Editing USS Robinson (DD-88)

{{Short description|Wickes-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|USS Robinson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Robinson (DD-88) at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in January 1920.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Robinson'' (DD-88) at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in January 1920.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1940}}
|Ship name=USS ''Robinson''
|Ship namesake=[[Isaiah Robinson]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Union Iron Works]], [[San Francisco]], [[California]]
|Ship laid down=31 October 1917
|Ship launched=28 March 1918
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=19 October 1918
|Ship decommissioned=3 August 1922
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=23 August 1940
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=8 January 1941
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship identification=DD-88
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[United Kingdom]], 5&nbsp;December&nbsp;1940
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Newmarket''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=5 December 1940
|Ship decommissioned=1944
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Scrapped September 1945
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=1,220 tons
|Ship length={{convert|314|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|8|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|35|kn}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=140 officers and enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/50]] guns
* 2 × [[QF 1-pounder pom-pom|1-pounder]]s
* 12 × [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
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'''USS ''Robinson'' (DD-88)''' was a {{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}} in the [[United States Navy]], later transferred to the [[Royal Navy]], as '''HMS ''Newmarket'' (G47)'''. She was the first ship named for [[Isaiah Robinson]].

She was [[Keel laying|laid down]] 31 October 1917 by the [[Union Iron Works]], [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] 28 March 1918, sponsored by Miss Evelyn Tingey Selfridge, and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] at the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] on 19 October 1918.

==Construction and design==
In 1916, the [[US Congress]] authorized a massive three-year shipbuilding program, with the aim of matching the largest navy in the world, the British [[Royal Navy]]. The program included 50 destroyers, which were to be built to a modified version of the {{sclass|Caldwell|destroyer|4}}, designed to reach {{convert|35|kn}} rather than the {{convert|30|kn}} of the ''Caldwell''s. As such, the new design, the {{sclass|Wickes|destroyer|4}}, had more powerful machinery with geared steam turbines, but retained the same flush-decked layout and armament used by the ''Caldwell''s.<ref name="friedUSp39">{{Harvnb|Friedman|1982|p=39}}</ref><ref name="conways06p10724">{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|pp=107, 124}}</ref> The ''Wickes'' were built to one of two detailed designs, one design by [[Bethlehem Steel]], used by the two Bethlehem-owned shipyards, [[Union Iron Works]] and the [[Fore River Shipyard]], while the design by [[Bath Iron Works]] was used by all other shipyards involved in the program.<ref name="friedUSp40">{{Harvnb|Friedman|1982|p=40}}</ref><ref name="conways06p124">{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=124}}</ref>

''Robinson'' was one of 20 destroyers ordered as the first stage of the construction plan, under the [[Fiscal year]] 1917 construction program.<ref name="friedUSp39"/> She was [[Keel laying|laid down]] at Union Iron Works' [[San Francisco]] yard on 31 October 1917, was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 28 March 1918 and commissioned at the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] on 19 October 1918.<ref name="FriedUSp430">{{Harvnb|Friedman|1982|p=430}}</ref><ref name="danfs">{{cite DANFS |title=Robinson I (Destroyer No. 88) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/robinson-i.html |date=25 February 2016 |access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref>

The Bethlehem-designed ships, like ''Robinson'', were {{convert|314|ft|4+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=on}} [[length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|310|ft|0|in|m|2|abbr=on}} [[Waterline length|at the waterline]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|30|ft|11+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=on}}<ref name="friedUSp402">{{Harvnb|Friedman|1982|p=402}}</ref> and a [[Draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|9|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="conways06p124"/> [[Displacement (ship)|Displacement]] was {{convert|1090|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} normal and {{convert|1247|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load.<ref name="conways06p124"/> Four [[Yarrow boiler]]s fed steam to geared sets of [[steam turbine]]s and driving two shafts<ref name="jfs20p208">{{Harvnb|Parkes|Prendergast|1920|p=208}}</ref> The machinery was designed to give {{convert|27000|shp|kW|abbr=on}}, giving a design speed of {{Convert|35|kn}}. 225 tons of oil were carried, giving a design range of {{convert|2500|nmi}} at {{convert|20|kn}}.<ref name="friedUSp402"/>

==Service history==

===United States Navy===
''Robinson'' cleared [[San Francisco Bay]] 24 October 1918 for the east coast of the United States. Transiting the [[Panama Canal]] 3 November 1918, she set course by way of [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] for [[Norfolk, Virginia]] where she arrived on 8 November.

