The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States
during World War II. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of
dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and
Somers classes. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the
Vietnam War. The United States Navy commissioned 175
Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any other destroyer
class, and the design was generally regarded as highly successful. Fletchers
had a design speed of 38 knots, and an armament of five 5" guns in single
mounts with 10 21" torpedoes in two quintuple centerline mounts. The Allen
M. Sumner and Gearing classes were Fletcher derivatives.
The long-range Fletcher-class ships performed every task asked for of a
destroyer, from anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft warfare to surface
action. They could cover the vast distances required by fleet actions in
the Pacific. In fact, they served almost exclusively in the Pacific Theater of
Operations during World War II, during which they accounted for 29 Imperial
Japanese Navy submarines sunk. In a massive effort, the Fletchers were built
by shipyards across the United States and, after World War II ended, 11 were
sold to countries they had been built to fight against: Italy, Germany, and
Japan, as well as other navies, where they would go on to have even longer,
distinguished careers. Three have been preserved as museum
ships in the U.S. and one in Greece. Description
The Fletcher class was the largest class of destroyer ordered, and was also one
of the most successful and popular with the destroyer men themselves. Compared
to earlier classes built for the Navy, they carried a significant increase in
anti-aircraft weapons and other weaponry, which caused displacements to
rise. Their flush deck construction added structural strength, although it
did make them rather cramped, as less space was available below decks compared
with a raised forecastle. Design
The Fletcher-class was the first generation of destroyers designed after
the series of Naval Treaties that had limited ship designs heretofore. The
growth in the design was in part to answer a question that always dogged
U.S. Navy designs, that being the long range required by operations in the
Pacific Ocean. They were also to carry no less than five 5 in guns and ten
deck-mounted torpedo tubes on the centerline, allowing them to meet any
foreign design on equal terms. Compared to earlier designs, the Fletchers were
large, allowing them to eventually absorb the addition of two 40 mm Bofors
quadruple mount AA guns as well as six 20 mm Oerlikon dual AA gun positions.
This addition to the AA suite required the deletion of the forward quintuple
torpedo mount, a change done under the 4 April 1945 anti-kamikaze program.
Fletchers were also were much less top-heavy than previous classes,
allowing them to take on additional equipment and weapons without major
redesign. They were fortunate in catching American production at the
right moment, becoming "the" destroyer design, and only Fletcher-class
derivatives, the Sumner and Gearing classes, would follow it. The first
design inputs were in the fall of 1939 from questionnaires distributed around
design bureaus and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The design
parameters were the armaments desired of the next destroyer. As such, the
questions were of how many guns, torpedoes, and depth charges were seen
as desirable. Also asked was at what point would the design grow large enough
to become a torpedo target instead of a torpedo delivery system. The answer that
came back was that five 5 in dual purpose guns, twelve torpedoes, and
twenty-eight depth charges would be ideal, while a return to the 1500-ton
designs of the past was seen as undesirable. Speed requirements varied
from 35 to 38 kn, and shortcomings in the earlier Sims class, which were top
heavy and needed lead ballast to correct it, caused the Fletcher design to be
widened by 18 in of beam. As with other previous U.S. flush deck destroyer
designs, seagoing performance suffered. This was mitigated by deployment to the
Pacific Ocean, which is relatively calm. To achieve 38 kn with a 500-ton increase
in displacement, shaft horsepower was increased from 50,000 to 60,000 compared
to the previous Benson and Gleaves classes. The Fletchers featured
air-encased boilers producing steam at 600 psi and 850 °F 850 °F, with
emergency diesel generators providing 80 kW of electric power. Typically, Babcock
& Wilcox boilers and General Electric geared steam turbines were equipped,
although other designs and manufacturers were probably used to maximize the rate
