Allied Warships

USS Semmes (AG 24)

Destroyer of the Clemson class

Navy	The US Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Clemson
Pennant	AG 24
Mod	Sonar test ship
Built by	Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. (Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	10 Jul 1918
Launched	21 Dec 1918
Commissioned	21 Feb 1920
End service	2 Jun 1946
History	Decommissioned on 17 July 1922 Loaned to the Coast Guard as CG-20 from 25 April 1932 till 20 April 1934 Recommissioned by the USN on 20 April 1934 Reclassified as Auxiliary AG-24 on 1 July 1935 Semmes became a test bed for sonar equipment and testing of anti submarine warfare tactics Decommissioned on 2 June 1946 Stricken on 3 July 1946 Sold to be broken up for scrap on 25 November 1946

Commands listed for USS Semmes (AG 24)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

	Commander	From	To
1	David Ryerson Hull, USN	15 May 1939	13 Jan 1941 (1)
2	Lt.Cdr. William Lee Pryor, Jr., USN	13 Jan 1941	11 Dec 1942 (1)
3	T/Cdr. William Izard Bull, USN	11 Dec 1942	Jan 1944
4	T/Cdr. Ronald Lee Wilson, USN	Jan 1944	4 Aug 1944
5	Frank Lewis Fullaway, USNR	4 Aug 1944	23 Aug 1945 (1)
6	John Henry Geyer, USN	23 Aug 1945	2 Jun 1946

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Notable events involving Semmes include:

6 May 1942
USS Semmes mistook the auxiliary anti-submarine trawler HMS Senateur Duhamel for a U-boat and rammed and sank it off Cape Lookout, North Carolina, in position 34°33'N, 75°36'W. No lives were lost on either side. (2)

13 Aug 1943
USS Crevalle (Cdr. H.G. Munson, USN) conducted exercises in Long Island Sound together with USS Semmes (Lt.Cdr. W.I. Bull, USN).

14 Aug 1943
USS Capelin (Cdr. E.E. Marshall, USN) conducted exercises in Long Island Sound together with USS Semmes (Lt.Cdr. W.I. Bull, USN) and USS Mackerel.

13 Jun 1944
During 13 to 15 June 1944, USS Baya (Cdr. A.H. Holtz, USN), conducted exercises in Long Island Sound with USS Semmes (Cdr. R.L. Wilson, USN), USS SC-679 (Lt.(jg) D.A. Replogle, USNR) and USS Razorback (Cdr. R.S. Benson, USN).

22 Jan 1945
USS Dentuda (Cdr. J.S. McCain, Jr., USN) conducted exercises in Long Island Sound together with USS Semmes (Lt.Cdr. F.L. Fullaway, USNR).

24 Jan 1945
USS Dentuda (Cdr. J.S. McCain, Jr., USN) conducted exercises in Long Island Sound together with USS Semmes (Lt.Cdr. F.L. Fullaway, USNR).