1.
Destroyer
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Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unattended ocean operations, typically a number of destroyers and a single destroyer tender operated together. After the war, the advent of the missile allowed destroyers to take on the surface combatant roles previously filled by battleships. This resulted in larger and more powerful guided missile destroyers more capable of independent operation, the emergence and development of the destroyer was related to the invention of the self-propelled torpedo in the 1860s. A navy now had the potential to destroy an enemy battle fleet using steam launches to launch torpedoes. Fast boats armed with torpedoes were built and called torpedo boats, the first seagoing vessel designed to fire the self-propelled Whitehead torpedo was the 33-ton HMS Lightning in 1876. She was armed with two drop collars to launch these weapons, these were replaced in 1879 by a torpedo tube in the bow. By the 1880s, the type had evolved into small ships of 50–100 tons, in response to this new threat, more heavily gunned picket boats called catchers were built which were used to escort the battle fleet at sea. The anti-torpedo boat origin of this type of ship is retained in its name in other languages, including French, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Greek, Dutch and, up until the Second World War, Polish. At that time, and even into World War I, the function of destroyers was to protect their own battle fleet from enemy torpedo attacks. The task of escorting merchant convoys was still in the future, an important development came with the construction of HMS Swift in 1884, later redesignated TB81. This was a torpedo boat with four 47 mm quick-firing guns. At 23.75 knots, while still not fast enough to engage torpedo boats reliably. Another forerunner of the torpedo boat destroyer was the Japanese torpedo boat Kotaka, designed to Japanese specifications and ordered from the London Yarrow shipyards in 1885, she was transported in parts to Japan, where she was assembled and launched in 1887. The 165-foot long vessel was armed with four 1-pounder quick-firing guns and six torpedo tubes, reached 19 knots, in her trials in 1889, Kotaka demonstrated that she could exceed the role of coastal defense, and was capable of accompanying larger warships on the high seas. The Yarrow shipyards, builder of the parts for the Kotaka, the first vessel designed for the explicit purpose of hunting and destroying torpedo boats was the torpedo gunboat. Essentially very small cruisers, torpedo gunboats were equipped with torpedo tubes, by the end of the 1890s torpedo gunboats were made obsolete by their more successful contemporaries, the torpedo boat destroyers, which were much faster. The first example of this was HMS Rattlesnake, designed by Nathaniel Barnaby in 1885, the gunboat was armed with torpedoes and designed for hunting and destroying smaller torpedo boats. Exactly 200 feet long and 23 feet in beam, she displaced 550 tons, built of steel, Rattlesnake was un-armoured with the exception of a 3⁄4-inch protective deck
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
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The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers, the Allen M. Sumner design was extended 14 feet amidships to become the Gearing class, which was produced in larger numbers. Completed in 1943–45, four were lost in the war and two were damaged so badly they were scrapped, but the ships served in the US Navy into the 1970s. After being retired from the US fleet,29 of them were sold to other navies, two still exist as museum ships, one in South Carolina, and one in Taiwan. The first ship was laid down in May 1943, while the last was launched in April 1945, in that time the United States produced 58 Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers. The Allen M. Sumner class was an improvement of the previous Fletcher class, which were built from 1941 until 1944. The 5-inch guns were guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System with a Mark 25 fire control radar linked by a Mark 1A Fire Control Computer stabilized by a Mark 68,500 rpm gyro and this fire control system provided effective long-range anti-aircraft or anti-surface fire. The initial design retained the Fletchers heavy torpedo armament of 10 21-inch tubes in two mounts, firing the Mark 15 torpedo. The increase in displacement was only 150 tons, about 7. 5%. Thus, the Allen M. Sumner class was a significant improvement in power at a small increase in cost. See also Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayer, twelve of which were built on hulls originally intended as Allen M. Sumners, gearing-class destroyers were of the same design, modified with a 14-foot midship extension to carry more fuel to extend the ships range. Eighteen were built by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny, fourteen were built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Ten were built by Bethlehem Steels Mariners Harbor shipyard on Staten Island, six were built by Bethlehem Steels Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California. Five were built by Bethlehem Steel in San Pedro, California, five were built by Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Washington. USS Barton was the first ship of the class to be laid down, USS Henley was the last commissioned. The Allen M. Sumners served on picket stations in the Battle of Okinawa, as well as other duties. Cooper, Meredith, Mannert L. Abele, and Drexler were lost during the war, in addition, USS Frank E. Evans was split in half in a collision with HMAS Melbourne, and never repaired. After the war most of the class had their 40 mm and 20 mm guns replaced by up to six 3-inch/50 caliber guns, on most ships one depth charge rack was removed and two Hedgehog mounts added
4.
