Forrest Sherman class destroyer

The 18 "Forrest Sherman"-class destroyers were the first US post-war destroyers (DD-927 to DD-930 were completed as frigates). 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.

Description

The hedgehogs and convert|3|in|mm|0|sing=on 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.

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 with a variable-depth sonar system.

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

As a test platform the "Hull" (DD-945) carried 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 convert|8|in|mm|0|sing=on 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.

These destroyers used the hull numbers 931 to 951, skipping over the numbers used to designate the war prizes DD-934 (the Japanese ex-"Hanazuki"), DD-935 (the German T-35), and DD-939 (the German Z-39).

Units

ee also

*Four of the "Forrest Sherman" hulls were completed as "Mitscher"-class frigates with hull classification DL (destroyer leader).

External links

* [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/coldwar/forrestshermanclass.html "Forrest Sherman"-class destroyers] at [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/index.html Destroyer History Foundation]