View source for USS Abel P. Upshur

{{Short description|Clemson-class destroyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Abel P. Upshur (DD-193).jpg
|Ship caption=''Abel P. Upshur'' during her 1930–1934 stint in U.S.&nbsp;Coast&nbsp;Guard service.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1940}}
|Ship name=USS ''Abel P. Upshur'' 
|Ship namesake=[[Abel Parker Upshur]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry-dock Co.]]
|Ship laid down=5 April 1918
|Ship launched=4 July 1918
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=19 July 1919
|Ship decommissioned=7 August 1922
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=March 1928
|Ship decommissioned=5 November 1930
|Ship fate=Transferred to U.S.&nbsp;Coast&nbsp;Guard 5 November 1930
|Ship struck=5 November 1930
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship acquired=21 May 1934 (from&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;Coast&nbsp;Guard)
|Ship recommissioned=4 December 1939
|Ship decommissioned=23 September 1940
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship identification=DD-193
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[United Kingdom]] 9 September 1940
|Ship struck=8 January 1941
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=United States Coast Guard
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard-1915}}
|Ship name=USCGD ''Abel P. Upshur'' 
|Ship namesake=Previous name retained
|Ship acquired=5 November 1930 (from&nbsp;U.S.&nbsp;Navy)
|Ship commissioned=5 November 1930
|Ship decommissioned=21 May 1934
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship identification=CG-15
|Ship fate=Transferred to U.S. Navy 21 May 1934
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Clare''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=9 September 1940
|Ship commissioned=9 September 1940
|Ship decommissioned=August 1945
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship identification=I14
|Ship fate=Sold and scrapped 1947
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Clemson|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=1,308&nbsp;tons
|Ship length={{convert|314|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|35.18|kn}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=122
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*4 x [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns
* 1 x [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun
* 12 x [[American 21-inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
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'''USS ''Abel P. Upshur'' (DD-193)''' was a {{sclass|Clemson|destroyer}} in the service of the [[United States Navy]] and [[United States Coast Guard]] until transferred to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1940. During [[World War II]], she served in the [[Royal Navy]] as '''HMS ''Clare'''''.

==Construction and commissioning==
Named after [[Secretary of the Navy]], [[Abel Parker Upshur]], she was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 20 August 1918 at [[Newport News, Virginia]] by the [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding]] & Dry-dock Co. The ship was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 14 February 1920, sponsored by Mrs. George J. Benson, great-great niece of Secretary Upshur, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] at the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] on 23 November 1920.

==Service history==
===United States===
Following her commissioning, ''Abel P. Upshur'' was assigned to Destroyer Division 37, Squadron 3, [[U.S. Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]]. She cruised along the [[United States East Coast]], taking part in fleet exercises and maneuvers. The ship was placed out of commission at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] on 7 August 1922.

''Abel P. Upshur'' assumed duties at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] in March 1928 as a [[training ship]] for [[United States Navy Reserve|Naval Reserve]] personnel from the [[District of Columbia]] and continued this routine until 5 November 1930, when the ship was transferred to the [[U.S. Treasury Department]]. Her name was then struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy list]]. The ship served the [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] attempting to prevent the smuggling of [[liquor]] into the United States.

''Abel P. Upshur'' was returned to Navy custody on 21 May 1934 but was laid up at Philadelphia until 4 December 1939, when she was again placed in commission and assigned to the [[Atlantic Squadron]]. The ship operated along the U.S. East Coast on the [[Neutrality Patrol]].

On 9 September 1940, ''Abel P. Upshur'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] at [[City of Halifax|Halifax, Nova Scotia]]. The vessel was transferred to Britain under [[Destroyers for Bases Agreement|an agreement]] by which, the United States exchanged 50 overage destroyers for bases on British colonial territory in the Atlantic. Her name was again struck from the Navy list on 8 January 1941.

==United Kingdom==
[[File:The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945 A9155.jpg|thumb|left|200px|HMS ''Clare'']]
As HMS ''Clare'', she was assigned to the 1st {{sclass2|Town|destroyer|5}} Flotilla and arrived at [[Belfast]], Northern Ireland, on 26 September 1940. ''Clare'' joined Escort Group 7 and escorted transatlantic convoys. On 20 February 1941, she rescued the crew of the sinking British steamship ''Rigmor''. In the early hours of 21 February, the destroyer collided with the motor vessel ''Petertoum'' and suffered some damage.

After undergoing repairs at [[Plymouth]], England, between March and October, ''Clare'' resumed convoy duty with Escort Group 41, Western Approaches Command. ''Clare'' was modified for long range trade convoy escort service by removal of the two forward boilers and substitution of additional fuel tanks.  This modification improved endurance but reduced top speed to 25 knots.  Three of the original [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}]]/50 caliber guns and one of the triple [[torpedo tube]] mounts were removed to reduce topside weight for additional [[depth charge]] stowage and installation of [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] anti-submarine mortars.<ref>Lenton&Colledge (1968) pp.92–94</ref>

In the fall of 1942, the destroyer took part in the landings of the invasion of North Africa [[Operation Torch|Operation "Torch."]] As a member of the Eastern Naval Task Force, she covered landings near [[Algiers]]. On 12 November 1942, the destroyer attacked a German [[U-boat]] in waters north of [[Oran, Algeria]], and claimed to have sunk the enemy vessel. ''Clare'' left [[Gibraltar]] on 17 November 1942, returned to Britain, and resumed transatlantic convoy duty.

In July 1943, the ship participated in the invasion of [[Sicily]]. She entered drydock at [[Cardiff]], Wales in September of that year, returned to action in May 1944, and served as a target ship for aircraft in the Western Approaches Command. In August 1945, ''Clare'' was reduced to reserve at [[Greenock]], Scotland. Declared obsolete, she was allocated for scrap in 1947, arriving at [[Troon]] on 18 February 1947 to be broken up by West of Scotland Shipbreaking Co Ltd.

== Notes ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{cite book| title=British and Dominion Warships of World War II |author=Lenton, H.T. and Colledge J.J. |publisher=Doubleday and Company |year=1968}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/abel-p-upshur.html}}

{{Clemson class destroyer}}
{{Town class destroyers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abel P. Upshur (DD-193)}}
[[Category:Clemson-class destroyers]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Town-class destroyers converted from Clemson-class destroyers]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]