Charles F . Adams - class destroyer The " Charles F . Adams " class is a ship class of 29 guided missile destroyer s built between 1958 and 1967 . Twenty three destroyer s were built for the United States Navy , three for the Royal Australian Navy , and three for the West German " Bundesmarine " . The design of these ships was based on that of " Forrest Sherman " - class destroyers , but the Charles F . Adams class were the first class designed to serve as guided missile destroyers . of length was added to the center of the design of the " Forrest Sherman " - class to carry the ASROC launcher , and the boilers were upgraded from to boilers . Both changes caused significant maintenance problems in the long run for all the ships . The " Charles F . Adams " - class destroyers were the last steam turbine - powered destroyers built for the U . S . Navy . Starting with the later " Spruance " - class destroyer s , all U . S . Navy destroyers have been powered by gas turbines . Some of the destroyers of the " Charles F . Adams " - class served during the blockade of Cuba in 1962 and during the War in Vietnam . Although designed with cutting - edge technology for the 1950s , by the mid - 1970s it was clear to the Navy that the " Charles F . Adams " - class destroyers were not prepared to deal with modern air attacks and guided missile . To reduce this vulnerability , the Navy began the New Threat Upgrade ( NTU ) program . This consisted of a number of sensor , weapons and communications upgrades that were intended to extend the service lives of the ships . Under the NTU , these destroyers received improved electronic warfare capability through the installation of the AN / SLQ - 32 ( V ) 2 EW Suite . The upgraded combat system would include the MK86 Gun Fire Control System with AN / SPQ - 9 radar , the Hughes AN / SPS - 52C 3D radar , the AN / SPG - 51 C ( Digital ) Fire Control Radars , and the Naval Tactical Data System ( NTDS ) . These ships were also planned to have the ability to launch several " Harpoon " antiship missiles , which were to be installed in their MK - 11 Tartar missile launcher . During the 1980s , the Reagan Administration chose to accelerate production of the " Ticonderoga " - class guided missile cruisers and build the " Arleigh Burke " - class guided missile destroyers as replacements for these and other classes of destroyers , and of nuclear - powered cruisers . The result of this was that only three of these destroyers , , , and received the full upgrade . Other ships , of the class , such as " Charles F . Adams " , received only partial upgrades , which included the AN / SLQ - 32 and Harpoon Missile upgrades , that were intended to extend their service lives until the " Arleigh Burke " - class could reach operational capability . The United States Navy decommissioned its last " Charles F . Adams " destroyer , the " Goldsborough " , on 29 April 1993 . The Australian and German navies decommissioned their last ships of this class by 2003 . Four ships of this class were transferred to the Hellenic Navy in 1992 , but those have also been decommissioned . The has been placed on inactive hold status and there are attempts by private groups to have it preserved as a museum ship . " Mölders " ( D186 ) was made into a museum ship , but all of the other destroyers in the class have been sunk as targets , sunk for diving wreck s or sold for scrap . Ships in class . Hellenic Navy " Lütjens " class . The " Lütjens " class destroyer was a modification of the " Charles F . Adams " class for the " Bundesmarine " ( the Navy of West Germany ) . It differed from the Adams class in the layout of the crew accommodations , the location of the bow sonar , a second large aerial mast and different funnels . " Perth " class . The Royal Australian Navy had three " Charles F . Adams " class units constructed to their own specifications ( these ships were designated the " Perth " class ) . Although broadly similar to the US Navy ' s vessels , the Australian ships were fitted with the Ikara system instead of the ASROC that was fitted to the American units . The three ships were :