Fletcher-class Destroyer

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|-|Gearing-class=
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==Summary==
The Fletcher-class destroyers were 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 of the Porter and Somers classes. 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 design was generally regarded as highly successful. Fletchers had a design speed of 38 knots, and an armament of five 5" guns in single mounts with ten 21" torpedoes in two quintuple centerline mounts. The Allen M. Sumner and Gearing classes were Fletcher derivatives.
The long-range Fletcher-class ships performed every task 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 Fletchers were built by shipyards across the United States and, after World War II ended, 11 were sold to countries they had been built to fight against: Italy, Germany, and Japan, as well as other navies, where they would go on to have even longer, distinguished careers.
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 to accommodate other weapons. A new ahead-throwing weapon called Weapon Alpha was installed in many of the ships. Others carried trainable Hedgehogs. Eighteen ships were redesignated as escort destroyers (DDE), optimized for anti-submarine warfare. Only 3 Fletcher-class destroyers (Radford, Jenkins, and Nicholas) were converted under the second Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program in 1960-65.
The Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers were a group of 58 destroyers built by the United States during World War II. Another twelve ships were completed as destroyer minelayers. Often referred to as simply the Sumner class, this class was characterized by their twin 5-inch/38 caliber gun mounts, dual rudders, additional anti-aircraft weapons, and many other advancements over the previous Fletcher class. The Allen M. Sumner design was extended 14 feet (4.3 m) amidships to become the Gearing class, which was produced in larger numbers. 33 ships were converted under the second Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program 1960-65, but not as extensively as the Gearings.
The Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayers were 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 twelve Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayers. Their original hull numbers were DD-735-40, 749-51, and 771-73. 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. 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.
The Gearing-class destroyers is a group of 98 destroyers built for the U.S. Navy during and shortly after World War II. The Gearing design was a minor modification of the immediately preceding Allen M. Sumner class. The hull was lengthened 14 ft (4.3 m) amidships, creating more storage space for fuel, thus giving the ships a longer operating range than the Allen M. Sumners. The first Gearings were not ready for service until mid-1945, so they saw relatively little wartime service. They continued serving, with a series of upgrades, until the 1970s. At that time many were sold to other nations, where they served many more years. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, 78 of the Gearing-class destroyers underwent extensive modernization overhauls, known as Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM), which were designed to convert them from an anti-aircraft destroyer to an anti-submarine warfare platform. FRAM I removed all of the radar picket destroyer (DDR) and escort destroyer (DDE) equipment, and these ships were redesignated as destroyers (DD). FRAM I and FRAM II conversions were completed 1960-65. Eventually all but four Gearings received FRAM conversions.
Description partially lifted from Wikipedia articles.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: to with guns, up to firing all guns for a full minute, with Mark 15 torpedoes, with Mark 6/9 depth charges, with Mark 10/11 Hedgehog, with Mark 44 torpedoes, with Mark 37 torpedoes, with W44 Nuclear Depth Bomb
Key: Fletcher-class | Allen M. Sumner-class | Gearing-class
Name: Fletcher-class Destroyer | Allen M. Sumner-class Destroyer | Gearing-class Destroyer
Origin: Real World
Age: 1941–1971 | 1943–1975 | 1944–1983
Classification: Destroyer (Destroyer-Leader), Escort Destroyer
Length: 114.8 meters (376.5 feet)
Beam: 12 meters (39.5 feet)
Draft: 5.3 meters (17.5 feet)
Displacement: 1.86–2.5 kilotonnes (2050–2500 tons) | 2–3.2 kilotonnes (2200–3515 tons) | 2.37–3.14 kilotonnes (2616–3460 tons)
Pilot(s): About 273–363 officers and seamen
Needed Prerequisite for Use: Trained crew, fuel, ammunition
In use by: United States Navy
Powered by: Four Babcock & Wilcox or Foster Wheeler water-tube boilers delivering 44.74 megawatts (60,000 shaft horsepower) to two General Electric or Westinghouse geared steam turbines driving two propeller screws
Operational Timeframe: Almost 13 days 7 hours (at 15 knots) | Almost 16 days 16 hours (at 15 knots) | Almost 9 days 9 hours (at 20 knots)
Terrain: Ocean (surface)
Material: No hull or armor is listed (Although USS Carpenter is listed as having 0.5 inch (12.7mm) of "steel" armor), but the hull likely consists of at least 0.5–0.75 inch (12.7–19.05mm) of carbon steel, as was standard for commercial ships. The physical properties of various armor types used during the period can be found on this table by Nathan Okun.
