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{{Short description|O'Brien-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|USS Cushing}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USSCushingDD55.jpg|300px|''Cushing'' during trials in 1915]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Cushing'' (DD-55), steaming at 24.93 knots during builder's trials, 25 May 1915. Note that her guns and torpedo tubes have not yet been installed.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1936}}
|Ship name=''Cushing''
|Ship namesake=[[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[William B. Cushing]]
|Ship builder=*[[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]]<ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | author-link = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c16/cushing-ii.htm | title = Cushing | short = first | access-date = 19 May 2009 }}</ref>
*[[Quincy, Massachusetts]]
|Ship original cost=$891,626.54 (hull and machinery)<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762 |title= Table 21 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919 |journal= Congressional Serial Set |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |year= 1921 |page= 762 }}</ref>
|Ship yard number=215<ref name=Miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=6104679|shipname=Cushing |access-date=19 May 2009 }}</ref>
|Ship ordered=March 1913<ref name=Con-123>Gardiner, pp. 122–23.</ref>
|Ship laid down=23 September 1913<ref name=Bauer-171>Bauer and Roberts, p. 171.</ref>
|Ship launched=15 January 1915<ref name=DANFS />
|Ship sponsor=Miss M. L. Cushing<ref name=DANFS />
|Ship commissioned=14 August 1915<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship decommissioned=7 August 1920<ref name=DANFS />
|Ship renamed=''DD-55'', 1 July 1933<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship struck=7 January 1936<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Surface combatant type|Hull symbol]]:DD-55
*[[International Code of Signals|Code letters]]:NIM
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|India}}{{ICS|Mike}}
|Ship fate= Sold on 30 June 1936 and scrapped<ref name=DANFS />
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass|O'Brien|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1050|LT|MT|abbr=on|lk=on}}<ref name=Bauer-171 />
*{{convert|1171|LT|MT|abbr=on}} fully loaded<ref name=DANFS />
|Ship length={{convert|305|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship beam={{convert|31|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship draft=*{{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (mean)<ref name="congress">{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762 |title= Table 10 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919 |journal= Congressional Serial Set |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |year= 1921 |page= 714 }}</ref>
*{{convert|10|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} max<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship power=*4 × [[White-Forster boiler]]s
*{{convert|17000|shp|kW|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 × Zoelly direct-drive [[steam turbine]]s
*2 × [[screw propeller]]s<ref name=Con-123 />
|Ship speed=*{{convert|29|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}<ref name=DANFS />
*{{convert|29|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} (Speed on [[Sea trial|Trial]])<ref name="congress" />
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=5 officers 96 enlisted<ref name="comp and arms">{{cite journal |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mZEqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA762 |title= Table 16 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919 |journal= Congressional Serial Set |publisher= U.S. Government Printing Office |year= 1921 |page= 749 }}</ref>
|Ship armament=*4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50]] [[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] guns
*8 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s (4 × 2)
|Ship motto=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Cushing'' (Destroyer No. 55/DD-55)''' was an {{sclass|O'Brien|destroyer}} built for the [[United States Navy]] prior to the [[American entry into World War I]]. The ship was the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of [[William B. Cushing]], a U.S. Navy officer best known for sinking the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[ironclad warship]] {{ship|CSS|Albemarle}} during the [[American Civil War]].

''Cushing'' was [[keel laying|laid down]] by the [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]] of [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], in September 1913 and [[launch (ship)|launch]]ed in January 1915. The ship was a little more than {{convert|305|ft|m}} in length, just over {{convert|31|ft|m}} [[beam (nautical)|abeam]], and had a standard [[displace (ship)|displacement]] of {{convert|1050|LT|MT}}. She was armed with four {{convert|4|in|mm|0|adj=on}} guns and had eight [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s. ''Cushing'' was powered by a pair of [[steam turbine]]s that propelled her at up to {{convert|29|knots|km/h}}.

After her August 1915 [[Ship commissioning|commissioning]], ''Cushing'' sailed off the [[East Coast of the United States|east coast]] and in the [[Caribbean]]. She was one of seventeen destroyers sent out to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine {{SMU|U-53||2}} off the [[Lightship Nantucket]] in October 1916. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, ''Cushing'' was sent overseas to patrol the [[Irish Sea]] out of [[Queenstown, Ireland]]. ''Cushing'' made several unsuccessful attacks on U-boats, and rescued survivors of several ships sunk by the German craft.

Upon returning to the United States after the war, ''Cushing'' was placed in reserve in reduced commission. She was decommissioned at [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] in August 1920. She was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] in January 1936 and sold for [[ship breaking|scrapping]] in June.

