Wickes class destroyer
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| Wickes class Wickes | |
|---|---|
 USS Wickes |
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| Class Overview | |
| Type: | Destroyer |
| Name: | Wikes |
| Number of ships: | 111 |
| Preceded by: | Caldwell |
| Succeeded by: | Clemson |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1247 tons |
| Length: | 314 ft 4.5 in (95.82 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft 11¼ in (9.43 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft (2.74 m) |
| Speed: | 35 Knots |
| Protection: | 0 |
| Complement: | 100 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 4 1 x 4"/50 cal, 1 1 x 3"/25 AA, 4 X 3 21" torpedo tubes |
The Wickes-class destroyers were American destroyers built to create "a fleet second to none". The basic requirement for the class was a possible speed of 35 knots. Congress authorized the project's funding in 1916.
Contents |
[edit] background
With WWI now in its 2nd year and increasing tensions between the United States of America and Germany increasing, the U.S. needed to expand the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Congress passed The Naval Appropriation Act of 29 August 1916, which called for a navy “second to none,” capable of protecting both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It authorized orders for 10 battleships, 6 Lexington-class battlecruisers, 10 Scout Cruisers of the Ohmaha Class, and 50 Wickes class destroyers with a 35 knots top speed.[1].
[edit] Design
Armament consisted of 4 4"/50 caliber naval guns and 12 21" torpedo tubes. The design was flushed deck with four stacks. An increase in weight and cost was demanded by the increase in power. An even keel and near horizontal propeller shafts were designed to minimise weight increases. The armament would be considered to be about average for destroyers of this period. The class proved to be short ranged and wet in design. The fuel tankage would be expanded by 100 tons in the next Clemson class to correct the range problem. Only the developement of at sea refueling (underway replentishment) UNREP would solve this issue however.
[edit] Production
The U.S. Congress would authorise 50 destroyeers in the 1916 Naval expansion act. However the realisation of the scope of the U-Boat campaign resulted in 111 being built. The 111 ships were built at Bath Iron Works, Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Fore River Shipbuilding Company and William Cramp and Sons shipyard.
[edit] Operations
A number of this class were transferred to the United Kingdom in the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. Others were converted to light minelayers with the designation DM. Some were converted to high speed transports with the designation APD.
List of Wickes Class Destroyers
[edit] External links
- Wickes-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- The Pacific War: The U.S. Navy, page for Wickes class
