Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
	108k	Benjamin William Crowninshield was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on 27 December 1772. Son of a sea captain and merchant, he worked in the family shipping business, served at sea, and was also active in politics. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1811 and the state Senate in 1812. Crowninshield became Secretary of the Navy in January 1815, at the end of the War of 1812, and managed the transition to a peacetime force. This included implementation of the new Board of Commissioners administrative system and the building of several ships of the line, the backbone of a much enhanced Navy. He also oversaw strategy and naval policy for the brief, and very successful war with Algiers in 1815. After leaving Navy office, Crowninshield returned to business and political affairs in Massachusetts, prospering in both. In addition to serving two more terms in the Massachusetts House, he was also elected to four terms the United States Congress during the 1820s. Benjamin Crowninshield died on 3 February 1851. Photo #: NH 54721-KN. Benjamin W. Crowninshield, Secretary of the Navy, 16 January 1815 - 30 September 1818 portrait by U.D. Tenney. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.		Bill Gonyo
	124k	Undated, location unknown. Tom's dad, William Millard Smith, was stationed on the Crowninshield from 1939 to 1940.		Thomas Smith
	93k	Undated postcard, Port Stockton, Stockton, CA.		Randle M. Biddle
	45k	Undated, location unknown.		Paul Rebold
	159k	Undated, location unknown.		Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
	101k	Undated, location unknown.		Richard Miller BMCS USNR RET.
	132k	USS Crowninshield (Destroyer # 134), At anchor, probably in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1919-1920. Collection of Gustave Maurer. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Photo #: NH 2208.		Robert Hurst
	91k	Bath, ME, 24 July 1919.		Joe Radigan
	426k	Crew of the Crowninshield in Boston on October 14 1919. Eugene's dad, Chief Machinist Mate Ellsworth E. Garriepy, is the 21st sailor from the left.		Eugene Garriepy
	301k	Balboa Harbor, Panama Canal Zone. Aerial photograph taken 23 April 1934, with U.S. Fleet cruisers and destroyers moored together. Ships present include (left to right in lower left): USS Elliot (DD-146); USS Roper (DD-147); USS Hale (DD-133); USS Dorsey (DD-117); USS Lea (DD-118); USS Rathburne (DD-113); USS Talbot (DD-114); USS Waters (DD-115); USS Dent (DD-116); USS Aaron Ward (DD-132); USS Buchanan (DD-131); USS Crowninshield (DD-134); USS Preble (DD-345); and USS William B. Preston (DD-344). (left to right in center): USS Yarnall (DD-143); USS Sands (DD-243); USS Lawrence (DD-250); (unidentified destroyer); USS Detroit (CL-8), Flagship, Destroyers Battle Force; USS Fox (DD-234); USS Greer (DD-145); USS Barney (DD-149); USS Tarbell (DD-142); and USS Chicago (CA-29), Flagship, Cruisers Scouting Force. (left to right across the top): USS Southard (DD-207); USS Chandler (DD-206); USS Farenholt (DD-332); USS Perry (DD-340); USS Wasmuth (DD-338); USS Trever (DD-339); USS Melville (AD-2); USS Truxtun (DD-229); USS McCormick (DD-223); USS MacLeish (DD-220); USS Simpson (DD-221); USS Hovey (DD-208); USS Long (DD-209); USS Litchfield (DD-336); USS Tracy (DD-214); USS Dahlgren (DD-187); USS Medusa (AR-1); USS Raleigh (CL-7), Flagship, Destroyers Scouting Force; USS Pruitt (DD-347); and USS J. Fred Talbott (DD-156); USS Dallas (DD-199); (four unidentified destroyers); and USS Indianapolis (CA-35), Flagship, Cruisers Scouting Force. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.		Fabio Peņa
	61k	June 25 1934, Vancouver British Columbia.		-
	744k	Transiting the Panama Canal, probably sometime during the 1930s.		Michael Cosgrove
	265k	USS Crowninshield (DD 134) and USS Hale (DD 133) at a San Francisco pier in late 1930s.		Darryl Baker
	78k	View of British sailors learning about their new ships, a part of Lend-lease in September 1940. In the background are the USS Buchnanan (DD-131) and the USS Crowninshield (DD-134).		Tom Kerman
On British Service
