Robert H. Smith-class destroyer
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name: | Robert H. Smith-class destroyer |
Completed: | 12 |
Retired: | 12 |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Destroyer |
Displacement: | 2,200 tons (standard) |
Length: | 376 ft 6 in (114.8 m) |
Beam: | 40 ft 10 in (12.5 m) |
Draft: | 18 ft 10 in (5.8 m) |
Propulsion: | 4 Babcock & Wilcox or Foster Wheeler boilers; two General Electric or Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp (45 MW) total; two shafts |
Speed: | 34 kn (63 km/h) max |
Range: | 4,600 nmi (8,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
Complement: | 363 standard |
Armament: |
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The Robert H. Smith class of destroyer minelayers was built by the United States during World War II.
These vessels were all originally laid down as Allen M. Sumner class destroyers and converted during construction in 1944. In that time the United States produced 12 Robert H. Smith class destroyer minelayers. Their original hull numbers were DD-735-40, 749-51, and 771-73.[2] None of the Robert H. Smith class vessels ever laid a mine in wartime, though they were frequently employed in minesweeping. Minelayers did not carry torpedo tubes. Otherwise they were used interchangeably with other destroyer types. As radar pickets at Okinawa, Aaron Ward, Lindsey, and J. William Ditter were damaged by kamikazes, and Shea by a Baka bomb.[3] Five of the class served actively in the 1950s, but all survivors were mothballed by the end of the decade and were disposed of in the 1970s. None of this class received FRAM conversions.
General characteristics
- Power: 60,000 shp (45 MW)
- Fuel: 740 tons oil (max)
Robert H. Smith class ships
Ship Name | Hull No. | Builder | Laid down | Commission | Decommission | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert H. Smith | DM-23 (ex-DD-735) | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 10 January 1944 | 4 August 1944 | 29 January 1947 | Struck, 26 February 1971 |
Thomas E. Fraser | DM-24 (ex-DD-736) | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 31 January 1944 | 22 August 1944 | 12 September 1955 | Sold for scrap, 12 June 1974 |
Shannon | DM-25 (ex-DD-737) | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 14 February 1944 | 8 September 1944 | 24 October 1955 | Sold for scrap, May 1973 |
Harry F. Bauer | DM-26 (ex-DD-738) | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 6 March 1944 | 22 September 1944 | 12 March 1956 | Sold for scrap, 1 June 1974 |
Adams | DM-27 (ex-DD-739) | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 20 March 1944 | 10 October 1944 | December 1946 | Sold for scrap, 16 December 1971 |
Tolman | DM-28 (ex-DD-740) | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | 10 April 1944 | 27 October 1944 | 29 January 1947 | Sunk as a target 25 January 1997 |
Henry A. Wiley | DM-29 (ex-DD-749) | Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Staten Island, New York | 28 November 1943 | 31 August 1944 | 29 January 1947 | Sold for scrap, 30 May 1972 |
Shea | DM-30 (ex-DD-750) | Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Staten Island, New York | 23 December 1943 | 30 September 1944 | 9 April 1958 | Sold for scrap, 1 September 1974 |
J. William Ditter | DM-31 (ex-DD-751) | Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Staten Island, New York | 25 January 1944 | 28 October 1944 | 28 September 1945 | Scrapped, July 1946 |
Lindsey | DM-32 (ex-DD-771) | Bethlehem Steel Company, San Pedro, California, Terminal Island | 12 September 1943 | 20 August 1944 | 25 May 1946 | Sunk as a target 1 May 1972 |
Gwin | DM-33 (ex-DD-772) | Bethlehem Steel Company, San Pedro, California, Terminal Island | 31 October 1943 | 30 September 1944 8 July 1952 |
3 September 1946 3 April 1958 |
Transferred to Turkey 15 August 1971 |
Aaron Ward | DM-34 (ex-DD-773) | Bethlehem Steel Company, San Pedro, California, Terminal Island | 12 December 1943 | 28 October 1944 | 28 September 1945 | Sold for scrap 1946 |
References
- Friedman, Norman "US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History (Revised Edition)", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:2004, ISBN 1-55750-442-3.
- Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger, Conway's all the world's fighting ships 1922-1946, Conway Maritime Press, 1980. ISBN 0-83170-303-2.
- Silverstone, Paul H., U.S. Warships of World War II (Ian Allan, 1965), ISBN 0-87021-773-9
External links
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