outfitting tugs and trawlers– generating 211 NHP and allowing a sustained speed of 15 knots. This removed all four of their coal funnels, replacing them with a number of tall cowl vents and a single diesel stack aft. So reconstructed, their weight was listed as 433 GRT with a 264-foot length and 14-foot depth of hold. The crew was reduced to an officer and 17 hands. Painted buff above the waterline to help reflect heat, they still had their greyhound lines. They served in the "Banana Boom" of the 1920's. The sisters were registered in 1921 by Robert Shepherd in Nicaragua and soon used on the banana runs to Galveston and New Orleans, flying the flag of the Snyder Banana Company of Bluefields. In 1922, the boats had been impounded by R.A. Harvin, the United States Marshal in Texas, after a libel proceeding, and sold at public auction to one Harry Nevelson, who in turn quickly resold them to the Mexican-American Fruit Company, and sometime shortly after they were sailing for the Southern Banana Co. By 1925, the trio was all part of the Vaccaro brothers’ upstart New Orleans-based Standard Fruit & S S Co (now part of Dole). By 1933, Lloyds listed Worden as owned by the American Fruit & S S Corp — later adjusted to “Seaboard S S Corp (Standard Fruit, Mgrs)” in subsequent listings– out of Bluefields, Nicaragua with a tonnage of 546 GRT. By 1939 Worden was listed as owned by the Bahamas Shipping Company and with tonnage adjusted to 433 GRT. World War II The Bahamas Shipping Company tried to make Worden as neutral as possible. However, on 1 May 1942 she had a run-in with La Paz, just damaged by U-109. Worden took the damaged ship in tow, after sending a message out reporting the torpedoing. Hereupon many authors seize and claim that U-109 bagged both La Paz and the former destroyer. However, both ships survived, La Paz by being beached, and Worden, undamaged, remained in Lloyd's register. One source says that she was subsequently lost on 1 May 1947, but another record has her as scrapped in 1956. Her sister Truxtun was lost on 5 September 1938 and Whipple were scrapped in 1956. Ships in class Note that, although the ships are listed below with the prefix "DD-" before their official numbers, this classification was not created until 1911, and until then