USS Salem ( CL - 3 ) USS " Salem " ( CL - 3 ) , Scout Cruiser No . 3 , was a of the United States Navy . She was the first Navy ship named for the city of Salem , Massachusetts . " Salem " was laid down on 28 August 1905 by the Fore River Shipyard ; launched on 27 July 1907 , sponsored by Mrs . Lorna Pinnock ; and commissioned on 1 August 1908 , Commander Henry B . Wilson in command . Pre - World War I . As one of the Navy ' s first turbine - engined warships , " Salem " departed Boston on 17 October 1908 to carry out extensive trials along the Atlantic coast . Joining her sister ships , and , in the Scout Cruiser Division in June 1909 , " Salem " cruised in the Atlantic , making one voyage to Funchal , Madeira . Assigned to the 5th Division , Atlantic Fleet , in , 1910 , " Salem " briefly deployed to Haitian waters during August 1911 , returning to the New York Navy Yard on 11 September . Subsequently placed in reserve at the Boston Navy Yard on 20 April 1912 , " Salem " relieved " Wabash " as receiving ship there on that date and served until 7 October . Then reassigned to the Reserve Force , Atlantic Fleet , " Salem " subsequently made a cruise to Gibraltar and returned to the United States in late March 1913 . Arriving at Hampton Roads on 25 March , she shifted to Philadelphia on 30 March . " Salem " remained at Philadelphia , in reduced commission , into 1914 . On 23 April , " Salem " was placed in full commission and assigned to the Special Service Squadron for duty in Mexican waters . She cruised off the Mexican port of Veracruz supporting US operations ashore until assigned to the Cruiser Squadron , Atlantic Fleet , on 2 September . Departing Veracruz on 19 September , " Salem " arrived at Boston on 1 October for service with the Atlantic Fleet but was detached from the Cruiser Squadron on 25 November , and was again placed in reserve on 1 December . She relieved " Brooklyn " as receiving ship at the Boston Navy Yard on 12 March 1915 and served there until assigned to the Caribbean on 21 May 1916 . Cruising off Mexican and Dominican ports , " Salem " transported Marine detachments , assisted in radio communication links , and protected United States interests until returning to the Philadelphia Navy Yard to be placed out of commission on 2 December . World War I . Following US entry into World War I , " Salem " was recommissioned on 21 April 1917 for duty as a receiving ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard . Two days later , however , she was decommissioned and towed to the Boston Navy Yard to have her original Curtis turbines replaced by General Electric turbines . Recommissioned on 25 July , while still undergoing overhaul , " Salem " stood out of Boston harbor on 12 March 1918 for New London , Connecticut , to join a force gathering to convoy submarine chasers across the Atlantic . From 31 March - 15 June , she served as flagship for two convoys of submarine chasers , leaving both at Ponta Delgada , Azores , and returning westward . On 18 June , she became a flagship of a flotilla of 12 submarine chasers assigned to Key West to operate against German submarines . Arriving at Key West on the 22nd , " Salem " s force carried out antisubmarine patrols off Florida and as far south as the Yucatán Peninsula through the remainder of World War I . On 27 November , the force was disbanded ; and , after an overhaul at the Boston Navy Yard , " Salem " steamed to the west coast . Designated CL - 3 on 17 July 1920 , she was decommissioned at Mare Island on 16 August 1921 ; struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1929 ; and , with cruisers " Albany " and " New Orleans " , sold on 11 February 1930 to D . G . Seagraves of San Francisco , Calif . , for scrapping .