Bagley-class destroyer
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The Bagley class of eight destroyers was built for the United States Navy. They were part of a series of USN destroyers limited to 1,500 tons standard displacement by the London Naval Treaty, All eight ships were ordered and laid down in 1935 and subsequently completed in 1937. They retained the fuel-efficient power plants of the Mahan-class destroyers, however, they had the extended range of the Mahans,1,400 nautical miles farther than the Gridleys. The Bagley class destroyers were readily distinguished visually by the prominent external trunking of the boiler uptakes around their single stack, All eight Bagley-class destroyers were present at the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. They all served in the Pacific during World War II, with Jarvis, Blue, in 1944 Mugford suffered extensive damage from a kamikaze hit that put her out of combat for six months. Ralph Talbot later received a hit off Okinawa. After the war, Bagley, Helm, and Patterson were decommissioned in 1945, Mugford and Ralph Talbot, still in commission, were targets during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini atoll in 1946. Contaminated by radiation, they were scuttled off Kwajalein in 1948, the eight Bagleys were part of a series of three classes with similar characteristics laid down 1935-1937. The other two were the Gridley class and the Benham class, All three featured four 5 inch dual purpose guns and sixteen 21 inch torpedo tubes in four quadruple mounts as built, the largest number of torpedo tubes on any US destroyers. Although all had only one stack, they differed primarily in their machinery, the Gridleys were designed by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company with advanced high-pressure boilers but turbines generally similar to the earlier Farragut class, which limited their range. The Benhams were a Gibbs & Cox design with new boiler design that allowed a reduction from four boilers to three, with an efficient turbine arrangement resembling the Mahans. The Bagleys propulsion plant repeated that of the Mahans, steam pressure was 400 psi, superheated to 700 °F. Features that improved fuel economy included boiler economizers, double reduction gearing, the ships range was 6,940 nmi at 12 knots,1,400 nmi farther than the Gridleys. The engines developed 47,191 shp on Bagleys trials, the main turbines were manufactured by General Electric. Steam from the boilers was supplied to the HP turbine, which exhausted to the LP turbine, the Bagleys had the same armament as the Gridleys and Benhams, four 5 inch dual purpose guns in single mounts and sixteen 21 inch torpedo tubes in quadruple mounts. The class was equipped with the Mark 11 torpedo or Mark 12 torpedo. This was the heaviest armament in torpedoes ever on US destroyers, compared with the Mahans, they sacrificed one gun for four additional torpedo tubes. It was suggested that these ships could use curved ahead fire, as with most other US destroyers of this period, the 5 inch guns featured all-angle power loading and were director controlled, making them as effective as the technology allowed against aircraft
5.
Benham-class destroyer
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The Benham class of ten destroyers was built for the United States Navy. They were part of a series of USN destroyers limited to 1,500 tons standard displacement by the London Naval Treaty, the class was laid down in 1936-1937 and all were commissioned in 1939. Much of their design was based on the immediately preceding Gridley, like these classes, the Benhams were notable for including sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes, the heaviest torpedo armament ever on US destroyers. They introduced a new boiler that saved space and weight. The class served extensively in World War II in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, the ten Benhams were part of a series of three classes with similar characteristics laid down 1935-1937. The other two were the Gridley class and the Bagley class, All three featured four 5-inch dual purpose guns and sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes in four quadruple mounts as built, the largest number of torpedo tubes on any US destroyers. Although all had only one stack, they differed primarily in their machinery, the Benhams were a Gibbs & Cox design with a new high-pressure boiler design that allowed a reduction from four boilers to three, with an efficient turbine arrangement resembling the Mahans. The Gridleys were designed by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company with advanced high-pressure boilers but turbines generally similar to the earlier Farragut class, except for the 1850-ton Somers class, the Benhams propulsion plant was the most advanced yet installed in US destroyers. A new Babcock & Wilcox boiler design was used that allowed a reduction from four boilers to three, saving space and weight. Steam pressure was increased from 400 psi to 600 psi, superheated to 700 °F as in the Gridleys, features that improved fuel economy included boiler economizers, double reduction gearing, and cruising turbines. Range was somewhat less than in the Bagleys at 5,390 nmi versus 6,940 nmi, the main turbines developed 49,250 shp on Benhams trials and were manufactured by Westinghouse. The Benhams had the armament as the Gridleys and Bagleys, four 5-inch/38 caliber dual purpose guns in single mounts. The Mark 15 torpedo was equipped and this was the heaviest armament in torpedoes ever on US destroyers. Compared with the Mahans, they sacrificed one gun for four additional torpedo tubes and it was suggested that these ships could use curved ahead fire, using the adjustable post-launch gyro angle of their torpedoes to launch a sixteen-torpedo spread ahead of the ship. As with most other US destroyers of this period, the 5-inch guns featured all-angle power loading and were director controlled, by late 1942, radio proximity fuses made them much more effective. As in the last two Maurys, the two forward 5-inch guns were in enclosed mounts, while the guns were open. However, in the Benhams, the two mounts were a Mark 30 Mod 1 base-ring type with an integral ammunition hoist fed from a handling room below each gun. In common with all US surface combatants in the 1930s, the as-built light AA armament was weak and it was apparently felt that the heavy AA armament would shoot down most incoming aircraft in all situations, but the attack on Pearl Harbor showed that this was not true
6.
