Sims-class destroyer
USS Sims on trials in 1939, still missing its Mk37 director
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Class overview | |
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Name | Sims class |
Builders |
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Operators | United States Navy |
Preceded by | Benham class |
Succeeded by | Benson class |
Built | 1937–1940 |
In commission | 1939–1946 |
Completed | 12 |
Lost | 5 |
Retired | 7 |
General characteristics | |
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 4 in (4.06 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 2 shafts |
Speed | 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph) on trials |
Range | 5,640 nmi (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Complement |
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Sensors and processing systems | |
Armament |
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Notes | fuel capacity: 444 tons |
The Sims-class
The class served extensively in World War II, and five of the class were lost in the war. Of the five ships lost, four were at the hands of the Japanese and one at the hands of the Germans. The class served on Neutrality Patrols in the Atlantic in 1940-41. Except for Roe, Wainwright, and Buck, the class was transferred to the Pacific shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. All of the ships saw extensive combat service. At the war's end in August 1945, three of the seven survivors were undergoing overhauls that were left unfinished, and were ultimately scrapped. The remaining four seaworthy ships were used as targets during the 1946 Operation Crossroads atomic tests at Bikini Atoll. One was sunk by the first blast, while the other three were sunk as targets two years later after serving as experimental platforms.
Design
Compared with the Benhams, the Sims class were increased 8 feet (2.4 m) in hull length, and started a trend of increased size that led to the numerous larger 2100-ton destroyer classes that marked wartime construction. The class was designed by Gibbs & Cox. They incorporated streamlining of the bridge structure and the forward part of the hull, in an attempt to increase speed and improve fuel economy. They also had an additional 5-inch gun, with the torpedo tubes re-arranged so one less quadruple mount could be used while maintaining an eight-tube broadside.[3]
When
Engineering
The Sims class nearly duplicated the advanced machinery of the preceding Benham class, they were the last built with the boiler rooms adjacent forward and the engine rooms adjacent aft and therefore the last one-stack US destroyers. Steam pressure was 600 psi (4,100 kPa) (one reference says 565 psi),
Armament
The Sims class introduced the advanced
The class was completed with five 5-inch
The as-built light AA armament of four
The as-built
Service
The class served extensively in World War II, and five of the class were lost in the war. Of the five ships lost, four were at the hands of the Japanese and one at the hands of the Germans. The class served on Neutrality Patrols in the North Atlantic, Caribbean, and South Atlantic in 1940–41. Except for Roe, Wainwright, and Buck, the class was transferred to the Pacific shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, where they often screened aircraft carriers. Two were sunk as a direct result of this duty by the same torpedo spreads that killed their carriers; Hammann escorting USS Yorktown in the Battle of Midway and O'Brien escorting USS Wasp on 15 September 1942 (O'Brien did not sink until 19 October).
Walke became the only ship of the class to be sunk in action against enemy surface warships when she attempted to attack Japanese warships at the naval battle of Guadalcanal, 15th of November 1942, but was ambushed by Japanese destroyers. She was hit once from a six torpedo spread, fired from the Japanese destroyer Ayanami, that blew off her bow as she promptly went down and sank.[17]
In the Atlantic, Wainwright escorted the ill-fated
Ships in class
Name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
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Sims | DD-409 | Bath Iron Works | 15 July 1937 | 8 April 1939 | 1 August 1939 | — | Sunk by Japanese aircraft in the Battle of the Coral Sea, 7 May 1942 (14 survivors) |
Hughes | DD-410 | 15 September 1937 | 17 June 1939 | 21 September 1939 | 28 August 1946 | Damaged during Operation Crossroads atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Sunk as target, 16 October 1948. | |
Anderson | DD-411 | Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, New Jersey | 15 November 1937 | 4 February 1939 | 19 May 1939 | 28 August 1946 | Sunk during Operation Crossroads atomic tests (Test "Able"), at Bikini Atoll, 1 July 1946 |
Hammann | DD-412 | 17 January 1938 | 11 August 1939 | — | Sunk by I-168 during the Battle of Midway with the same torpedo spread (salvo) that also sank USS Yorktown, 6 June 1942. (80 killed) | ||
Mustin | DD-413 | Newport News Shipbuilding | 20 December 1937 | 8 December 1938 | 15 September 1939 | 29 August 1946 | Damaged during Kwajalein , 18 April 1948.
