USS Elliot (DD-146) - Service History

Service History

After training in the Caribbean, Elliot sailed from New York 28 April 1919 to the Azores; Gibraltar; Malta; and Split, returning to Philadelphia on 4 June. Reassigned to the Pacific Fleet, she joined Destroyer Division 13 in New York Harbor in welcoming George Washington carrying President Woodrow Wilson back from the peace conference at Paris, then departed for the west coast, arriving at San Diego on 7 August where she was reviewed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels.

Elliot maneuvered offshore with the fleet until 25 March 1920 when she departed for the Far East. In June, she took Admiral Albert Cleaves, Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, aboard and sailed up the Yangtze to investigate the murder of an American missionary, William A. Reimert. She stood by in China during civil disturbances which threatened American lives and property. In September, she visited Port Arthur and Dalian on intelligence duty, and then returned to her base at Cavite for overhaul. Elliot went home to San Francisco the fall of 1921. In October, she arrived at San Diego to lie in reserve until being decommissioned on 22 May 1922.

Recommissioned on 8 February 1930, Elliot ranged the west coast with Destroyer Division 11 as plane guard in battle practice and major fleet problems. In the spring of 1934, she sailed for the east coast and a two-ocean fleet problem.

Elliot was assigned new duty in 1935 when she became high-speed towing vessel for fleet targets. From 1937, she was also continuously available for training and experimental services. In 1940, she accompanied the Eclipse Expedition to Muleje, Baja California, and then was assigned to Pearl Harbor. She was converted to a high-speed minesweeper, and reclassified DMS-4, 19 November 1940.