USS Delphy (Destroyer # 261, later DD-261), 1918-1923 -- Construction, 1918

USS Delphy was constructed at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company's "Victory Destroyer Plant". Located at Squantum, Massachusetts, not far from Quincy, this large facility was built during World War I to mass-produce destroyers on indoor shipways. Delphy was the first of thirty-five Clemson class destroyers completed there in 1918-1920. Laid down on 20 April 1918, she was launched three months later, on 18 July 1918, sponsored by Mrs. William S. Sims, wife of the Admiral then commanding U.S. Naval Forces in Europe. Delphy's commissioning, on 30 November 1918, came three weeks too late for her to participate in First World War operations.