== Design and construction ==
''Cushing'' was authorized in March 1913 as the fifth of six ships of the {{sclass|O'Brien|destroyer|4}}, which was an improved version of the {{sclass|Cassin|destroyer|1}}s authorized in 1911. Construction of the vessel was awarded to the [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]] of [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], which [[keel laying|laid down her keel]] on 23 September 1913. On 16 January 1915, ''Cushing'' was [[launch (ship)|launch]]ed by sponsor Miss M. L. Cushing, daughter of the ship's namesake, [[William B. Cushing]]. The ship was the second ship named for Cushing, a U.S. Navy officer best known for sinking the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[ironclad warship]] {{ship|CSS|Albemarle||2}} during the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=DANFS /> As built, the destroyer was {{convert|305|ft|3|in|m}} in [[length overall]], {{convert|31|ft|1|in|m}} [[beam (nautical)|abeam]], and [[draft (ship)|drew]] {{convert|9|ft|6|in|m}}. The ship had a standard [[displace (ship)|displace]]ment of {{convert|1050|LT|MT}} and displaced {{convert|1171|LT|MT}} when fully loaded.<ref name=Con-123 /><ref name=Bauer-171 />

''Cushing'' had two Zoelly [[steam turbine]]s that drove her two [[screw propeller]]s, and an additional pair [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s, each connected to one of the [[propeller shaft (ship)|propeller shaft]]s, for cruising purposes. Four oil-burning [[White-Forster boiler]]s powered the engines, which could generate {{convert|17000|shp}}, moving the ship at up to {{convert|29|knots|km/h}}.<ref name=DANFS /><ref name=Con-123 /> ''Cushing'' reached a maximum speed of {{convert|30.59|kn}} during [[sea trials]] on 25 May 1916, with her engines running at {{convert|16621|hp}}.<ref>Cox 1915, p. 851.</ref>

''Cushing''{{'}}s main [[artillery battery|battery]] consisted of 4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}/50]] [[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] Mark 9 guns,<ref name=DANFS /><ref name=NavWeaps-4in>{{cite web | last = DiGiulian | first = Tony | title = United States of America: 4"/50 (10.2 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9 and 10 | url = http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_4-50_mk9.htm | work = Naval Weapons of the World | publisher = Navweaps.com | date = 15 August 2008 | access-date = 22 April 2009 }}</ref><ref group=Note>The ''50'' denotes the length of the gun barrels; in this case, the gun is 50 [[calibers#Caliber as measurement of length|calibers]], meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as its bore, or {{convert|200|in|m}} in this case. The Mark number is the version of the gun; in this case, the ninth U.S. Navy design of the 4-inch/50 gun.</ref> with each gun weighing in excess of {{convert|6100|lbs|kg}}.<ref name=NavWeaps-4in /> The guns fired {{convert|33|lbs|kg|adj=on}} [[armor-piercing shot and shell|armor-piercing]] [[projectile]]s at {{convert|2900|ft/s|m/s}}. At an [[elevation (ballistics)|elevation]] of 20°, the guns had a range of {{convert|15920|yards|m}}.<ref name=NavWeaps-4in />

''Cushing'' was also equipped with eight {{convert|21|in|mm|0|adj=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s. The [[General Board of the United States Navy]] had called for two [[anti-aircraft gun]]s for the ''O'Brien''-class ships, as well as provisions for laying up to 36 floating [[mine (naval)|mine]]s.<ref name=Con-123 /> From sources, it is unclear if these recommendations were followed for ''Cushing'' or any of the other ships of the class.

== Early career ==
USS ''Cushing'' was [[Ship commissioning|commission]]ed into the United States Navy on 21 August 1915. ''Cushing'' served on the [[Neutrality patrol]] off [[Rose Bank, New York]], until 28 December 1915. She sailed to the [[Caribbean]] for fleet maneuvers on 4 January 1916 and after joining in fleet tactical exercises off [[Portland, Maine]], and gunnery exercises off [[Norfolk, Virginia]], she reported to [[Newport, Rhode Island]], on 27 September to test torpedoes at the Naval Torpedo Station.

