USS BEALE DD-40

USS BEALE DD-40 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, October 2021

The first Beale (Destroyer No. 40) was laid down on 8 May 1911 at Philadelphia by William Cramp & Sons; launched on 30 April 1912; sponsored by Mrs. Emily Beale McLean, the daughter of Lt. Beale; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 30 August 1912, Lt.(j.g.) Charles T. Blackburn in command.

Beale departed Philadelphia on her shakedown cruise on 3 October 1912. Shortly afterward, she was involved in a collision off Newcastle, Del., and was forced to return to Philadelphia that same day. Getting underway again on 11 October, she proceeded to New York and moored at the North River anchorage in the Hudson River on 13 October. While there, the destroyer received her assignment to the Fifth Group, Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet. Two days later, she cleared for Newport, R.I., and arrived that same day. She remained there until 31 October, when she departed for the Chesapeake Bay, arriving at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va. on 2 November.

The destroyer got underway on 10 November 1912 to conduct training on the Southern Drill Grounds (10–12 November) before returning to Norfolk. She departed on 24 November and steamed up the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River to the Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard, arriving the same day. Underway again during the morning of 1 December, she returned to Norfolk later that day. Upon her arrival she entered dry dock and remained there undergoing maintenance until undocking on 28 December.

Beale went to sea for post-overhaul trials early on 7 January 1913 and returned to Norfolk later that same day. Remaining at the yard until 24 February, she went to sea for final trials which were completed with her return to Norfolk on 28 February. Clearing the lower Chesapeake on 3 march, she steamed southward to join the Atlantic Fleet in its annual winter exercises arriving at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on 6 March. After a week, she shifted to Guacanayabo Bay, Cuba, on 13 March, to conduct additional gunnery exercises and tactical training until 5 April, when she returned to Guantánamo. Clearing on 9 April, she steamed north and made her return to Norfolk on the 12th. The following day, she steamed up the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, Md. (14–15 April) before making her return in the evening on the 15th. The destroyer was underway again two days later. Bound for Newport, she arrived on 18 April and remained there until 26 May, when she made a short run to Block Island, R.I. to conduct training before returning that evening. She departed on the 27th and returned to Norfolk the following day. The destroyer remained in at Norfolk until 12 July with the exception of conducting training at Tangier Sound, Va. (2–6 June) and the Southern Drill Grounds (9–10 June).

Bound for Newport, Beale departed Norfolk on 12 July 1913 for the flotilla’s routine summer training off New England. The destroyer conducted a series of exercises to 23 August, when she cleared Narragansett Bay and returned to the lower Chesapeake, mooring at Lynnhaven Bay, Va. on 25 August. The next day she shifted to the Norfolk Navy Yard, from which she departed on 6 September to return to Newport. After arriving on the 7th, she was underway again the following day and conducted training and port visits over the succeeding weeks in the waters of Gardiner’s Bay (N.Y.), Block Island (R.I.) Sound, and Long Island Sound. Returning to Newport on 27 September, she remained there until 31 October, when she steamed for Norfolk. Arriving on 1 November, she remained there into the next year.

Having spent the preceding two months in port, Beale briefly got underway again on 6 January 1914 before returning to Norfolk. She departed the navy yard four days later, 10 January, bound for the annual fleet training in the West Indies. She arrived at Culebra Island and conducted training there (16 –24 January) until moving on to Guantánamo (26 January–1 February) and Guacanayabo Bay (2–14 February). She then spent the succeeding weeks training around Guantánamo with the exception of a period at Guacanayabo (16–30 March). The destroyer finally cleared Cuba on 3 April and steamed to Key West, Fla., reaching her destination on 5 April. Departing on 9 April, she proceeded to Pensacola, Fla. Arriving on the 10th, she remained there until 20 April.

