Photos and the story

Preston

Class	Mahan class
Type	Destroyer (DD)
Hull	DD-379
Fate	Sunk. 15 November 1942, the battleship night off Guadalcanal. This is DD-379, not the later Fletcher-class Preston. Not pinned to one Japanese ship.
Armament (class)	Five 5-inch guns and two funnels. The count includes the two Dunlap ships.
Command	Swain, Charles Davis Captain, 27 October 1936 – 30 April 1938 Isgrig, Clayton Shadek Captain, 30 April 1938 – 1 July 1939 O.'Brien, Timothy Joseph Captain, 1 July 1940 – 31 October 1941 Stormes, Max Clifford Captain, 31 October 1941 – 14 November 1942

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

The armament line is the class drawing, not a measurement of this hull.

USS Preston (DD-379) was a Mahan-class destroyer of the United States Navy. The name Preston was given again to a later Fletcher-class destroyer; the ship told here is the Mahan-class hull DD-379.

Charles Davis Swain was captain from 27 October 1936 until 30 April 1938. On that date Clayton Shadek Isgrig assumed command and kept it until 1 July 1939.

Timothy Joseph O'Brien commanded the destroyer from 1 July 1940 through 31 October 1941. Max Clifford Stormes followed him, serving as captain from 31 October 1941 until 14 November 1942.

Preston's recorded action came on the battleship night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 15 November 1942. She was third in Lee's destroyer line and was lost in the opening destroyer fight.

Gunfire and torpedoes sank her that night off Guadalcanal. The sinking stands dated 15 November 1942, and it is left without credit to any one Japanese ship.

The pictures on this page are the originals.