The USS Schley (DD-103)

USS Schley (DD-103 / APD-14)

Technical Data: Built by Union Iron Works of San Francisco, California, the destroyer

USS Schley was launched on March 28, 1918 and commissioned on September 20, 1918.

Named after Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley (1839-1911), the USS Schley stretched

314 feet, four inches in length and had a beam of thirty feet, eleven inches. Displacing

1,185 tons, she had a draft of nine feet, two inches. Her twin-screw geared turbines put

out 26,000 horsepower and reached a top speed of 35.2 knots. She held a crew of 133.

World War I: Under Commander R. C. Giffin, the Schley left San Diego, California, on

October 10, 1918, en route to the east coast. On November 12, she departed New York

for the Mediterranean, making port in Taranto, Italy, and Constantinople (today Istanbul),

Turkey, before arriving at Pola, Italy, on February 17, 1919, to begin duty as station ship

in the Adriatic. Beginning April 15, she toured Italian and Yugoslav ports on the Adriatic

before departing for the United States on July 2. The Schley returned to San Diego on

September 8, 1919, and remained there until placed out of commission on June 1, 1922.

Service in World War II: With war threatening, the Schley was recalled from reserve

status and re-commissioned at San Diego on October 3, 1940. On December 17, she arrived

in Hawaii for patrols and exercises. When Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor on the

morning of December 7, 1941, the Schley was moored among several other ships undergoing

overhaul. As her guns were disassembled, she could only respond with small arms fire. Her

repairs were expedited, and she headed to sea on December 20, taking up a patrol station

off the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor. For the next year, she operated in those waters,

as well as off the coast of Honolulu. On December 13, 1942, the Schley returned to Puget

Sound (Washington) Navy Yard for conversion as a high-speed transport and was given the

new designation APD-14. The Schley returned to Hawaii on February 22 and continued on

to the New Hebrides, arriving there on March 24. In the New Hebrides, the Schley trained

extensively with U.S. Marines, performed patrols and escorts, and operated as a transport

between the Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides, American Samoa, and New Zealand. On

June 30, the Schley participated in its first combat landing at New Georgia, putting troops

ashore at Wickham Anchorage at the southwest end of Vangunu. On July 5, Schley landed

a second group of troops at Rice Anchorage, New Georgia. During this action, a Japanese

submarine sank the Schley's sister APD, the USS Strong, with a single, long-range torpedo

shot. After returning to Rice Anchorage with supplies and ammunition, the Schley departed

on August 1 for Mare Island, California, and complete overhaul. The USS Schley returned

to action and earned eleven World War II battle stars before being taken out of service in

November 1945; however, this narrative ends here, since Charley Plummer disembarked the

Schley on September 30 and transferred to a new ship then under construction.

Charley Plummer's Story: The narrative above captures the essence of the USS Schley's

early service in World War II. For a sailor's view, click here and read Chief Quartermaster

Charley Plummer's own words describing daily activities of July 1940 through October 1943,

carefully transcribed from a small pocket diary he maintained during his many years at sea.

Ship's Itinerary (from Charley Madison Plummer's diary): click here.

Sources: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships; and the wartime diary of

Chief Quartermaster Charley Madison Plummer, United States Navy (1920-1950).