In early 1914, Mexico was in the midst of a revolution (1910–1920). President Victoriano Huerta faced challenges from Emiliano Zapata and his rebels in southern Mexico and the Constitutionalists under Venustiano Carranza in the north. With this ongoing internecine conflict, tensions heightened between the U.S. and Mexico. President Woodrow Wilson had concerns for the safety of American citizens and business interests in Mexico. On 9 April 1914, the commanding officer of the gunboat Dolphin at the Mexican port of Tampico dispatched a purser and eight sailors to purchase fuel for the ship. Though on board a whaleboat flying a U.S. flag, forces loyal to Huerta seized the sailors and escorted them to the nearby regimental headquarters. Rear Adm. Henry T. Mayo, the commander of the Fourth Division, Atlantic Fleet, demanded a 21-gun salute and formal apology from Huerta’s government. Huerta ordered the release of the sailors within 24 hours and gave a written apology, but refused to have his forces raise the U.S. flag to provide a 21-gun salute. As a result of the “Tampico Affair,” President Wilson asked Congress for permission for a landing at Vera Cruz.

At the direction of Rear Adm. Frank F. Fletcher, in Florida (Battleship No. 30) on the morning of 21 April 1914, Capt. William R. Rush, Florida’s commanding officer, as the Naval Brigade commander, led a combined force of bluejackets and marines ashore. Marines from the Second Advanced Base Regiment embarked on board the auxiliary ship Prairie also participated in the assault. These units along with the Utah Battalion seized the Customs House at Vera Cruz. The initial landing forces were subsequently joined the next day, 22 April, by landing forces from other ships of the fleet. The bluejackets and marines secured the town and held it for a week until relieved by U.S. Army forces commanded by Brig. Gen. Frederick N. Funston.

As a result of these actions, Beale received orders dispatching her to Mexican waters in order to support fleet operations there. Departing Pensacola on 20 April, in company with the other ships of the flotilla– Fanning (Destroyer No. 37), Jarvis (Destroyer No. 38), Jenkins (Destroyer No. 42), Jouett (Destroyer No. 41), Henley (Destroyer No. 39), Drayton (Destroyer No. 23), McCall (Destroyer No. 28), Warrington (Destroyer No. 30), Patterson (Destroyer No. 36), Paulding (Destroyer No. 22), Ammen (Destroyer No. 35), Burrows (Destroyer No. 29), Trippe (Destroyer No. 33), the flagship Birmingham (Scout Cruiser No. 2), and the destroyer tender Dixie. The flotilla under the command of Rear Adm. William S. Sims arrived at Tampico on 22 April, and Beale remained on station there until ordered to Vera Cruz on 13 May. She remained there until 27 May, when she received orders for a return to Norfolk. Transiting via Key West (29 May), she reached Norfolk on 31 May and entered dry dock for refit and overhaul.

Undocking upon the completion of her yard work, Beale got underway on 17 July 1914 to conduct a trial run and returned later that same day. She then departed Norfolk on 13 August, and stood in to Tompkinsville (Staten Island), N.Y., the following day. Remaining there until 26 September, she cleared for Newport and arrived that evening. The destroyer departed on 1 October and spent the next several weeks operating along the eastern seaboard conducting training and making port visits to Norfolk (2–3 October); Philadelphia (4–9 October); Newport (10–12 October); Gardiner’s Bay (12–20 October); and Hampton Roads, Va. (22–25 October) before returning to Norfolk on 28 October. The destroyer spent November operating in the Chesapeake Bay before clearing the Virginia capes on 30 November. Bound for New York, she arrived at Gravesend Bay on 2 December, then shifted a week later to Tompkinsville (9–15 December) before returning to Norfolk on the 16th. Back in port, she remained there for the balance of the year.

Beale was briefly underway again conducting a trial run on 11 January 1915. Five days later, after touching at Hampton Roads, she steamed through the Virginia capes on 16 January, bound for the annual fleet exercises. Transiting via Charleston, S.C. (17–21 January), she arrived at Guantánamo on 26 January. After a time there, she shifted to Guacanayabo on 2 February and conducted training in those waters until making her return to Guantánamo on 13 March for additional training. With the completion of these evolutions, the destroyer stood out on 2 April. Bound for Norfolk, she made her return on 5 April and entered the yard for overhaul. With that work completed, she conducted a trial run on 6 May before shifting briefly to Lynnhaven Bay (11 May) en route to the North River anchorage, where she arrived on the 12th.

