View source for USS Thomas (DD-182)

{{Short description|Wickes-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|USS Thomas|HMS St Albans}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USSThomasDD182.jpg|300px|USS Thomas (DD-182)]]
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1940}}
|Ship name=USS ''Thomas''
|Ship namesake=[[Clarence Crase Thomas]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]]
|Ship laid down=23 March 1918
|Ship launched=4 July 1918
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=25 April 1919
|Ship decommissioned=30 June 1922
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=17 June 1940
|Ship decommissioned=23 September 1940
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=8 January 1941
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship identification=DD-182
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[United Kingdom]], 23&nbsp;September&nbsp;1940
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''St Albans''
|Ship namesake=St Albans
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=23 September 1940
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] in&nbsp;April&nbsp;1941
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Norway
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Norway|navy}}
|Ship name=HNoMS ''St Albans''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=14 April 1941
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Returned to United Kingdom, 4&nbsp;May&nbsp;1944<ref name=mk>Dashyan, A.V.: ''Korabli Vtoroy mirovoy voyny'' – VMS Polshy i stran Skandinavii (Danii, Norwegii, Shvetsii i Finlandii) (Корабли Второй мировой войны – ВМС Польши и стран Скандинавии (Дании, Норвегии, Швеции и Финляндии)), ''Morskaya Kollektsya'' nr. 3/2005 {{in lang|ru}}</ref>
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=Soviet Union
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Soviet Union|naval-1935}}
|Ship name=''Dostoyny'' (Worthy)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=16 July 1944
|Ship commissioned=
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|Ship fate=Transferred to UK for scrapping, 28 February 1949
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=1,213&nbsp;tons
|Ship length={{convert|314|ft|4+1/2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|31|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|9|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|35|kn|km/h}}
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|Ship complement=101 officers and enlisted
|Ship sensors=
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|Ship armament=
*''Initial''
** 4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/50]] guns
** 1 x [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/23]] gun
** 12 x [[American 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*''1941–44''
** 3 × {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} guns
** 2 x {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} guns
** 4 [[depth charge|DC]] throwers<ref name=mk/>
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The first '''USS ''Thomas'' (DD–182)''' was a {{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}} of the [[United States Navy]] that entered service just after [[World War I]].

She was transferred to the [[Royal Navy]] becoming the {{sclass2|Town|destroyer|1}}, '''HMS ''St Albans'' (I15)''' and was used for convoy escort work.

In April 1941 ''St Albans'' was transferred to the [[Free Norwegian forces|exiled]] [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] retaining her name as '''HNoMS ''St Albans'''''

In mid-1944, ''St Albans'' was transferred to the [[Soviet Navy]] as '''''Dostoyny'''''.

==Service history==

===As USS ''Thomas''===
Named after [[Clarence Crase Thomas]], she was laid down on 23 March 1918 by the [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company]]; [[Virginia]]. It was launched on 4 July 1918; sponsored by Mrs. Evelyn M. Thomas, widow of the namesake; and commissioned on 25 April 1919.

''Thomas'' operated off the east coast on training cruises and exercises until decommissioned at [[Philadelphia]] on 30 June 1922. In the Navy-wide assignment of alphanumeric hull numbers on 17 July 1920 she was as classified as DD-182. After leaving service she lay in reserve in the Philadelphia Navy Yard's back channel for the next 18 years.

Recommissioned on 17 June 1940 – as the United States Navy expanded to meet the demands imposed by [[Neutrality Patrol]]s off American coastlines – ''Thomas'' was assigned to Destroyer Division 79 of the [[Atlantic Squadron]] and operated briefly in training and exercises off the eastern seaboard.

The [[Destroyers-for-bases deal|"destroyer-for-bases" agreement]] was made between the UK and the US at the start of September 1940 - under it 50 WWI-era destroyers were transferred to the British in exchange for eases on strategic base sites in the western hemisphere.

She arrived at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], on 18 September 1940 and officially turned over to the Royal Navy on 23 September 1940. Her name was subsequently struck from the United States Navy list on 8 January 1941.

===As HMS ''St Albans''===
Simultaneously renamed HMS ''St Albans'' (I15) and commissioned the same day for service in the Royal Navy, the destroyer sailed for the [[British Isles]] on 29 September. After calling at [[St. John's, Newfoundland]], en route, she arrived at [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], on 9 October.

''St Albans'' and three [[sister ships]] – [[USS Bagley (DD-185)|HMS ''St Mary's'']], [[USS Hopewell (DD-181)|HMS ''Bath'']], and [[USS Abbot (DD-184)|HMS ''Charlestown'']] – were attached to the 1st Minelaying Squadron as permanent escort force. Operating off the west coast of [[Scotland]], the destroyers participated in some of the earliest minelaying operations in the [[Denmark Strait]] which separates [[Iceland]] from [[Greenland]].

Between these escort missions, ''St Albans'' escorted convoys. On 17 and 18 January 1941, the destroyer searched for survivors from {{SS|Almeda Star}}, torpedoed by {{GS|U-96|1940|2}} on 17 January. ''St Albans'' underwent repairs at [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] in February to prepare for her transfer to the Royal Norwegian Navy-in-exile on 14 April.

===As HNoMS ''St Albans''===
''St Albans'' had no sooner entered service with the Norwegians than she collided with the minesweeping trawler [[HMS Alberic|HMS ''Alberic'']], sinking the trawler and sustaining enough damage herself to necessitate repairs in the dockyard.

