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USS ''Balch'' (Destroyer No. 50/DD-50) was an built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the first U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of George Beale Balch, a US Navy officer who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War, and as Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. ''Balch'' was laid down by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia in May 1912 and launched in December. The ship was a little more than in length, just over abeam, and had a standard displacement of . She was armed with four guns and had eight torpedo tubes. ''Balch'' was powered by a pair of steam turbines that propelled her at up to . After her March 1914 commissioning, she participated in a Presidential Fleet Review at New York City in May. After a period in reserve, ''Balch'' served on Neutrality Patrol duty. As a part of that duty in October 1916, she was one of several US destroyers sent to rescue survivors from five victims of German submarine off the Lightship Nantucket. She picked up passengers and crew from a British ocean liner before the U-boat sank it. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, ''Balch'' was sent overseas to patrol the Irish Sea out of Queenstown, Ireland. ''Balch'' made several unsuccessful attacks on U-boats. In October 1918, US destroyer collided with ''Balch'', sending her into Queenstown for two weeks of repairs. Upon returning to the United States after the war in January 1919, ''Balch'' was placed in reduced commission. After alternating periods of activity and time in reserve, ''Balch'' was decommissioned at Philadelphia in June 1922. In November 1933 she dropped her name, becoming known only as ''DD-50''. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in March 1935 and ordered scrapped in April. ==Design and construction== ''Balch'' was authorized in March 1911 as the last of four ships of the , which was almost identical to the s authorized at the same time.〔〔The is considered a part of the by ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921'' (p. 122), but is classed separately by the United States Navy. See, for example, 〕 Construction of the vessel—like her three sister ships—was awarded to William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia which laid down her keel on 7 May 1912.〔 On 21 December, ''Balch'' was launched by sponsor Miss Grace Balch, daughter of the ship's namesake, George Beale Balch. The ship was the first U.S. Navy ship named for Balch, a US Navy officer who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War and, as a rear admiral, served as Superintendent of United States Naval Academy from 1879–81.〔 As built, the destroyer was in length, abeam, and drew .〔〔 The ship had a standard displacement of and displaced when fully loaded.〔〔 ''Balch'' had two steam turbines that drove her two screw propellers, and an additional pair triple-expansion steam engines, each connected to one of the propeller shafts, for cruising purposes. Four oil-burning boilers powered the engines, which could generate , moving the ship at up to .〔〔 ''Balch''s main battery consisted of four caliber Mark 9 guns,〔〔The ''50'' denotes the length of the gun barrels; in this case, the gun is 50 calibers, meaning that the gun is 50 times as long as its bore, or in this case. The Mark number is the version of the gun; in this case, the ninth US Navy design of the 4-inch/50 gun.〕 with each gun weighing in excess of .〔 The guns fired armor-piercing projectiles at . At an elevation of 20°, the guns had a range of .〔 ''Balch'' was also equipped with four twin torpedo tubes.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Balch (DD-50)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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