Departing on 18 May 1915, Beale conducted tactical maneuvers while en route to Newport, where she arrived on the 26th. Two days later, she was again underway, returning to Norfolk that same day. Eight days later, on 5 June, she was underway for another trial run, standing back into Norfolk on 7 June. Standing out early on 30 June, the destroyer raised Newport later that evening. She would continue to operate from there conducting training into August. Clearing Narragansett Bay on 23 August, she steamed to Hampton Roads (27–30 August) before going to sea for training. She returned to the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September, then cleared Hampton Roads on the 11th. Steaming northward for Gardiner’s Bay, she conducting training while underway and then visited Newport (24–27 September) before again conducting training in Gardiner’s Bay. She returned to Newport on 29 September and remained there into late October, going to sea for maneuvers (4–9 October). The destroyer shifted to the Boston (Mass.) Navy Yard on 27 October. Entering the yard for maintenance, she conducted a brief one-day trial run on 7 November and returned to the yard. She finally cleared Boston on 1 December. Steaming southward, she raised Norfolk on 2 December. While Beale was in port, the Second (Reserve) Flotilla was organized on 13 December and the ship was placed into reserve status and re-assigned to the flotilla.

Beale returned to active status as a “destroyer operating with a reduced complement” on 5 January 1916 and operated in a reduced commission status. After fitting out, she departed Norfolk on 23 March and proceeded to Philadelphia, arriving the next day. With the exception of a brief trip to Cape May, N.J. for an Independence Day celebration, the destroyer remained at League Island limiting the raising of steam in her boilers into 1917. Beginning on 17 January, she underwent urgent repairs, alterations, and overhaul. While moving within the yard on 5 February, she collided with Jacob Jones (Destroyer No. 61). The latter sustained some damage to her ordnance on her starboard side, but Beale emerged unscathed. The incident prompted the convening of a board of investigation on the 6th which found that Beale was handled badly due to strong wind and ice in the slips between piers No. 3 and No. 4.

Meanwhile, tensions between the U.S. and Imperial Germany heightened with the latter’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February 1917. With the increasing likelihood of war, Beale, while still undergoing repairs, returned to full commission on 22 March, assigned to the Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. Fifteen days later, on 6 April, the U.S. declared war on Germany and entered the Great War.

Beale went to sea on 12 September 1917 and steamed to Newport, where she arrived later that same day. She then spent the better part of the next month cruising along the eastern seaboard conducting patrols making visits to Port Jefferson [Long Island], N. Y. (Base No. 10) on 19 September and Yorktown, Va. (Base No. 2) on 7 October before steaming in to the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y. (8–10 October). Going to sea, she cleared the yard on 18 October and then briefly touched at Norfolk on 10 November. Having returned to sea, she stood in to Philadelphia on 21 November, before shifting to the New York Navy Yard, where she arrived the next day. She operated from the yard (22–26 November) before going to sea to conduct anti-submarine patrols along the Atlantic coast. She steamed in to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 December, and with orders deploying her to European waters, she was fitted out distant service.

Beale steamed out of the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 9 January 1918 in company with the transport Hancock and Terry (Destroyer No. 25). Arriving at Ponta Delgada, Azores (Base No. 13) on 18 January, they were delayed in their departure. Both destroyers cleared for the Continent escorting the U.S. Army Transport (USAT) Buford on 28 January and reached St. Nazaire, France (Base No. 8), on 3 February.

Getting underway again on 4 February 1918, Beale and Terry arrived at their permanent duty station, Queenstown [Cobh], Ireland (Base No. 6) on 5 February. The destroyer began her first patrol on 10 February rendezvousing with Tucker (Destroyer No. 57) off the Daunt light vessel. The following day, she parted company and patrolled in her designated Area V off the Irish coast. She conducted target practice while underway and continued her patrol duties until rejoining Tucker en route to Holyhead, Wales, where they arrived and moored in the outer harbor on the 15th.

