The second USS Sampson (DD-394) was a Somers-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named of William Thomas Sampson a rear admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish–American War. Sampson was laid down on 8 April 1936 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, launched on 16 April 1938, sponsored by Mrs Louisa Smith Thayer, commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 19 August 1938.