Thornton (Destroyer # 270) close to shore, circa 1919-1920. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1970. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.Tony Cowart
Thornton 135kPhoto #: NH 69516: Destroyer Division THIRTY-ONE moored together off San Diego, California, circa 1922. Photographed by the Pier Studio, San Diego. These ships are (from left to right): USS Bailey (DD-269); USS Thornton (DD-270); USS Tingey (DD-272); USS Morris (DD-271); USS Swasey (DD-273) and USS Meade (DD-274). Courtesy of ESKC Joseph L. Aguillard, USNR, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.-
Red Lead Row 195kRed Lead Row, San Diego Destroyer Base, California. Photographed at the end of 1922, with at least 65 destroyers tied up there. Ships present are identified as: (left to right, in the right diagonal row): Stansbury (DD-180); MacKenzie (DD-175); Renshaw (DD-176); Howard (DD-179); Gillis (DD-260); Tingey (DD-272); McLanahan (DD-264); Swasey (DD-273); Morris (DD-271); Bailey (DD-269); Tattnall (DD-125); Breese (DD-122); Radford (DD-120); Aaron Ward (DD-132) -- probably; Ramsey (DD-124); Montgomery (DD-121); and Lea (DD-118). (left to right, in the middle diagonal row): Wickes (DD-75); Thornton (DD-270); Meade (DD-274); Crane (DD-109); Evans (DD-78); McCawley (DD-276); Doyen (DD-280); Elliot (DD-146); Henshaw (DD-278); Moody (DD-277); Meyer (DD-279); Sinclair (DD-275); Turner (DD-259); Philip (DD-76); Hamilton (DD-141); Boggs (DD-136); Claxton (DD-140); Ward (DD-139); Hazelwood (DD-107) or Kilty (DD-137); Kennison (DD-138); Jacob Jones (DD-130); Aulick (DD-258); Babbitt (DD-128); Twiggs (DD-127); and Badger (DD-126). (left to right, in the left diagonal row): Shubrick (DD-268); Edwards (DD-265); Palmer (DD-161); Welles (DD-257); Mugford (DD-105); Upshur (DD-144); Greer (DD-145); Wasmuth (DD-338); Hogan (DD-178); O'Bannon (DD-177); and -- possibly -- Decatur (DD-341). (Nested alongside wharf in left center, left to right): Prairie (AD-5); Buffalo (AD-8); Trever (DD-339); and Perry (DD-340). Minesweepers just astern of this group are Partridge (AM-16) and Brant (AM-24). Nearest ship in the group of destroyers at far left is Dent (DD-116). The others with her are unidentified. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. : NH 42539 Robert Hurst

USS THORNTON DD-270 / AVD-11 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 Archibald Grahame Stirling    Jul 16 1919 - Oct 15 1920
LTJG Peter Joseph Riley    Oct 15 1920 - Oct 31 1921
ENS Harris Coles Aller    Oct 31 1921 - May 24 1922 
Decommissioned May 24 1922 - Mar 5 1941
As AVD-11
LCDR Wendell Fischer Kline    Mar 5 1941 - Oct 16 1942
LCDR James Paul Walker    Oct 16 1942 - Feb 23 1943
LCDR Frank Este Sellers Jr.    Feb 23 1943 - Jan 7 1944
LT John Scott Burns Jr.    Jan 7 1944 - Nov 1 1944
LT Laurence Francis Geibel    Nov 1 1944 - May 2 1945

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
NavSource AVD Seaplane Tender (Destroyer) Index
Naval Historical Center Pearl Harbor Action Report
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website

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