On 10 January 1919, ''Robinson'' put to sea from Norfolk to conduct winter training out of Guantanamo Bay, which ended at [[New York Harbor]] 14 April 1919. She then prepared for lifeguard duty supporting the first transatlantic flight from America to [[Europe]] to be attempted by [[Navy Seaplane Division Number 1]].

''Robinson'' got underway from Norfolk on 30 April, arrived at [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], 4 May 1919, and stood out toward the entrance of the harbor on the afternoon of 8 May. At 1944, she sighted the first of the Navy seaplanes, the [[NC-3]], approach the harbor on the first leg of the transatlantic flight. Two days later, ''Robinson'' took station at sea to assist in guarding the flight of the two seaplanes to [[Trepassey Bay]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], then returned to Halifax 11 May and got underway on 14 May to act as plane guard for seaplane [[NC-4]] which had been delayed by repairs at [[Chatham Naval Air Station]], and passed overhead at 1645, on 15 May, to join the other two seaplanes at Trepassey Bay.

After NC-4 faded from view, ''Robinson'' set course for station on the [[Azores]] route to be followed by the seaplanes from Trepassey Bay, 16 May 1919. These seaplanes would be guided on their 1,380-mile flight to the Azores, by ''Robinson'' and other destroyers who poured smoke from their funnels in daylight and fired starshells or turned on searchlights during the night. The first seaplane passed ''Robinson'' abeam an hour before midnight of 16 May 1919, and the two others also passed within the next 20 minutes.

The NC-4 covered the flight in 15 hours and 13 minutes setting down at [[Horta (Azores)|Horta]], the emergency stop in the Azores Islands. This seaplane had found its way above the dense fog which completely blinded the pilots of the others. An hour before the NC-4 landed, the NC-1 was forced to the water about {{convert|45|mi}} off [[Flores Island (Azores)|Flores Island]] and the NC-3 had also descended about {{convert|35|mi}} from [[Fayal]]. The NC-1 sank in the heavy seas and Robinson joined in the search for the NC-3 which refused all assistance and finally taxied to [[Ponta Delgada]] under its own power.

''Robinson'' anchored at Horta, Fayal Island, the afternoon of 19 May and stood out of the harbor the next morning to transport newspaper reports to Ponta Delgada where she arrived that afternoon. On 25 May 1919, she was en route to Station Number Seven ({{coord|38|10|N|17|40|E|}}) to cover the fourth leg of the transoceanic flight of the lone NC-4. She sighted the seaplane at 1330 on the afternoon of 26 May and the NC-4 faded from view on its way to a royal welcome by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] at [[Lisbon]] on 25 May and at [[Plymouth]], [[England]], on 31 May, terminating the historic 4,500-mile flight.

''Robinson'' returned to Ponta Delgada on 28 May 1919 and put to sea on 2 June to arrive at [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]] on 8 June. She underwent overhaul in the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] and conducted operations in local areas of Newport until her arrival at New York on 30 September 1919. She joined five other destroyers off [[Sandy Hook (New Jersey)|Sandy Hook]] on the afternoon of 1 October, then made rendezvous off [[Fire Island]] with {{SS|George Washington||2}} to act as honor escort for the [[King of Belgium]]. She cleared port on 6 October for operations off [[Key West]] and [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]], [[Florida]], visiting [[Beaufort, South Carolina]], on her return voyage to New York where she arrived 5 November 1919.

