USS Walke (DD-34) - World War I

World War I

The warship completed her overhaul in March 1917 and got underway on the 25th, bound for New York. She arrived at Staten Island the following day. By coincidence, Walke entered the New York Navy Yard on 6 April 1917; the day the United States declared war on Germany. Two weeks and four days later, she emerged from the yard ready to go into action. After patrols off New York, the destroyer voyaged to Charleston, South Carolina, where she arrived on 3 May. Following a 16-day visit to Charleston, she headed north and arrived back in New York on the 20th. Three days later, she put to sea bound for European waters. Because of her limited fuel capacity, the destroyer made the first three days of the voyage under tow by the collier, Jupiter. Steaming under her own power after 26 May, she arrived in Gironde, France on 5 June. Following brief service there and at Brest, Walke moved to Queenstown on the southeastern coast of Ireland. From that port, she patrolled the western approaches to England and France, hunting for U-boats and escorting convoys into British and French ports until mid-November.

On 17 November, the warship headed back to the United States. Again after making the first leg of the transatlantic voyage under tow because of her limited range, Walke arrived in New York on 30 November. From there, she headed south to Charleston, where she entered the yard in mid-December 1917. She completed repairs in March 1918 and returned to New York on the 16th. For the remainder of World War I, Walke patrolled the coastal waters of the United States from New York north to Cape Cod and escorted incoming and departing convoys into and out of New York harbor.