USS Sterett (DD-407)

USS Sterett (DD-407)

USS Sterett (DD-407) was a Sims-class destroyer of the United States Navy. The Sims class was the last pre-war destroyer class completed before the Fletcher class transformed the U.S. Navy's destroyer force. Displacing 1,764 tons, the Sims class carried five 5-inch guns and eight torpedo tubes. Twelve were built, and they served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

Named for Master Commandant Andrew Sterett, who commanded the schooner USS Enterprise in a victorious engagement with the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli during the Barbary Wars in 1801, USS Sterett was built by Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and commissioned in August 1939. One of the most decorated ships of the Sims class. At the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on the night of 13 November 1942, Sterett was in the thick of the close-range melee, firing torpedoes and guns at near-point-blank range against Japanese battleships and destroyers. She scored hits on the battleship Hiei and a Japanese destroyer. Earned the Presidential Unit Citation for the action. Served through the entire Pacific war from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa.

USS Sterett earned 11 battle stars for service in: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Cape Esperance, New Georgia, Bougainville, Marshall Islands, Marianas, Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa. Decommissioned November 1945. Sold for scrap December 1946.

This collection features apparel and merchandise honoring USS Sterett (DD-407) and the men who served aboard her. 1,764 tons standard displacement. 348 feet in length. Five 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose guns. Eight 21-inch torpedo tubes in two quadruple mounts. Top speed 37 knots. Crew of 192.