On 22 November 1919, ''Robinson'' stood out of New York Harbor, leading the second section of the honor detachment on the port quarter of {{HMS|Renown|1916|6}}, flying the standard of the [[Prince of Wales]], in company with {{HMS|Constance|1915|6}}. She was relieved of her royal escort duty off [[Nantucket Shoals]] and returned to New York on 25 November. After a visit to [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]], and voyage repairs in the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]], she cleared [[Boston Harbor]] on 14 January 1920 for fleet maneuvers off Guantanamo Bay and near the [[Panama Canal]]. She returned to New York on 1 May 1920 and entered the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 25 May 1920 for a year of inactivity. She shifted from the yard to Newport on 25 May 1921 for local operations until 10 October, and then visited New York before her arrival at [[Charleston, South Carolina]], on 19 November 1921. After several months in local waters off Charleston, she entered the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] where she decommissioned 3 August 1922.

''Robinson'' remained inactive until 23 August 1940 when she recommissioned for transfer to the [[United Kingdom|British]] Government under terms of the [[Destroyers for Bases Agreement|destroyers-in-exchange-for-bases agreement]]. The transfer was effected at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 26 November 1940 when ''Robinson'' was renamed HMS ''Newmarket'' (G47) and taken over by a care and maintenance party of the [[Royal Canadian Navy]]. She was commissioned in the [[Royal Navy]] on 5 December 1940, and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|U.S. Navy list]] 8 January 1941.

===Royal Navy===
[[File:HMS Newmarket FL3307.jpg|thumb|''Robinson'' as HMS ''Newmarket'' (G47).]]
''Newmarket'' departed Halifax on 15 January for the United Kingdom, calling at St. John's and arriving at [[Belfast]] on 26 January and at [[Plymouth]], England, on 30 January.

After a short refit in the [[Humber]], she began convoy escort work in the Western Approaches Command and on 2 June 1941, was unsuccessfully attacked by an aircraft in the northwestern approaches. Later that month she proceeded to [[Sheerness]], and was in dockyard hands until November when she joined the 8th Escort Group, at [[Derry]]. ''Newmarket'' was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}}/50]] and one of the triple [[torpedo tube]] mounts to reduce topside weight for additional [[depth charge]] stowage and installation of [[Hedgehog (weapon)|hedgehog]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lenton|Colledge|1968|p=92}}</ref>

On 3 January 1942, ''Newmarket'' had to leave Convoy HX 166 because of boiler trouble, and proceeded to [[Lough Foyle]]. On 30 January 1942 she arrived at Liverpool, and was under refit until the end of March 1942.

In April 1942, she escorted the Russian convoy PQ-14, but a month later, she was allocated for duty as an aircraft target ship in the [[Firth of Forth]]. She refitted at [[Leith]] between December 1942 and February 1943, and later in the year, refitted again at Rosyth, Scotland. In September 1943, ''Newmarket'' was reduced to care and maintenance status at Rosyth but resumed duty as an aircraft target ship from the spring of 1944, until after the end of the war in Europe. She was scrapped at [[Llanelli]] in September 1945.

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

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History|year=1982|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland, USA|isbn=0-87021-733-X}}
* {{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Gray|first2=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Hague|first=Arnold|title=The Towns: A history of the fifty destroyers transferred from the United States to Great Britain in 1940 |year=1988|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal, UK|isbn=0-905617-48-7}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lenton |first1= H. T.|last2=Colledge |first2=J. J. | title=British and Dominion Warships of World War II |publisher=Doubleday and Company |year=1968}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Parkes |editor1-first=Oscar|editor2-last=Prendergast |editor2-first=Maurice |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1920 |year=1920 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924106904893&view=1up&seq=149 |via=Hathitrust |access-date=24 April 2020 }}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/robinson-i.html}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/088.htm NavSource Photos]

{{Wickes-class destroyer}}
{{Town class destroyers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson (Dd-88)}}
[[Category:Wickes-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Ships built in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United States]]
[[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 Wickes-class destroyers]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]