Fletcher Class, U.S. Destroyers

Photograph of Fletcher-class destroyer

Tonnage	2325 tons standard displacement
Dimensions	376'6" by 39'4" by 17'8" 114.76m by 11.99m by 5.38m
Maximum speed	38 knots
Complement	273
Armament	5x1 5"/38 dual-purpose guns 2x5 21" torpedo tubes 1x2 40mm Bofors AA guns 6 20mm Oerlikon AA guns 28 depth charges 2 depth charge throwers
Bunkerage	492 tons fuel oil
Range	6500 nautical miles (1200km) at 15 knots
Modifications	Light antiaircraft armament steadily improved throughout the war. By 1943-6 the standard light AA armament was 5x2 40mm and 7x1 20mm guns. At war's end, the ships were refitting with kamikaze armament of 3x2, 2x4 40mm and 3x1, 4x2 20mm with removal of one bank of torpedo tubes. The quad 40mm mounts also had improved fire control. Three of the ships were completed with fewer guns and one bank of torpedoes to make room for an aircraft catapult. This experiment was unsuccessful.

The Fletchers, completed in 1942-45, were the wartime American destroyers. Produced in great numbers, they proved to be a sound design. The antiaircraft battery was initially very weak for a ship of this size, but was greatly increased as the war progressed. Their flush decks gave great structural strength, though at the expense of wet bows. They were tough, well-armed, and reliable, with good cruising range. On the other hand, they were not particularly fast for destroyers and lacked somewhat in maneuverability. As designed, they were less top-heavy than their predecessors, but by war’s end the Navy had dumped enough additional equipment on board to reverse this departure from tradition.

Improvements to the class included sophisticated radar plotting rooms (ancestors of the modern CIC), a much improved light antiaircraft battery and improved antisubmarine gear.

Units in the Pacific:

