USS La Vallette (DD‑315) was a Clemson‑class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the second ship named for Rear Admiral Stephen B. La Vallette (1790–1878), a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. The vessel was commissioned in 1920, served primarily with the Atlantic Fleet during the interwar period, and was retired and scrapped in accordance with the terms of the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
Design and construction
La Vallette was built to the standard specifications of the Clemson‑class destroyers, a series of 156 ships constructed between 1919 and 1922. The class featured a flush‑deck hull, a length of 314 ft 1 in (95.7 m), a beam of 30 ft 11 in (9.4 m), and a draft of 9 ft 10 in (3.0 m). Displacement was approximately 1,215 long tons (standard) and 1,308 long tons (full load). Propulsion was provided by two steam turbines driving two propeller shafts, delivering a design speed of 35 knots (65 km/h). Typical armament for the class included four 4 in/50 caliber guns, a single 3 in/23 caliber anti‑aircraft gun (later replaced by 20 mm weapons on many vessels), and twelve 21‑inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes arranged in four triple mounts. Complement was roughly 100 officers and enlisted personnel.
The ship’s keel was laid down on 8 February 1919 at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation’s Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 5 July 1919, sponsored by Miss Gladys C. La Vallette, a descendant of the ship’s namesake, and commissioned on 5 February 1920 with Lieutenant Commander Robert H. R. Light as her first commanding officer.
Service history
After fitting out, USS La Vallette joined the Atlantic Fleet, operating out of Newport, Rhode Island, and later Charleston, South Carolina. Her duties during the 1920s consisted of routine peacetime activities, including training cruises, naval exercises, and goodwill visits to ports in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. She participated in fleet maneuvers such as the annual “Fleet Problem” series, which evaluated tactical concepts and the integration of emerging technologies.
The destroyer did not see combat, as her service coincided with a period of relative peace for the United States Navy. Throughout her career she maintained a standard peacetime readiness posture, performed torpedo and gunnery drills, and contributed to the development of destroyer tactics that would later be employed during World War II.
Decommissioning and fate
In compliance with the naval limitations imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930, which mandated reductions in destroyer tonnage, USS La Vallette was decommissioned on 1 May 1930 at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 22 July 1930 and subsequently sold for scrap to the Boston Iron Works on 13 September 1930.
Legacy
Although La Vallette did not participate in any notable engagements, her service exemplified the role of destroyers in the United States Navy’s interwar force structure—providing a platform for crew training, tactical development, and treaty‑mandated fleet reductions.
References
- Friedman, Norman. U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Naval Institute Press, 2004.
- “Clemson‑Class Destroyers.” Naval History and Heritage Command. https://www.history.navy.mil/
- NavSource Online: Destroyer Photo Archive – DD‑315 USS La Vallette. https://www.navsource.org/archives/05/315.htm