USS Borie

USS Borie

USS Borie was a Clemson-class destroyer built for the United States Navy after World War I. Commissioned in the early 1920s, she served in peacetime operations, fleet exercises, and reserve training before being decommissioned and disposed of during the interwar period. Borie's career intersected with multiple Naval Reserve activities, shipyard programs, and maritime policy shifts in the Interwar period.

Design and Construction

Borie was laid down by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts and launched in 1921, embodying the Clemson-class destroyer design developed under post-World War I naval expansion. The class featured increased fuel capacity compared with the preceding Wickes-class destroyer, intended to extend range for operations with the United States Atlantic Fleet and United States Pacific Fleet. Borie’s propulsion suite used steam turbine machinery derived from Curtis turbine technology, driving twin shafts for speeds up to 35 knots, and her hull form reflected Admiralty and American destroyer practices of the era. Armament included four 4-inch/50 caliber guns similar to those aboard contemporary destroyer escorts and a dozen 21-inch torpedo tubes patterned after British Royal Navy and American ordnance standards. Construction and fitting-out incorporated lessons from wartime programs administered by the Bureau of Construction and Repair and the Bureau of Engineering.

Service History

Following commissioning in 1922, Borie joined the United States Atlantic Fleet for peacetime maneuvers, training cruises, and reserve exercises. She operated along the East Coast of the United States, participated in fleet problems overseen by the United States Fleet Training authorities, and conducted goodwill visits to ports associated with Caribbean and Latin America diplomacy. Borie rotated between active duty and reserve status as part of interwar demobilization practices influenced by the Washington Naval Treaty and shifting Congressional budgets. During her career she underwent periodic overhauls at yards including Norfolk Navy Yard and took part in tactical evolutions alongside ships from the Battle Fleet, destroyer squadrons, and naval aviation elements such as Aircraft Carrier units conducting carrier–destroyer coordination exercises.

Notable Engagements

Although Borie did not see combat operations like World War II destroyers, she participated in notable peacetime events and exercises that shaped naval doctrine. These included fleet problems that simulated fleet actions and convoy protection scenarios developed after analyses of the German U-boat campaign in World War I. Borie’s deployments supported Goodwill tours and maneuvers with allied contingents from Royal Navy observers and officers attached for exchange programs influenced by cooperation with United Kingdom maritime authorities. The ship was present for naval reviews associated with presidential and Congressional ceremonies, reflecting relationships with institutions such as the United States Congress and presidencies engaged in naval policy.

Command and Crew

Commanding officers of Borie came from United States Navy destroyer leadership commonly trained at institutions such as the United States Naval Academy and Naval War College. Crew composition reflected the era’s enlisted ratings and officer billets established by the Bureau of Navigation, with sailors trained in seamanship, engineering, gunnery, and torpedo warfare. Borie’s crew engaged in underway training with destroyer divisions and squadrons led by senior commanders from commands including the Commander, Scouting Fleet and the Commander, Battle Fleet. The ship hosted personnel rotations tied to naval personnel policies administered by the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and participated in Reserve training that involved Naval Reserve officers and enlisted members.

Decommissioning and Fate

Decommissioned in 1930 during a period of reductions influenced by the London Naval Treaty and fiscal constraints in the Great Depression, Borie was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and disposed of under Navy disposition policies. The hull was sold and converted to commercial service under civilian registry, joining other former naval vessels repurposed in the interwar merchant and salvage trades. Ultimately she was scrapped after years in commercial use, her lifecycle reflecting patterns of disposition for many Clemson-class destroyer hulls that left naval service in the 1930s and 1940s. Category:United States Navy destroyers