USS Leary ( DD - 158 ) USS " Leary " ( DD - 158 ) was a " Wickes " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was named for Lieutenant Clarence F . Leary , posthumously awarded the Navy Cross in World War I . Commissioned in 1919 , she saw a number of fleet exercises and training cruises , as well as a brief period of decommissioning from 1922 to 1930 . She was the first U . S . Navy ship to be equipped with sonar , and the first to detect a German ship with it . With the outbreak of World War II , she escorted a number of convoys to Iceland , the Caribbean , and west Africa to support the war effort , later being upgraded to serve as an antisubmarine warfare vessel . On 24 December 1943 , while escorting through rough seas in the North Atlantic , she was torpedoed three times by German submarine " U - 275 " and sank with the loss of 98 men . Design and construction . " Leary " was one of 111 " Wickes " - class destroyer s built by the United States Navy between 1917 and 1919 . She , along with nine of her sisters , were constructed at New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyards in Camden , New Jersey using specifications and detail designs drawn up by Bethlehem Steel . She had a standard displacement of an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . On trials , " Leary " reached a speed of . She was armed with four 4 " / 50 caliber gun s , two 3 " / 23 caliber gun s , and twelve 21 - inch torpedo tube s . She had a regular crew complement of 176 officers and enlisted men . She was driven by two Curtis steam turbine s powered by four Yarrow boilers . Specifics on " Leary " ' s performance are not known , but she was one of the group of " Wickes " - class destroyers known unofficially as the ' Liberty Type ' to differentiate them from the destroyers constructed from detail designs drawn up by Bath Iron Works , which used Parsons or Westinghouse turbines . The ' Liberty ' type destroyers deteriorated badly in service , and in 1929 all 60 of this group were retired by the Navy . Actual performance of these ships was far below intended specifications especially in fuel economy , with most only able to make at instead of the design standard of at . The class also suffered problems with turning and weight . She was the first ship to be named for Clarence F . Leary . A subsequent USS " Leary " would be commissioned , this one a " Gearing " - class destroyer completed in 1945 . Service history . " Leary " was laid down on 6 March 1918 and launched on 18 December 1918 . She was sponsored by Mrs . Anne Leary , the mother of Clarence F . Leary . She was commissioned on 5 December 1919 under the command of Commander F . C . Martin . She departed Boston on 28 January 1920 , underwent her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean and then conducted training operations along the East Coast of the United States . In January 1921 , she joined the Pacific Battle Fleet , and through February took part in a large - scale battle exercise off the coast of Peru . In March , " Leary " transited the Panama Canal and reported to the commander of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . She then was on station during bombing tests conducted by the U . S . Army Air Forces against naval targets , overseen by Billy Mitchell . She resumed her training exercises off the Caribbean until June 1922 , when in accordance with the Washington Naval Conference , she was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Yard . Recommissioned on 1 May 1930 with a home port in Newport , Rhode Island , " Leary " alternated between the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet , carrying out training maneuvers and taking part in several fleet problem s . After 1935 , most of her time was taken up conducting training cruises for reserves and midshipmen . In April 1937 , she underwent a shipyard overhaul , including being equipped with a radar . " Leary " was the first U . S . navy vessel to be equipped with the device . In September 1939 , " Leary " and established a continuous patrol off the coast of New England against German U - Boat s . On 9 September 1941 , she began escort missions to Iceland . She was also the first to make contact with a German U - Boat , while escorting a British convoy in the North Atlantic on 9 November 1941 . With the entry of the United States into World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , " Leary " undertook regular convoy escort duties . After 26 February 1942 , she spent a year escorting convoys from a mid - ocean meeting point to Icelandic ports . On 7 February 1943 , she left for Boston and reassignment . During this time , she was given a shipyard overhaul at Boston Navy Yard and converted into an anti - submarine warfare ship . On 1 March , she left Boston for Guantanamo Bay , and undertook anti - submarine exercises with . She then resumed escort duty , and made several trips to Trinidad and several Caribbean ports . Returning to New York on 25 June , she began escoring transatlantic convoys , and successfully escorted two of them through Aruba and to Algiers and Casablanca . She later joined Task Group 21 . 41 under the command of Captain Arnold J . Isbell and escorting . On 24 December 1943 , the task group was caught in a storm in the North Atlantic when at 01 : 58 in the morning , " Leary " made a ping on a U - Boat off her starboard bow . After her commander , James E . Kyes , ordered her to battle stations but before the destroyer could react , she was struck buy a G7es torpedo fired by German submarine " U - 275 " . The torpedo struck her starboard side and detonated in the after engine room , killing all of the men there and damaging both propeller shafts . She quickly developed a 20 degree list to starboard , and was unable to move in the heavy seas . Unbeknownst to the task group , a second German submarine , " U - 382 " fired at " Leary " but missed . Soon after , Kyes ordered the crew to abandon ship . Two additional torpedoes from " U - 275 " rocked the ship , and it rapidly sank , stern first . She took 98 men with her , including Kyes . Survivors were picked up by her sister ship , . " Leary " received one battle star for her service in World War II . For his actions in ensuring the safety of his crew , Kyes was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross . The " Gearing " - class destroyer was later named for him .