Benson-class destroyer
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The Benson class was a class of destroyers of the U. S. Navy built 1939–1943. The thirty 1, 620-ton Benson-class destroyers were built in two groups, the first six were authorized in fiscal year 1938 and laid down at Bethlehem Steel, Quincy, Massachusetts and three naval shipyards. The remaining 24 “repeat Bensons” were authorized in 1940–42 and built at four Bethlehem Steel yards and they were laid down after the first group was commissioned. These plus the “repeat Livermores” were also known at the time as the Bristol class, during World War II the Bensons were usually combined with the Livermores as the Benson-Livermore class, this persisted in references until at least the 1960s. In some references both classes are combined and called the Benson class, the Benson- and Gleaves-class destroyers were the backbone of the pre-war Neutrality Patrols and brought the action to the enemy by participating in every major campaign of the war. The lead ship of the class was named after William Shepherd Benson and he commanded USS Albany, USS Missouri, USS Utah, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Benson was appointed first Chief of Naval Operations in 1915 and then served as CNO until he retired 25 September 1919 and he died in Washington, D. C.20 May 1932. The Bensons were originally envisioned as a class of 24 ships. Six of these were designed by Bethlehem Shipbuilding, to be built at a Bethlehem yard and several naval shipyards, All were to have 600 psi steam superheated to 750 °F, with cruising turbines and double-reduction gearing to maximize fuel efficiency. After contract award, Bethlehem requested that their design be modified to use less-complex single-reduction gears, Bethlehem claimed they could achieve comparable fuel efficiency with the simpler machinery. This request was granted, but FY39 and FY40 ships, beginning with Livermore, so the class was known through World War II as the Benson-Livermore class, and this name persisted in many references until at least the 1960s. In the spring of 1938 the Navys Bureau of Steam Engineering requested that the FY39 and it proved possible for Bath to build their two FY38 ships, Gleaves and Niblack, to the new design. Gleaves was completed prior to Livermore and had a hull number. The only external difference between the Benson and Gleaves classes was the shape of the stacks, the Bensons were flat-sided, after the Fall of France in 1940 a rapid expansion of the Navy was envisioned. To fill the gap until the Fletcher-class destroyers would be ready for service,24 repeat Bensons were built by several Bethlehem yards, while an additional 48 repeat Gleaveses were built by various other builders. The repeat ships were ordered with reduced torpedo and gun armament and increased anti-submarine, in some references the Benson and Gleaves classes are combined as the Benson class. Loss of one compartment, or even two adjacent compartments, would no longer disable the entire propulsion system and they also introduced quintuple torpedo tube mounts. Their scantlings, or framing dimensions, were increased to carry the weight of the new machinery and this increased the ships displacement by about sixty tons, to 1620 tons standard displacement
7.
