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Robert H. Smith-class destroyer

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Robert H. Smith-class destroyer
Class overview
NameRobert H. Smith class
Builders
Operators
Completed12
Retired12
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer minelayer
Displacement2,200 tons (standard)
Length376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam40 ft 10 in (12.45 m)
Draft18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
Propulsion4 Babcock & Wilcox or Foster Wheeler boilers; two General Electric or Westinghouse geared steam turbines, 60,000 shp (45,000 kW) total; two shafts
Speed34 kn (63 km/h) max
Range4,600 nmi (8,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement363 standard
Armament

The Robert H. Smith class of destroyer minelayers was built by the United States during World War II. The class was named for naval officer Robert H. Smith.

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.[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.

Ships in class

[edit]
Ship name Hull no. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Robert H. Smith DM-23 (ex-DD-735) Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine 10 January 1944 25 May 1944 4 August 1944 29 January 1947 Struck, 26 February 1971
Thomas E. Fraser DM-24 (ex-DD-736) 31 January 1944 10 June 1944 22 August 1944 12 September 1955 Sold for scrap, 12 June 1974
Shannon DM-25 (ex-DD-737) 14 February 1944 24 June 1944 8 September 1944 24 October 1955 Sold for scrap, May 1973
Harry F. Bauer DM-26 (ex-DD-738) 6 March 1944 9 July 1944 22 September 1944 12 March 1956 Sold for scrap, 1 June 1974
Adams DM-27 (ex-DD-739) 20 March 1944 23 July 1944 10 October 1944 December 1946 Sold for scrap, 16 December 1971
Tolman DM-28 (ex-DD-740) 10 April 1944 13 August 1944 27 October 1944 29 January 1947 Sunk as a target 25 January 1997
Henry A. Wiley DM-29 (ex-DD-749) Bethlehem Staten Island, Staten Island, New York 28 November 1943 21 April 1944 31 August 1944 29 January 1947 Sold for scrap, 30 May 1972
Shea DM-30 (ex-DD-750) 23 December 1943 20 May 1944 30 September 1944 9 April 1958 Sold for scrap, 1 September 1974
J. William Ditter DM-31 (ex-DD-751) 25 January 1944 4 July 1944 28 October 1944 28 September 1945 Scrapped, July 1946
Lindsey DM-32 (ex-DD-771) Bethlehem Shipbuilding, San Pedro, California, Terminal Island 12 September 1943 5 March 1944 20 August 1944 25 May 1946 Sunk as a target 1 May 1972
Gwin DM-33 (ex-DD-772) 31 October 1943 9 April 1944 30 September 1944 3 September 1946 Transferred to Turkey 15 August 1971
8 July 1952 3 April 1958
Aaron Ward DM-34 (ex-DD-773) 12 December 1943 5 May 1944 28 October 1944 28 September 1945 Sold for scrap 1946
World War II destroyer shipbuilders map from Department of Defense (DoD)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Silverstone, p. 212
  2. ^ Silverstone, p. 212
  3. ^ Silverstone, p. 212

Sources

[edit]
  • 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
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