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USS Balch (DD-50)

1914 WORLD WAR 1

History of USS Balch (DD-50)

The Irvine class was a destroyer group of the United States Navy (USN), built before the United States was involved in World War I (1914-1918). The group consisted of only four ships, including the main ship USS Irwin (DD-47) itself as well as USS Parker (DD-48), USS Benham (DD-49) and USS Balch (DD-50) sister ship. The class was a key component of the U.S.

Navy's pre-World War I reorganization plan, which included no fewer than five 1,000-ton displacement second-generation "quad-tier" destroyers. The Irwin-class ships were built alongside the similar Cassin class, which also had four.

The USS Balch featured in this article was laid by William Cramp & Sons (Philadelphia) on May 7, 1912, and launched on December 21 of the same year. She officially entered service on March 26, 1914, and served in the U.S. Navy until 1922.

At launch, the ship was initially known as the USS Balch (Destroyer #50). Her name was changed on November 1, 1933.

The Aylwin class is based on the Cassin class and thus shares many similarities with this cousin design. Her overall lines and armament remain largely unchanged, the latter consisting of a 4 x 4 in (102 mm)/50 caliber main gun and 4 x 18 in (450 mm) twin torpedo tubes. The Balch has a crew of about 101, led by five officers. The vessel's dimensions include a barrel length of 305.2 feet, a beam of 31.1 feet and a draft of 9.4 feet.

Displacement is 1,053 tons (short).

Installed power consists of 4 White-Forster boiler units providing 16,000 hp on 2 shafts for 2 Cramp direct drive triple expansion steam turbines. The boat is capable of going at nearly 30 knots at full speed.

The shape of the USS Balch was consistent with the design of the USN warships of the time. The bow rises in a continuous line from the rest of the hull and then extends from the forecastle to the stern.

The bridge superstructure faces the midship and forward of the four in-line funnels (this one is in the midship itself). A double mast arrangement was used, with the front columns located aft of the bridge superstructure and the aft columns closer to the stern.

After commissioning in March 1914, the ship became part of the U.S. Navy during the Presidential Fleet Review in New York City waters in May. When war broke out in Europe, U.S. troops were on alert, while Balchi was sent on "neutrality patrols." In October 1916, she rescued the British and Germans in action, and was stationed in the Irish Sea after the United States entered the war.

For a time, the class was used as escort to protect Allied ships in the Atlantic from German anti-submarine warfare submarines. In October 1918, USS Paulding accidentally hit Balch, grounding her for two weeks in Queenstown, Ireland. The war ended in November.

In January 1919, the USS Balch returned to the United States, her role diminished after the war. She was then discharged on June 20, 1922, and her name was officially removed from the Naval Register on March 8, 1935. In April of that year, she was scrapped at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.