The USS McCawley (DD-276) was a Clemson-class destroyer built for the United States Navy shortly after World War I. Constructed at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation’s Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, she was laid down on November 5, 1918, and launched on June 14, 1919. The vessel was sponsored by Miss Eleanor Laurie McCawley, granddaughter of Colonel Charles McCawley, after whom she was named. She was commissioned on September 22, 1919, and measured approximately 314 feet 4 inches in length, with a beam of 30 feet 11 inches and a draft of 10 feet 3 inches. Displacing around 1,290 long tons at standard load, the ship was crewed by 6 officers and 108 enlisted men. The Clemson-class design was an evolution of the Wickes class, with increased fuel capacity to extend range. McCawley was powered by two steam turbines, each driving a propeller shaft, fed by four water-tube boilers. Her turbines were designed to produce 27,000 shaft horsepower, enabling her to reach speeds up to 35 knots. She carried a maximum of 371 long tons of fuel oil, which allowed for a range of approximately 2,500 nautical miles at 20 knots. Her armament included four 4-inch guns, two 1-pounder anti-aircraft guns (sometimes replaced by 3-inch guns due to shortages), and a formidable torpedo battery of twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes arranged in quadruple mounts. Depth charge rails and a Y-gun depth charge thrower enhanced her anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Initially serving with the Pacific Fleet, McCawley joined Destroyer Squadron 2, later designated DesRon 4, and operated along the West Coast, Hawaiian waters, and during fleet problems in the Caribbean. She participated in local exercises and fleet training until her first decommissioning at San Diego on June 7, 1922. Recommissioned in September 1923, she continued operations in the Pacific, conducting various training and fleet exercises until her deactivation in 1930, in accordance with naval arms limitation treaties. Her name was struck from the Navy list in August 1930, and her hulk was sold for scrap in September 1931. The USS McCawley thus served as a representative example of early 20th-century destroyer design and naval strategy during the interwar period.

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