The USS Conner (DD-72) was a Caldwell-class destroyer constructed for the United States Navy, notable for its service during World War I and later in the Royal Navy as HMS Leeds. Launched on August 21, 1917, by William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was commissioned on January 12, 1918. The vessel measured approximately 315 feet 6 inches (96.16 meters) in length overall, with a waterline length of 310 feet (94.49 meters), and had a beam of 30 feet 7 inches (9.32 meters). During World War I, USS Conner primarily served as a convoy escort, sailing from New York City on May 12, 1918, to protect ships traveling to the Azores and Brest, France. Her operations involved escorting inbound convoys to British and French ports and outbound trips to Bermuda. The destroyer was active in anti-submarine efforts, rescuing survivors twice in July 1918 when German U-boats were reported in the area. At the end of the war, she undertook mail and passenger runs between Brest and Plymouth, England. Notably, on May 8, 1919, she escorted ships carrying President Woodrow Wilson and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to Brest for the Paris Peace Conference. After returning to the United States, Conner participated in fleet maneuvers and exercises, remaining in active service until her decommissioning on June 21, 1922, at Philadelphia. During the interwar period, she was held in reserve at Norfolk and Newport, Rhode Island, with brief active duty in fleet exercises and submarine operations. In 1940, as tensions escalated into World War II, Conner was ordered to be rearmed as an escort vessel, with modifications to her armament. However, her transfer to the United Kingdom was prioritized under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. She was recommissioned on August 23, 1940, and decommissioned the same day at Halifax, Nova Scotia, before being transferred to the Royal Navy. Renamed HMS Leeds, she arrived in Belfast on November 10, 1940, and served under the Rosyth Command, escorting convoys in the North Sea and enduring air attacks. Her notable wartime activities included towing a damaged destroyer and defending convoys from German E-boats. Leeds was placed in reserve in April 1945 and was sold for scrapping in March 1947, ending her distinguished maritime service.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.