The ''Mitscher''-class destroyer was an experimental

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

class of four ships that were built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Considerably larger than all previous destroyers, but smaller than their immediate predecessor, the experimental ''Norfolk'', they would have been the first post-war destroyer class had they not been reclassified during construction as

destroyer leader Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955Blac ...

s (DL). Commissioned in 1953–1954, two of the class served until 1969, and were scrapped in the 1970s. The other two were converted into

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

s (DDG), served until 1978, and were sold for scrap by 1980.

Description

All four ''Mitscher''-class ships were designed under project SCB 5 and ordered 3 August 1948. They were named for admirals of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Each ship displaced 3,331 tons light, 3,642 tons standard and 4,855 tons under full load with a length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

. Beyond that, each ship had a different loadout of propulsion and other systems so as to determine the best course of action for future destroyer design. The ''Mitscher'' class would become the winner in internal Navy debates over competing designs, even as an early concept in 1945. With their development the CL-154 class anti aircraft cruisers would be canceled, and no further ''Norfolks'' would be built; in both cases the decisions were made on cost-effectiveness grounds. In the early 1960s, the ''Mitscher'' class underwent modernization through a Class Improvement Program (CIP), which included the replacement of the boilers on the first two ships of the class.

DDG conversions

The first two ships, ''Mitscher'' and ''John S. McCain'', were converted into

s under SCB 241 in the mid-1960s. They were redesignated as DDG-35 and DDG-36, respectively.Fahey, p. 12

Description

DDG conversions

Ships in class

See also

References

Notes

Sources

External links