List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy

thumb|, an

The first automotive torpedo was developed in 1866, and the torpedo boat was developed soon after. In 1898, while the Spanish–American War was being fought in the Caribbean and the Pacific, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt wrote that the Spanish torpedo boat destroyers were the only threat to the American Navy, and pushed for the acquisition of similar vessels. On 4 May 1898, the US Congress authorized the first sixteen torpedo boat destroyers and twelve seagoing torpedo boats for the United States Navy.

In World War I, the U.S. Navy began mass-producing destroyers, laying 273 keels of the and destroyers. The peacetime years between 1919 and 1941 resulted in many of these flush deck destroyers being laid up. Additionally, treaties regulated destroyer construction. The 1500-ton destroyers built in the 1930s under the treaties had stability problems that limited expansion of their armament in World War II. During World War II, the United States began building larger 2100-ton destroyers with five-gun main batteries, but without stability problems.

The first major warship produced by the U.S. Navy after World War II (and in the Cold War) were "frigates"—the ships were originally designated destroyer leaders but reclassified in 1975 as guided missile cruisers (except the became guided missile destroyers). These grew out of the last all-gun destroyers of the 1950s. In the middle 1970s the s entered service, optimized for anti-submarine warfare. A special class of guided missile destroyers was produced for the Shah of Iran, but due to the Iranian Revolution these ships could not be delivered and were added to the U.S. Navy.

The , introduced in 1991, has been the U.S. Navy's only destroyer class in commission since 2005; construction continued through 2012 and was restarted in 2015. A further class, the , is entering service; the first ship was launched in 2013. The Zumwalt class will number three ships.

Pre–World War I

thumb|right|The first destroyer of the United States Navy, , around 1915–1916

In 1864, US Navy Lt. William B. Cushing sank the ironclad using a "spar torpedo"—an explosive device mounted on a long pole and detonated underwater. Two years later in Austria, the British engineer Robert Whitehead developed a compressed air "automotive" torpedo; capable of over a distance of . As President, Theodore Roosevelt continued to pay close attention to naval affairs, including the expansion of the Navy's fleet of destroyers. ||150px

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| 3 || 1899 || 1903 || Part of the original 16 "torpedo boat destroyers" authorized by Congress. ||150px

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| 5 || 1908 || 1909 || Known as "flivvers" for their light weight of 740 tons. ||150px

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| 21 || 1909 || 1912 || Known as "flivvers" for their light weight of 740 tons. ||150px

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| 4 || 1912 || 1913 || Known as "broken deckers" for their high forecastles, or "1000  tonners" because of their weight. ||150px

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| 4 || 1912 || 1914 || Known as "broken deckers" for their high forecastles, or "1000  tonners" because of their weight. ||150px

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| 6 || 1913 || 1915 || Known as "broken deckers" for their high forecastles, or "1000 tonners" because of their weight. ||150px

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| 6 || 1914 || 1916 || Known as "broken deckers" for their high forecastles, or "1000 tonners" because of their weight. ||150px

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| 6 || 1915 || 1917 || Known as "broken deckers" for their high forecastles, or "1000 tonners" because of their weight. ||150px

World War I

thumb|150px|right| in harbor, circa early 1920s

Prior to entering World War I in 1917, the United States began producing destroyers to a new design with a continuous sheer strake, collectively referred to as "flush deckers". Six prototypes of the were dissimilar: three had three stacks; two of these also had three screws. The others of this and the 267 ships of the mass-production and classes that followed all had two screws. As built, they also had four stacks, which gave rise to the nicknames "four stackers" or "four pipers".

Eleven shipyards participated in their construction, which peaked in 1917 and 1918. By the time of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, keels for 177 ships had been laid and 41 had joined the fleet. Though the remaining ships were not needed in peacetime, the building program continued and by the end of May 1921, all but four of the 273 flush-deckers had been placed in commission. The final two did not follow until August 1922.

