USS Moody ( DD - 277 ) USS " Moody " ( DD - 277 ) was a " Clemson " - class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I . She was named for Justice William Henry Moody . History . " Moody " was laid down 9 December 1918 and launched 28 June 1919 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation ; and commissioned 10 December 1919 Commander James D . Wilson in command . Assigned to the U . S . Pacific Fleet , " Moody " departed Boston 9 February 1920 , loaded torpedoes and ammunition at Newport , Rhode Island , and steamed via New York , Guantanamo and the Panama Canal to the west coast , arriving San Diego , California on the 31st . The flush - decked four stacker operated along the California coast through June and then departed San Francisco , California 1 July for Washington where on the 10th she joined the cruise of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels , Interior Secretary John B . Payne , and Admiral Hugh Rodman , Commander of the Pacific Fleet , to Alaska . On an inspection tour of Alaskan coal and oil fields and looking for possible fleet anchorages , the cruise touched at nine ports including Sitka , Duncan Day , and Juneau , and lasted for nearly 1 month . " Moody " returned to San Diego 31 August to operate off the California coast in training and in battle exercises for 2 months . She put into San Diego 10 October , remaining there and decommissioning 15 June 1922 . The destroyer recommissioned 27 September 1923 , Lt . E . A . Zehner in command . Assigned to Destroyer Squadrons , Battle Fleet , the ship operated along the Pacific coast for the next 19 months and then on 27 May 1925 departed Bremerton , Washington for fleet exercises in the Hawaiian Islands . Operating out of Pearl Harbor and Lahaina Roads for 1 month , she then departed Pearl 1 July for the South Pacific , stopped at Pago Pago , American Samoa , and then made good will visits to Melbourne , Australia , and Dunedin and Wellington , New Zealand . Returning via Honolulu to San Diego 26 September , " Moody " then resumed west coast operations into 1927 , including a voyage to Panama between February and April 1926 . On 17 February 1927 , she sailed from San Diego for tactical maneuvers with the United States Fleet in the Caribbean . Proceeding through the Panama Canal 4 March , she arrived at Guantanamo 18 March and operated out of that port and Gonaïves on Fleet Problem 7 , involving the defense of the Panama Canal until 22 April . She then proceeded to New York for repairs , sailing for home 16 May , arriving San Diego 25 June . The destroyer remained in service with the Battle Fleet through mid - 1929 . From April to June 1928 , she made another cruise to Hawaii with the fleet for the extensive exercises of Fleet Problem 8 . She sailed to Mexico and Panama in early 1929 and then in July cruised to the Pacific Northwest , as far north as Ketchikan . Fate . " Moody " decommissioned at San Diego 2 June 1930 . She was towed to Mare Island Navy Yard arriving on the 8th . The destroyer was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 3 November in accordance with the London Treaty limiting naval armaments . Most of her superstructure was sold as scrap metal 10 June 1931 and she was sold to Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer for about US $ 35 , 000 . Ex - " Moody " was altered to represent a German destroyer , and charges of dynamite were set at carefully planned locations . On the afternoon 21 February 1933 , the first charge was detonated , splitting ex - " Moody " between two watertight compartments so she continued to float after breaking up . Then two other detonations breached the watertight bulkheads , sinking the hulk later that evening . The explosions and sinkings were filmed as the destruction caused by torpedo es from the fictional American submarine " AL - 14 " ( played by USS " S - 31 " ( SS - 136 ) ) in the 1933 submarine movie " Hell Below " .