Caldwell-class destroyer
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The Caldwell class of destroyers served in the United States Navy near the end of World War I. Four served as escorts in the Atlantic, the other two were completed too late for wartime service. They were effectively prototypes of the mass production Wickes and Clemson-class vessels which followed them, although somewhat slower, the forward sheer of the Caldwell class was improved to keep A mount from being constantly washed out, however, this was unsuccessful. The Caldwells had a cutaway stern rather than the stern of the later ships. The armament of the Sampsons was retained, but the broadside 4-inch guns were relocated to bandstands aft of the bridge, there were differences in appearance, Caldwell, Craven and Manley were built with four stacks, while Gwin, Conner and Stockton had only three. The middle stack of the ships was wider due to combining two boiler uptakes. Once the mass-production destroyers made the design prevalent, the Caldwells and she saw action at Guadalcanal, Kwajalein, Saipan, and the Philippines. Three entered Royal Navy service in 1940 under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement as part of the Town class, Conner, serving as HMS Leeds, provided cover at Gold Beach on 6 June 1944, her sisters served as convoy escorts. All three survived the war, two being sunk as targets and one scrapped, postwar, the armament repeated that of the preceding Sampson-class of thousand tonners, and would be retained in the subsequent mass production flush deckers. While the gun armament was typical for destroyers of this period, a factor in the size of the torpedo armament was the General Boards decision to use broadside rather than centerline torpedo tubes. The Mark 8 torpedo was equipped, the bandstand location of the waist 4-inch guns kept the mounts dry, but restricted the firing arc. These ships carried a 3-inch 23 caliber anti-aircraft gun, typically just aft of the bow 4-inch gun, the original design called for two 1-pounder AA guns, but these were in short supply and the 3-inch gun was more effective. Anti-submarine armament was added during World War I, or included in the design with DD-70. Typically, a depth charge rack was provided aft, along with a Y-gun depth charge projector forward of the aft deckhouse. As a somewhat experimental class, the Caldwells differed in their engineering, Gwin and Conner, built by Cramp, followed the classs original design, with three-shaft direct drive steam turbines. A high-pressure turbine on the center shaft exhausted to low-pressure turbines on the outboard shafts, a geared cruising turbine was provided on the center shaft for fuel economy at low and moderate speeds. The remaining ships had two shafts with geared turbines and no cruising turbines and this arrangement saw an increase from 18,500 to 20,000 shaft horsepower and the ships speed from 30 to 32 knots. With a further increase in horsepower, this geared turbine arrangement was adopted for the mass-production classes, the 6 ships of the Caldwell class were, Friedman, Norman
8.
Clemson-class destroyer
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The Clemson class was a series of 156 destroyers which served with the United States Navy from after World War I through World War II. The Clemson class was a redesign of the Wickes class for greater fuel capacity. As finally built, the Clemson class would be a fairly straightforward expansion of the Wickes-class destroyers and these designs included a reduction in speed to between 26–28 knots by eliminating two boilers, freeing up displacement for depth charges and more fuel. This proposal foreshadowed the destroyer escorts of World War II, upgrading the gun armament from 4-inch to 5-inch guns was also considered, but only five ships were armed with 5-inch guns. In addition, the stern of the Wickes-class destroyers resulted in a large turning radius. In the end the General Board decided the 35 knots speed be retained so as to allow the Clemson class to be used as a fleet escort, the pressing need for destroyers overruled any change that would slow production compared to the proceeding Wickes class. Wing tanks for oil were installed on either side of the ships to increase the operational range. This design choice meant the oil would be stored above the waterline and create additional vulnerability. The class resulted from a General Board recommendation for further destroyers to combat the threat, culminating in a total of 267 Wickes-. However, the design of the ships remained optimized for operation with the battleship fleet, the main armament was the same as the Wickes class, four 4-inch /50 caliber guns and twelve 21-inch torpedo tubes. Although the design provided for two guns, most ships carried a single 3-inch /23 caliber AA gun, typically on the aft deckhouse. A frequent modification was replacing the aft 4-inch gun with the 3-inch gun to more room for the depth charge tracks. Anti-submarine armament was added during or after construction, typically, two depth charge tracks were provided aft, along with a Y-gun depth charge projector forward of the aft deckhouse. Despite the provision for 5-inch guns, only seven ships were built with a gun armament. USS Hovey and USS Long had twin 4-inch/50 mounts for a total of eight guns, while an increased rudder size helped, the answer would be in a redesigned stern, but this was not implemented. They were reported to be prone to rolling in light load conditions. The flush deck gave the great strength but this also made the deck very wet. Fourteen ships of the class were involved in the Honda Point Disaster in 1923, many never saw wartime service, as a significant number were decommissioned in 1930 and scrapped as part of the London Naval Treaty
9.
