USS Sturtevant (DD-240)

Albert D. Sturtevant was born in Washington, D.C., on 2 May 1894. On 24 March 1917, he and 28 others enlisted in the Naval Reserve Forces as the First Yale Unit. Two days later, they were all commissioned ensigns. After flight training in Florida, he was designated a naval aviator on 1 May 1917 and, in September, he received orders for overseas duty. Ensign Sturtevant reported to the group attached to the Royal Flying Corps station at Felixstowe, England, in October.

Sturtevant's duties consisted of flying escort for merchantmen crossing the North Sea. On 15 February 1918, while flying an escort mission with another plane of his unit, the two American were jumped by a flight of 10 German planes. Sturtevant's companion recognized the hopelessness of the 5-to-1 odds and escaped to safety, but Sturtevant gamely fought it out with the enemy. When last seen, Ensign Sturtevant was hit and crippled, falling toward the sea. For his heroic actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously. I

The first Sturtevant (Destroyer No. 240) was laid down on 23 November 1918 at Camden, N.J., by the New York Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 29 July 1920; sponsored by Mrs. Curtis Ripley Smith; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 21 September 1920. Lt. Comdr. Ewart G. Haas assumed command of Sturte vant on 4 November 1920.

Continue to the full service history →About 1,380 words

From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, compiled by the Naval History and Heritage Command (Sturtevant I (Destroyer No. 240)). A work of the United States Government, in the public domain.