Making turns early the next morning, Beale joined Balch (Destroyer No. 50), Sampson (Destroyer No. 63), Tucker, and Sterett (Destroyer No. 27) to escort a convoy of eight merchantmen. While en route, the escort was fortified by the arrival of Stockton (Destroyer No. 73). While Sampson parted with the convoy on the 17th, Beale maintained her station until her arrival at Queenstown on 19 February. Five days later, on 24 February, she was underway in company with Allen (Destroyer No. 66), Tucker, Fanning, and the British minesweeping sloops HMS Crocus and HMS Aubretia to meet a convoy. The escorts affected their rendezvous during the morning of the 25th. The following day U-55 (Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Werner commanding) torpedoed the 6,696-ton British steamer Eumeus. Though damaged, the merchantman di not sink and made it into port with the aid of tugs. Meanwhile, at 7:13 a.m. the relief escort, five British destroyers, was sighted and after affecting relief, the U.S. destroyers parted at 9:20 a.m. While underway later that day, the destroyer met the steamer Kenmare of Daunt Rock and began to escort latter to Liverpool, England.

While underway at 11:50 a.m. on 27 February 1918, Beale sighted a suspicious object low in the water which she thought to be a submarine. As she went to general quarters and charged at full speed to attack, the object submerged at 11:52 a.m. The destroyer dropped a depth charge at 11:59 a.m., at the point at which the object disappeared, and soon oil rose to the surface. By this time Kenmare was about one mile astern. While it was possible that Beale had damaged her quarry, it was not known whether or not she had. As such, she continued searching as radio reports stated that there were other U-boats likely operating in the vicinity of the convoy. The escorting vessels deployed a smoke screen around the convoy as a further means of protection. It was the verdict of those who were in position that the U-boat was either destroyed or rendered helpless. The position of the convoy was 53º02′ North latitude, 5º19′ West longitude. Beale continued on her voyage and entered Channel No. 1 leading to Liverpool. At 8:20 p.m. a pilot came on board and the ship proceeded up the channel. At 8:59 p.m. the ship fouled a buoy and buoy chain with the loss of the starboard propeller, several boat frames, and a 12×16-foot hole at the water line. The ship was then taken to dry dock at the Cammell Laird & Co. Yard, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England, where she docked for repairs on 1 March. With their completion, the destroyer cleared the yard and steamed back to Queenstown on 16 March, where she moored alongside Cummings (Destroyer No. 44) later that day. Having returned to her duty station, she resumed her routine of convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol duties on 18 March.

While underway on 25 April 1918, Beale, in company with Caldwell (Destroyer No. 69) sighted a well-defined oil slick. Believing that it indicated a U-boat in the area, the destroyer increased to flank speed and sounded general quarters. She then maneuvered, deploying a series of depth charges from her Thornycroft thrower beginning at 3:57 p.m. Having expended five depth charges, one of which failed to detonate, Beale rejoined Caldwell with no positive proof that an enemy submarine was destroyed or damaged in the attack.

Several weeks later, Beale received orders to depart Queenstown in company with Allen on 16 May 1918 to “hunt submarines in the Irish Sea.” Having departed that morning, Beale received orders detaching her from Allen in order to assist in escorting Convoy OL 9 out of Liverpool. While en route to the rendezvous at 7:42 p.m., lookouts on board the destroyer detected what “appeared to be the wake of a submarine making approach for attack on the convoy.” The destroyer increased speed and within two minutes dropped its first depth charge on the suspected U-boat. She then dropped three additional charges followed by another six depth charges after having changed course. Despite the deployment of ten depth charges, two failed to detonate, no result was apparent and the ship cruised in the area until the convoy had passed and then joined in its escort.

Beale parted with the convoy after reaching Tuskar Rock and proceeded to continue her anti-submarine patrolling. During the afternoon of 19 May 1918, Beale completed target practice then received a radiogram from Patterson stating, “Attacking an enemy submarine ten miles westward of Bardsey Island.” Beale made all speed to assist in the search being conducted by Patterson, Allen, Burrows, two British destroyers, and two British dirigibles. Allen signaled that one of the dirigibles had sighted a submarine periscope and had dropped depth charges. Upon arriving Allen dropped additional depth charges, but there were subsequent indications that a submarine had been disabled. Beale covered the area thoroughly with the other vessels and the British airships. Once again a large amount of oil appeared on the surface suggesting a successful attack on a U-boat. In obedience to an order from Allen, Beale dropped eight more depth charges. The search for further evidence of the submarine continued during the night in a heavy fog. The U-boat engaged was believed to have been U-101 (Kapitänleutnant Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg commanding) of the II Flotilla which continued to operate. A decomposed floating body was hauled on board, then subsequently wrapped in a canvas hammock and weighted down for burial at sea. Afterward, the destroyer returned to Queenstown and stood down to conduct maintenance and clean her boilers.

