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NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive

Preble (AG 99)
ex-DM-20
ex-DD-345



Call sign:
Nan - Uncle - Nan - George
Clemson Class Destroyer/Tracy Class Light Minelayer:

  • Laid down 12 April 1919 at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
  • Launched 8 March 1920
  • Delivered 15 March 1920
  • Commissioned USS Preble, Destroyer No. 345, 19 March 1920 at the Boston Navy Yard
  • Designated DD-345, 17 July 1920
  • Reclassified as a Light Minelayer, DM-20, 30 June 1937
  • Reclassified as a Miscellaneous Auxiliary, AG-99, 5 June 1945
  • Decommissioned 7 December 1945 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA
  • Struck from the Navy Register 3 January 1946
  • Sold for scrap 26 October 1946 to Luria Bros. of Philadelphia, PA.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 1,190 t.(lt), 1,308 t.(fl)
  • Length 314' 4"
  • Beam 30' 10"
  • Draft 9' 10"
  • Speed 35.8 kts.
  • Complement 132
  • Armament: Four 4"/50 mounts, one 3"/23 gun mount and two depth Charge Tracks
  • Propulsion: Four Normand boilers, two 25,000shp Parsons geared turbines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Preble 104k
    Namesake:

    In the American Revolution Edward Preble ran away from home to serve on a privateer, entered (1779) the Massachusetts state marine as a midshipman, and saw service aboard the Protector, which was captured in 1781. After his release he joined the Winthrop and, when the Revolution was over, was engaged in the merchant service. Commissioned lieutenant in the U.S. navy in 1798, he was promoted (1799) to captain and given command of the Essex, which sailed to China and convoyed 14 merchant vessels to New York. In 1803, Preble was transferred to the Constitution and set out in command of a squadron for the Mediterranean, where he took a leading part in the Tripolitan War. After the Philadelphia of his squadron had been captured and held in the harbor of Tripoli, Preble blockaded that port and made a number of attacks, but he failed to capture the strongly fortified town. He was relieved of his command on the arrival of Commodore Samuel Barron. Many of those who served under Preble, such as David Porter and Stephen Decatur, rendered distinguished service in the War of 1812

    		 Bill Gonyo/Robert Hurst/Tommy Trampp
    Photo added 23 February 2022
    Preble 104k
    Tracy 97k Sicard (DM 21), Tracy (DM 19), Preble and Pruitt (DM 22) Jon Burdett
    Hart 308k c. 1923/1924
    Hong Kong, China
    American Man of War in Hong Kong Harbor. Identified ships are: Huron (CA 9), Helena (PG 9), Sacramento (PG 19), Asheville (PG 21), Black Hawk (AD 9), Hart (DM 8), Rizal (DM 14), Hulbert (DD 342), Noa (DD 343), William B. Preston (DD 344), Preble (DD 345), later DM-20; Sicard (DD 346), later DM 21); Pruitt (DD 347), later DM-22; Finch (AM 9), Bittern (AM 36) and SS President Jackson
    Photo by A. Fong
    Photo from the collection of Chief Walter E. Pegg    		 Jay Milewski
    Preble 138k Plan view amidships, looking forward, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 17 November 1943. White outlines mark recent alterations to the ship, among them installation of 3"/50 guns atop her midships superstructure
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 103726    		 Barb Rebold
    Preble 147k Plan view amidships, looking aft, taken at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 17 November 1943. White outlines mark recent alterations to the ship
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 103727
    Preble 97k Stern view of the Preble departing Mare Island on 17 Nov 1943
    U.S. Navy photo 7662-43    		 Darryl Baker
    Preble 894k Bow on view of the Preble departing Mare Island on 17 Nov 1943
    U.S. Navy photo 7663-43
    Preble 94k Broadside view of the Preble departing Mare Island on 17 Nov 1943. She had just completed an overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard from 29 September to 17 November 1943
    U.S. Navy photo 7664-43
    Preble 237k 17 November 1943
    Off Mare Island, CA
    U.S. Navy photo 7666-43    		 Original photo: Barb Rebold
    Replacement photo: Darryl Baker
    Perry 285k USS Perry (DMS 17) being abandoned after striking a mine off Angaur, 13 September 1944, during the Palaus operation. Preble is standing by
    Photographed from a USS Tennessee (BB-43) aircraft
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 92987    		 Robert Hurst
    Perry 263k USS Perry (DMS 17) being abandoned after striking a mine off Angaur, 13 September 1944, during the Palaus operation. Preble is standing by
    Photographed from a USS Tennessee (BB-43) scout plane
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 92988    		 Mike Green
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR Harry Alexander Baldridge, USN - USNA Class of 1902
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		19 March 1920 - 19 May 1920
    02LCDR Delaven Bloodgood Downer, USNOctober 1920 - 1922
    03CAPT Charles Seymour Freeman, USN - USNA Class of 1900
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) and the Legion of Merit (1942) - Retired as Vice Admiral    		1922 - 25 July 1923
    04CDR Husband Edward Kimmel, USN - Retired as Rear Admiral25 July 1923 - 25 March 1924
    05CDR James Perdue Olding, USN25 March 1924 - 26 June 1926
    06CDR Ralph Burroughs Horner, USN26 June 1926 - 22 June 1928
    07LCDR Marshall Britt Arnold, USN22 June 1928 - 1929
    08LCDR Albert Roscoe Black, USN1929 - 13 June 1931
    09LCDR Theo Dwight Westfall, USN13 June 1931 - 1934
    10LCDR Peter Kalsh Fischler, USN - USNA Class of 1918
    Awarded the Legion of Merit (1945) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		July 1936 - April 1937
    11LCDR Thomas Mediary Dell, Jr., USN - Awarded the Legion of Merit (1945)1938 - June 1939
    12LCDR Louis Arthur Reinken, USNJune 1939 - August 1940
    13LCDR Charles Frederick Chillingsworth, Jr., USNAugust 1940 - November 1941
    14LCDR Harry Darlington Johnston, USN - USNA Class of 1926
    Awarded the Silver Star (1943) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		November 1941 - 14 September 1942
    15LCDR Frederick Samuel Steinke, USN - Awarded the Silver Star (1945) and the Legion of Merit (1945)14 September 1942 - 25 March 1944
    16LT Edward Francis Baldridge, USN - USNA Class of 1938
    Awarded two Bronze Stars    		25 March 1944 - 30 May 1945
    17LT John Paul Graves, USNR30 May 1945 - 7 December 1945
    Courtesy of Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Joe Radigan
    View the Preble (DM-20)
    DANFS History entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway Website
    Additional Resources and Websites of Interest
    NavSource Destroyer Pages, USS Preble (DD-345)
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Mine Warfare Ship Photo Index Back to the Light Minelayer (DM) Photo Index Back to the Auxiliary Ship Index Back To The Miscellaneous Auxiliaries (AG) Photo Index
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