Bennett	arrived 1942-5
O’Bannon	arrived 1942-7-5
Ringgold	arrived 1942-7-27
Fletcher	arrived 1942-9
Saufley	arrived 1942-9-16
Aulick	arrived 1942-11
De Haven	arrived 1942-11	Sunk by aircraft 1943-2-1 off Savo Island
Jenkins	arrived 1942-11-26
Chevalier	arrived 1942-12	Torpedoed 1943-10-7 off Vella Lavella by Yugumo
Converse	arrived 1942-12
Conway	arrived 1942-12
Waller	arrived 1942-12-7
Radford	arrived 1942-12-12
La Vallette	arrived 1942-12-23
Taylor	arrived 1942-12-24
Beale	arrived 1943-1
Bell	arrived 1943-1
Cony	arrived 1943-1
Strong	arrived 1943-1-3	Sunk 1943-7-5 off New Georgia by destroyers Mochitsuki, Mikatsuki, and Hamakaze
Yarnall	completed 1943-1-30 at San Francisco
Bache	arrived 1943-2
Eaton	arrived 1943-2
Abner Read	completed 1943-2-5 at San Francisco	Sunk by kamikaze 1944-11-1 off Samar
Ammen	completed 1943-3-12 at San Francisco
Pringle	arrived 1943-2-13	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-4-16 off Okinawa
Renshaw	arrived 1943-3
Stanly	arrived 1943-3-7
Hutchins	arrived 1943-3-25
Stevens	arrived 1943-4
Mullany	completed 1943-4-23 at San Francisco
Anthony	arrived 1943-5
Calhoun	arrived 1943-5
Claxton	arrived 1943-5
Dyson	arrived 1943-5
Foote	arrived 1943-5
Philip	arrived 1943-5
Boyd	completed 1943-5-8 at San Pedro
Bush	completed 1943-5-10 at San Francisco	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-4-6 off Okinawa
Halford	completed 1943-5-10 at Bremerton
John Rodgers	arrived 1943-5-20
Trathen	completed 1943-5-28 at San Francisco
Charles Ausburne	arrived 1943-6
Fullam	arrived 1943-6
Bradford	completed 1943-6-12 at San Pedro
Brownson	arrived 1943-6-18	Sunk by aircraft 1943-12-26 off New Britain
Hazelwood	completed 1943-6-18 at San Francisco
Thatcher	arrived 1943-6-19
Dashiell	arrived 1943-7
Schroeder	arrived 1943-7-1
Spence	arrived 1943-7-1	Lost in typhoon 1944-12-18 off Luzon
Heerman	completed 1943-7-6 at San Francisco
Brown	completed 1943-7-10 at San Pedro
Terry	arrived 1943-7-12
McKee	arrived 1943-7-13
Wadsworth	arrived 1943-7-21
Sigsbee	arrived 1943-7-27
Guest	arrived 1943-7-28
Harrison	arrived 1943-7-29
Hoel	completed 1943-7-29 at San Francisco	Sunk by gunfire 1944-10-25 off Samar
Franks	completed 1943-7-30 at Seattle
Braine	arrived 1943-8
Bullard	arrived 1943-8
Burns	arrived 1943-8
McCord	completed 1943-8-19 at San Francisco
Cowell	completed 1943-8-23 at San Pedro
Nicholas	arrived 1943-8-30
Haggard	completed 1943-8-31 at Seattle
Miller	completed 1943-8-31 at San Francisco
Charrette	arrived 1943-9
Chauncey	arrived 1943-9
Connor	arrived 1943-9
Erben	arrived 1943-9
Hudson	arrived 1943-9
Murray	arrived 1943-9
Kidd	arrived 1943-9-1
Luce	arrived 1943-9-13	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-5-3 off Okinawa
Kimberly	arrived 1943-9-17
Owen	completed 1943-9-20 at San Francisco
Sigourney	arrived 1943-9-21
Izard	arrived 1943-9-22
Hailey	completed 1943-9-30 at Seattle
Hopewell	completed 1943-9-30 at San Pedro
The Sullivans	completed 1943-9-30 at San Francisco
Abbot	arrived 1943-10
Black	arrived 1943-10
Caperton	arrived 1943-10
Cotten	arrived 1943-10
Hale	arrived 1943-10-2
Stembel	arrived 1943-10-21
Stephen Potter	completed 1943-10-21 at San Francisco
Johnston	completed 1943-10-27 at Seattle	Sunk by gunfire 1944-10-25 off Samar
Porterfield	completed 1943-10-30 at San Pedro
Albert W. Grant	arrived 1943-11
Charles J. Badger	arrived 1943-11
Clarence K. Bronson	arrived 1943-11
Cogswell	arrived 1943-11
Daly	arrived 1943-11
Walker	arrived 1943-11-1
Sproston	arrived 1943-11-4
Wickes	arrived 1943-11-15
Laws	completed 1943-11-18 at Seattle
Isherwood	arrived 1943-11-22
Young	arrived 1943-11-24
Tingey	completed 1943-11-25 at San Francisco
Callaghan	completed 1943-11-27 at San Pedro	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-7.28 off Okinawa
Healy	arrived 1943-11-27
Hickox	arrived 1943-11-28
Colahan	arrived 1943-12
Dortch	arrived 1943-12
Twining	completed 1943-12-1 at San Francisco
Knapp	arrived 1943-12-5
Ingersoll	arrived 1943-12-6
Hunt	arrived 1943-12-9
William D. Porter	arrived 1943-12-12	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-6-10 off Okinawa
Remey	arrived 1943-12-13
Gatling	arrived 1943-12-14
Haraden	arrived 1943-12-14
Lewis Hancock	arrived 1943-12-14
Longshaw	completed 1943-12-14 at Seattle	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-5-18 off Okinawa
Picking	arrived 1943-12-14
Newcomb	arrived 1943-12-17
Morrison	completed 1943-12-18 at Seattle	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-5-3 off Okinawa
Halligan	arrived 1943-12-28	Mined 1945-3-26 off Okinawa
Cassin Young	completed 1943-12-31 at San Pedro
Capps	arrived 1944-1
David W. Taylor	arrived 1944-1
Hall	arrived 1944-1-4
Wadleigh	arrived 1944-1-10
Marshall	arrived 1944-1-13
Prichett	completed 1944-1-15 at Seattle
Norman Scott	arrived 1944-1-21
Halsey Powell	arrived 1944-1-27
Mertz	arrived 1944-1-31
Robinson	completed 1944-1-31 at Seattle
Benham	arrived 1944-2
Bryant	arrived 1944-2
Uhlmann	arrived 1944-2-2
McDermutt	arrived 1944-2-1
Melvin	arrived 1944-2-8
Stockham	completed 1944-2-11 at San Francisco
Irwin	completed 1944-2-14 at San Pedro
Ross	completed 1944-2-21 at Seattle
Bennion	arrived 1944-3
Evans	arrived 1944-3
Leutze	completed 1944-3-4 at Bremerton
Wedderburn	arrived 1944-3-9 at San Francisco
McNair	arrived 1944-3-12
Rowe	completed 1944-3-13 at Seattle
Preston	completed 1944-3-30 at San Pedro
Smalley	completed 1944-3-31 at Seattle
Bearss	arrived 1944-4
Howorth	completed 1944-4-3 at Bremerton
John D. Henley	arrived 1944-4-13
Heywood L. Edwards	arrived 1944-4-23
Monssen	arrived 1944-4-23
Watts	completed 1944-4-29 at Seattle
Cushing	arrived 1944-5
Richard P. Leary	arrived 1944-5
Paul Hamilton	arrived 1944-5-2
Killen	completed 1944-5-4 at Seattle
McGowan	arrived 1944-5-11
Twiggs	arrived 1944-5-19	Sunk by aircraft 1945-6-16 off Okinawa
Wren	completed 1944-5-20 at Seattle
Jarvis	completed 1944-6-3 at Seattle
Porter	completed 1944-6-24 at Seattle
Colhoun	completd 7-8 at Seattle	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-5-6 off Okinawa
Little	completed 1944-8-19 at Seattle	Sunk by kamikaze 1945-5-3 off Okinawa
John Hood	arrived 1944-8-28
Melvin	arrived 1944-9
Rooks	completed 1944-9-2 at Seattle
Gregory	arrived 1944-10-16
Van Valkenburg	arrived 1944-10-29
Hart	completed 1944-11-4 at Seattle
Metcalf	completed 1944-11-18 at Bremerton
Shields	completed 1945-2-8 at Bremerton
Wiley	completed 1945-2-22 at Bremerton
Stoddard	arrived 1945-4-15

References

DANFS

Whitley (1988)

Worth (2001)

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