Caldwell was commissioned in 1942 as the 18th Benson-class ship and immediately deployed to the Pacific theater. Like the Benson, she has a square section funnel, but her rear torpedo tubes and turret number 3 have been removed, enhancing her anti-aircraft armament. Caldwell was damaged by a kamikaze attack off the coast of Leyte in December 1944, and in June of the following year she survived the war even though she was hit by a lightning in Brunei Bay.