Attack Potency: Small Building level firing all 5”/38 main guns once (up to 145 megajoules), Wall level firing all 40mm and 20mm guns once (up to 7.35 megajoules), Building level firing all guns simultaneously for a full minute (up to 3.646 gigajoules), Building level with Mark 15 torpedo (up to 2.34 gigajoules), up to Small Building level+ with depth charges (476–569 megajoules), Wall level+ firing all 3"/50 secondary guns once (up to 20.4 megajoules), Small Building level with Mark 10/11 Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar (up to 83.38 megajoules), Small Building level with Mark 44 torpedo (up to 177.8 megajoules), Small Building level+ with Mark 37 torpedo (up to 784.5 megajoules), Town level with W44 Nuclear Depth Bomb (nominal yield of 10 kilotons, 41.84 terajoules)
Speed: Superhuman, 63–68 kilometers per hour (34–37 knots) max speed
Durability: At least Building level, at most City Block level in terms of total destruction (Potentially comprised of up to 2,370,000 kilograms of hardened armor-grade steel with a fragmentation energy of over 189 gigajoules)
Range: Operational range of 8850 kilometers at 28 kilometers per hour (5500 nautical miles at 15 knots); up to 16 kilometers with 5” guns, up to 10 kilometers with 40mm guns, up to 4 kilometers with 20mm guns, up to 13.5 kilometers with Mark 15 torpedoes, down to 183 meters (depth) with depth charges (up to 140 meters using K-gun projector), up to 890 meters with Weapon Alpha rocket-propelled depth charges | Operational range of 11,000 kilometers at 28 kilometers per hour (6900 miles at 15 knots); up to 13.4 kilometers with 3” guns, up to 260 meters with Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, up to 5.5 kilometers with Mark 44 torpedoes (up to 24.5 kilometers using ASROC), up to 21.5 kilometers with Mark 37 torpedoes, up to 35 kilometers with QH-50 DASH anti-submarine drone | Operational range of 8300 kilometers at 37 kilometers per hour (5200 miles at 20 knots); up to 5.5 kilometers with Mark 44 torpedoes (up to 24.5 kilometers using ASROC rocket booster)
Weaknesses: Primitive fire control and radar systems limits detection and accuracy, has mostly outdated hardware, has little to no armor
Weaponry (Fletcher-class):
*5×5”/38 caliber Mark 12 gun in single-gun turrets (World War II-era only)
*6–12×40mm/56 caliber Bofors autocannons in double-gun and quad-gun mounts (World War II-era only)
*7–11×20mm/70 caliber Oerlikon autocannons in single-gun mounts (World War II-era only)
*10×21-inch Mark 14 torpedo launcher tubes in two quintuple centerline mounts for firing Mark 15 torpedoes (World War II-era only)
*6×Mark 6/9 K-gun depth charge projectors for launching Mark 6/9 depth charges (World War II-era only)
*2×5”/38 caliber Mark 12 guns in single-gun turrets (FRAM II-era only)
*2×Mark 10/11 Hedgehog depth charge projector systems for launching Hedgehog spigot mortars (FRAM II-era only)
*1×Mark 108 "Weapon Alpha" anti-submarine launchers for launching RUR-4A Mark 1/2 rocket-propelled depth charges (FRAM II-era only)
*2×triple 12.75-inch Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes for firing Mark 44 torpedoes (FRAM II-era only)
*2×21-inch Mark 14 torpedo launcher tubes in single mounts for firing Mark 37 torpedoes (FRAM II-era only)
*2×.50 caliber Browning M2 heavy machine guns (FRAM II-era only)
*1×Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH anti-submarine warfare drone helicopter, which carry two Mark 44 torpedoes (FRAM II-eras only)
