The first USS Luce (DD-99) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and the years following. She was named in honor of Stephen B. Luce.

USS Luce at the Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, Massachusetts, on 28 November 1919
History
United States
NameLuce
NamesakeStephen B. Luce
BuilderFore River Shipyard, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down9 February 1918
Launched29 June 1918
Commissioned11 September 1918
Decommissioned30 June 1922
IdentificationDD-99
Recommissioned19 March 1930
Decommissioned31 January 1931
Reclassified18 March 1920, DM-4
Stricken7 January 1936
FateScrapped, 13 November 1936
General characteristics
Class and typeWickes-class destroyer
Displacement1,191 tons
Length314 ft 5 in (95.8 m)
Beam31 ft 9 in (9.7 m)
Draft9 ft 2 in (2.8 m)
Speed35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Complement133 officers and enlisted
Armament

History

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Luce was laid down by Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation at Quincy, Massachusetts, on 9 February 1918. The ship was launched on 29 June 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Boutelle Noyes, daughter of Rear Admiral Luce. The destroyer was commissioned on 11 September 1918.

Luce departed Boston on 19 September 1918 and reported to Commander Cruiser Force, Atlantic Fleet, in New York two days later. She sailed with Troop Convoy 67 for France on 23 September. Upon arrival at the Azores on 1 October, she was detached and proceeded to Gibraltar on 19 October. Luce performed escort and patrol duty in the Mediterranean Sea for the duration of the war.

On 26 November she departed for the Adriatic Sea and for five months patrolled the area in cooperation with the Food Commission. After voyaging to the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas in May and June 1919, she returned to Gibraltar on 27 June en route to the United States. She arrived in New York on 10 July and proceeded to Boston for overhaul.

On 29 October she was transferred to Reserve Squadron 1, Atlantic Fleet, and 18 March 1920 was reclassified Light Mine Layer (DM-4). In April she departed Boston for Newport, Rhode Island, where she operated with the destroyer force until July. On 5 July 1921 she joined Mine Squadron 1 at Gloucester, Massachusetts, and participated in tactical exercises until October. After a cruise to the Caribbean Sea in January 1922, Luce arrived at Philadelphia where she decommissioned on 30 June 1922.

Luce recommissioned on 19 March 1930 and sailed to Panama on 18 April where she operated with submarines of the Canal Zone Control Force until May. She returned to the east coast on 4 June and trained with Mine Squadron 1 until steaming to Boston where she decommissioned for the final time on 31 January 1931. Luce was sold to Schiavone-Bonomo Corporation, New York on 29 September 1936 and scrapped 13 November 1936.

References

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