USS Conyngham ( DD - 58 ) USS " Conyngham " ( Destroyer No . 58 / DD - 58 ) was a built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I . The ship was the first U . S . Navy vessel named for Gustavus Conyngham . " Conyngham " was laid down by the William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia , in July 1914 and launched in July of the following year . 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 torpedo tube s . " Conyngham " was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to . After her January 1916 commissioning , " Conyngham " sailed in the Atlantic and the Caribbean . After the United States entered World War I in April 1917 , " Conyngham " was part of the first U . S . destroyer squadron sent overseas . Patrolling the Irish Sea out of Queenstown , Ireland , " Conyngham " made several rescues of passengers and crew from ships sunk by U - boats . " Conyngham " s commander was commended for actions related to what was thought at the time to be a " probable " kill of a German submarine . Upon returning to the United State in December 1918 , " Conyngham " underwent repairs at the Boston Navy Yard . She remained there in reduced commission through 1921 , with only brief episodes of activity . After returning to active service for about a year , she was decommission ed in June 1922 . In June 1924 , " Conyngham " was transferred to the United States Coast Guard to help enforce Prohibition as a part of the " Rum Patrol " . She operated under the name USCGC " Conyngham " ( CG - 2 ) until 1933 , when she was returned to the Navy . Later that year , the ship was renamed DD - 58 to free the name " Conyngham " for another destroyer . She was sold for scrap in August 1934 . Design and construction . " Conyngham " was authorized in 1913 as the second ship of the which , like the related , was an improved version of the s authorized in 1911 . Construction of the vessel was awarded to William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia , which laid down her keel on 27 July 1914 . Twelve months later , on 8 July 1915 , " Conyngham " was launched by sponsor Miss A . C . Stevens , a great - great - granddaughter of the ship ' s namesake , Gustavus Conyngham ( 1744 – 1819 ) , a Continental Navy officer . As built , " Conyngham " was in length and abeam and drew . The ship had a standard displacement of and displaced when fully loaded . " Conyngham " had two Curtis steam turbine s that drove her two screw propellers , and an additional steam turbine geared to one of the propeller shafts for cruising purposes . The power plant could generate and move the ship at speeds up to . " Conyngham " s main battery consisted of four / 50 Mark 9 guns , with each gun weighing in excess of . The guns fired armor - piercing projectile s at . At an elevation of 20° , the guns had a range of . " Conyngham " was also equipped with eight torpedo tube s . The General Board of the United States Navy had called for two anti - aircraft gun s for the " Tucker " - class ships , as well as provisions for laying up to 36 floating mine s . From sources , it is unclear if these recommendations were followed for " Conyngham " or any of the other ships of the class . Early career . USS " Conyngham " was commissioned into the United States Navy on 21 January 1916 under the command of Lieutenant Commander A . W . Johnson . Following her commissioning , " Conyngham " joined in tactics and war maneuvers off the east coast in 1916 and in the beginning of 1917 sailed to the Caribbean for war games and fleet maneuvers . Returning to Norfolk , Virginia on 23 March , she joined 5th Naval District Patrol Force and with and patrolled the approaches to Chesapeake Bay . World War I . On 24 April 1917 " Conyngham " sailed from Boston , Massachusetts with her division for Queenstown , Ireland , the first destroyers to join English forces for duty after the entry of the United States into World War I earlier that month . This force patrolled off the Irish coast and escorted convoys through the danger zone where German submarine operated . The destroyers also providing rescue services for stricken ships . When the British ship was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine on 17 August 1917 , " Conyngham " sped to her assistance and rescued 39 survivors . A similar distress call from the British ship on 22 November — torpedoed by German submarine — resulted in the rescue of her 30 - man crew by " Conyngham " . The British Armed merchant cruiser and ten destroyers , including " Conyngham " , were escorting an eastbound convoy of twenty steamers on 19 October , when German submarine surfaced in the midst of the group . The submarine launched its only remaining torpedo at " Orama " , sinking that vessel . Lookouts on " Conyngham " saw " U - 62 " s periscope and quickly launched a depth charge attack on the spot where the U - boat had submerged , bringing oil and debris to the surface . " Conyngham " s commanding officer was commended for his prompt and effective action , and the British Admiralty awarded " Conyngham " a " probable " kill on the submarine . Unfortunately for " Conyngham " s record , though , " U - 62 " had survived the encounter . Post - war . After the hostilities had ended on 11 November 1918 with Germany signing the Armistice , " Conyngham " sailed from Queenstown on 14 December 1918 for Boston to have an overhaul . From February to April 1919 , the destroyer participated in fleet exercises and division maneuvers in the Caribbean . Returning to Boston , she was placed in reduced commission until 1921 . In June 1921 , " Conyngham " accompanied a Cuban warship that was repatriating the remains of former Cuban President Jose Miguel Gómez to Havana . She returned to Newport , Rhode Island , for summer exercises with her squadron and , after wintering at Charleston , South Carolina , reported to Philadelphia Navy Yard in March 1922 for inactivation . She was decommission ed there on 23 June 1922 . United States Coast Guard career . On 17 January 1920 , Prohibition was instituted by law in the United States . Soon , the smuggling of alcoholic beverages along the coastlines of the United States became widespread and blatant . The Treasury Department eventually determined that the United States Coast Guard simply did not have the ships to constitute a successful patrol . To cope with the problem , President Calvin Coolidge in 1924 authorized the transfer from the Navy to the Coast Guard of twenty old destroyers that were in reserve and out of commission . " Conyngham " was reactivated and transferred to the Treasury Department on 7 June 1924 for use by the Coast Guard . Designated " CG - 2 " , " Conyngham " was commissioned on 8 March 1925 , and joined the " Rum Patrol " to aid in the attempt to enforce prohibition laws . After the United States Congress proposed the Twenty - first Amendment to end prohibition in February 1933 , plans were made for " Conyngham " to be returned to the Navy . On 27 May 1933 , " Conyngham " arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , and was decommissioned nine days later , on 5 June . " Conyngham " was transferred back to the Navy on 30 June . Later in 1933 , the ship was renamed " DD - 58 " in order to free the name " Conyngham " for a new destroyer of the same name . " DD - 58 " remained in noncommissioned status until struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 5 July 1934 . She was sold for scrap on 22 August in accordance with the London Naval Treaty .