USS Aylwin (Destroyer No. 47/DD-47) was the lead ship of s 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 John Cushing Aylwin, a U.S. Navy officer killed in action aboard during the War of 1812.
Aylwin was laid down by She was sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Wright Powell. The ship was a little more than in length, just over abeam, and had a standard displacement of . She was armed with four guns and had eight 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. Aylwin was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to
Aylwin failed to make her contracted speed of in builder's trials in August 1913, but was eventually accepted by the U.S. Navy and commissioned in January 1914. On 6 April, two sailors on board Aylwin died when she suffered an explosion in her No. 1 fire room. Out of commission while repairs were made, Aylwin was recommissioned in May 1915 and joined the Atlantic Fleet. In October 1916, she was one of several U.S. destroyers sent to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine off the Lightship Nantucket.
After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Aylwin conducted experiments with Reginald Fessenden until January 1918. She was then sent overseas to conduct anti-submarine patrols from Queenstown, Ireland, and Plymouth. In December, she accompanied light cruiser on an inspection tour of German Baltic ports. Upon returning to the United States at the end of June 1919, Aylwin was placed in reserve. She was decommissioned at Philadelphia in February 1921. In July 1933 she dropped her name, becoming known only as DD-47. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in March 1935 and ordered scrapped in April.
Design and construction
Aylwin was authorized in March 1911 as the lead ship of the four-ship , which was almost identical to the s authorized at the same time. Construction of the vessel—like her three sister ships—was awarded to William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia which laid down her keel on 7 May 1912. On 23 November, Aylwin was launched by sponsor Mrs. Joseph Wright Powell, wife of the assistant to the president of the Cramp shipyard. The ship was the second U.S. Navy ship named for John Cushing Aylwin, a U.S. Navy officer killed in action aboard during the War of 1812. As built, the destroyer was in length, abeam, and drew . The ship had a standard displacement of and displaced when fully loaded.
Aylwin had two steam turbines that drove her two screw propellers, and an additional pair triple-expansion steam engines, each connected to one of the propeller shafts, for cruising purposes. Four oil-burning boilers powered the engines, which could generate , and it was hoped, move the ship at the design speed of . However, during builder's trials conducted in July 1913, Aylwin failed to reach this speed, and was withdrawn from testing. After sister ship Parker exceeded the design speed in August with a different propeller design, The Washington Post reported that Aylwins propellers would be changed to the new design.
Aylwins main battery consisted of four /50 caliber Mark 9 guns, with each gun weighing in excess of . The guns fired armor-piercing projectiles at . At an elevation of 20°, the guns had a range of . Aylwin was also equipped with four twin torpedo tubes.
Pre-World War I
Aylwin was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on 17 January 1914. Following a short cruise to Cuba, Aylwin conducted operations off the North Carolina coast in April. On 6 April, she and sister ships and were exercising off the North Carolina coast, about off the Diamond Shoals lightship. An explosion ripped through the forward fire room on Aylwin, injuring three men. Benham loaded the three wounded sailors and sped to the naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia, while Parker took on the remainder of Aylwins crew. One of the injured men died on Benham before landfall was made in Virginia; another died a short time later. The crews of all three destroyers raised $250 to help defray funeral expenses for the widow of one of the men.