At 05:30 on Sunday, 8 October 1916, [[radio|wireless]] reports came in of a German submarine stopping ships near the [[Lightship Nantucket]], off the eastern end of [[Long Island]]. After an [[SOS]] from the British steamer ''West Point'' was received at about 12:30, Rear Admiral [[Albert Gleaves]] ordered ''Cushing'' and other destroyers at Newport to attend to survivors.<ref name=NYT-U53>{{cite news | title = Newport aroused by U-boat's raid | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/09/301915432.pdf | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 9 October 1916 | page = 2 | access-date = 19 May 2009 }}</ref><ref group=Note>According to a report in ''[[The New York Times]]'' on 9 October the other ships, in addition to ''Cushing'', were the flotilla's [[destroyer tender]], {{USS|Melville|AD-2|2}}, and fifteen other destroyers: {{USS|Aylwin|DD-47|2}}, {{USS|Balch|DD-50|2}}, {{USS|Benham|DD-49|2}}, {{USS|Cassin|DD-43|2}}, {{USS|Conyngham|DD-58|2}}, {{USS|Cummings|DD-44|2}}, {{USS|Drayton|DD-23|2}}, {{USS|Ericsson|DD-56|2}}, {{USS|Fanning|DD-37|2}}, {{USS|Jarvis|DD-38|2}}, {{USS|McCall|DD-28|2}}, {{USS|O'Brien|DD-51|2}}, {{USS|Paulding|DD-22|2}}, {{USS|Porter|DD-59|2}}, {{USS|Winslow|DD-53|2}}. A firsthand account of the events by the [[quartermaster (United States Navy)|quartermaster]] of destroyer {{USS|McDougal|DD-54|2}}, published on 22 October 1916, indicates that ship was present as well.<br />For the initial report, see: {{cite news | title = Newport aroused by U-boat's raid | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/09/301915432.pdf | work = The New York Times | date = 9 October 1916 | access-date = 19 May 2009 | page = 2 }}<br />For the account of ''McDougal''{{'}}s quartermaster, see: {{cite news | title = United States sailor describes rescue of U-53's victims | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/22/119033188.pdf | work = The New York Times | date = 22 October 1916 | access-date = 19 May 2009 | page = X1 }}</ref> The American destroyers arrived on the scene about 17:00 when the U-boat, {{SMU|U-53||2}} under the command of ''[[Kapitänleutnant]]'' [[Hans Rose]],<ref group=Note>{{SMU|U-53||2}} had called at Newport on 7 October 1916, the day before the attacks, to drop off a letter for [[Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff]], the German Ambassador to the United States, and had exchanged courtesy visits with Admirals [[Albert Gleaves]] and [[Austin M. Knight]] before departing.</ref> was in the process of stopping the [[Holland-America Line]] cargo ship {{SS|Blommersdijk||2}}. Shortly after, ''U-53'' stopped the British passenger ship {{SS|Stephano||2}}.<ref name=Long-93-94>Long, pp. 93–94.</ref> After Rose had given passengers and crew aboard both ships adequate time to abandon them,<ref name=Long-93>Long, p. 93.</ref> he sank the pair.<ref name=NYT-Six>{{cite news | title = Six of our ships see Stephano sunk | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/09/301915412.pdf | work = The New York Times | date = 9 October 1916 | access-date = 19 May 2009 | page = 1 }}</ref> In total, 226 survivors from ''U-53''{{'}}s five victims<ref group=Note>'{{SMU|U-53||2}} had sunk three other ships earlier in the same vicinity: British cargo ships {{SS|West Point||2}} and {{SS|Strathdene||2}}, and the Norwegian [[tank ship|tanker]] {{SS|Christian Knutsen||2}}.</ref> were rescued by the destroyer flotilla.<ref name=NYT-OpenArms>{{cite news | title = Newport opens arms to U-boat survivors | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/10/10/301917302.pdf | work = The New York Times | date = 10 October 1916 | access-date = 19 May 2009 | page = 2 }}</ref>

After finishing out the rest of 1916 at Newport, ''Cushing'' again joined in exercises in the Caribbean for the first three months of 1917.<ref name=DANFS />

== World War I ==
After the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917 entering [[World War I]], ''Cushing'' was put to sea from [[New York City|New York]] on 15 May 1917 with ''Cummings'',<ref name=DANFS /><ref name=DANFS-Cummings>{{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c16/cummings-i.htm | title = Cummings | access-date = 21 May 2009 | short = on | link = off }}</ref> {{USS|Nicholson|DD-52|2}},<ref name=DANFS-Nicholson>{{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/n5/nicholson-ii.htm | title = Nicholson | access-date = 19 May 2009 | short = on | link = off }}</ref> ''O'Brien'',<ref name=DANFS-O_Brien>{{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o1/obrien-ii.htm | title = O'Brien | access-date = 19 May 2009 | short = on | link = off }}</ref> and {{USS|Sampson|DD-63|2}}.<ref name=DANFS-sampson>{{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s4/sampson-i.htm | title = Sampson | access-date = 21 May 2009 | short = on | link = off }}</ref> The destroyers arrived at [[Queenstown, Ireland]], 24 May for duty in the war zone.<ref name=DANFS />

''Cushing'' patrolled off the Irish coast, meeting and escorting convoys of merchant ships and troop transports to British ports and the French coast. German submarines were active in the area and ''Cushing'' conducted [[antisubmarine warfare|antisubmarine]] patrols and performed rescue work on the ships that were victims of U-boats. On 4 June, she picked up 13 men adrift in a small boat, survivors of Italian [[brig]] ''Luisa''.

