Gleaves-class destroyer
![]() USS Buchanan in 1942
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Class overview | |
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Name | Gleaves class |
Builders |
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Operators | |
Preceded by | Benson class |
Succeeded by | Fletcher class |
Subclasses |
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Built | 1938–1943 |
In commission | 1940–1956 |
Completed | 66 |
Lost | 14 |
Retired | 52 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 348 ft 3 in (106.15 m) |
Beam | 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m) |
Draft | 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 shafts |
Speed | 37.4 knots (69 km/h) 43 mph |
Range | 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Complement | 16 officers, 260 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems | |
Armament |
|
Notes |
The Gleaves-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built 1938–42, designed by Gibbs & Cox.[3][4] The first ship of the class was USS Gleaves. They were the destroyer type that was in production for the US Navy when the United States entered World War II.
The Gleaves class were initially specified as part of a 24-ship
Related classes
See: Benson-class destroyer#Related classes
Design
The Gleaves class was designed as an improved version of the
Engineering
The Gleaves class were all completed with 600 psi (4,100 kPa) steam (references vary)
Armament
The class was completed with four or five 5-inch (127 mm)
Habitability
Chief petty officers had quarters in the forecastle. All other enlisted sailors had a bunk in large open living compartments astern of the engineering spaces. Beneath each tier of bunks were individual lockers with a wooden grate floor. As seawater entered the compartment during rough weather, the wooden grate was intended to lift the locker contents above the deck and allow the seawater to drain out as it sloshed over the deck when the ship rolled. No laundry was included in the original design, but a single washing machine was later installed in a compartment the size of a closet. Clothing could be washed and spun damp to be hung to dry wherever space allowed.[13]
DMS conversions
Twenty-four Gleaves-class ships were converted to destroyer minesweepers (DMS-19 through DMS-42) in 1944 and 1945.[8][14] Twelve Atlantic Fleet ships (DD-454–458, 461, 462, 464, 621, 625, 636, and 637) were converted in 1944, with the rest in the Pacific in 1945 (DD-489, 490, 493–496, 618, 627, and 632–635). Magnetic and acoustic minesweeping gear was fitted, with armament reduced to three 5 in guns, no torpedo tubes, two K-guns, four 40 mm guns in two twin mounts, and seven 20 mm guns on the Atlantic ships. The Pacific ships and Hobson had increased light AA armament, with eight 40 mm guns in two quad mounts and six 20 mm guns in two twin and two single mounts. Twelve DMS conversions were the only Benson-Gleaves-class ships retained in service postwar. However, they were judged ineffective in the Korean War due to requiring a large crew compared with purpose-built minesweepers, and were decommissioned in 1954–56.[14]
Service
Twenty-one were in commission when the
Most were decommissioned and placed in the Reserve Fleet just following World War II. Twelve DMS conversions remained in commission into the 1950s, the last withdrawn from service in 1956.[5] Hobson was sunk in a collision with the aircraft carrier Wasp in 1952. Baldwin grounded while under tow and was scuttled in 1961 while out of commission, thus is not counted as a loss.
Eleven ships of the class were transferred to foreign navies 1949–1959; two to Greece, four to Turkey, one to Italy, two to Taiwan, and two to Japan.
