View source for USS J. Fred Talbott

{{Short description|Wickes-class destroyer}}
{{For|ships with a similar name|USS Talbot}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USSJFredTalbottDD156.jpg
|Ship caption=''J. Fred Talbott'' at anchor
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=''J. Fred Talbott''
|Ship namesake=[[Joshua Frederick Cockey Talbott]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[William Cramp & Sons]], [[Philadelphia]]
|Ship yard number=471
|Ship laid down=8 July 1918
|Ship launched=14 December 1918
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=30 June 1919
|Ship decommissioned=18 January 1923
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=1 May 1930
|Ship reclassified=[[Miscellaneous auxiliary]], AG-81, 25&nbsp;September&nbsp;1944
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship decommissioned=21 May 1946
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=19 June 1946
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 22 December 1946
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement=1,090 tons
|Ship length= {{convert|314|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|30|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|8|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|35|kn|kph|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=101 officers and enlisted
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=* 4 × [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/50]] guns
* 2 × [[3"/23 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/23]] guns
* 2 × .30 cal. (7.62 mm), 12 x [[American 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''J. Fred Talbott'' (DD-156)''', named for [[Joshua Frederick Cockey Talbott]] (1843–1918), Representative from Maryland Second District from 1879 to 1885, from 1893 to 1895 and again from 1903 to 1918, was a {{sclass|Wickes|destroyer}}.

==Construction and commissioning==
''J. Fred Talbott'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] by the [[William Cramp & Sons|William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company]] at [[Philadelphia]] on 8 July 1918, [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 14 December 1918 by Mrs. Robert L. Bates, niece of Representative Talbott and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 30 June 1919.

==Service history==
''J. Fred Talbott'' departed [[Newport, Rhode Island]] on 10 July for the [[Mediterranean Sea]], where she acted as a station ship at various ports acting as US representation during reconstruction. Upon her return to the United States on 21 June 1920, the ship took part in [[Neutrality Patrol]] duty on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] and engaged in [[Military exercise|fleet exercises]] before her [[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|decommissioning]] at Philadelphia on 18 January 1923.

''J. Fred Talbott'' recommissioned 1 May 1930 and immediately began [[Shakedown cruise|shakedown training]] in [[Delaware Bay]]. For the ten years that followed, the ship operated along the Atlantic coast and in the [[Caribbean Sea]] engaging in [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine training]]; fleet operations; and carrying out the many far-ranging duties of the United States fleet. She also helped to train [[United States Naval Reserve|reserves]] and [[Midshipman|midshipmen]].

With the outbreak of the war in Europe, and the United States' initial effort to protect its shipping while remaining neutral, ''J. Fred Talbott'' was assigned patrol duties in the waters off the Atlantic entrance to the [[Panama Canal]]. Following the US entry into the war with the surprise [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], the ship took up [[convoy]] escort duties between [[New Orleans]], [[Cuba]], and the Panama Canal.

Following an [[Wikt:overhaul|overhaul]] in [[Boston]] in January 1944, ''J. Fred Talbott'' sailed on 13 February with her first transatlantic convoy, and, after her safe return from [[Casablanca]], took up escort duties with convoys from [[Iceland]] southward into the Caribbean. Later in the year, after arrival on 15 September, she was converted at [[New York City|New York]] and reclassified '''AG-81''' on 25 September 1944. The ship arrived [[Port Everglades, Florida]], 1 November to act as a [[target ship]] for [[torpedo bomber]]s, continuing this training service until the war's end.

''J. Fred Talbott'' was decommissioned at Boston on 21 May 1946, stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 19 June 1946 and sold for [[Ship breaking|scrap]] to the Boston Metals Corporation of [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] on 22 December 1946.

==References==
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/j/j-fred-talbott-dd-156.html}}

==External links==
* {{navsource|05/156}}

{{Wickes-class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:J. Fred Talbott (Dd-156)}}
[[Category:Wickes-class destroyers]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built by William Cramp & Sons]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]