USS Claxton (DD-571)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Claxton (DD-571), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Thomas Claxton, born in Baltimore, Maryland. Claxton was launched 1 April 1942 by Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas; sponsored by Mrs. A. D. Bernhard; and commissioned 8 December 1942, Commander Herald F. Stout in command. In March 1943 Claxton patrolled briefly in Casco Bay, Maine, awaiting the possible sortie of German battleship Tirpitz from Norwegian waters. After one convoy escort assignment to Casablanca, she sailed from Charleston, South Carolina, 17 May to join the Pacific Fleet.