Modernization was considered in the 1950s but not implemented except on the transferred ships.[17] Those ships not transferred to other countries were mostly sold for scrap in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[5]
Ships in class
Name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gleaves | DD-423 | Bath Iron Works | 16 May 1938 | 9 December 1939 | 14 June 1940 | 8 May 1946 | Sold for scrap, 29 June 1972 |
Niblack | DD-424 | 8 August 1938 | 18 May 1940 | 1 August 1940 | June 1946 | Sold for scrap, 16 August 1973 | |
Livermore | DD-429 | 6 March 1939 | 3 August 1940 | 7 October 1940 | 24 January 1947 | Sold for scrap, 3 March 1961 | |
Eberle | DD-430 | 12 April 1939 | 14 September 1940 | 4 December 1940 | 3 June 1946 | Transferred to Greece as Niki, 22 January 1951 | |
Plunkett | DD-431 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 1 March 1939 | 7 March 1940 | 17 July 1940 | 3 May 1946 | Transferred to Taiwan as Nan Yang, 16 February 1959 |
Kearny | DD-432 | 9 March 1940 | 13 September 1940 | 7 March 1946 | Sold for scrap, 6 October 1972 | ||
Gwin | DD-433 | Boston Navy Yard | 1 June 1939 | 25 May 1940 | 15 January 1941 | — | Sunk, Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943 |
Meredith | DD-434 | 24 April 1940 | 1 March 1941 | Sunk by air attack near San Cristóbal, Solomon Islands, 15 October 1942 | |||
Grayson | DD-435 | Charleston Navy Yard
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17 July 1939 | 7 August 1940 | 14 February 1941 | 4 February 1947 | Sold for scrap, 12 June 1974 |
Monssen | DD-436 | Puget Sound Navy Yard
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12 July 1939 | 16 May 1940 | 14 March 1941 | — | Sunk, First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal , 13 November 1942
|
Woolsey | DD-437 | Bath Iron Works | 9 October 1939 | 12 February 1941 | 7 May 1941 | 6 February 1947 | Sold for scrap, 29 May 1974 |
Ludlow | DD-438 | 18 December 1939 | 11 November 1940 | 5 March 1941 | 20 May 1946 | Transferred to Greece as Doxa, 22 January 1951 | |
6 June 1950 | 22 January 1951 | ||||||
Edison | DD-439 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 18 March 1940 | 23 November 1940 | 31 January 1941 | 18 May 1946 | Sold for scrap, 29 December 1966 |
Ericsson | DD-440 | 13 March 1941 | 15 March 1946 | Sunk as target, 17 November 1970 | |||
Wilkes | DD-441 | Boston Navy Yard | 1 November 1939 | 31 May 1940 | 22 April 1941 | 4 March 1946 | Sold for scrap, 29 June 1972 |
Nicholson | DD-442 | 3 June 1941 | 26 February 1946 | Transferred to Italy as Aviere, 15 January 1951 | |||
17 July 1950 | 15 January 1951 | ||||||
Swanson | DD-443 | Charleston Navy Yard
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15 November 1939 | 2 November 1940 | 29 May 1941 | 10 December 1945 | Sold for scrap, 29 June 1972 |
Ingraham | DD-444 | 15 February 1941 | 19 July 1941 | — | Sunk in collision with USS Chemung near the Azores, 22 August 1942 | ||
Bristol | DD-453 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 20 December 1940 | 25 July 1941 | 22 October 1941 | Sunk by U-371 near Algeria, 13 October 1943 | |
Ellyson | DD-454 | 26 July 1941 | 28 November 1941 | 19 October 1954 | Transferred to Japan as Asakaze, 19 October 1954 | ||
Hambleton | DD-455 | 16 December 1940 | 26 September 1941 | 22 December 1941 | 15 January 1955 | Sold for scrap, 22 November 1972 | |
Rodman | DD-456 | 29 April 1942 | 28 July 1955 | Transferred to Taiwan as Hsien Yang, 28 July 1955 | |||
Emmons | DD-457 | Bath Iron Works | 14 November 1940 | 23 August 1941 | 5 December 1941 | — | Sunk by Okinawa , 6 April 1945
|
Macomb | DD-458 | 3 September 1940 | 23 September 1941 | 26 January 1942 | 19 October 1954 | Transferred to Japan as Hatakaze, 19 October 1954, later transferred to Taiwan as Hsien Yang, 6 August 1970 | |
Forrest | DD-461 | Boston Navy Yard | 6 January 1941 | 14 June 1941 | 13 January 1942 | 30 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, 20 November 1946 |
