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USS Sands pictured in Danzig/Gdansk, circa August-September 1921Mavi Boncuk |
Following commissioning, Sands[1] remained at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to fit out for European duty. On 22 November, Lieutenant M. L. Sperry, Jr., relieved Ens. Leahy as temporary commanding officer; and, on 13 December, Commander Robert L. Ghormley assumed command. The next day, the destroyer departed from Philadelphia; steamed to Melville, Rhode Island, for torpedo outfit; then proceeded to New York. On 3 January 1921, she sailed for Europe. She arrived at Brest on the 16th and, for the next seven months, conducted runs between French and British ports. In mid-August, she steamed for the Baltic; called at various ports on that sea, despite the still present danger of mines, and returned to Cherbourg on 27 September. Three weeks later, she cleared the French coast and headed for the eastern Mediterranean-Black Sea area. There, fighting between Greeks and Turks in coastal Asia Minor; between Turks and Armenians on the Anatolian plateau; and between Red and White forces in Russia had created problems including disease, poverty, and famine.
Assigned to provide dispatch service to support American Relief Committee efforts, and to protect American nationals and interests, Sands arrived at Allied-occupied Constantinople on 11 November. Nine days later, she fueled at the Standard Oil docks at Selvi Bournu, then commenced her first cruise. Into late December, she steamed off Samsun and Trebizond, observing as Greeks were deported from those areas. After returning briefly to Constantinople, she steamed to Alexandretta, whence she continued on to Cilicia. There she called at Mersin, site of an American mission and relief distribution center, and remained through most of January 1922. On 3 February, she was back at Constantinople; and, on the 8th, she got underway for Novorossiysk. From the 8th to the 19th, she supported relief work in that city, then proceeded to Samsun where, with one interruption to retrieve a drifting barge near Inebole, she remained until 8 March. Two days later, she returned to Constantinople; and, on the 18th, she shifted to Selvi Bournu to assist in firefighting efforts in the oil storage area. With the fires under control, she put back into Constantinople and, on the 22d, got underway to again call at Mersin. By 7 April, she had retransited the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmora. On 8 May, she passed through the Bosporus. From the 9th to the 22d, she was at Odessa, whence she shifted to Theodosia and then continued to Novorossisk. In early June, she was at Trebizond; and, on the 4th, she arrived at Samsun where, for several days, she steamed off the harbor entrance as Greek and Turkish forces exchanged fire.
Sands returned to Constantinople on 9 July and soon afterward sailed for Gibraltar and the United States.
[1] The first USS Sands (DD-243/APD-13) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first ship named for Benjamin F. Sands and his son, James H. Sands. Sands was laid down on 22 March 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey; launched on 28 October 1919; sponsored by Miss Jane McCue Sands; and commissioned on 10 November 1920, Ensign William D. Leahy in temporary command.