USS Smith ( DD - 17 ) USS " Smith " ( DD – 17 ) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer s in the United States Navy during World War I . She was the first ship named for Lieutenant Joseph B . Smith . " Smith " was laid down on 18 March 1908 by William Cramp and Sons , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , launched on 20 April 1909 , sponsored by Mrs . Edward Bridge Richardson ; and commissioned on 26 November 1909 , Lieutenant Commander D . F . Boyd in command . Pre - World War I . " Smith " was attached to the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet upon commissioning and , after three years of active service , was placed in reserve in October 1912 . Reactivated with reduced complements in December 1915 for Neutrality Patrol duty off Boston , Massachusetts , " Smith " arrived in New Orleans , Louisiana on 10 December for recruiting duty with the Naval Auxiliary Reserve . She arrived at Key West , Florida on 12 February 1916 and at New York on 15 February to continue recruiting duty . World War I . With war imminent , " Smith " was ordered on 1 April 1917 to anchor in the North River , New York to assist the Collector of Customs in preventing the German ships at New York from escaping or destroying themselves . She departed New York on 4 April and operated with the Patrol Force along the East Coast from 10 April - 14 May . On 17 April , she reported sighting a submarine which submerged , and then saw a torpedo wake cross her bow ; however , neither inflicted damage on the other . " Smith " underwent overhaul at the Charleston Navy Yard from 17 May - 16 July , during which time she prepared for distant service . " Smith " departed Charleston , South Carolina on 16 July , and after a stop at Bermuda from 18 – 20 July and three months of patrols in the Azores from 26 July - 5 October , she arrived at Brest , France on 20 October . For the remainder of the war , " Smith " escorted eastbound and westbound convoys through the submarine danger area extending about to the westward of Brest . Her escort missions were largely uneventful and , despite several sightings of suspected submarines , she made no confirmed kills . She was called upon twice , however , to rescue survivors of torpedoed transports . On 31 May 1918 , she rescued 240 men from , and , while carrying them into port , unsuccessfully attacked a submarine on 1 June . On 1 July , she rescued survivors from " Covington " while other destroyers circled the two ships at high speed to deter submarine attack . Inter - war period . " Smith " underwent repairs in England from 16 September - 3 November and , after the end of the war , at Brest from 7 March - 2 April 1919 . She sailed for the United States on 11 May ; and , after arriving at Philadelphia , was decommissioned there on 2 September . She was ordered sold on 28 February 1920 but was withdrawn from sale on 9 June in response to a request from the Bureau of Construction and Repair for a destroyer , a submarine , and a battleship for exhaustive bombing experiments . On 18 September , " Smith " was anchored in Chesapeake Bay with , , for the tests , which were completed on 5 November . " Smith " was then towed back to Philadelphia and , after again being designated a bombing target on 20 July 1921 , was sold on 20 December to Joseph G . Hitner of Philadelphia for scrapping .