The standard displacement of the flush deck destroyers was , the length approximately , the beam measured approximately , and the draft approximately . However, it was very difficult to successfully attack a U-boat with World War I technology, and US anti-submarine forces only scored two kills in that war. ||150px

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| 111 || 1917 || 1921 || Called flush deckers due to lack of raised forecastle. || ||150px

Between the World Wars

thumb|right|, a destroyer, circa 1935

After the end of World War I, there was little need for the destroyers built, so many were laid up, and fourteen had their torpedo tubes removed and were converted to minesweepers. The goldplaters earned this name because of the "over–lavish facilities", which drew comment from seasoned destroyermen. ||150px

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| 8 || 1933 || 1937 || The first of the 1850-ton "leaders". ||150px

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| 18 || 1934 || 1937 || The first 1500 tonners with high-pressure high-temperature propulsion machinery. || ||150px

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| 4 || 1935 || 1938 || Repeat 1500 tonners built by Bethlehem Steel. ||150px

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| 8 || 1935 || 1937 || Repeat 1500 tonners similar to the Mahan class. ||150px

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| 5 || 1935 || 1939 || Repeat 1850-ton leaders modified from the Porter-class design. ||150px

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| 10 || 1936 || 1939 || The last 1500 tonners. ||150px

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| 12 || 1937 || 1940 || The first U.S. Navy destroyer class unconstrained by treaty limitations. ||150px

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| 66 || 1938 || 1943 || A "split powerplant" modification of the Sims class. || ||150px

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| 30 || 1938 || 1943 || Bethlehem design similar to and built concurrent with the Gleaves class. ||150px

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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Interwar (World Wars I & II) feature comparison

! scope="col" style="max-width: 8em;" | Farragut

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Mahan

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Gridley

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Bagley

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Benham

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Sims

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Benson

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Gleaves

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Porter

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Somers

| Length(m)

| 104

| 106

| 116

| Displ.

| 1500

| 1570

| 1620

| 1630

| 1850

| Boilers

| 4 Y

| 4 BW

| 4 Y

| 4 BW

| 3 BW

| 4 BW

| Steam Pressure

| 400

| 565

| 400

| 600

| 615

| 400

| 600

| Steam Temp.

| 648

| 700

| 750

| 825

| 645

| 850

| Gears

| Single

| Double

| Single

| Double

| Single

| Double

| Single

| Double

| SHP

| 40,300

| 44,500

| 47,300

| 47,000

| 50,200

| 51,400

| 50,200

| 51,100

| 53,300

| Speed

| 36.6

| 37.8

| 39

| 36.8

| 40.9

| 38.8

| 37.9

| 36.5

| 38.2

| 38.6

| Layout

| P P B 0 0 p 4 4 p p

| P P B 0 4 0 4 4 p p p

| E E B 0 4 4 4 4 p p

| E E B 0 4 4 4 o o o

| E E B 0 5 0 5 o o o

| T T B 0 4 0 4 T T

| T T B 4 0 4 4 T T

| Torpedoes

| 8

| 12

| 16

| 12

| 10

| 8+8

| 12

| GFCS

| Mk33

| Mk37

| Mk35

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World War II

thumb|right|, February 24, 1945

On 7 December 1941, the day the United States entered World War II, the United States Navy had 100 destroyers seven years old or newer.) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and only destroyer leaders had more than four main guns—inferior to the six guns on a Japanese destroyer (the first 24 ships of the Benson/Gleaves class were built with five guns, but excessive topweight led to one being removed). became the U.S. Navy's signature destroyer in the Pacific War. By the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy had also commissioned 112 six-gun destroyers derived from the Fletcher design; 67 2200 tonners and 45 2250 tonners. Destroyers had acquired the hazardous radar picket mission by this time. Collectively, these destroyer designs are sometimes regarded as the most successful of World War II. || ||150px

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| 12 || 1943|| 1952|| Sumner destroyers with mine laying gear and no torpedo tubes installed

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| 98 || 1944 || 1952 || "Long hull" versions of the Allen M. Sumner class. ||150px