The destroyer had a busy July. On the 7th, she assisted {{USS|Perkins|DD-26|2}} in rescuing survivors of the torpedoed and sinking British merchant ship SS ''Tarquah''. The next day she responded to an [[SOS]] from SS ''Onitsha'', which was being chased by an enemy submarine, and picked up 54 survivors of SS ''Obuasi'' which had already been sunk.<ref name=DANFS /> On 16 July she escorted SS ''Tamele'' to safety after the merchantman had received five hits, and the same day fired on two submarines, {{SMU|U-49||2}} and {{SMU|U-58||2}},<ref name=lamia_l>{{cite Uboat.net | name = Lamia L. | id = 3487 | type = 1ship | access-date = 19 May 2009 }}</ref> at extremely long range following their attack on the Italian merchant vessel SS ''Lamia L.'', from whom ''Cushing'' rescued 27 survivors.<ref name=DANFS />

On 12 September, five survivors from the British SS ''Vienna'' were saved after being adrift for 2 days.<ref name=DANFS /><ref group=Note>Coincidentally, ''Vienna'' had been sunk by ''U-49'', upon which ''Cushing'' had fired unsuccessfully in July. See: {{cite Uboat.net | name = Vienna | id = 6327 | type = 1ship | access-date = 19 May 2009 }}</ref> On 26 November, when [[RFA Crenella|RFA ''Crenella'']] was torpedoed, ''Cushing'' stood by, giving damage control assistance which kept the merchantman from sinking, then escorted her into Queenstown. ''Cushing'' rejoined her convoy the next day. Continuing her convoy escort and patrol duty, ''Cushing'' on 25 April 1918 dropped fifteen [[depth charge]]s on German submarine {{SMU|U-104||2}}, damaging her severely; {{HMS|Jessamine}} sank ''U-104'' later that same day. After 11 June 1918, ''Cushing'' operated from [[Brest, France]], escorting eleven troop convoys through the submarine zones into French ports, making two depth charge attacks without success in the process.<ref name=DANFS />

== Postwar ==
Immediately after the [[Armistice with Germany|Armistice]] was signed on 11 November 1918, ''Cushing'' remained in French waters. She towed {{USS|Murray|DD-97|2}}, which had grounded on rocks in a French harbor, into Brest on 3 December. However, ''Cushing'' departed for the United States on 21 December, arriving in New York on 6 January 1919. She was placed in reduced commission on 1 July, and transferred to the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] on 6 April 1920. In July, she was assigned the [[hull code]] of ''DD-55'' under the U.S. Navy's alphanumeric classification system. ''Cushing'' was decommissioned on 7 August.<ref name=DANFS />

On 1 July 1933, she dropped the name ''Cushing'' to free it for [[USS Cushing (DD-376)|a new destroyer of the same name]], becoming known only as ''DD-55''. The ship was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 7 January 1936,<ref name=Bauer-171 /> and, on 30 June, was sold for [[ship breaking|scrapping]] in accordance with the [[London Naval Treaty]] for the limitation of naval armaments.<ref name=DANFS />

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cushing-destroyer-no-55-ii.html}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Bauer | first1 = K. Jack | author-link = K. Jack Bauer | last2 = Roberts | first2 = Stephen S.| title = Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants | location = New York | publisher = [[Greenwood Press]] | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-313-26202-9 | oclc = 24010356 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Cox|first=Ormond L.|title=U.S.S. Cushing: Description and Trials|journal=Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers|date=November 1915|volume= XXVII|issue= 4|pages=836–852|url=https://archive.org/details/journalamerican02engigoog}}
* {{cite book | editor1-last=Gardiner | editor1-first=Robert | editor2-last=Gray | editor2-first=Randal | title = Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 | location = [[Annapolis, Maryland]] | publisher = [[Naval Institute Press]] | year = 1985 | isbn = 978-0-87021-907-8 | oclc = 12119866 }}
* {{cite magazine | last = Long | first = Wellington | title = The Cruise of the U-53 |magazine=[[Proceedings (magazine)|Proceedings]] | location = Annapolis, Maryland | publisher = [[United States Naval Institute]] | volume = 92 | issue = 10 |date=October 1966 | pages = 89–94 | issn = 0041-798X | oclc = 2496995 }}
* {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | author-link = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c16/cummings-i.htm | title = Cummings | access-date = 21 May 2009 }}
* {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c16/cushing-ii.htm | title = Cushing | access-date = 19 May 2009 | link = off }}
* {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/n5/nicholson-ii.htm | title = Nicholson | access-date = 19 May 2009 | link = off }}
* {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o1/obrien-ii.htm | title = O'Brien | access-date = 19 May 2009 | link = off }}
* {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s4/sampson-i.htm | title = Sampson | access-date = 21 May 2009 | link = off }}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{navsource|05/055|Cushing}}

{{O'Brien class destroyer}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cushing (DD-55)}}
[[Category:O'Brien-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1915 ships]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United States]]

USS Cushing (DD-55) - Revision history

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