USS Stoddert (DD-302/AG-18) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. It was named for Benjamin Stoddert.
History
Stoddert was laid down on 4 July 1918 at San Francisco, California, by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation; launched on 8 January 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Gavin McNab; and commissioned on 30 June 1920.
Stoddert joined Division 33 of the Reserve Destroyer Squadron, Pacific Fleet, and completed fitting-out at Mare Island Navy Yard. Between 14 August 1920 and 7 January 1921, it operated along the coast of California, participating in tactical exercises with Battleship Squadron 5 and the cruiser . It also engaged in antiaircraft practice, target towing, and gun drills off Coronado Island with its own division. On 7 January 1921, it departed San Diego with the Pacific Fleet to join the Atlantic Fleet in the Panama Canal Zone for winter maneuvers farther south. From 22 January to 15 February, the combined fleets held strategic, tactical, and gunnery exercises on a cruise to Valparaíso, Chile, and back to Panama. Following the inter-fleet championships conducted at Balboa, Stoddert headed north and, on 5 March, reached San Diego, California where it resumed normal operations with Division 33.
In July, it steamed farther north to the state of Washington where it exercised with . After maneuvers off the coasts of Oregon and California, it entered Puget Sound Navy Yard on 15 December; completed overhaul on 7 February 1922; and, four days later, joined Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 32. It resumed operations along the west coast. Proceeding to the south on 8 February 1923 with the Battle Fleet and Fleet Base Force, Stoddert took part in maneuvers en route to the Panama Canal Zone to conduct fleet problems to test the defense of the strategic canal. While in Panama during the month of March, the fleet engaged in combined tactical and strategic maneuvers, held experimental torpedo practice, carried out various experimental firings against and finally sank Coast Battleship No. 4, the former . Upon the completion of the combined maneuvers on 30 March, Stoddert returned to the Bremerton Navy Yard on 22 April.
The destroyer cruised the Washington coastline until the end of August, visiting Astoria, Tacoma, Seattle, Bellingham, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend. In July, it escorted , in which President Warren G. Harding was embarked. In September, it steamed south to San Diego Harbor where the destroyers of its division formed a circle and scattered flowers on the water in commemoration of the men lost in the Honda Point Disaster.
From 22 October 1923 until 2 January 1924, Stoddert took part in fleet maneuvers and torpedo exercises at San Diego, sailing to the south on 16 January. Transiting the Panama Canal with the Battle Fleet from 18 to 25 January, it was engaged with the Scouting Fleet in maneuvers designed to test the defenses and facilities of the Canal Zone. During the winter, the combined fleets were based at Culebra, and on 22 April 1924, Stoddert arrived back at San Diego with the Battle Fleet.
Cruising with Battle Fleet destroyer squadrons, Stoddert operated along the west coast, principally at San Diego, San Pedro, Port Angeles, Tacoma, Seattle, and San Francisco, until 27 April 1925, on which date it arrived in Hawaii for exercises with United States Fleet. En route, the fleet engaged in a joint Army and Navy problem which simulated an attack on the Hawaiian Islands by a large overseas force and was designed to test to the fullest extent the defenses of the Hawaiian Islands.
On 1 July 1925, the destroyer sailed from Pearl Harbor with the Battle Fleet on a good will cruise via Samoa to Australia and New Zealand. The ships visited Melbourne, Dunedin, and Lyttelton, and the officers and men were extensively entertained in all these ports. This visit furthered the amicable relations existing between the United States and Australia and New Zealand. Stoddert returned to its base at San Diego on 26 September.