Cold War and beyond

thumb|right| in 1987

The first major warship the U.S. Navy constructed after World War II was an all-weather, anti-submarine hunter-killer, designated "destroyer leader" (DL) but referred to as a "frigate". The majority of these carried long-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to escort carrier and amphibious task forces and were designated "guided missile destroyer leaders"; some were nuclear-powered (DLG or DLGN). In 1975, the 12 remaining - and ships were reclassified as guided-missile destroyers (DDGs 35–46), and the other classes were reclassified as guided-missile cruisers (CG or CGN). The following added a short-range SAM launcher on an enlarged hull and were classified as DDGs. The Spruance-class destroyers were the first ships in the United States Navy powered with gas turbines—four marine turboshaft (jet-type) engines driving two shafts with reversible-pitch propellers. The 31 Spruance-class ships began service in September 1975 through the 1990s, when 24 members of the class were upgraded with vertical launching systems, and the last was decommissioned in 2005. In 1979, a revolution took place in Iran; the Shah was dethroned, but instead of cancelling the four ships, they were acquired by the U.S. Navy, where they were nicknamed the "Ayatollah" or "dead Admiral" class. Arleigh Burke is one-third longer and correspondingly heavier than the Fletcher-class destroyers of the squadron Burke commanded in World War II, but of about the same complement. The Arleigh Burke class comprises four "Flights": Flight I, composed of 21 ships; Flight II, composed of 7 ships; Flight IIA, to be composed of 47 ships; and Flight III, to enter Initial operating capability in 2023.

destroyer production was limited to three ships due to burgeoning costs. Including research, the program costs reached $22.5 billion for the three ships.

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Cold War and later ship classes of the United States Navy

! scope="col" style="max-width: 8em;" | Class name

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Number of ships

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | First ship laid down

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;" | Last ship commissioned

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

! scope="col" style="max-width: 5em;"class="unsortable" | References

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Photo

! scope="row" | Norfolk

| 1 || 1949 || 1953 || First major US warship after World War II. Classified as "Destroyer Leader" the ship was decommissioned before the smaller destroyer leaders were reclassified as destroyers and the larger as cruisers by the United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification || ||150px

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| 10 || 1956 || 1961 || Originally designated "destroyer leader". || ||150px

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| 31 || 1972 || 1983 || First United States Navy ship to use gas turbines. Lead ship was first destroyer to be named after living person. ||150px

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| 3 || 2008 || || Only three of the 32 planned ships were built due to project cost. || ||150px

Production summary

Production of United States Navy destroyers, broken out by shipyard and class of destroyer.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! Shipyard !! !! !! Smith !! Paulding !! Cassin !! Aylwin !! O'Brien !! Tucker !! Sampson

| Neafie & Levy || 3

| William R. Trigg || 2

| Harlan and Hollingsworth || 2

| Union Iron Works || 3

| Gas Engine & Power Co || 1

| Maryland Steel Company || || 3

| Newport News S.B. || || || || 4

| Fore River || 2 || || || 4 || 1 || || 1 || 1 || 2

| Cramp & Sons || || || 2 || 4 || || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1

| New York S.B. || || || 1 || 4 || 1 || || 1 || 2

| Bath Iron Works || || || 2 || 5 || 2 || || 1 || 1 || 2

| Mare Island Navy Yard || colspan=8 | || 1

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! Shipyard !! prior !! Caldwell !! Wickes !! Clemson

| (others) || 11

| Seattle Construction and Drydock Company (Todd Corp.) || || 1

| Charleston Navy Yard || || || 1

| Mare Island Navy Yard || 1 || 1 || 8 || 6

| Norfolk Navy Yard || || 1 || || 3

| Cramp & Sons || 16 || 2 || 21 || 25

| Bath Iron Works || 13 || 1 || 8 || 3

| Fore River || 11 || || 26 || 10

| Union Iron Works || 3 || || 26 || 40

| Newport News Shipbuilding || 4 || || 11 || 14

| New York Shipbuilding || 9 || || 10 || 20

| Bethlehem Squantum Victory || || || || 35

A decade passes, during which some of the previously produced destroyers are scrapped to comply with treaty limitations. In the early 1930s, the Navy begins to modernize its destroyer fleet. is the point in time where U.S. destroyers start carrying 5-inch main guns that can shoot at aircraft with a high rate of fire and good accuracy (in contrast to previous single purpose destroyer guns and much less capable contemporary dual purpose guns) as well as many other improvements. The Destroyer design basically starts from scratch. Production during this period is a cold arms race where each nation tries to make the most of the limited tonnage that the international treaties allow.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! Shipyard !! prior !! !! !! Mahan !! Gridley !! Bagley !! Somers !! Benham !! Sims

