Spruance class destroyer

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Spruance class destroyer

General Characteristics
Preceded By	Gearing class destroyer
Succeeded By	Arleigh Burke class destroyer
Displacement:	8,040 (long) tons full load.
Length:	529 ft (161 m) waterline; 563 ft (172 m) overall.
Beam:	55 ft (16.8 m)
Draught:	29 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines; 80,000 shp (60 MW); 2 x shafts.
Speed:	32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11 000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h); 3,300 nautical miles (6000 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h).
Complement:	19 officers, 315 enlisted
Armament:	2 x 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns; 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns; 1 x 8 cell ASROC launcher; 1 x 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher; 2 x quadruple Harpoon missile canisters; 2 x triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes); 2 x quadruple ABL Mark 43 Tomahawk missile launchers (some ships of the class); 1 x 21 cell Rolling Airframe Missile launcher in some ships. A 61-cell Mark 41 VLS launcher for Tomahawk/ASROC missiles was fitted to 24 ships in place of the 8-cell ASROC launcher.
Aircraft:	2 x SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Radars:	AN/SPS 40B/C/D air search, AN/SPS 55 surface search, Mark 86 GFCS with AN/SPG-60 and AN/SPQ9A, SWG-2 Tomahawk weapon control system in ABL ships (SWG-3 in VLS ships), Mark 91 missile FCS, Mark 116 ASW FCS.
Sonars:	AN/SQS 53A bow-mounted sonar (AN/SQS 53B in DD-980), AN/SQR 19(V) TACTAS towed array in DD-980.
EW:	AN/SLQ 25 Nixie, AN/SLQ32V, AN/WLR 1 in DD-971 & DD-975.

The Spruance-class destroyer was developed to replace a large number of World War II-built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the U.S. Navy during the 1970s. The class was designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with point defense AAW missiles; upgrades provided anti-ship and land attack capabilities. The ships were initially controversial, especially among members of Congress who believed that their unimposing looks, with only two guns and an ASROC or ABL missile launcher per ship implied that the vessels were weak. Nonetheless, they were very successful for their intended ASW roles. Despite their "DD" designation indicating gun destroyers, their primary armament was the missiles they carried, and they should properly have been designated DDG under the US Navy's hull classification symbol system. Ironically enough, the DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyers are to be built around the 6.1" advanced gun system and thus properly deserving of the unmodified DD hull classification symbol.

The "Spru-cans" were the first large U.S. Navy ships to use gas turbine propulsion; they have four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines to generate about 80,000 horsepower (60 MW). This configuration was so successful that its hull and physical plant were used for the later Kidd-class destroyers, and a slightly lengthened version of the hull was used for the Ticonderoga-class cruisers.

The entire class of 30 ships was contracted on June 23, 1970 to the Litton-Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, under the Total Package Procurement concept forced on the Navy by the Whiz Kids of Robert McNamara's Pentagon. The idea was to reap the benefits of mass construction, but labor and technical problems caused cost overrruns and delayed construction. One additional ship, USS Hayler, was ordered on September 29, 1979. Four additional ships were built for the Iranian Navy with the Mark 26/Standard AAW missile system but were completed as Kidd-class destroyers for the U.S. Navy.

The Spruance design is modular in nature, allowing for easy installation of entire subsystems within the ship. Although originally designed for anti-submarine warfare, 24 ships of this class were upgraded with the installation of a 61 cell Vertical Launch Missile System (VLS) capable of launching Tomahawk missiles. The remaining seven ships not upgraded were decommissioned early.

The last Spruance-class destroyer on active service, USS Cushing, was decommissioned on September 21, 2005. It was then offered to the Pakistan Navy under a "free deal (any 2nd hand military equipment to be given for free to Pakistan -- The deal was awarded along with Major non-NATO ally or MNNA Status)."

The majority of the class finished their lives as targets, being deliberately sunk in various fleet exercises.

Larry Blumberg was the first commanding officer of a Spruance-class destroyer.

[edit] Units

Ship Name	Hull No.	Commission– Decommission	Disposition	Link
Spruance	DD-963	1975-2005	Stricken, to be disposed of 03/18/2005	[1]
Paul F. Foster	DD-964	1976-2003	Active, in service as EDD-964	[2] [3]
Kinkaid	DD-965	1976-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[4]
Hewitt	DD-966	1976-2001	Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling	[5]
Elliot	DD-967	1977-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[6]
Arthur W. Radford	DD-968	1977-2003	Stricken, to be disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[7]
Peterson	DD-969	1977-2002	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[8]
Caron	DD-970	1977-2001	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[9]
David R. Ray	DD-971	1977-2002	Stricken, to be disposed of	[10]
Oldendorf	DD-972	1978-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[11]
John Young	DD-973	1978-2002	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[12]
Comte de Grasse	DD-974	1978-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[13]
O'Brien	DD-974	1977-2004	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[14]
Merrill	DD-976	1978-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[15]
Briscoe	DD-977	1978-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[16]
Stump	DD-978	1978-2004	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[17]
Conolly	DD-979	1978-1998	Stricken, available for donation as a museum and memorial	[18]
Moosbrugger	DD-980	1978-2000	Stricken, to be disposed of by scrapping	[19]
John Hancock	DD-981	1978-2000	Stricken, to be disposed of by scrapping	[20]
Nicholson	DD-982	1979-2002	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[21]
John Rodgers	DD-983	1979-1998	The Navy awarded a contract for the dismantling of this ship, but it is not characterized as disposed of until the contractor completes and certifies completion of the dismantling	[22]
Leftwich	DD-984	1979-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[23]
Cushing	DD-985	1979-2005	Stricken, to be disposed of by Foreign Military Sale	[24]
Harry W. Hill	DD-986	1979-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[25]
O'Bannon	DD-987	1979-2005	Stricken, to be disposed of by Foreign Military Sale	[26]
Thorn	DD-988	1980-2004	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[27]
Deyo	DD-989	1980-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[28]
Ingersoll	DD-990	1980-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[29]
Fife	DD-991	1980-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[30]
Fletcher	DD-992	1980-2004	Stricken, to be disposed of by Foreign Military Sale	[31]
Hayler	DD-997	1983-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[32]