U.S.S. BLAKELEY

DD-358 USS McDougal

USS McDougal received its name in honor of Rear Admiral David Stockton McDougal. The Navy brought her into service upon her commission in December 1936. After an initial shakedown in the Atlantic, she reported for duty with the Pacific command in mid-1937. She took part in various training exercises, patrols, and readiness operations. In spring 1941, the Navy brought her back to the East Coast. She was on escort duty to South Africa when she received word of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The Navy assigned her to patrol in the Caribbean for the first part of 1942. She reported to the Pacific for duty in August 1942.

For the next couple of years, USS McDougal took up patrol and escort duties along the Pacific coast of South America. She sailed as far west as the Galapagos and the Juan Fernandez Islands. In September 1944, the Navy pulled her back for duty in the Atlantic. She provided escort throughout the remainder of the war between North America and Europe. She joined the Operational Development Force after the war ended with designation AG-126. She helped with developing naval gunnery and radar. The Navy decommissioned her in June 1946 and sold in August 1949.