With her maintenance complete, Beale was again underway on 5 June 1918. While cruising on a scouting line, Cummings signaled, “Submarine sighted to port,” and maneuvered to lay a pattern of 22 depth charges. Beale followed her partner’s lead and dropped 14 depth charges of her own. Both destroyers were subsequently joined by O’Brien (Destroyer No. 51) which circled the vicinity until 2:50 p.m. In spite of the considerable expenditure of ordnance, there was no apparent result and all three destroyers continued their patrol.

Beale continued her routine of patrolling the Irish Sea and escorting convoys into and out from Liverpool during the summer. Having parted company with the British troop transport RMS Aquitania just after midnight on 25 June 1918, the destroyer was returning to Queenstown when she sighted a submarine surfacing. Increasing speed, she fired a shot from her forward battery which fell short. In response, the submarine quickly made recognition signals identifying her as AL-10 (Submarine No. 50). After this friendly fire incident, the destroyer continued on her return to Queenstown. Shortly after refueling, however, she was again dispatched after a submarine was reported in the waters around the Daunt light vessel. Having made a quick departure, a lookout spotted a moving object resembling a periscope about 150 yards distant at 11:08 p.m. She immediately dropped a marker buoy, then proceeded to deploy a pattern of nineteen depth charges. Despite the fact that all but one detonated, there was no apparent result from the barrage. She continued her search into the following day with no apparent success. She then stood back in to Base No. 6 at 9:17 a.m. on the 26th.

Another incident of note during the summer followed the departure of the combined Convoy OL32/OE211 from Liverpool on 31 August 1918. The next day, 1 September, the German submarine UB-125 (Oberleutnant zur See Werner Vater) torpedoed the British steamer Actor, damaging the vessel but not sinking her. While the other escorting destroyers maneuvered to drop depth charges and the convoy changed direction, Beale increased speed and deployed a smoke screen to windward to conceal the convoy. Later that day, as the convoy continued on its outbound course, UB-118 (Kapitänleutnant Hermann Arthur Krauss) torpedoed the British passenger steamer City of Glasgow in the Irish Sea, 21 miles off Tuskar Rock. Beale maneuvered accordingly and rescued 28 survivors from the sunken steamer, carrying them in to Queenstown during the morning on 3 September. Underway again that evening at 9:50 p.m. the destroyer steamed for Liverpool. Standing in to the harbor at 12:45 p.m. on the 4th, she later entered the Cammell Laird wet basin and moored alongside Porter (Destroyer No. 59) for overhaul.

With her work completed, Beale cleared the yard on 19 September 1918 and patrolled the Irish Sea until the 23rd, when she returned to Merseyside. She then departed the following day, in company with Stockton [Senior Officer Present (SOP)]; Ammen; Cassin (Destroyer No. 43); Kimberly (Destroyer No. 80); and the British minesweeping sloop HMS Flying Fox to escort the seven ship Convoy OL 36 out from Liverpool. Having conveyed the convoy to the release point, the destroyer parted company and returned to Queenstown on the 27th. Having undergone rest and replenishment until 30 September, the destroyer proceeded to Berehaven [Castletownbere], Ireland where she conducted torpedo practice in the harbor on 1 October.

Beale, underway again the following day, 2 October 1918, to escort the 38-ship Convoy HS 56, The destroyer joined Stockton (SOP), Wilkes (Destroyer No. 67); Rowan (Destroyer No. 64); Davis (Destroyer No. 65); Ammen; and the British sloops Flying Fox, HMS Zinnia, and HMS Heather. The escorts rendezvoused with the convoy during the morning on 3 October. The following day, at 3:45 p.m., Beale left the convoy and proceeded with Heather and Flying Fox for Base No. 6 escorting British oilers and the merchantmen British Duke and Apalache. After parting with the convoy, the destroyer stood back in to Queenstown on 5 October. She continued convoy escort and antisubmarine patrol missions based from Queenstown through the Armistice and the end of hostilities on 11 November 1918.

