USS Simpson ( DD - 221 ) USS " Simpson " ( DD - 221 / APD - 27 / AG - 97 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II . She was the first ship named for Rear Admiral Edward Simpson . " Simpson " was laid down on 9 October 1919 by William Cramp and Sons ; launched on 28 April 1920 ; sponsored by Miss Caroline Sterett Simpson , daughter of Rear Admiral Simpson ; and commissioned on 3 November 1920 , Lieutenant Commander P . T . Berry in command . Service history . " Simpson " conducted training exercises with the Pacific Fleet during her first year of service , including a cruise to Valparaíso , Chile . She then transited the Panama Canal on 12 December 1921 , and after overhaul at Philadelphia , she sailed from Newport , Rhode Island , for the Mediterranean on 6 June 1922 . Between 29 June 1922 and 26 February 1924 , " Simpson " served as a unit of the United States Naval Detachment in Turkish waters under Rear Admiral Mark L . Bristol , protecting American interests during the unrest in the Near East following World War I . " Simpson " was involved in protecting United States citizens , and aiding the work of the American Relief Association in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean . After a tour of ports in the western Mediterranean and the English Channel , " Simpson " departed Southampton , England , on 1 July 1924 for overhaul at Norfolk , Virginia . She then underwent training in the Caribbean and on the west coast before crossing the Pacific for duty with the Asiatic Fleet . Upon arrival at Chefoo , China , on 14 June 1925 , " Simpson " entered the routine of the Asiatic Fleet , training at bases in Tsingtao and Chefoo in the summer and Manila in the winter , and visiting Chinese ports during the transit each way . During 1925 , unrest in China increased , due to the growth in strength of the Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kaishek and anti - foreign outbreaks at Shanghai and Canton . Destroyers were detached from the fleet to supplement the normal gunboat patrols on the Yangtze River and along the southern coast of China near Canton . " Simpson " rescued some missionaries at Deep Bay , China , on 2 and 3 July 1925 , and during the next several years , carried out numerous patrols in Chinese waters protecting American lives and property . The destroyer was stationed at Nanking when Japan launched an air and sea attack on Shanghai at the end of January 1932 , and she supported American diplomats in the southern Chinese capital during the critical early days of the crisis , as well as sending important reports to Washington . On 11 February , she moved to Shanghai and , on 23 February , to Swatow , where she remained until 2 April 1932 . On 18 April , " Simpson " departed Manila with her squadron to return to the United States . After overhaul at Mare Island , " Simpson " joined Destroyers , Battle Force , at San Diego , California on 28 September 1932 and conducted fleet exercises and training along the west coast during the next several years . During night exercises in a fleet problem off Guantanamo Bay , " Simpson " collided with , on 7 May 1934 , and she underwent repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and summer training at Newport before returning to San Diego on 10 November . She then resumed training with the Pacific Fleet and participated in fleet maneuvers ( " problems " ) annually in 1936 , 1937 , and 1938 . On 6 March 1939 , " Simpson " transited the Panama Canal to the Atlantic , and between 5 June and 30 August 1939 , she carried out three training cruises for Naval Academy midshipmen . She then commenced training cruises for Naval Reservists , but at the outbreak of war in Europe , she was assigned Neutrality Patrol duty and sailed for the Caribbean on 6 September . There she carried out patrols and participated in exercises , including a fleet landing exercise at Culebra from 14 February to 10 March 1940 . After one training cruise for midshipmen and one for reservists during the summer , she resumed Neutrality Patrol duties in the Caribbean in October . World War II . " Simpson " was part of a support force formed on 18 March 1941 , after the signature of the Lend Lease Act , to protect convoys between America and Britain in the North Atlantic . After several months of coastal escort and patrol duties , she escorted two convoys from NS Argentia , Newfoundland , to a rendezvous with British escorts off Greenland between 30 June and 3 September 1941 . On 24 September , off Iceland , she joined the first westbound convoy to be escorted by American warships and delivered it safely to Argentia on 4 October . After United States entry into the war in December , her convoy trips were extended to the British Isles , and she remained on transatlantic convoy duty until 28 April 1942 , when she entered the Boston Navy Yard for overhaul . For nearly a year after leaving the yard in May 1942 , " Simpson " escorted convoys up and down the United States east coast . She made one trip to Casablanca in February 1943 , and on 28 April 1943 , began overhaul at the New York Navy Yard . At sea again in May , " Simpson " escorted a convoy from New York to Curaçao in the West Indies , and then made two round - trip voyages between Curaçao and Londonderry Port , Northern Ireland . On 29 August 1943 , " Simpson " joined an escort carrier task group centered around and escorted a convoy from Bermuda to Casablanca . The task group then carried out antisubmarine patrols off the Azores . The group joined a westbound convoy on 22 September but resumed antisubmarine sweeps after a submarine was reported near the Azores on 26 September . " Simpson " returned to the United States on 12 October but was back in the Azores conducting additional patrols between 28 October and 9 December 1943 . " Simpson " was designated on 1 December 1943 for conversion to a fast transport , APD - 27 , but was replaced in January 1944 by , whose conversion was in turn cancelled . Resuming her convoy duties , " Simpson " escorted for over three months from 29 December 1943 to 9 April 1944 as she carried troops up and down the east coast . During the remainder of 1944 and early 1945 , " Simpson " escorted new heavy combatant ships on shakedown and training exercises along the east coast . Among the ships she served were battleship s and , cruiser , and carriers and . Disposal . " Simpson " was reclassified a miscellaneous auxiliary , AG - 97 , effective 23 May 1945 . All her armament was removed , and she was fitted with racks for exercise torpedoes and a winch for handling towed targets . She arrived at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , on 16 June 1945 and provided training services there for nearly a year . On 11 May 1946 , the veteran ship arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for inactivation . Struck from the Navy list on 19 June 1946 , " Simpson " was sold on 21 November 1946 to Northern Metals Company , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , for scrapping .