Farragut-class destroyer (1934)

USS Farragut (DD-348)
Class overview
Name: Farragut-class destroyer
Builders: Fore River Shipyard
Bath Iron Works
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Operators: United States
Preceded by: Clemson class
Succeeded by: Porter class
Built: 1932–35
In commission: 1934–45
Completed: 8
Lost: 3
Retired: 5
General characteristics
Type:Destroyer
Displacement:1,365 tons
Length:341 ft 3 in (104.01 m)
Beam:34 ft 3 in (10.44 m)
Draught:16 ft 2 in (4.93 m)
Propulsion:4 boilers
2 Curtis geared steam turbines
42,800 hp (31,900 kW)
Speed:37 knots (69 km/h)
Complement:160 officers and enlisted
Armament:As Built:

circa 1943:

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-WW1 design. Their construction was all covered by the Congressional authorisations on 26 April 1916 (as were the succeeding Porter Class).

Following the provisions of the London Naval Treaty of 1930, the ships were laid down between 1932 and completed by 1935. After more than 14 years since the last of the previous class of American destroyers (the Clemson-class) was commissioned, the Farragut's were commissioned in 1934 and 1935.

These ships were slightly larger than their predecessors, faster, and they had only two stacks, versus the four stacks common to all the earlier classes. The class was the first of six classes of 1,500-ton destroyers built in the 1930s to modernize the United States Navy, and all eight Farraguts saw extensive front-line service during World War II.[1]

Design

The list of desired improvements compiled from the operational expericence of the earlier Wickes and Clemson classes was both long and comprehensive. Both classes had pointed sterns that deeply dug into the water, greatly increasing turning diameter.[2][3] This was addressed with the flat stern design of the Farragut class. The previous classes were flush deck designs; while providing good hull strength, this proved to be wet in high seas.[2][3] This was addressed with the raised forecastle employed on the Farragut class. Cruising range on both the Wickes and Clemson classes had been a constant affliction of commanders; the Clemson's had been built with wing tanks giving better range, but at the cost of having high mounted fuel oil on both sides—a decidedly-vulnerable feature in a ship without an armored belt such as a destroyer.[4] The Farragut class corrected this range deficiency by having a design range of 5,800 nautical miles (10,700 km) as opposed to the Clemson's 4,900 nautical miles (9,100 km).[4][5] Steady improvements to both boilers and steam turbines in the years intervening between the Clemson and Farragut designs allowed greater speed and a reduction from 4 to 2 smoke stacks.

The success of the efforts become clear with the testimony of Admiral Land, who was then the head of the Bureau of Construction and Repair to the General Board, comparing the Farragut class to the Wickes and Clemson classes. Those advantages were:

This had all been accomplished on a displacement rise of only 22%.[6]

Armament

Operations

All ships were present at the attack on Pearl Harbor. Worden ran aground in Alaskan waters in January 1943 and became a total loss. Hull and Monaghan were lost in Typhoon Cobra in December 1944. The remaining five ships survived World War II; they were fated to be broken up for scrap shortly after the end of the war.

Ships in class

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.destroyerhistory.org/goldplater/farragutclass.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Friedman, p.46
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.destroyerhistory.org/flushdeck/wickesclass.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Friedman, p.44
  5. ↑ http://www.destroyersonline.com/usndd/classfarr.html
  6. ↑ Friedman p.81
  7. ↑ "United States of America 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12". NavWeaps Naval Weapons, Naval Technology and Naval Reunions. Tony DiGiulian. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2007.

Further reading

External links