Even with the war at an end, Beale continued to conduct escort missions. Of note was her escort of HMS Olympic, sister of the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Getting underway from Queenstown in company with Rowan (SOP), and Wilkes on 20 November, the destroyers met the liner en route on the 21st and escorted her until 8:15 a.m. on 23 November. Upon parting with the liner, Beale and her compatriots steamed for Base No. 6, arriving during the morning of 24 November. Underway again on the 25th with Wilkes, she steamed for Brest, France (Base No. 7). Arriving on 26 November, the destroyers anchored in the harbor, then departed together on the 29th, making their return to Queenstown on 30 November. She also shuttled naval officers from Queenstown to Portland, England (10–16 December). Upon her return to Base No. 6 on the 16th, the destroyer made preparations for returning home.

Beale stood out from Queenstown on 26 December 1918, to make her return to the U.S. Steaming via the Azores (30–31 December), she raised the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 8 January 1919. Entering dry dock at League Island, she underwent post-deployment refit and overhaul until 8 February.

Departing on 8 February 1919, the destroyer touched at Cape May (8 February) and proceeded southward to Charleston, S.C. Arriving on 10 February, she operated from this port conducting training exercises into late March. Departing on 29 March, she proceeded to Key West (30 March–2 April) before making her return to Charleston on the 3rd. Two days later, she was again underway. Bound for New York, she reached her destination on 5 April. She subsequently cleared Tompkinsville on 9 April for Hampton Roads (10–12 April), before returning again to Tompkinsville on the 12th.

Bound for a recruiting trip to the Gulf coast, Beale and Ammen got underway from Tompkinsville on 16 April 1919, en route to Galveston, Texas, via Key West (19 April). The destroyers arrived at Galveston on the 21st and proceeded to make port visits to Port Houston, Texas (24–25 April); Pensacola (3–6 May); Tampa, Fla. (7–12 May) before again touching at Key West (13–14 May), en route to a return to Charleston on 16 May.

Getting underway again on 14 June 1919, the destroyer touched at Hampton Roads while en route up the Chesapeake Bay to a visit to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. (18–20 June). Departing on the 20th, the destroyer sped through the Virginia capes into the Atlantic, reaching Charleston on 21 June. She remained at Charleston until 16 July, when she got underway for Philadelphia. Arriving on 18 July, she moored and began decommissioning preparations. The destroyer was decommissioned on 25 October 1919 and placed in reserve at League Island.

Reactivated in 1924, she was transferred to the Coast Guard on 28 April 1924 and re-designated CG-9. Beale was one of thirty-one destroyers that constituted the Coast Guard Destroyer Force, established to enforce the Volstead Act (Prohibition) and interdict the illegal importation of alcohol. She was commissioned in the Coast Guard at Cape May, N.J. on 26 October 1924. Beale arrived at New York Navy Yard on 17 November 1924 for repairs which she underwent until year’s end.

On 22 May 1926 she was re-assigned to her new duty station at the Boston Navy Yard, arriving there on 22 July. During the annual gunnery exercises for 1926-1927, Beale stood tenth after conducting her short-range battle practice; she did not, however, conduct a long-range battle practice and as a result saw her overall standing drop to twelfth of the 16 destroyers that participated. Her overall standing for 1928-1929 improved to eleventh out of the 24 destroyers firing. Her gunnery performance would see marked improvement during the subsequent competition for 1929-1930. Firing on 31 January 1930, she rated first in her short-range battle practice and sixth in her long-range battle practice. This resulted in her finishing second among the 19 destroyers conducting the exercises. This remarkable improvement in standing among the Destroyer Force was made under the direction of Beale’s Gunnery Officer, Lt. (j.g) E.A. Ninness.

Despite this performance, within five months, Beale was decommissioned from the Coast Guard on 1 June 1930 and on 12 August was ordered to be towed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and turned over to the U.S. Navy. On 18 October, the ship was returned to the Navy at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and she was laid up again with the Reserve Fleet. In accordance with the London Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, she was sold for scrapping on 2 May 1934 to Michael Flynn, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. Beale was stricken from the Navy List on 28 June 1934.