U.S. Navy

Destroyers

From the Fletcher-class tin cans that charged Japanese battleships at Samar to the Arleigh Burke-class Aegis destroyers that form the backbone of today's fleet, destroyers have always punched above their weight. They hunt submarines, shoot down missiles, launch Tomahawks, and screen the carrier. The destroyer is the warship that does everything — and has since 1940.

World War II — The Tin Can Navy 1940 – 1945

DD-421 – DD-497

Benson & Gleaves-Class

Pre-War Fleet Destroyers

The first destroyers to fight WWII. Benson and Gleaves-class tin cans escorted convoys across the North Atlantic, screened landings in North Africa and the Pacific, and fought submarine wolfpacks in the Battle of the Atlantic. They held the line until the Fletchers arrived. Read more

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Fletcher-Class

DD-445 – DD-691

The Ship That Won the Pacific

The most numerous destroyer class in U.S. Navy history and the ship that won the Pacific. Fletchers fought at every major engagement from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. They screened carriers, hunted submarines, bombarded beaches, and charged battleships. At Samar, three Fletchers attacked the entire Japanese Center Force. 175 ships - more than most nations' entire navies. Read more

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Allen M. Sumner-Class

DD-692 – DD-759

Allen M. Sumner-Class

Six-Gun Destroyers

The six-gun Fletcher. Three twin 5"/38 mounts gave the Sumners fifty percent more firepower than their predecessors. USS Laffey took six kamikazes and four bombs at Okinawa and refused to sink — "The Ship That Would Not Die." Read more

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Gearing-Class

DD-710 – DD-890

Long-Range Fleet Destroyers

Fourteen feet longer than the Sumner for more fuel and range. Most arrived too late for WWII but became the backbone of the Cold War destroyer fleet. Gearings served for four decades — from WWII through FRAM modernization to Vietnam and beyond. The longest-serving destroyer design in Navy history. Read more

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Taffy 3 - Battle off Samar

OCTOBER 25, 1944

Taffy 3 - Battle off Samar

October 25, 1944

CDR Ernest Evans

At 0700, the largest battleship ever built — Yamato — appeared on the horizon with four battleships, six heavy cruisers, and eleven destroyers bearing down on six escort carriers and their seven-ship screen. CDR Ernest Evans didn't wait for orders. USS Johnston charged the entire Japanese fleet alone. Hoel and Heermann followed. Samuel B. Roberts — a destroyer escort not designed for surface combat — closed to point-blank range. Johnston, Hoel, and Roberts were sunk. Evans was never found. The Japanese retreated. Read more

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Okinawa Radar Pickets

RADAR PICKET LINE

Okinawa Radar Pickets

April – June 1945

Kamikaze Sorties

At Okinawa, destroyers drew the worst duty in the Pacific — radar picket stations north of the fleet, first to detect incoming kamikazes, and first to be hit. Over 1,900 kamikaze sorties targeted the picket line. The tin cans absorbed the blows so the carriers and transports didn't have to. It was the most sustained punishment any surface force has ever endured. Read more

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Cold War Transition 1945 – 1959

FLEET REHAB & MOD

Fleet Rehabilitation & Modernization

Anti-Sub Rocket

By the late 1950s, hundreds of WWII destroyers were obsolete. The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization program rebuilt them — stripping old torpedoes and guns, installing ASROC anti-submarine rockets, DASH drone helicopters, and modern sonar. FRAM I rebuilt Gearings from the deck up. FRAM II upgraded Sumners. The program extended the life of 200+ destroyers by a decade. Read more

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Forrest Sherman-Class

DD-931 – DD-951

Forrest Sherman-Class

First Post-War Destroyers

The first destroyer designed from scratch after WWII. Faster, sleeker, and carrying the new 5"/54 caliber gun. Four were later converted to guided-missile destroyers with Tartar SAMs — bridging the gap between the gun-armed fleet and the missile age. Read more

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Guided Missile Revolution 1958 – 1964

Charles F. Adams-Class

DDG-2 – DDG-24

Charles F. Adams-Class

First Purpose-Built Guided Missile Destroyers

The first purpose-built guided missile destroyers in the United States Navy. Each Adams carried the Tartar surface-to-air missile system alongside conventional guns - the beginning of the air-defense destroyer mission that defines the surface fleet today. Read more

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DDG-37 – DDG-46

Fleet Air Defense Destroyers

Originally classified as destroyer leaders (DLG), the Coontz-class carried the long-range Terrier missile and provided fleet area air defense that no previous destroyer could match. Reclassified as guided-missile destroyers in 1975, they guarded carrier battle groups through the final decades of the Cold War. Read more

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Vietnam — The Gun Line 1964 – 1973

Destroyers on the Gun Line

OPERATION SEA DRAGON

Destroyers on the Gun Line

Naval Gunfire Support - Operation Sea Dragon

Years on Station

Last Ship Hit by Air

From 1964 to 1973, destroyers rotated onto the gun line off Vietnam — providing naval gunfire support that Marines and soldiers on the ground depended on. Operation Sea Dragon sent destroyers north to shell supply routes and coastal targets in North Vietnam itself. Over one million naval gunfire rounds were expended. USS Higbee became the last U.S. warship hit by enemy air attack when a MiG dropped a bomb on her in 1972. The 5-inch gun proved it still mattered. Read more

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Gas Turbine Revolution 1975 – 1990

Spruance-Class

DD-963 – DD-997

Gas Turbine ASW Destroyers

A quantum leap. Four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines replaced steam — giving the Spruance-class more power, faster response, and lower manning than anything before. The same hull became the basis for the Ticonderoga-class cruiser. Later Spruances received VLS cells for Tomahawk cruise missiles, transforming a sub hunter into a land-attack platform. Read more

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Kidd-Class

DDG-993 – DDG-996

"The Ayatollah Class"

Four guided-missile destroyers originally built for the Shah of Iran. When the revolution toppled the Shah, the Navy took them — sailors called them "the Ayatollah class." Modified Spruance hulls with the missile systems of a Virginia-class cruiser, they were the most capable surface combatants of their size until the Arleigh Burkes arrived. Read more

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Aegis Dominance 1991 – Present

Arleigh Burke-Class

Arleigh Burke-Class

Aegis Guided Missile Destroyers

The backbone of the United States Navy. The Arleigh Burke-class is the most numerous surface combatant in the fleet — 73 ships commissioned, building toward 89+. The SPY-1D Aegis radar tracks hundreds of targets simultaneously. Ninety-six VLS cells fire Standard missiles, Tomahawks, and ASROC. Flight III ships carry SPY-6(V)1 with ballistic missile defense capability. Burkes have launched Tomahawks in every conflict since Desert Storm and defended the fleet against ballistic missiles and drones in the Red Sea. The most versatile warship ever built. Read more

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Next Generation 2016 – Future

DDG-1000 – DDG-1002

Stealth Multi-Mission Destroyers

Tumblehome Hull

The most radical surface combatant ever built. A tumblehome hull that presents the radar cross-section of a fishing boat. Originally 32 planned, cut to three. Now being armed with Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic missiles — transforming Zumwalt from a troubled program into the Navy's first hypersonic-capable surface ship. Read more

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NEXT-GEN DESTROYER

Next-Generation Guided Missile Destroyer

The future of the surface fleet. DDG(X) combines Arleigh Burke's combat-proven Aegis architecture with a larger hull, integrated power system, and capacity for directed-energy weapons and hypersonic missiles. Designed to replace the Ticonderoga cruisers and oldest Burkes, DDG(X) will anchor the surface fleet through 2080. Read more

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500+

Ships Built

10

Classes

83

Years of Service

Tin Can

Sailors