Fitch | DD-462 | 3 February 1942 | 24 February 1956 | Sunk as target off Northeast Florida, 15 November 1973 | |||
Corry | DD-463 | Charleston Navy Yard
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4 September 1940 | 28 July 1941 | 18 December 1941 | — | Sunk by shore-based gunfire off Carentan River, France, 6 June 1944 |
Hobson | DD-464 | 14 November 1940 | 8 September 1941 | 22 January 1942 | Sunk in collision with USS Wasp, 26 April 1952 | ||
Aaron Ward | DD-483 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 11 February 1941 | 22 November 1941 | 4 March 1942 | Sunk by air attack off Guadalcanal, 7 April 1943 | |
Buchanan | DD-484 | 21 March 1942 | 21 May 1946 | Transferred to Turkey as Gelibolu, 28 April 1949 | |||
Duncan | DD-485 | 31 July 1941 | 20 February 1942 | 16 April 1942 | — | Sunk, Battle of Cape Esperance, 12 October 1942 | |
Lansdowne | DD-486 | 29 April 1942 | 2 May 1946 | Transferred to Turkey as Gaziantep, 10 June 1949 | |||
Lardner | DD-487 | 15 September 1941 | 20 March 1942 | 13 May 1942 | 16 May 1946 | Transferred to Turkey as Gemlik, 10 June 1949 | |
McCalla | DD-488 | 27 May 1942 | 17 May 1946 | Transferred to Turkey as Giresun, 29 April 1949 | |||
Mervine | DD-489 | 3 November 1941 | 3 May 1942 | 17 June 1942 | 27 May 1949 | Sold for scrap, 27 October 1969 | |
Quick | DD-490 | 3 July 1942 | 28 May 1949 | Sold for scrap, 27 August 1973 | |||
Carmick | DD-493 DMS-33 |
Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation | 29 May 1941 | 8 March 1942 | 28 December 1942 | 15 February 1954 | Sold for scrap, 7 August 1972 |
Doyle | DD-494 DMS-34 |
26 May 1941 | 17 March 1942 | 27 January 1943 | 19 May 1955 | Sold for scrap, 6 October 1972 | |
Endicott | DD-495 DMS-35 |
1 May 1941 | 5 April 1942 | 25 February 1943 | 17 August 1955 | Sold for scrap, 6 October 1970 | |
McCook | DD-496 DMS-36 |
30 April 1942 | 15 March 1943 | 27 May 1949 | Sold for scrap, 27 August 1973 | ||
Frankford | DD-497 | 5 June 1941 | 17 May 1942 | 31 March 1943 | 6 March 1946 | Sunk as target near Puerto Rico, 4 December 1973 | |
Davison | DD-618 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 26 February 1942 | 19 July 1942 | 11 September 1942 | 24 June 1949 | Sold for scrap, 27 August 1973 |
Edwards | DD-619 | 18 September 1942 | 11 April 1946 | Sold for scrap, 25 May 1973 | |||
Glennon | DD-620 | 25 March 1942 | 26 August 1942 | 8 October 1942 | — | Sunk by mine off Quinéville, France, 10 June 1944 | |
Jeffers | DD-621 | 5 November 1942 | 23 May 1955 | Sold for scrap, 25 May 1973 | |||
Maddox | DD-622 | 7 May 1942 | 15 September 1942 | 31 October 1942 | — | Sunk by air attack off Sicily, 10 July 1943 | |
Nelson | DD-623 | 26 November 1942 | January 1947 | Sold for scrap, 18 July 1969 | |||
Baldwin | DD-624 | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation | 19 July 1941 | 14 June 1942 | 30 April 1943 | 20 June 1946 | Grounded at Montauk, New York 15 April 1961, scuttled 5 June 1961 |
Harding | DD-625 | 22 July 1941 | 28 June 1942 | 25 May 1943 | 2 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, 16 April 1947 | |
Satterlee | DD-626 | 10 September 1941 | 17 July 1942 | 1 July 1943 | 16 March 1946 | Sold for scrap, 8 May 1972 | |
Thompson | DD-627 | 22 September 1941 | 15 July 1942 | 10 July 1943 | 18 May 1954 | Sold for scrap, 7 August 1972 | |
Welles | DD-628 | 27 September 1941 | 7 September 1942 | 16 August 1943 | 4 February 1946 | Sold for scrap, 18 July 1969 | |
Cowie | DD-632 | Boston Navy Yard | 18 March 1941 | 27 September 1941 | 1 June 1942 | 27 April 1947 | Sold for scrap, 22 February 1972 |
Knight | DD-633 | 23 June 1942 | 19 March 1947 | Sunk as a target near Southern California, 27 October 1967 | |||
Doran | DD-634 | 14 June 1941 | 10 December 1941 | 4 August 1942 | 29 January 1947 | Sold for scrap, 27 August 1973 | |
Earle | DD-635 | 1 September 1942 | 17 May 1947 | Sold for scrap, October 1970 | |||
