USS Cummings (DD-44)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Cummings.

USS Cummings (DD-44) at anchor, circa 1916.
History
United States
Name	Cummings
Namesake	Lieutenant commander Andrew Boyd Cummings
Builder	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Cost	$776,910.48
Laid down	21 May 1912
Launched	6 August 1913
Sponsored by	Mrs. H. Beates, Jr., niece of Lieutenant Commander Cummings
Commissioned	19 September 1913
Decommissioned	23 June 1922
Stricken	5 July 1934
Identification	Hull symbol:DD-44 Code letters:NIL
Fate	transferred to the United States Coast Guard, 7 June 1924 sold for scrapping, 22 August 1934
Notes	Cummings lost her name to new construction 1 July 1933
United States
Name	Cummings
Acquired	6 June 1924
Commissioned	15 May 1925
Decommissioned	30 April 1932
Identification	Hull symbol:CG-3
Fate	transferred back to the United States Navy, 23 May 1932
General characteristics
Class and type	Cassin-class destroyer
Displacement	1,020 long tons (1,040 t)
Length	305 ft 3 in (93.04 m)
Beam	31 ft 2 in (9.50 m)
Draft	9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) (mean)
Installed power	oil fired boilers 16,000 ihp (12,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Direct Drive Turbines With Triple Expansion Cruising Engines 2 × shafts
Speed	29.5 kn (33.9 mph; 54.6 km/h) 30.57 kn (35.18 mph; 56.62 km/h) (Speed on Trial)
Complement	5 officers 96 enlisted (USN) 6 officers, 82 enlisted (USCG)
Armament	USN: 4 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 caliber guns 8 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (4 × 2) USCG: 3 × 4 in (100 mm)/50 cal guns 1 × 1-pdr

The first USS Cummings (DD-44) was a Cassin-class destroyer used by the United States Navy during World War I. She was later transferred to the United States Coast Guard, where she was designated CG-3. She was named for Lieutenant Commander Andrew Boyd Cummings.

Cummings was launched on 6 August 1913 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. H. Beates, Jr., niece of Lieutenant Commander Cummings; and commissioned on 19 September 1913.

Pre-World War I

Departing Boston in November 1913, Cummings cruised along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean until the following June, when she joined the Neutrality Patrol and cruised off the coast until the United States entered into World War I.

World War I

Arriving at New York Navy Yard on 12 May 1917 to be outfitted for foreign service, Cummings sailed on 15 May, reaching the Destroyer Base, Queenstown, Ireland on 26 May. She was commanded by the future admiral, Henry Kent Hewitt. She served in the cross-channel escort service under Commander, US Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, and also conducted anti-submarine patrols off the southern Irish coast, making contact in 14 encounters. The ship continued to serve on escort assignments off the coast of France after the war. She was one of the escort ships for George Washington, carrying President Woodrow Wilson to Brest, France.

Inter-war period

Cummings departed French waters on 16 December 1918, and from 6–9 April 1919 she joined in destroyer maneuvers and gunnery exercises at Guantanamo Bay. In July and August, she operated off Newport, and then was in reserve at Philadelphia from August 1919-March 1921. She returned to operations off the east coast with the Fleet until placed out of commission in Philadelphia on 23 June 1922.

Transferred to the Treasury Department for the Coast Guard on 6 June 1924, Cummings served as part of the Rum Patrol. She was based in New London, Connecticut until transferred to Stapleton, New York in 1931.

Cummings was returned to the Navy on 23 May 1932 and sold on 22 August 1934 for scrapping in accordance with the London Naval Treaty.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Cummings at NavSource Naval History