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Russell | DD-414 | 3 November 1939 | 15 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, September 1947 | |||
O'Brien | DD-415 | Boston Navy Yard | 31 May 1938 | 20 October 1939 | 2 March 1940 | — | Torpedoed by I-19, with the same torpedo spread (salvo) which also sank USS Wasp and damaged USS North Carolina, 15 September 1942. Sank 19 October 1942 after departing Suva, Fiji while en route to Pearl Harbor for repairs. |
Walke | DD-416 | 27 April 1940 | Torpedoed and sunk by the destroyer Ayanami in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 15 November 1942 (88 killed) | ||||
Morris | DD-417 | Norfolk Navy Yard
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7 June 1938 | 1 June 1939 | 5 March 1940 | 9 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, 2 August 1947 |
Roe | DD-418 | Charleston Navy Yard
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23 April 1938 | 21 June 1939 | 5 January 1940 | 30 October 1945 | Sold for scrap, August 1947 |
Wainwright | DD-419 | Norfolk Navy Yard
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7 June 1938 | 1 June 1939 | 15 April 1940 | 29 August 1946 | Damaged in the Operation Crossroads atomic tests at Bikini Atoll, July 1946. Sunk as target in Pacific, 5 July 1948. |
Buck | DD-420 | Philadelphia Naval Shipyard | 6 April 1938 | 22 May 1939 | 15 May 1940 | — | Sunk by U-616 off Salerno, Italy, 9 October 1943 (150 killed) |
See also
- Benham-class destroyer
- Gridley-class destroyer
- List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy
- List of United States Navy losses in World War II
References
Citations
- ^ Friedman, p.92
- ^ a b Comparison of 1500-ton classes at Destroyer History Foundation
- ^ a b Friedman, p.94
- ^ Furer, Julius Augustus (1959). Administration of the Navy Department in World War II. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 217–222.
- ^ Friedman, p. 469
- ^ Friedman, pp. 465-469
- ^ USS Sims and USS Hughes General Information Book with as-built data at Destroyer History Foundation
- ^ Jane's Naval Weapon Systems (dead link 2015-07-03, Jane's no longer has sample articles)
- ^ Friedman, p. 93
- ^ DiGiulian, Tony, 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12 gun at NavWeaps.com
- ^ Naval Ordnance and Gunnery, Vol. 2, Chapter 25, AA Fire Control Systems
- ^ "Torpedo History: Torpedo Mk 15". Retrieved 2015-07-07.
- ^ Friedman, pp. 94-95
- ^ Friedman, pp. 209-211
- ^ Friedman, pp. 218-219
- ^ Friedman, p. 194
- ^ "Lundgren Resource - Battleship Action 14-15 November 1942 - NavWeaps". web.archive.org. 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- ^ Bauer and Roberts, pp. 187-188
Sources
- 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.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1965). U.S. Warships of World War II. London: Ian Allan.
- Zajkowski, Edward J.; Wright, Christopher C. (June 2021). "Question 4/58". Warship International. LVIII (2): 101–115. ISSN 0043-0374.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- Sims-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- Tin Can Sailors @ destroyers.org - Sims class destroyer article Archived 2015-06-25 at the Wayback Machine
- Tin Can Sailors @ destroyers.org - Sims class destroyer specs Archived 2015-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Sims class at DestroyersOnline.com
- "Goldplater" destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
- Comparison of 1500-ton classes at Destroyer History Foundation
- USS Sims and USS Hughes General Information Book with as-built data at Destroyer History Foundation
- NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page