Name Mitscher class Preceded by Gearing class Built 1949–1954 | Operators United States Navy Succeeded by Forrest Sherman class | |
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Builders Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard | ||
The Mitscher-class destroyer was an experimental destroyer class of four ships that were built for the United States Navy shortly after World War II. Considerably larger than all previous destroyers, they would have been the first post-war destroyer class had they not been reclassified during construction as destroyer leaders (DL). Commissioned in 1953-1954, two of the class served until 1969, and were scrapped in the 1970s. The other two were converted into guided missile destroyers (DDG), served until 1978, and were sold for scrap by 1980.
Description
All four Mitscher-class ships were ordered 3 August 1948 and were named for admirals of the Second World War. Each ship displaced 3,331 tons light, 3,642 tons standard and 4,855 tons under full load with a length of 494 feet (151 m), a 50-foot (15 m) beam and a 26-foot (8 m) draft.
Beyond that, each ship had a different loadout of propulsion and other systems so as to determine the best course of action for future destroyer design.
In the early 1960s, the Mitscher class underwent modernization through the Class Improvement Program (CIP), which included the replacement of the boilers on the first two ships of the class.