When again ready for action, HNoMS ''St Albans'' joined the 7th [[Escort Group]], operating out of [[Liverpool]]. On 12 June, she picked up the survivors from the sunken steamship {{SS|Empire Dew}} – torpedoed that day by the {{GS|U-48|1939|6}} – and brought them safely to Liverpool.

On 3 August 1941, while bound from [[Sierra Leone]] to the United Kingdom in the screen of [[convoy SL 81]], ''St Albans'' joined the destroyer {{HMS|Wanderer|D74|6}} and the {{sclass2|Flower|corvette}} {{HMS|Hydrangea|K39|6}} in sinking {{GS|U-401||2}}. During subsequent operations screening convoys in shipping lanes between [[West Africa]] and the British Isles, ''St Albans'' made a score of attacks on [[U-boat]]s but  did not achieve another kill.

During the following autumn, a heavy gale severely damaged ''St Albans'' while she was escorting [[convoy ON 22]] on 8 October. Despite the high seas and strong winds, ''St Albans''{{'}}s Norwegian reached [[Reykjavík]], Iceland safely. The destroyer's seaworthiness and the seamanship exhibited by her Norwegian crew elicited a warm commendatory signal from the [[Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches]] (C-in-C WA). In this message of 12 October 1941, he also praised the destroyer's exemplary steaming performance during the previous three months.

''St Albans'', meanwhile, continued her escort duties with the 7th Escort Group into 1942. In March, she escorted the damaged [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} from Liverpool to the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] and, in the following month, helped to screen [[convoy PQ 15]] as it carried materiel to northern Russia. During the operation, heavy German air and submarine attacks sank three [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] ships.

Due to an error in identification ''St Albans'' and the [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] {{HMS|Seagull|J85|6}} sank the Polish [[submarine]] {{ORP|Jastrząb}} on 2 May. Five crewmen were killed. The court of Enquiry found that ''Jastrząb'' was 100 miles out of position, in an area where U-boats were expected to operate, and no blame could be attached to either commander.<ref>Paul Kemp : ''Convoy! Drama in Arctic Waters'' p47 (1993) {{ISBN|1-85409-130-1}}</ref><ref name="DANFS">{{cite DANFS |url= http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/thomas-i.html |title= Thomas I }}</ref> However this conclusion is disputed by other sources.<ref>According to Jerzy Pertek, "Wielkie dni małej floty", Poznań 1976, p.325 (Polish) they were found guilty on 13 July 1942, that they had no right to attack submarines in that sector and the commander of "St Albans" did not know recognition signs.</ref>

Later that month, ''St Albans'' joined the Liverpool Special Escort Division. Among the vessels escorted early in June was the [[Cunard]]-[[White Star Line|White Star]] liner {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}}, operating as troopship travelling to the Middle East via the [[Cape of Good Hope]]  After refitting at [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]] between July and October 1942, ''St Albans'' again operated with the Special Escort Division until the end of 1942. In January 1943, she served as a target vessel for training [[RAF Coastal Command]] aircraft.

Late in February, she got underway and steamed into the [[North Sea]] toward the Scandinavian coast to search for a Norwegian merchantman which was reportedly attempting to escape to sea from German-controlled waters. During this mission, the destroyer was attacked by German aircraft but emerged unharmed.

Shifted to the [[Western Local Escort Force]] soon thereafter, ''St Albans'' was based at [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] and operated in convoy escort missions in the western Atlantic for the remainder of 1943. Departing Halifax four days after Christmas 1943, ''St Albans'' arrived in the [[River Tyne|Tyne]] on 10 January 1944, where she was soon laid up in reserve. ''St Albans'' was returned to the Royal Navy on 4 February 1944

===As ''Dostoyny''===

On 16 July 1944, the British transferred ''St Albans'' to the [[Soviet Navy]], who renamed her ''Dostoyny'' ([[Russian language|rus.]] Достойный, "Worthy").{{Efn|Alternatively transliterated "Dostojnyj"}} She was returned to the British on 28 February 1949 at Rosyth, Scotland. It was eventually broken up for scrap at [[Charlestown, Fife|Charlestown]] in April 1949.

==Battle honours==
For service in World War II, ''St Albans'' was awarded the battle honours ''Atlantic 1941-43'', ''English Channel 1942'', ''Arctic 1942'' and '' North Sea 1943''<ref>Mason</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |title=Destroyers for Great Britain: A History of 50 Town Class Ships Transferred From the United States to Great Britain in 1940 |url=https://archive.org/details/destroyersforgre0000hagu |url-access=registration |date=1988 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-782-8 |edition=Rev. and expanded}}
*{{cite web |url=https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-11US-HMS_St_Albans.htm |work=Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 |first= Lt Cdr Geoffrey B |last=Mason |date=6 June 2011 |title=HMS, later Norwegian HNorMS ST ALBANS (I 15), also Russian DOSTOINY - ex-US Destroyer |publisher=naval-history.net }}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/thomas-i.html}}

==External links==
{{commons category|USS Thomas (DD-182)}}
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/182.htm NavSource Photos]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020903220914/http://sovnavy-ww2.by.ru/destroyers/typ_town.htm SovietNavy-WW2: Таун ("Town") class]
* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5874.html U-boat.net: Dostojnyj]

{{Wickes-class destroyer}}
{{Town class destroyers}}
{{Norwegian destroyers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas (DD-182)}}
[[Category:Wickes-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Town-class destroyers converted from Wickes-class destroyers]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Town-class destroyers of the Royal Norwegian Navy]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of Norway]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Soviet Navy]]
[[Category:Town-class destroyers of the Soviet Navy]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the Soviet Union]]