Fletcher - class destroyer The " Fletcher " class was a class of destroyer s built by the United States during World War II . The class was designed in 1939 , as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types . Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War . The United States Navy commissioned 175 " Fletcher " - class destroyers between 1942 and 1944 , more than any other destroyer class , and the " Fletcher " design was generally regarded as highly successful . " Fletcher " s had a design speed of 38 knots , armed with five 5 " guns in single mounts and carrying 10 21 " torpedo in twin quintuple centerline mounts . The " Allen M . Sumner " and " Gearing " classes were " Fletcher " derivatives . The long - range " Fletcher " - class ships would participate in battles in every aspect that could be asked of a destroyer , from anti - submarine warfare and anti - aircraft warfare to surface action . They could cover the vast distances required by fleet actions in the Pacific . In fact , they served almost exclusively in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II , during which they accounted for 29 Imperial Japanese Navy submarines sunk . In a massive effort , the " Fletcher " - class ships were built by shipyards across the United States and , after World War II ended , many were sold to the very countries they had fought against : Italy , Germany , and Japan , as well as other navies , where they would go on to have even longer , distinguished careers . Three have been preserved as museum ships in the U . S . , and one in Greece . Description . The " Fletcher " class ( named for Admiral Frank F . Fletcher ) was the largest class of destroyer ordered , and was also one of the most successful and popular with the destroyer men themselves . Compared to earlier classes built for the Navy , they carried a significant increase in anti - aircraft weapons and other weaponry , which caused displacements to rise . Their flush deck construction added structural strength , although it did make them rather cramped . Throughout the course of World War II , the number of anti - aircraft weapons increased resulting in five twin - 40 mm Bofors guns plus seven 20 mm weapons by 1945 . Fifty - one were further modified beginning in 1945 , replacing the forward torpedo tube s and midships 40 mm twin Bofors with quad mounts for a total of 14 barrels , and the seven 20 mm singles with six 20 mm twins . Three ( " Pringle " , " Stevens " , " Halford " ) were built ( six planned ) with aircraft catapults , resulting in the deletion of one 5 - inch mount and the after set of torpedo tubes . This alteration was not a success in service and was not repeated . The three destroyers were later converted to the normal " Fletcher " - class configuration . Nineteen were lost during World War II ; six more were damaged and not repaired . Postwar , the remainder were decommissioned and put into reserve . With the outbreak of the Korean War many were returned to active duty . During this time 39 were refitted , reducing their overall main armament and the number of torpedo tubes . A new ahead - throwing weapon called Weapon Alpha was installed in many of the ships . Others carried trainable Hedgehog s . Design . The " Fletcher " - class destroyer was the first generation of destroyers to be designed after the series of Naval Treaties that had limited ship designs heretofore . The growth in the design was in part answer to the question that always dogged U . S . Navy designs , that being the long range required by operations in the Pacific Ocean . They were also to carry no less than five guns and ten deck - mounted torpedo tubes on the centerline , allowing them to meet any foreign design on equal terms . Compared to earlier designs , the " Fletcher " s were large , allowing them to absorb the addition of two 40mm Bofors quadruple mount AA guns as well as six 20mm Oerlikon dual AA gun positions . This addition to the AA suite required the deletion of the forward quintuple torpedo mount , a change was under the 4 April 1945 anti - " kamikaze " program . They also were much less top heavy than the previous classes , allowing them to take on additional equipment and weapons without major redesign . They had the fortune of catching American production at the right moment becoming " the " destroyer design , and only " Fletcher " - class derivatives , the " Sumner " and " Gearing " classes , would follow it . The first design inputs were in the fall of 1939 from questionnaires distributed around design bureaus and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations . The design parameters were in the form of the armaments desired of the next destroyer . As such the questions of how many guns , torpedoes , and depth charges were seen as desirable and further asked at what point would the design grow large enough to become a torpedo target instead of a torpedo delivery system . The answer that came back was five dual purpose guns , twelve torpedoes , and twenty eight depth charges would be ideal , while the idea of returning to the 1500 ton designs of the past was seen as undesirable . Speed requirements varied from , and shortcomings in the earlier " Sims " class , which were top heavy and needed lead ballast to correct it , caused the " Fletcher " design to be widened by in the beam . No design can be perfect and the " Fletcher " s were no exception . As with other previous U . S . flush deck destroyer designs , seagoing performance suffered to a degree . This was mitigated somewhat due to deployment in the Pacific . The class featured enclosed air - case boilers and 80 kW of power available by emergency diesel generators . Other navies . Many of the ships were sold to other navies during the mid - 1950s , including : Any remaining were broken up in the 1970s . The last " Fletcher " in service , BAM " Cuitlahuac " ( ex - " John Rodgers " ) , left the Mexican navy in 2001 , meaning the total service life of the " Fletcher " s stretched over almost six decades and into the 21st century . Four ships have been preserved as museum ships , although only " Kidd " was never modernized and retains her WWII configuration :