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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
Benson & Gleaves-Class
WWII
DD-421 - DD-497
Benson & Gleaves-Class
Pre-War Fleet Destroyers
~96
Ships
1940
Commissioned
5"/38
Main Battery
2,395
TONS
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
WWII
DD-445 - DD-691
Fletcher-Class
The Ship That Won the Pacific
175
Ships
1942
Commissioned
5×5"/38
Main Battery
2,924
TONS
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
WWII
DD-692 - DD-759
Allen M. Sumner-Class
Six-Gun Destroyers
58
Ships
1943
Commissioned
6×5"/38
Main Battery
3,515
TONS
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
WWII
DD-710 - DD-890
Gearing-Class
Long-Range Fleet Destroyers
98
Ships
1945
Commissioned
6×5"/38
Main Battery
3,480
TONS
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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LEYTE GULF
OCTOBER 25, 1944
Taffy 3 - Battle off Samar
October 25, 1944
3
DDs Lost
2
DEs Lost
Evans
CDR Ernest Evans
MoH
MEDAL OF HONOR
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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沖縄
警戒レーダー網
沖縄レーダーピケット
1945年4月~6月
1,900以上
神風特攻
36
沈没船
368
損傷艦船
4,907
戦死した船員
沖縄戦において、駆逐艦は太平洋戦域で最も過酷な任務に就いた。それは、艦隊の北に配置されたレーダーピケット(警戒網)ステーションで、接近する特攻機を最初に発見し、そして最初に攻撃される役目だった。1,900回以上の特攻機出撃がこの警戒線に集中した。駆逐艦は空母や輸送船が攻撃を受けないように、その打撃を吸収したのである。これは、水上部隊がこれまで耐え忍んだ中で最も長く続いた、過酷な懲罰であった。 Read more
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500以上
竣工船舶
10
分類
83
勤続年数
空き缶
船乗りたち