Айлвин классы эсминецтерінің тарихы

Aylwin class destroyer

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2 × screw propellers
|Ship armament=*4 × /50 caliber guns Construction of the vessel—like her three sister ships—was awarded to William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia which laid down her keel on 7 May 1912. with each gun weighing in excess of A year later, Balch served as the US Navy's observation platform during the inter club cruise after the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club's annual June regatta. Balch was sent to examine which of the powerboats entered into the cruise—reported by The New York Times as about half of the 200 entries—might be suitable for use as naval auxiliaries. Prior to the entrance of the United States into World War I, she served on Neutrality Patrol duty, trying to protect American and neutral flagged merchant ships from interference by British or German warships and U boats. The American destroyers arrived on the scene about 1700 when the U boat, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose, was in the process of stopping the Holland America Line cargo ship Shortly after, U 53 stopped the British passenger ship As Rose had done with three other ships U 53 had sunk earlier in the day, he gave passengers and crew aboard Blommersdijk and Stephano adequate time to abandon the ships before sinking the pair. At one point, Rose signaled Balch requesting that she move out of the way to allow Stephano to be torpedoed, much to the later chagrin of Lord Beresford, who denounced Balchs compliance as "aiding and abetting" the Germans in a speech in the House of Lords. In total, 226 survivors from U 53s five victims were rescued by the destroyer flotilla. Balch picked up the crew of Stephano and a number of passengers, later transferring them to destroyer Jenkins for return to Newport.

When the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, Balch fitted out—installing depth charge racks and other wartime gear—in preparation for foreign service. Sailing for European waters on 25 October, Balch arrived at Queenstown, Ireland on 17 November and reported for duty with the Queenstown Force Commander. The destroyer began convoy escort duties on 24 November, which generally meant shepherding merchant ships through the "submarine danger zone" in the western approaches to the United Kingdom and France. Balch did suffer steering gear damage which required two weeks of repair at Queenstown. Then, on 5 November, while escorting a convoy in the English Channel, the Balch helped American destroyer Sterett rescue 29 survivors of the foundering merchant ship Dipton, returning the survivors to Queenstown.

Following the signing of the Armistice on 11 November which ended all fighting, Balch received orders to sail for home and she departed Ireland on 16 November. She arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, via Ponta Delgada, Azores, on 1 January 1919 and was placed in ordinary. Returned to commission in early April, the destroyer sailed to the West Indies for three weeks of maneuvers out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Balch then returned to Norfolk on 28 April for an overhaul. In July 1920, she was assigned the hull code of DD 50 under the US Navy's alphanumeric classification system. Postwar funding shortages kept the destroyer in port until late 1921, when Balch briefly cruised with the Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet, before financial considerations led to her inactivation. Balch was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 20 June 1922. On 1 November 1933, she dropped the name Balch to free it for a new destroyer of the same name, becoming known only as DD 50. The ship was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 March 1935, and, on 23 April, was ordered scrapped at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.