USS Palmer (DD-161) was a Wickes-class destroyer of the United States Navy, later converted to a minesweeper and reclassified as DMS-5. She was named for Rear Admiral James Shedden Palmer USN (1810–1867). Palmer was laid down on 29 May 1918 by Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts. The ship was launched on 18 August 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Robert C. Hilliard, and commissioned on 22 November 1918.