Forrest Sherman class destroyer

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USS Hull (DD-945)
USS Hull (DD-945)
Class overview
Name: Forrest Sherman class destroyer
Operators: Naval flag of United States United States Navy
Preceded by: Mitscher class destroyer
Succeeded by: Farragut class destroyer (1958)
Built: 1953-1959
In commission: 1955-1988
Completed: 18
Retired: 18
Preserved: 2
General characteristics
Type: Destroyer
Displacement: 2,800 tons standard
4,050 tons full load
Length: 407 ft (124 m) waterline
418 ft (127 m) overall
Beam: 45 ft (14 m)
Draft: 22 ft (6.7 m)
Propulsion: General Electric steam turbines (Westinghouse in DD-931)
4 × 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) Foster-Wheeler boilers (Babcock and Wilcox in DD-937, DD-943, DD-944, DD-945, DD-946 and DD-948)
70,000 shp (52 MW), 2 × shafts.
Speed: 32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement: 15 officers, 318 enlisted
Armament: 3 × 5 inch (127 mm) 54-calibre Mark 42 single gun mounts
4 × 3 inch (76 mm) 50-caliber Mark 33 guns
2 × Mark 10/11 Hedgehogs
4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes.

The 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers were the first US post-war destroyers (DD-927 to DD-930 were completed as frigates) and the first major US combatants with more firepower aft than forward. USS Hull (DD-945) and later ships were equipped with B&W Bailey Meter Company's new automatic boiler combustion control system, and a modified hurricane bow/anchor configuration. These ships are listed as Hull-class destroyers in some references.

Contents

[edit] Description

The hedgehogs and 3-inch (76 mm) guns were removed from all ships during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition the fixed torpedo tubes were replaced by two triple 12.75 inch (324 mm) Mark 32 torpedo tube mounts.

USS Barry (DD-933) with aft gun mount removed and replaced with an ASROC launcher.
USS Barry (DD-933) with aft gun mount removed and replaced with an ASROC launcher.

Eight of the class were modernized to improve their ASW capabilities. These ships were fitted with an eight cell ASROC launcher in place of the No. 2 5 inch (127 mm) gun and a variable depth sonar.

Another four of the ships—John Paul Jones (DD-932), Parsons (DD-949), Decatur (DD-936) and Somers (DD-947)—were converted to guided missile destroyers.

USS Decatur (DDG-31) after conversion to a guided missile destroyer with one of the aft gun mounts replaced with a Mk 13 missile launcher.
USS Decatur (DDG-31) after conversion to a guided missile destroyer with one of the aft gun mounts replaced with a Mk 13 missile launcher.

As a test platform the Hull (DD-945) mounted the Navy's prototype 8 inch 55-calibre Mark 71 light-weight gun from 1975-1978 when the program was canceled, and the 5 inch mount was restored. USS Hull remains the only modern destroyer-type to carry an 8-inch (203 mm) gun.

9 ships were constructed by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, 5 were built by Bethlehem Steel at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, 2 were build by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi and 2 were built by Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in Seattle, Washington.

Of the 18 completed, 9 were disposed of in fleet training exercises, 5 were sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 2 are museums and 2 are available for donation as a museum and memorial.

The ships used hull numbers 931 to 951 skipping numbers used to designate war prizes DD-934, Japan ex-Hanazuki, DD-935 German T-35 and DD-939 German Z-39.

[edit] Units

Ship Name Hull No. Builder Commission–
Decommission		 Fate Link
Forrest Sherman DD-931 Bath Iron Works 1955-1982 Stricken, available for donation as a museum and memorial, 10/10/1996 [1]
John Paul Jones DD-932/DDG-32 Bath Iron Works 1956-1982 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 01/31/2001 [2]
Barry DD-933 Bath Iron Works 1956-1982 Stricken, retained by Navy as museum, 01/31/1983 [3]
Decatur DD-936/DDG-31 Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard 1956-1983 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 07/21/2004 [4]
Davis DD-937 Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard 1957-1982 Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 06/30/1994 [5]
Jonas Ingram DD-938 Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard 1957-1983 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 07/23/1988 [6]
Manley DD-940 Bath Iron Works 1957-1983 Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 06/30/1994 [7]
Du Pont DD-941 Bath Iron Works 1957-1983 Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 12/11/1992 [8]
Bigelow DD-942 Bath Iron Works 1957-1982 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 04/02/2003 [9]
Blandy DD-943 Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard 1957-1982 Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 06/30/1994 [10]
Mullinnix DD-944 Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard 1958-1983 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 08/23/1992 [11]
Hull DD-945 Bath Iron Works 1958-1983 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 04/07/1998 [12]
Edson DD-946 Bath Iron Works 1958-1988 Stricken, available for donation as a museum and memorial, 06/14/2004 [13]
Somers DD-947/DDG-34 Bath Iron Works 1959-1982 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 07/22/1998 [14]
Morton DD-948 Ingalls Shipbuilding 1959-1982 Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 03/04/1992 [15]
Parsons DD-949 Ingalls Shipbuilding 1959-1982 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 04/25/1989 [16]
Richard S. Edwards DD-950 Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company 1959-1982 Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 04/10/1997 [17]
Turner Joy DD-951 Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company 1959-1982 Donated as a Museum and Memorial, 04/10/1991 [18]

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[edit] External links

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Forrest Sherman-class destroyer
List of destroyers of the United States Navy | List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy