The ''Sampson''-class destroyers served in 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 ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Commissioned in 1916 and 1917, the class was a modification of the and es, with the number of

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s increased from four twin-mounts to four triple-mounts. The ''Sampson''s were the final six ships of the 26 "thousand tonner" destroyers. They were the largest and most heavily armed of the "thousand tonners", and the subsequent "flush deck" classes differed mainly in hull design and the engineering plant.

Design

Armament

While the gun armament was typical for destroyers of this period, the torpedo armament of twelve 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes was a significant increase over the preceding ''Tucker'' class, replacing four twin mounts with four triple mounts. Both the gun and torpedo armament would remain standard through the mass-production "flush-deck" and es commissioned through 1921. As with the other "thousand tonners", a factor in the size of the torpedo armament was the

General Board The General Board of the United States Navy was an advisory body of the United States Navy, somewhat akin to a naval general staff and somewhat not. The General Board was established by general order 544, issued on March 13, 1900 by Secretary ...

's decision to use broadside rather than centerline torpedo tubes. This was due to the desire to have some torpedoes remaining after firing a broadside, and problems experienced with centerline mounts on previous classes with torpedoes striking the

gunwale The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firin ...

s of the firing ship. The Mark 8 torpedo was equipped. This was the first US destroyer class to mount anti-aircraft guns: two

1 pounder The QF 1 pounder, universally known as the pom-pom due to the sound of its discharge, was a 37 mm British autocannon, the first of its type in the world. It was used by several countries initially as an infantry gun and later as a light a ...

(37 mm) autocannons. Anti-submarine (ASW) armament was added during World War I. Typically, a single depth charge track was provided aft, along with a

Y-gun A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use ...

depth charge projector.

Engineering

While the main

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

s were

direct drive A direct-drive mechanism is a mechanism design where the force or torque from a prime mover is transmitted directly to the effector device (such as the drive wheels of a vehicle) without involving any intermediate couplings such as a gear train o ...

, all of the class were fitted with

gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic ...

ed cruising turbines as in the preceding ''Tucker'' class, on one shaft in , and and on both shafts in the others.

Service

The ''Sampson'' class served in

as convoy escorts in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. ''Wilkes'' and ''Shaw'' served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

as part of the

Rum Patrol The Rum Patrol was an operation of the United States Coast Guard to interdict liquor smuggling vessels, known as "rum runners" in order to enforce prohibition in American waters. On 18 December 1917, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was sub ...

1926-34. While the other ships of the ''Sampson'' class were retired and scrapped 1934-36 to comply with the London Naval Treaty, ''Allen'' survived into the 1940s and served through

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 opposing ...

before being decommissioned and scrapped, the only pre-flush-deck destroyer to serve in that war.DestroyerHistory.org Sampson Class page
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Ships in class

References

Citations

Sources

* * * Silverstone, Paul H., ''U.S. Warships of World War I'' (Ian Allan, 1970), . * Silverstone, Paul H., ''U.S. Warships of World War II'' (Ian Allan, 1965), . * Gardiner, Robert, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921'', London: Conway Maritime Press, 1985. . * Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946'', London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980. . *

External links

DestroyerHistory.org Thousand Tonner pageDestroyerHistory.org Sampson Class page
{{WWII US ships Destroyer classes