HMS Chelsea (ex-USS Crowninshield, DD-134) one of the first batch to transfer at Halifax, NS, Chelsea was also the longest serving. She arrived at Devonport for refit on 28 September 1940, and joined the 17th Flotilla at Liverpool on 12 october 1940. Further defects were made good at Liverpool between 4 November and 6 December 1940, and Chelsea then joined 6th Escort Group serving on both the Atlantic and Gibraltar convoy routes. In September 1941 Chelsea collided with Canning and, after repair, again with the same ship on 1 November 1941, this time with only minor damage. However, a third collision with an unknown ship on 16 November 1941 sent her back to the shipyard for a month. On completion enough defects accumulated by February 1942 to send her to London for a major repair and refit. On completion of post refit work up, Chelsea went to Canada to serve in the Western Local Escort Force. Unusually (for a Town) she appears to have had only two repair periods (each of four weeks) between September 1942 and December 1943, both at New York City. Either the London repairers did an excellent job, or the surviving records are incomplete. In December 1943 Chelsea sailed from St John's, NF, 15 December 1943 for the UK via the Azores to pay off and lay up in reserve. Selected for transfer to the Russian Northern Fleet in mid-1944. Refitted by Palmers on Tyneside from 14 February to 6 March 1944 and again from 3 to 9 May, Chelsea became Derzkiy on 16 July and was steamed to Kola with her sisters and the battleship Arkhangelsk (ex-HMS Royal Sovereign) during the passage of convoy JW59 sailing on 15 August 1944. Service with the Northern Fleet followed, and the ship was claimed to be in action on 9 December 1944, but without confirmation that she took any part in the loss of U 387. Derzkiy was present when Deyatel'niy was sunk, and was able to pick up eight survivors. Other operations were carried out to May 1945, principally in the White Sea. Derzkiy returned to Britain and was formally handed back to the RN at Rosyth on 24 June 1949. At once declared for disposal, she passed to BISCo 12 July and arrived at Bo'ness 29 July for scrapping by P & W MacLellan Ltd. (History thanks to Robert Hurst.)
	78k	View of British sailors learning about their new ships, a part of Lend-lease in September 1940. In the background are the USS Buchnanan (DD-131), USS Crowninshield (DD-134) and USS Abel P. Upshur (DD-193).		Tommy Trampp
	74k	The 'Town' destroyer HMS Chelsea (ex-USS Crowninshield, DD-134) as she follows her sisters into Plymouth Sound, 28 September, 1940 to commence refit for British service; in the distance the French battleshipn Paris lies at her moorings at the entrance to the Hamoaze.		Robert Hurst
	53k	The "Town" class destroyer HMS Chelsea (ex-USS Crowninshield, DD-134) circa 1942 in the Thames after her London refit and quite possibly on her way to working up prior to sailing to Canada and service in the Western Local Escort Force.		Robert Hurst
	90k	Ship's badge.		Tommy Trampp
On Soviet Service as Derzkiy
	74k	Derzkiy (ex-HMS Chelsea, ex-USS Crowninshield) underway on Soviet Union service, date and location unknown.		Robert Hurst
	55k	Undated, location unknown.		Igor Ageev
	111k	ex-US four-stacker Derzkiy as seen from the battleship Arkhangelsk (ex-HMS Royal Sovereign) while en route to Murmansk, Russia. Photo from "Battleships at War: HMS Royal Sovereign and Her Sisters" by Peter C. Smith		Robert Hurst

LCDR Ralph Earle Sampson    Aug 6 1919 - Jun 1920

LCDR Williams Carter Wickham    Jun 1920 - Aug 22 1921

LCDR Robert King Awtrey    Aug 22 1921 - Jul 7 1922

Decommissioned July 7 1922 to May 12 1930

LCDR Whitley Perkins    May 12 1930 - Jun 14 1930

LCDR Leonard Bynner Austin    Jun 14 1930 - May 1 1933

LCDR Raymond Burhen    May 31 1933 - Jul 20 1936

LCDR Frank Niles Sayre    Jul 20 1936 - Apr 8 1937

(Decommissioned April 8 1937 - September 30 1939) 

LT Harry Havelock Henderson    Sep 30 1939 - Sep 9 1940

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This page was created by Fred Willishaw (ex ARG-4, AS-11 & DD-692) and is maintained by David L. Wright

Last Updated 18 August 2017