USS Sloat ( DD - 316 ) The first USS " Sloat " ( DD - 316 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I . She was named for John Drake Sloat . History . " Sloat " was laid down on 18 January 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation , San Francisco , California ; launched on 14 May 1919 ; sponsored by Mrs . Edwin A . Sherman ; and commissioned on 30 December 1920 , Lieutenant Commander J . R . Palmer in command . " Sloat " arrived at San Diego , California for shakedown on 24 January 1921 and then was placed in reserve until October . She conducted gunnery exercises during the winter and carried out torpedo trials in April and May 1922 . On 27 June , she sailed with the fleet for Puget Sound and operated in that area until returning to San Diego on 19 September . On 6 February 1923 , she departed San Diego with the fleet , and conducted exercises off Panama until returning on 11 April . She spent most of the remainder of the year , and much of the next , undergoing repairs at Mare Island before returning to San Diego on 22 December 1924 . On 3 April 1925 , " Sloat " sailed from San Diego with the fleet for exercises off Hawaii . On 1 July , the Battle Fleet sailed from Hawaii for a goodwill cruise to the Southwest Pacific , and " Sloat " called at Melbourne , Australia ; Lyttelton and Wellington , New Zealand ; and American Samoa before returning to San Diego on 19 September . The destroyer departed San Diego on 1 February 1926 and participated in fleet exercises off Panama from 15 February to 8 March , and then underwent overhaul at Mare Island from 22 March to 4 May . After a summer of reserve training cruises , she again underwent repairs at Mare Island from 30 December 1926 to 3 February 1927 . " Sloat " sailed with the Battle Fleet for fleet exercises on 17 February 1927 and transited the Panama Canal on 5 March . The exercises in the Caribbean lasted until 22 April , and the fleet then visited New York and carried out a joint Army and Navy exercise in Narragansett Bay before arriving in Hampton Roads on 29 May for a Presidential review . After getting underway for Panama on 4 June , " Sloat " received repairs from a tender in Gatun Lake , Canal Zone , and then was ordered to relieve on patrol off the Nicaraguan coast . Her mission was to protect lives and property of United States citizens and of other foreign nationals in Nicaragua and to help preserve order . She served two tours off Nicaragua under the Special Service Squadron : from 25 June to 6 July and from 22 July to 8 August 1927 . Transiting the canal on 10 August , she returned to San Diego on 23 August and underwent overhaul at Mare Island from 19 February to 31 March 1928 . " Sloat " departed San Diego on 9 April 1928 and arrived at Pearl Harbor with the fleet on the 28th , having participated in Fleet Problem VIII en route . She returned to San Diego on 23 June and reached Puget Sound on 9 July for summer exercises . Returning to San Diego on 1 September , she took part in exercises off the Canal Zone from 27 January to 6 February 1929 and then underwent overhaul at Mare Island from 3 March to 13 April . She conducted training off San Diego during the summer ; and , after a one - week trip to San Francisco , returned to San Diego on 28 August 1929 . " Sloat " was replaced by the recommissioned and decommissioned on 2 June 1930 , struck from the Navy list on 28 January 1935 , and sunk at sea as a target off San Diego on 26 June 1935 .