of production. Armament
The main gun armament was five dual-purpose 5 inch/38 caliber guns in
single mounts, guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System, including a Mk 12
fire control radar and a Mk 22 height-finder linked by a Mark 1A Fire
Control Computer and stabilized by a Mk 6 8,500 rpm gyro. Ten 21 in torpedo
tubes were fitted in two quintuple centerline mounts, firing the Mark 15
torpedo. Initial designed anti-aircraft armament was a quadruple 1.1"/75 caliber
gun mount and six .50 caliber machine guns; however, as the attack on Pearl
Harbor had shown the need for increased light AA weapons, later ships were
typically fitted with two twin 40 mm Bofors mounts plus seven single 20 mm
Oerlikon weapons. Anti-submarine armament was initially two depth charge
racks at the stern, augmented by up to six K-gun depth charge throwers as the
war progressed. Throughout the course of World War II,
the number of anti-aircraft weapons increased, typically resulting in five
twin 40 mm Bofors mounts plus seven single 20 mm Oerlikons by 1945. Due to
the increasing threat from kamikaze attacks, fifty-one ships received
further AA modifications beginning in 1945, replacing the forward torpedo
tubes and midships 40 mm twin Bofors with two quadruple 40 mm for a total of
14 barrels, and the seven 20 mm singles with six 20 mm twins. Three were built
with aircraft catapults, resulting in the deletion of the aft-most 5-inch and
torpedo tube mounts. This alteration was not a success in service and was not
repeated. These three destroyers were later converted to the normal
Fletcher-class configuration. Service
Nineteen were lost during World War II; six more were damaged and not repaired.
Postwar, the remainder were decommissioned and put into reserve.
With the outbreak of the Korean War many were returned to active duty. During
this time 39 were refitted, reducing their overall main armament and the
number of torpedo tubes to accommodate other weapons. A new ahead-throwing
weapon called Weapon Alpha was installed in many of the ships. Others carried
trainable Hedgehogs. Eighteen ships were redesignated as escort destroyers,
optimized for anti-submarine warfare; these reverted to destroyer designation
in 1962. USS Bache grounded on the Isle of Rhodes 6 February 1968 and was
scrapped there. Other navies
Many of the ships were sold to other navies during the mid-1950s, including:
Argentina: 5 Brazil: 7
Chile: 2 Colombia: 1
Greece: 6 Italy: 3
Japan: 2 Mexico: 2
Peru: 2 South Korea: 3
Spain: 5 Taiwan: 4
Turkey: 4 West Germany: 6
Any remaining were broken up in the 1970s. The last Fletcher in service, BAM
Cuitlahuac, left the Mexican navy in 2001, meaning the total service life of
the Fletchers stretched over almost six decades and into the 21st century.
Four ships have been preserved as museum ships, although only Kidd was never
modernized and retains her WWII configuration:
USS Cassin Young, in Boston, Massachusetts
USS The Sullivans, in Buffalo, New York USS Kidd, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
AT Velos former USS Charrette in Palaio Faliro, Greece
Ships in class See List of Fletcher-class destroyers
See also List of destroyers of the United States
Navy List of destroyer classes of the United
States Navy References
Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S.. Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy,
1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN
0-313-26202-0. Friedman, Norman. US Destroyers: An
Illustrated Design History. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN
1-55750-442-3. Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger.
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. London: Conway Maritime
Press. ISBN 0-83170-303-2. Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen.
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. London: Conway Maritime
Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7. Silverstone, Paul H.. 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
Fletcher-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
List of Fletcher-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
Tin Can Sailors @ destroyers.org - Fletcher class destroyer
USS Conway's Official Website, Fletcher class
Destroyers Online, Fletcher class USS Cassin Young website
Fletcher-class facts, USS Bush website Complete Fletcher-class list and photos,
USS Abbot website "German Navy Fletcher-Class, "Z-1"
ex-USS Anthony. Pictures and History in German."
A Sailor's Diary: Artwork, diaries, and letters from a sailor aboard the
Fletcher class USS La Vallette NavSource Destroyer Photo Index Page