USS McCalla (DD-253)

USS McCalla (DD-253) History

The first USS McCalla (DD-253) was a US Navy Clemson-class destroyer. During World War II, she transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Stanley (I73).

Named after Bowman H. McCalla, who was launched on September 25, 1918 and by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company on February 18, 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth McCalla, daughter of Rear Admiral McCalla, and Entrusted to Lieutenant Colonel G. B. Ash on May 19, 1919.

McCalla has remained active for less than 7 months. On November 26, 1919, she entered the reserve at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and was discharged on June 30, 1922. After the outbreak of war in Europe, the destroyer was returned to service on 18 December 1939 and was ready to be sold to Great Britain.

As HMS Stanley

She was decommissioned and a Royal Navy ship on 23 October 1940 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where one of the destroyers was transferred to England in exchange for a base in the West Indies. As HMS Stanley (I73), she was assigned to the 4th "Town" Fleet and left Halifax on 1 November. Stanley was sent to escort the convoy back to Nova Scotia on the 5th when Germany's iron-fisted Admiral Scheer attacked a convoy bound for England at St. Johns and sank six ships.

She met the ships 97 kilometers away and escorted 15 ships to Trinity Port. Finally, due to further repairs, she was delayed on 14 December, arriving in Plymouth, England, on 2 January 1941. Stanley was converted to long-range merchant escort service by removing the two forward boilers and replacing the additional fuel tanks.

This modification improves endurance but reduces top speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).

USS McCalla (DD-253) Specification

BASICS

Service Year

1919

Origin

United States

Complement

122

OPERATOR

UK (as HMS Stanley (I73)); US

Characters

Sea Bombing

Maritime bombardment/attack of surface targets/areas primarily through ship-based ballistic weapons.

Land Assault

Littoral attacks against surface targets primarily through ship-based missiles/missile weapons.

Sea Patrol

Active patrolling of critical waterways and sea areas; also serves as a local deterrent against air and maritime threats.

Airspace Denial/Deterrence

Neutralization or deterrence of flying elements by airborne missile weapon ballistics.

Fleet Support

Provide support (fire or materiel) to major surface fleets in blue water environments.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

314. 4 feet

95.83m

Ray

30. 1 ft

9.18m

Draft

9. 3 feet

2.83m

Shift

1,275

t

Power and Performance

Installed Power:

4 x boilers power 2 x 27,600hp geared steam turbines on 2 x shafts.

Surface Velocity

section 35.5

(40.9 km/h)

Area

4,901nm

(5,640 miles | 9,077 kilometers)

Weapon

4 x 4" (102 mm) /50 caliber main gun 1 x 3" (76 mm) / 23 caliber secondary gun 12 x 21" (533 mm) 4x3 array of torpedoes Tube.

Aircraft

None.