Farragut-class destroyer (1934)
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The Farragut-class destroyers were a class of eight 1, 365-ton destroyers in the United States Navy, and the first US destroyers of post-World War I design. Their construction, along with the Porter class, was authorized by Congress on 29 April 1916, limited to 1,500 tons standard displacement by the provisions of the London Naval Treaty of 1930, the ships were laid down beginning in 1932 and were completed by 1935. After 12 years since the last of the class of American destroyers was commissioned. These ships were larger than their predecessors, faster. The class was the first of six classes of 1, 500-ton destroyers built in the 1930s to modernize the United States Navy, after numerous incremental improvements, the 1, 500-tonners were succeeded by the 2, 100-ton Fletcher class, which was not subject to treaty restrictions. The Farraguts were an improvement from previous destroyers, taking advantage of technological advances during the 12-year gap in destroyer production. The impact of aircraft on naval warfare was reflected in their heavy main gun armament. They also had greatly improved machinery and greater fuel capacity that extended their range to 5,980 nautical miles as opposed to the Clemsons 4,900 nautical miles and their larger size and improved habitability soon earned them the nickname of goldplaters from the crews of older destroyers. The list of desired improvements compiled from the experience of the earlier Wickes. Both classes had pointed sterns that deeply dug into the water and this was addressed with the transom stern design of the Farragut class. The previous classes were flush deck designs, while providing good hull strength and this was addressed with the raised forecastle employed on the Farragut class. The Farragut class corrected this range deficiency by having a range of 5,980 nautical miles as opposed to the Clemsons 4,900 nautical miles. Steady improvements to boilers and steam turbines in the years between the Clemson and Farragut designs allowed this improved range, along with greater speed and a reduction from 4 to 2 stacks. Those advantages were, The Farragut class was 3.3 knots faster, the class had double the GM height. They had 25% more armament—5 main guns rather than 4—and about 35% greater firepower, All 8 torpedo tubes were on the preferred centerline position. The guns were fed by power hoist from the magazines, being high-freeboard vessels, sea-keeping was much improved over the flush deckers that preceded it. The radius of action increased by 450 nautical miles and this had all been accomplished on a displacement rise of only 22%. However, the Farragut-class destroyers were considered unstable in heavy weather and this was compounded by war-time modifications that made them even more top-heavy
10.
Fletcher-class destroyer
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The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the destroyer leader types of the Porter. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War, the United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any other destroyer class, and the design was generally regarded as highly successful. Fletchers had a speed of 38 knots, and an armament of five 5 guns in single mounts with 1021 torpedoes in two quintuple centerline mounts. The Allen M. Sumner and Gearing classes were Fletcher derivatives, the long-range Fletcher-class ships performed every task asked of a destroyer, from anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft warfare to surface action. They could cover the vast distances required by fleet actions in the Pacific, in fact, they served almost exclusively in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, during which they accounted for 29 Imperial Japanese Navy submarines sunk. Three have been preserved as museum ships in the U. S. the Fletcher class was the largest class of destroyer ordered, and was also one of the most successful and popular with the destroyer men themselves. Compared to earlier classes built for the Navy, they carried a significant increase in weapons and other weaponry. Their flush deck construction added structural strength, although it did make them rather cramped, the Fletcher-class was the first generation of destroyers designed after the series of Naval Treaties that had limited ship designs heretofore. The growth in the design was in part to answer a question that always dogged U. S. Navy designs, that being the long range required by operations in the Pacific Ocean. They were also to no less than five 5 in guns and ten deck-mounted torpedo tubes on the centerline. Compared to earlier designs, the Fletchers were large, allowing them to absorb the addition of two 40 mm Bofors quadruple mount AA guns as well as six 20 mm Oerlikon dual AA gun positions. This addition to the AA suite required the deletion of the forward quintuple torpedo mount, Fletchers were also much less top-heavy than previous classes, allowing them to take on additional equipment and weapons without major redesign. They were fortunate in catching American production at the moment, becoming the destroyer design, and only Fletcher-class derivatives. The first design inputs were in the fall of 1939 from questionnaires distributed around design bureaus, the design parameters were the armaments desired of the next destroyer. As such, the questions were of how many guns, torpedoes, also asked was at what point would the design grow large enough to become a torpedo target instead of a torpedo delivery system. As with other previous U. S. flush deck destroyer designs and this was mitigated by deployment to the Pacific Ocean, which is relatively calm. To achieve 38 kn with a 500-ton increase in displacement, shaft horsepower was increased from 50,000 to 60,000 compared to the previous Benson and Gleaves classes