Weaponry (Allen M. Sumner-class):
*6×5”/38 caliber Mark 12 guns in double-gun turrets (World War II-era only)
*12×40mm/56 caliber Bofors autocannons in double-gun and quad-gun mounts (World War II-era only)
*11×20mm/70 caliber Oerlikon autocannons in single-gun mounts (World War II-era only)
*10×21-inch Mark 14 torpedo launcher tubes in two quintuple centerline mounts for firing Mark 15 torpedoes (World War II-era only)
*6×Mark 6/9 K-gun depth charge projectors for launching Mark 6/9 depth charges (World War II and 1950s-eras only)
*6×3”/50 caliber Mark 22 guns in single and double-gun turrets (1950s-era only)
*2×Mark 10/11 Hedgehog depth charge projector systems for launching Hedgehog spigot mortars (1950s-era only)
*2×triple 12.75-inch Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes for firing Mark 44 torpedoes (FRAM II-era only)
*2×21-inch Mark 14 torpedo launcher tubes in single mounts for firing Mark 37 torpedoes (FRAM II-era only)
*1×Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH anti-submarine warfare drone helicopter, which carry two Mark 44 torpedoes (1950s and FRAM II-eras only)
Weaponry (Gearing-class):
*12×5”/38 caliber Mark 12 guns in double-gun turrets (World War II and 1950s-eras only)
*6–12×40mm/56 caliber Bofors autocannons in double-gun and quad-gun mounts (World War II-era only)
*7–11×20mm/70 caliber Oerlikon autocannons in single-gun mounts (World War II-era only)
*10×21-inch Mark 14 torpedo launcher tubes in two quintuple centerline mounts for firing Mark 15 torpedoes (World War II-era only)
*6×Mark 6/9 K-gun depth charge projectors for launching Mark 6/9 depth charges (World War II and 1950s-eras only)
*6×3”/50 caliber Mark 22 guns in single and double-gun turrets (1950s-era only)
*2×Mark 10/11 Hedgehog depth charge projector systems for launching Hedgehog spigot mortars (1950s-era only)
*4×5”/38 caliber Mark 12 guns in double-gun turrets (FRAM II-era only)
*1×8-cell RUR-5 ASROC anti-submarine launcher for launching Mark 44 torpedoes and W44 Nuclear Depth Bomb (FRAM II-era only)
*2×triple 12.75-inch Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes for firing Mark 44 torpedoes (FRAM II-era only)
*1×Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH anti-submarine warfare drone helicopter, which carry two Mark 44 torpedoes (FRAM II-era only)
: The Gearing-class ship USS Carpenter (DD-825) is a particular exception, having received the most thorough escort destroyer conversion between 1946–59 of all Gearing-class ships, being rearmed with:
*4×3”/70 caliber Mark 26 guns in double-gun turrets
*2×Mark 108 "Weapon Alpha" anti-submarine launchers for launching RUR-4A Mark 1/2 rocket-propelled depth charges
*4×21-inch Mark 14 torpedo launcher tubes in single mounts for firing Mark 37 torpedoes
*1×Mark 10/11 Hedgehog depth charge projector system for launching Hedgehog spigot mortars
*6×Mark 6/9 K-gun depth charge projectors for launching Mark 6/9 depth charges
Note: Similar ships of about the same type and period generally have performance equivalent to this one. Armaments given are typical of class and time period—exact armaments could vary between ships of a class.
==Gallery==
QH-50C.jpg|QH-50C loaded with two Mark 44 torpedoes taking off from Fletcher-class USS Hazelwood (DD-531) on an anti-submarine mission.
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