USS Smith Thompson (DD-212) was a Clemson-class destroyer in service with the United States Navy from 1919 to 1936. She was intentionally sunk following a collision with , in July 1936. History Smith Thompson named for Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson. She was laid down on 24 March 1919 by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia; launched on 14 July 1919; sponsored by Mrs. Kate E. Lloyd, granddaughter of Secretary Thompson; and commissioned on 10 December 1919. After shakedown along the United States East Coast, Smith Thompson sailed on 8 February 1920 from Philadelphia for the Mediterranean, arriving at Constantinople on 25 February. Attached to the United States Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters, Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol commanding, the destroyer operated in the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea for over a year, visiting ports in Turkey, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Syria, Greece, Egypt and Palestine. Due to warfare in Turkey and Russia, Admiral Bristol's ships were frequently assigned unusual tasks, including maintenance of radio, mail, and passenger service; carrying State Department representatives and officials of recognized philanthropic societies to various ports; and evacuation of Americans, non-combatants, and the sick and wounded from ports threatened by warfare, particularly in southern Russia. Rear Admiral Newton A. McCully, on a mission to south Russia as a special agent of the State Department for observation purposes, received assistance from the naval forces; and, on several occasions, Smith Thompson acted as his flagship. On 2 May 1921, Smith Thompson sailed from Constantinople with her division for the Asiatic Station, arriving at Cavite, Philippines, on 29 June. For the next four years, she cruised among the Philippine Islands, along the coast of China, and in Japanese waters, protecting American lives and property and carrying out peacetime training. In early September 1923, when he learned that Tokyo and Yokohama had been nearly destroyed by an earthquake, tsunami, and fire on 30 and 31 August, Admiral Edwin Anderson, Jr., Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet, immediately sent Smith Thompson and her destroyer division with medical supplies to render assistance. Smith Thompson arrived on 5 September and acted as radio relay ship at Yokohama and station ship at Tokyo until departing on 21 September. The American destroyers were the first foreign vessels to arrive at Yokohama and earned the gratitude of the Japanese government. The following year, Smith Thompson carried out another special mission, providing support off