Butler | DD-636 | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard | 16 September 1941 | 12 February 1942 | 15 August 1942 | 8 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, 10 January 1948 |
Gherardi | DD-637 | 15 September 1942 | 17 December 1955 | Sunk as target near Puerto Rico, 3 June 1973 | |||
Herndon | DD-638 | Norfolk Naval Shipyard | 26 August 1941 | 2 February 1942 | 20 December 1942 | 28 January 1946 | Sunk as target, 24 May 1973 |
Shubrick | DD-639 | 17 February 1942 | 18 April 1942 | 7 February 1943 | 16 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, 28 September 1947 | |
Beatty | DD-640 | Charleston Navy Yard
|
1 May 1941 | 20 December 1941 | 7 May 1942 | — | Sunk by air attack off Algeria, 6 November 1943 |
Tillman | DD-641 | 4 June 1942 | 6 February 1947 | Sold for scrap, 8 May 1972 | |||
Stevenson | DD-645 | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 23 July 1942 | 11 November 1942 | 15 December 1942 | 27 April 1946 | Sold for scrap, 2 June 1970 |
Stockton | DD-646 | 24 July 1942 | 11 January 1943 | 16 May 1946 | Sold for scrap, 25 May 1973 | ||
Thorn | DD-647 | 15 November 1942 | 28 February 1943 | 1 April 1943 | 6 May 1946 | Sunk as target off Northeast Florida, 22 August 1974 | |
Turner | DD-648 | 16 November 1942 | 15 April 1943 | — | Sunk by internal explosion near New York City, 3 January 1944 |
Film appearances
The 1954 movie The Caine Mutiny was filmed on USS Doyle and possibly USS Thompson. In the 1951 novel, Caine is a Wickes or Clemson-class destroyer minesweeper.
The destroyer shown in the opening and closing scenes of the movie musical On the Town is USS Nicholson.
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- List of destroyers of the United States Navy
- List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy
- List of destroyer-minesweepers
- List of ship classes of the Second World War
References
- ^ "Gleaves Class at Destroyers.org". Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
- ^ a b c d e f Friedman, pp. 95–109, 471–472
- ^ "Benson- and Gleaves-class Destroyers". Destroyer History Foundation. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ "The GLEAVES-Class Destroyers". The National Association of Destroyer Veterans. Archived from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bauer and Roberts, pp. 188–191
- ^ a b Benson-Gleaves classes at DestroyerHistory.org
- ^ Silverstone, pp. 126–135
- ^ a b c d e Gardiner and Chesneau, pp. 128–129
- ^ USS Gleaves (DD-423) and USS Niblack (DD-424) General Information Book with as-built data at Destroyer History Foundation Archived February 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Friedman, p. 107
- ^ NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page
- ^ Friedman, pp. 194–195
- ^ Parker, Jackson K. (1986). "the Life of a Machinist's Mate". Proceedings. 112 (5). United States Naval Institute: 174–176.
- ^ a b Friedman, pp. 108–109
- ^ Gardiner & Chumbley, pp. 160, 206, 222, 455, 469
- ^ Gardiner & Chumbley, p. 222
- ^ Friedman, pp. 107–108
- Destroyerhistory.org: Benson/Gleaves ship list
- ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
- ISBN 1-55750-442-3.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-83170-303-2.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1965). U.S. Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-0157-X.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- Benson- and Gleaves-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- Gleaves-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org – Gleaves class article Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Tin Can Sailors @ Destroyers.org – Gleaves class specs Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
- USS Gleaves (DD-423) and USS Niblack (DD-424) General Information Book with as-built data at Destroyer History Foundation
- Tin Can Sailors @ destroyers.org – Gleaves class destroyer Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
- NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page