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| Forrest Sherman-class destroyer | |
|---|---|
| Name | Forrest Sherman-class destroyer |
| Caption | USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931) underway in the 1950s |
| Country | United States |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works; Bethlehem Steel; Puget Sound Naval Shipyard |
| In service | 1955–1982 |
| Displacement | 4,100 long tons (full load) |
| Length | 418 ft (127 m) |
| Beam | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 × Foster Wheeler boilers, 2 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 32.5 kn |
| Complement | 324 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 3 × 5 in/54 cal guns, 8 × 3 in/50 cal guns, 6 × 21 in torpedo tubes (ASW) |
| Notes | First post-World War II US destroyer class designed for sustained carrier task force operations |
Forrest Sherman-class destroyer The Forrest Sherman-class destroyer was a United States Navy post-World War II surface combatant class commissioned in the 1950s to replace Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer and Gearing-class destroyer units. Designed during the early Cold War era under influence from Harry S. Truman administration naval policy and Chief of Naval Operations planning, the class combined rapid-firing guns, antisubmarine warfare features, and improved habitability to operate with United States Fleet carrier task forces and allied navies during crises such as the Korean War aftermath and the Vietnam War. Built by yards including Bath Iron Works and Bethlehem Steel, the 18-ship class served as a bridge between World War II destroyer designs and guided-missile conversions of the 1960s.
Designed in the late 1940s under the supervision of the Bureau of Ships and influenced by studies at the Naval War College and requirements from Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, the class embodied postwar lessons from Battle of Leyte Gulf, Operation Crossroads, and wartime convoy operations. Naval architects at Bath Iron Works and Todd Pacific Shipyards implemented a flush-deck hull with increased beam for stability to support heavy gun mounts and advanced sensors requested by Admiral Arleigh Burke's staff. The program was funded through National Security Act of 1947 appropriations and overseen by the Ship Characteristics Board, reflecting Cold War strategic emphasis articulated in NSC-68 and fleet plans coordinated with Joint Chiefs of Staff directives.
Original armament centered on three twin 5 in/54 caliber dual-purpose mounts derived from designs used in USS Missouri (BB-63) and influenced by gun-fire control work at Naval Research Laboratory. Secondary armament included eight 3 in/50 cal anti-aircraft guns and anti-submarine weapons such as Hedgehog-style mortars, depth charge projectors, and three torpedo tubes for Mark 32 anti-submarine torpedoes after later refits. Fire control and sensor suites integrated Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System, AN/SPS-10 surface-search radar, and AN/SPS-40 air-search radar with sonars from AN/SQS-23 family in modernization programs. The sensor suite evolution was guided by trials at Naval Ordnance Laboratory and tactics refined during exercises with NATO and SEATO partners.
Propulsion comprised four Foster Wheeler boilers feeding two geared steam turbines built to standards developed at Newport News Shipbuilding and tested at the David Taylor Model Basin. Design speed exceeded 32 knots to meet task force rendezvous requirements established by Carrier Strike Group doctrine and to operate with Essex-class aircraft carrier successors. Range and endurance matched blue-water patrol expectations from planning studies by Office of Naval Research analysts, allowing transits across the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean for deployments to Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Tonkin theaters.
Commissioned during the Eisenhower administration, Forrest Sherman-class ships deployed with United States Sixth Fleet and Seventh Fleet task groups, participating in incidents such as Lebanon crisis of 1958 support, patrols during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and naval gunfire support in the Vietnam War. Units operated alongside carriers like USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and cruisers such as USS Long Beach (CGN-9), and conducted exercises with allies including Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and French Navy. Several ships performed space recovery and tracking roles supporting Project Mercury and Project Apollo capsule recoveries coordinated with NASA and Military Sealift Command assets before decommissioning in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Throughout service, the class underwent varied upgrades including conversion trials to guided-missile destroyer concepts influenced by Project SCB 240 and ordnance developments at Naval Surface Weapons Center. Selected hulls received ASROC launchers, triple torpedo tubes for ASW modernization, and installation of helicopter platforms inspired by Lynx and SH-2 Seasprite integrations on contemporaneous classes. Fire-control and electronic warfare systems were updated with components from Naval Electronics Laboratory Center programs and interoperability improvements for NATO command systems; many proposals for conversion to DDG guided-missile roles competed with programs that produced Charles F. Adams-class destroyer ships.
The class comprised 18 ships built at yards including Bath Iron Works, Bethlehem Steel's Fore River and San Francisco plants, and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Notable units included USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931), USS John Paul Jones (DD-932), USS Hull (DD-945), and USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853) — each named under traditions overseen by the Secretary of the Navy. Hull numbers and commissioning dates were recorded by the Naval Vessel Register and chronicled in archives at the Naval Historical Center and the Smithsonian Institution's naval collections.
The Forrest Sherman-class influenced subsequent United States Navy destroyer design philosophies, informing gun-missile integration approaches seen in the Charles F. Adams-class destroyer and modern Arleigh Burke-class destroyer families. Lessons from their sensor integrations and habitability improvements affected standards at the Naval Sea Systems Command and guided adoption of vertical launch systems later used on Ticonderoga-class cruiser conversions. Surviving artifacts and preserved ship sections reside in museums such as the USS Kidd (DD-661) Museum and collections curated by the Battleship Cove and local historical societies, while decommissioning and disposal studies contributed to environmental policy discussions with agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.
Category:Destroyer classes of the United States Navy