USS Blakeley ( DD - 150 ) The second USS " Blakeley " ( DD – 150 ) was a " Wickes " - class destroyer in the United States Navy , named for Captain Johnston Blakeley . Built in 1918 , she saw patrol duty along the East Coast of the United States during the interwar era . Decommissioned for several years , she returned to duty at the outset of World War II . She spent much of the war on convoy patrol duty in the Caribbean . On 25 May 1942 , while on patrol , she was struck by a torpedo fired by German submarine , which blew off her forward . Fitted with temporary measures , she steamed to Philadelphia Naval Yard where she was fitted with the forward section of sister ship . She spent much of the rest of the war on convoy patrol duty before being sold for scrap in 1945 . Design and construction . " Blakely " was one of 111 " Wickes " - class destroyer s built by the United States Navy between 1917 and 1919 . She , along with 20 of her sisters , were constructed at William Cramp and Sons shipyards in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania using specifications and detail designs drawn up by Bath Iron Works . She had a standard displacement of an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . On trials , " Blakeley " reached a speed of . She was armed with four 4 " / 50 caliber gun s , two 3 " / 23 caliber gun , and twelve 21 - inch torpedo tube s . She had a regular crew complement of 122 officers and enlisted men . She was driven by two Curtis steam turbine s powered by four Yarrow boilers . Specifics on " Blakeley " ' 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 Bethlehem Steel , 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 second ship to be named for Johnston Blakeley , the first was a torpedo boat commissioned in 1904 . A subsequent USS " Blakely " would be commissioned , this one a " Knox " - class frigate . This third ship would also be named for Charles Adams Blakely . History . " Blakeley " was launched 19 September 1918 by William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania and sponsored by the wife of Charles Adams Blakeley . The ship was commissioned 8 May 1919 , under the command of Commander W . Brown , Jr . . She immediately joined the Atlantic Fleet . Blakely patrolled along the East Coast of the United States until she was decommissioned on 29 June 1922 , and returned to Philadelphia . She was recommissioned from 1932 to 1937 to serve with the Scouting Fleet , and then was again decommissioned in Philadelphia . Low military budgets were the cause of these periods of inactivity , as the Navy did not have the funds or manpower to maintain a number of ships , including " Blakeley " . " Blakeley " was again commissioned on 16 October 1939 . She then joined the Neutrality Patrol until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the U . S . entrance into World War II . She then began convoy duty in the Caribbean , including a February 1942 mission to guard a convoy carrying troops to garrison Curaçao in the Netherlands West Indies . On 25 May 1942 , " Blakeley " was on a patrol off Martinique , inspecting all incoming ships for evidence of activities by Vichy French collaborators alongside her sister . At 08 : 30 a . m . , she altered course to pursue a sound ping on her sonar . Nothing was found at the site of the ping , and the crew assumed it was caused by a school of blackfish . As the ship turned to resume its course , it was struck by a torpedo fired by the unnoticed German submarine under the command of Werner Hartenstein . The torpedo struck between frames 18 and 24 at about below her water line . The force of the impact blew off of her forward bow and forecastle . After several minutes , the crew determined they could still operate the ship , and it was brought back under control and sailed for Fort - de - France . The ship was steered with a combination of rudder and varying shaft speeds , and four hours after the attack , she was moored in Fort - de - France . Six men died and twenty one were wounded during the attack . Hartstein radioed a U - boat headquarters in Lorient requesting permission to finish " Blakeley " off , but permission was denied . Destroyers , , and two PBY Catalina planes from VP - 53 were scrambled to assist the stricken " Blakeley " . At Fort - de - France , she was fitted with a wooden bulkhead to cover the area blown off by the torpedo , and an anchor was improvised out of a truck ' s axle and differential housing . She then sailed under her own power to San Juan , Puerto Rico where a steel stub bow was attached . From there , the steamed for Philadelphia Naval Yard for permanent repairs . During mid - 1942 , " Blakeley " was fitted with the forward section of her decommissioned sister ship , . She was also fitted with newer weapons and electronics systems , such as updated radar . Repairs were completed in September 1942 and she resumed her convoy duties in the Caribbean . " Blakeley " spent most of the rest of the war on convoy escort duty in the Caribbean Sea Frontier , except for two short deployments in the Atlantic Ocean . On 1 January to 23 February 1943 she was assigned to hunter - killer duty with Task Group 21 . 13 in the North Atlantic , and from 24 March to 11 May 1943 , she escorted a convoy to Bizerte , Tunisia . From 18 March to 13 June 1945 , she was stationed in New London , Connecticut , training U . S . submarines in Long Island Sound to avoid destroyers . Following this duty , " Blakeley " was decommissioned at Philadelphia Naval Yard on 21 July 1945 and sold for scrap on 30 November 1945 . She received one battle star for her wartime convoy duty .