USS Stoddert ( DD - 302 ) USS " Stoddert " ( DD - 302 / AG - 18 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I . It was named for Benjamin Stoddert . History . " Stoddert " was laid down on 4 July 1918 at San Francisco , California , by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation ; launched on 8 January 1919 ; sponsored by Mrs . Gavin McNab ; and commissioned on 30 June 1920 , Lieutenant Commander Norman Scott in command . " Stoddert " joined Division 33 of the Reserve Destroyer Squadron , Pacific Fleet , and completed fitting - out at Mare Island Navy Yard . Between 14 August 1920 and 7 January 1921 , it operated along the coast of California , participating in tactical exercises with Battleship Squadron 5 and the cruiser . It also engaged in antiaircraft practice , target towing , and gun drills off Coronado Island with its own division . On 7 January 1921 , it departed San Diego with the Pacific Fleet to join the Atlantic Fleet in the Panama Canal Zone for winter maneuvers farther south . From 22 January to 15 February , the combined fleets held strategic , tactical , and gunnery exercises on a cruise to Valparaíso , Chile , and back to Panama . Following the inter - fleet championships conducted at Balboa , " Stoddert " headed north and , on 5 March , reached San Diego , California where it resumed normal operations with Division 33 . In July , it steamed farther north to the state of Washington where it exercised with . After maneuvers off the coasts of Oregon and California , it entered Puget Sound Navy Yard on 15 December ; completed overhaul on 7 February 1922 ; and , four days later , joined Destroyer Division ( DesDiv ) 32 . It resumed operations along the west coast . Proceeding to the south on 8 February 1923 with the Battle Fleet and Fleet Base Force , " Stoddert " took part in maneuvers en route to the Panama Canal Zone to conduct fleet problems to test the defense of the strategic canal . While in Panama during the month of March , the fleet engaged in combined tactical and strategic maneuvers , held experimental torpedo practice , carried out various experimental firings against and finally sank " Coast Battleship No . 4 " , the former . Upon the completion of the combined maneuvers on 30 March , " Stoddert " returned to the Bremerton Navy Yard on 22 April . The destroyer cruised the Washington coastline until the end of August , visiting Astoria , Tacoma , Seattle , Bellingham , Port Angeles , and Port Townsend . In July , it escorted , in which President Warren G . Harding was embarked . In September , it steamed south to San Diego Harbor where the destroyers of its division formed a circle and scattered flowers on the water in commemoration of the men lost in the Honda Point Disaster . From 22 October 1923 until 2 January 1924 , " Stoddert " took part in fleet maneuvers and torpedo exercises at San Diego , sailing to the south on 16 January . Transiting the Panama Canal with the Battle Fleet from 18 January to 25 January , it was engaged with the Scouting Fleet in maneuvers designed to test the defenses and facilities of the Canal Zone . During the winter , the combined fleets were based at Culebra , and on 22 April 1924 , " Stoddert " arrived back at San Diego with the Battle Fleet . Cruising with Battle Fleet destroyer squadrons , " Stoddert " operated along the west coast , principally at San Diego , San Pedro , Port Angeles , Tacoma , Seattle , and San Francisco , until 27 April 1925 , on which date it arrived in Hawaii for exercises with United States Fleet . En route , the fleet engaged in a joint Army and Navy problem which simulated an attack on the Hawaiian Islands by a large overseas force and was designed to test to the fullest extent the defenses of the Hawaiian Islands . On 1 July 1925 , the destroyer sailed from Pearl Harbor with the Battle Fleet on a good will cruise via Samoa to Australia and New Zealand . The ships visited Melbourne , Dunedin , and Lyttelton , and the officers and men were extensively entertained in all these ports . This visit furthered the amicable relations existing between the United States and Australia and New Zealand . " Stoddert " returned to its base at San Diego on 26 September . It resumed operations with the Battle Fleet along the west coast , taking time to attend the Navy Day celebration at San Diego from 21 October to 27 October 1925 and the Founders Day festivities held at Astoria , Oregon , between 20 July and 23 July 1926 . After an overhaul at the Bremerton Navy Yard , it again sailed south , via San Diego , arriving on 22 March 1927 at Balboa where it and joined the Battle Fleet . Maneuvering with the fleet at Guantanamo Bay , Gonaïves , and New York , it went on alone to the Boston Navy Yard for repairs on its way to Hampton Roads where it took part in a presidential review and rejoined its fleet . Transiting the canal between 11 June and 17 June , " Stoddert " arrived back in San Diego on 25 June for exercises with Destroyer Squadron 11 . For the remainder of 1927 and until the end of April 1928 , it operated along the west coast , principally at San Diego , San Pedro , Tacoma , Port Townsend , Bremerton , and Port Angeles . Its one special assignment took it to Honolulu for emergency assistance to the Dole flight , a non - stop airplane race between San Francisco and Honolulu , starting on 16 August 1927 . Upon receipt of reports of planes missing , an extensive search was started under the direction of the Commander in Chief , Battle Fleet ; Commandant , 12th Naval District ; and Commandant , 14th Naval District . A total of 54 ships of the Battle Fleet took part in this search between 17 August and 5 September , covering approximately . On 28 April 1928 , " Stoddert " arrived at Honolulu , via San Francisco , for Battle Fleet exercises at Lahaina , Pearl Harbor , and Hilo with Submarine Divisions 9 and 14 . Returning to San Diego on 23 June 1928 , it cruised and maneuvered between its customary ports along the Pacific Coast , deviating from its exercises on 18 November and 19 November 1928 to act as part of the honor escort for President - elect Herbert Hoover on board battleship from San Diego to Los Angeles . Under terms of the London Treaty for Reduction of Naval Armament , " Stoddert " was decommissioned on 20 May 1930 and delivered to the Mare Island Navy Yard for retention by conversion to a radio - controlled target ship . This was in accordance with the Navy ' s decision to fit out a unit of three destroyers as radio - controlled light targets for the purpose of conducting Fleet exercises requiring ' the use of high speed targets . " Stoddert " , designated Light Target No . 1 , received the initial installation . Its experimental radio control apparatus paved the way for later fitting out of remote - controlled and , and pointed the way for the more elaborate equipment of the famous radio - controlled target ship . It was recommissioned on 6 April 1931 ; reclassified as miscellaneous auxiliary , AG - 18 , on 30 June 1931 and redesignated DD - 302 on 16 April 1932 . After experimental operations , it became an element of Mobile Target Division 1 . From its base at San Diego , " Stoddert " was the target for dive bombing , aerial torpedo es , and fleet gunnery exercises along the coast of California . It spent much of its time as the dive - bombing and torpedo attack target ship for the aircraft of . Fate . The destroyer was decommissioned at San Diego on 10 January 1933 , many of its officers and crew transferring to mobile target ship . Its name was struck from the Navy List on 5 June 1935 , and it was sold for scrapping on 30 August 1935 .