in the vicinity of Cuba, Sturtevant steamed north to Boston during the first week in May. From May 1926 to January 1931, Sturtevant continued to operate with the Atlantic Fleet in Destroyer Division 41 (DesDiv 41), Destroyer Squadron 14 (DesRon 14). Each year summer operations along the north and central Atlantic coast of the U.S. were alternated with winter maneuvers in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. During the fall of 1930, she was assigned Charleston, South Carolina as her homeport, but was ordered north again in January 1931 for decommissioning. On 30 January 1931, Sturtevant was placed out of commission at Philadelphia. She was recommissioned there on 9 March 1932, and on 30 April reported for duty to the Commander, Special Service Squadron at Coco Solo in the Canal Zone. For the next two years, the destroyer plied waters of the Gulf and the Caribbean, supporting the activities of the marines ashore in Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, and other Latin American republics. Early in 1934, she left the Special Service Squadron to rejoin the destroyers of the Scouting Force. During this tour of duty, she was home ported at Norfolk, Virginia. World War II In the latter half of 1935, the ship was reassigned to the Battle Force, located in the Pacific. After operating out of San Diego until 20 November, she was decommissioned once again. On 26 September 1939, Sturtevant was recommissioned once more. By mid-1940, she was back in the Atlantic escorting convoys and conducting Neutrality Patrols along the eastern seaboard. The destroyer operated out of Norfolk, in the North Atlantic until early March 1942, then escorted a convoy from New York to the Canal Zone. There she reported for duty to the Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, screening convoys between the various ports of the Caribbean until late April. Convoys escorted Fate On 26 April 1942, she departed Key West in company with a convoy. Just over two hours out of port, a violent explosion lifted Sturtevants stern from the water, but caused no apparent damage. Thinking herself under submarine attack, the destroyer dropped two depth charge barrages. About a minute after she dropped the second barrage of charges, a second detonation rocked the ship. She began to settle rapidly, but on an even keel. Minutes later, a third explosion ripped her keel apart beneath the after deckhouse. The midships section sank