USS Delphy
Destroyer · United States · Lost 1923 · Southern California & Catalina
The flagship destroyer that led six sister ships onto the rocks at Honda Point in 1923, the U.S. Navy's worst peacetime loss of ships.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Delphy led Destroyer Squadron 11 on a high-speed night run down the California coast on September 8, 1923. Navigating by dead reckoning in thick fog, she turned east believing she had reached the Santa Barbara Channel, and instead struck rocks at Honda Point, breaking in half. Six following destroyers wrecked in her path in the disaster's first minutes. Three of Delphy's crew died; the disaster claimed 23 lives across the squadron.
Vessel
- 1918
- DD-261
- Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Squantum
- Squantum, Massachusetts
- Steel
- 314 ft
- 31 ft
- 1215
- Steam turbines, twin screws
- United States Navy
Loss
- September 8, 1923
- Navigational error
- Honda Point (Point Pedernales), Santa Barbara County, California
- Pacific Ocean
- San Francisco, California → San Diego, California
- Not established
- Not established
- 3
- Lieutenant Commander Donald T. Hunter (Delphy); Captain Edward H. Watson, squadron commander embarked
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broke in half on the rocks; wreckage largely destroyed by surf over subsequent years, with some remains still visible at low tide
- Not established
- Not established
- Site lies on active U.S. military property (Vandenberg Space Force Base)
Position
- 34.60° N 120.64° W
- Approximate position
- Honda Point, near Lompoc, California
General position of Honda Point (Point Pedernales) as commonly cited for the disaster site.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)
The extent of any wreckage still identifiable on site today is not established in the sources reviewed.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Ship specifications, service history, and loss circumstances.
U.S. Naval Institute, Naval History Magazine
Narrative account of the Honda Point disaster and Delphy's role.
