USS Herndon ( DD - 198 ) USS " Herndon " ( DD - 198 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy . " Herndon " served in the United States Coast Guard as CG - 17 . She was later transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS " Churchill and still later to the Soviet Navy as Deyatelny " . USS " Herndon " ( DD - 198 ) . The first Navy ship named for Commander William Lewis Herndon ( 1813 - 1857 ) , " Herndon " was launched on 31 May 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company , sponsored by Miss Lucy Taylor Herndon , niece of Commander Herndon . She was commissioned on 14 September 1920 at Norfolk , Virginia with Lieutenant Commander L . H . Thebaud in command . After shakedown in New England waters , " Herndon " was placed in reserve in Charleston , South Carolina on 3 November 1920 . She served in reserve for training exercises and maneuvers along the US east coast until she was decommissioned at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania on 6 June 1922 . " Herndon " served in the United States Coast Guard from 1930 - 1934 as part of the Rum Patrol . She was recommissioned into the Navy on 4 December 1939 . Following trials and shakedown , she reached Guantanamo Bay on 23 January 1940 to join the Caribbean Neutrality Patrol . In July – August , she operated out of the Panama Canal Zone on tactical and antisubmarine maneuvers . The Herndon Depot Museum in Herndon , Virginia houses artifacts from the USS " Herndon " . A photo of the ship ' s flag taken on Memorial Day weekend , 2010 , is shown below the career table at the lower right . HMS " Churchill " . " Herndon " decommissioned and was turned over to Great Britain under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement at Halifax , Nova Scotia on 9 September 1940 . As HMS " Churchill " , she served as leader of the first flotilla in transatlantic convoys and patrol duty off the western approaches to the British Isles . Notable events in her career in the Royal Navy included participation in the search for the German battleship after she had sunk the battlecruiser , and a visit by her namesake , the redoubtable Prime Minister Winston Churchill , on his way home from the Atlantic Conference with President Franklin D . Roosevelt in August 1941 . " Churchill " was assigned to Escort Group B - 7 of the Mid - Ocean Escort Force for convoys HX - 186 and ON - 94 . " Churchill " also served as an escort for the pre - and post - invasion buildup for Operation " Torch " , the Allied invasion of North Africa . " Churchill " was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original 4 " / 50 caliber gun s and three of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of hedgehog . " Churchill " was assigned to Escort Group C - 4 of the Mid - Ocean Escort Force for convoys SC - 112 , ON - 158 , HX - 224 , ON - 177 and HX - 235 during the winter of 1942 - 43 " Deyatelny " . Transferred to the Soviet Navy 16 July 1944 , the destroyer was renamed " Deyatelny " ( Russian Деятельный , " active " ) . She was sunk — probably by — on 16 January 1945 , east of Cape Tereberski while escorting a convoy over the treacherous route from Kola Inlet to the White Sea .