| others || 111

| New York Shipbuilding || 39 || || 4

| Bethlehem Staten Island || || || || 4

| Brooklyn Navy Yard || || 2 || || 2

| Fore River || 47 || 1 || 4 || || 2

| Union Iron Works || 69 || || || || 2

| Mare Island Navy Yard || 16 || || || 2 || || 1

| Puget Sound Navy Yard || || 1 || || || || 2 || || 1

| Boston Navy Yard || || 2 || || 2 || || 2 || || 2 || 2

| Bath Iron Works || 25 || 1 || || 2 || || || 3 || || 2

| Philadelphia Navy Yard || || 1 || || || || || || 1 || 1

| Norfolk Navy Yard || 4 || || || 2 || || 3 || || 2 || 2

| Federal Shipbuilding || || || || 2 || || || 2 || 3 || 2

| Charleston Navy Yard || 1 || colspan=6 | || 1 || 1

| Newport News Shipbuilding || 29 || colspan=7 | || 2

There are 3 production periods covered in the following table.

6 Benson and 18 Gleaves in FY38, FY39, FY40 (8 per year)
24 Benson and 48 Gleaves roughly in a vastly extended FY41 covering the regular FY41 approriations act of 11 June (8 ships) and the first and second supplemental appropriations acts of 26 June and 9 September (64 ships), in addition most of the Fletchers in the same 1940 acts
the remaining Fletchers, all Sumners, Smiths and Gearings covered by later legislation, continuing the expansion of production initiated in 1940, carried out starting during 1941, slowing down by 1944 and lasting into 1946

The Consolidated Steel yard in Orange, the Seattle-Tacoma plant in Seattle and Bethlehem San Pedro were essentially purpose-built to produce destroyers between the fall of 1940 and the spring of 1941.

Gulf Shipbuilding was reactivated from essentially nothing, but had a primary focus of merchant ship production.

The other yards were significantly expanded during the same time period.

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! Shipyard !! prior !! !! !! Fletcher !! Sumner !! Smith !! Gearing

| others || 182

| Philadelphia Navy Yard || 3 || || 2

| Norfolk Navy Yard || 13 || || 2

| Boston Navy Yard || 10 || 2 || 10 || 14

| Charleston Navy Yard || 3 || 1 || 7 || 10

| Puget Sound Navy Yard || 4 || 1 || 1 || 8

| Fore River || 54 || 8 || colspan=4 | || 4

| Union Iron Works || 71 || 9 || || 18 || 6 || || 3

| Bethlehem Staten Island || 4 || 5 || || 15 || 10 || 3 || 11

|--

| Bethlehem San Pedro || || 4 || || 10 || 5 || 3 || 4

| Bath Iron Works || 33 || || 8 || 31 || 14 || 6 || 30

| Federal Shipbuilding || 9 || || 26 || 29 || 18 || || 10

| Seattle-Tacoma || 1 || || 10 || 21 || 5 || || 9

| Consolidated Steel || colspan=3 | || 12 || colspan=2 | || 27

| Gulf Shipbuilding || colspan=3 | || 7

Notes

References

Boyne, Walter. Clash of Titans. Simon and Schuster, NY, USA, 1995. .
Friedman, Norman, US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History (Revised Edition), Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:2004, .
Lyon, David. The First Destroyers. Chatham Publishing 1 & 2 Faulkner's Alley, Cowcross St. London, Great Britain, 1996. .
Simpson, Richard V. Building The Mosquito Fleet; The US Navy's First Torpedo Boats. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston SC, USA, 2001. .

List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy

Pre–World War I

World War I

Between the World Wars

World War II

Cold War and beyond

Production summary

See also

Notes

References

External links