USS Little (DD-79)

USS Little (DD-79) was a Wickes-class destroyer of the United States Navy commissioned during World War I. Built by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company at Quincy, Massachusetts, she served on convoy escort and antisubmarine patrols in the Atlantic Ocean and later operated along the United States East Coast and in the Caribbean Sea during her career before being decommissioned in the interwar period.

Design and Construction

USS Little was laid down and launched by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company at Quincy, Massachusetts as part of the rapid wartime expansion of the United States Navy under the Naval Appropriations Act. She was a member of the Wickes-class destroyer program, a follow-on to the Caldwell-class destroyer design emphasizing high speed to counter threats from Kaiserliche Marine and to escort convoys threatened by German U-boats. Her engineering plant consisted of steam turbines fed by Yarrow-type and boilers enabling speeds up to 35 knots, and her armament—four 4-inch guns and a dozen 21-inch torpedo tubes—reflected contemporary destroyer doctrine influenced by operations in the North Sea and the English Channel. The ship was named in honor of George Little, an officer of the Continental Navy and later United States Navy service.

Service History

After commissioning on 25 May 1918, Little completed fitting out and trials at Boston, Massachusetts and reported for duty with the Atlantic Fleet. Assigned to destroyer divisions responsible for protecting transatlantic shipping, she operated from bases such as Newport, Rhode Island and Charleston Navy Yard and coordinated with units of the United States Naval Forces Europe and Allied navies including the Royal Navy and the French Navy. Her operational pattern mirrored that of other contemporary destroyers: high-tempo escort cycles, training evolutions, and cooperative anti-submarine work with naval air units from stations like NAS Norfolk.

World War I Operations

During World War I, Little joined the naval effort to safeguard troop and material convoys bound for France and the Western Front. She conducted convoy escort missions across the North Atlantic and performed patrols aimed at detecting and deterring German submarine attacks that jeopardized crossings to ports such as Brest, France and Saint-Nazaire. Operating in concert with destroyers from the Royal Canadian Navy and escorting transports of the American Expeditionary Forces, Little participated in antisubmarine screening while coordinating with signal and convoy procedures developed in response to the U-boat campaign. These duties were typical of the destroyer force that helped sustain the Allied Powers' logistical lifelines until the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Postwar Service and Decommissioning

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, Little remained in service with peacetime United States Navy operations, conducting exercises and fleet maneuvers along the Atlantic seaboard and in the Caribbean. Budgetary reductions and the shift in naval strategy during the interwar years led to her first decommissioning on 11 March 1922 at Philadelphia. Reactivated amid changing fleet requirements, she was recommissioned on 17 May 1930 and participated in maneuvers and training programs connected to institutions like the Naval War College and fleet problems influenced by the Washington Naval Treaty. Little was finally decommissioned on 7 March 1931; she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 October 1936 and subsequently disposed of in accordance with London Naval Treaty-era limitations and naval disarmament practices.

Honors and Legacy

While Little did not receive major individual battle citations, her service typified the contribution of Wickes-class destroyers to escort and antisubmarine duties that were critical during World War I. Ships of her class influenced subsequent destroyer designs such as the Clemson-class destroyer and helped shape United States Navy doctrine applied during later conflicts including World War II. The name commemorates George Little and remains part of the historical record preserved in archives at institutions like the Naval History and Heritage Command and museums in Massachusetts and Virginia. She is referenced in ship registries and naval listings documenting destroyer development during the early 20th century.

Category:Wickes-class destroyers Category:Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts Category:1918 ships Category:World War I destroyers of the United States Navy