From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Class of destroyer minelayers warship
Robert H. Smith
-class destroyer
|
Class overview
|
Name
| Robert H. Smith
class
|
Builders
| |
Operators
| |
Completed
| 12
|
Retired
| 12
|
General characteristics
|
Type
| Destroyer minelayer
|
Displacement
| 2,200 tons (standard)
|
Length
| 376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
|
Beam
| 40 ft 10 in (12.45 m)
|
Draft
| 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
|
Propulsion
| 4
Babcock & Wilcox
or
Foster Wheeler
boilers
; two
General Electric
or
Westinghouse
geared
steam turbines
, 60,000 shp (45,000 kW) total; two shafts
|
Speed
| 34 kn (63 km/h) max
|
Range
| 4,600 nmi (8,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
|
Complement
| 363 standard
|
Armament
| |
The
Robert H. Smith
class
of
destroyer minelayers
was built by the
United States
during
World War II
. The class was named for naval officer
Robert H. Smith
.
These vessels were all originally laid down as
Allen M. Sumner
-class
destroyers
and converted during construction in 1944. In that time the United States produced twelve
Robert H. Smith
-class destroyer minelayers. Their original
hull numbers
were DD-735-40, 749-51, and 771-73.
[2]
None of the
Robert H. Smith
-class vessels ever laid a
mine
in wartime, though they were frequently employed in
minesweeping
. Minelayers did not carry
torpedo tubes
. Otherwise they were used interchangeably with other destroyer types. As
radar pickets
at
Okinawa
,
Aaron Ward
,
Lindsey
, and
J. William Ditter
were damaged by
kamikazes
, and
Shea
by a
Baka bomb
.
[3]
Five of the class served actively in the 1950s, but all survivors were
mothballed
by the end of the decade and were disposed of in the 1970s. None of this class received
FRAM
conversions.
Ships in class
[
edit
]
Ship name
|
Hull no.
|
Builder
|
Laid down
|
Launched
|
Commissioned
|
Decommissioned
|
Fate
|
Robert H. Smith
|
DM-23 (ex-DD-735)
|
Bath Iron Works
,
Bath, Maine
|
10 January 1944
|
25 May 1944
|
4 August 1944
|
29 January 1947
|
Struck, 26 February 1971
|
Thomas E. Fraser
|
DM-24 (ex-DD-736)
|
31 January 1944
|
10 June 1944
|
22 August 1944
|
12 September 1955
|
Sold for scrap, 12 June 1974
|
Shannon
|
DM-25 (ex-DD-737)
|
14 February 1944
|
24 June 1944
|
8 September 1944
|
24 October 1955
|
Sold for scrap, May 1973
|
Harry F. Bauer
|
DM-26 (ex-DD-738)
|
6 March 1944
|
9 July 1944
|
22 September 1944
|
12 March 1956
|
Sold for scrap, 1 June 1974
|
Adams
|
DM-27 (ex-DD-739)
|
20 March 1944
|
23 July 1944
|
10 October 1944
|
December 1946
|
Sold for scrap, 16 December 1971
|
Tolman
|
DM-28 (ex-DD-740)
|
10 April 1944
|
13 August 1944
|
27 October 1944
|
29 January 1947
|
Sunk as a target 25 January 1997
|
Henry A. Wiley
|
DM-29 (ex-DD-749)
|
Bethlehem Staten Island
,
Staten Island
,
New York
|
28 November 1943
|
21 April 1944
|
31 August 1944
|
29 January 1947
|
Sold for scrap, 30 May 1972
|
Shea
|
DM-30 (ex-DD-750)
|
23 December 1943
|
20 May 1944
|
30 September 1944
|
9 April 1958
|
Sold for scrap, 1 September 1974
|
J. William Ditter
|
DM-31 (ex-DD-751)
|
25 January 1944
|
4 July 1944
|
28 October 1944
|
28 September 1945
|
Scrapped, July 1946
|
Lindsey
|
DM-32 (ex-DD-771)
|
Bethlehem Shipbuilding
,
San Pedro, California
,
Terminal Island
|
12 September 1943
|
5 March 1944
|
20 August 1944
|
25 May 1946
|
Sunk as a target 1 May 1972
|
Gwin
|
DM-33 (ex-DD-772)
|
31 October 1943
|
9 April 1944
|
30 September 1944
|
3 September 1946
|
Transferred to Turkey 15 August 1971
|
8 July 1952
|
3 April 1958
|
Aaron Ward
|
DM-34 (ex-DD-773)
|
12 December 1943
|
5 May 1944
|
28 October 1944
|
28 September 1945
|
Sold for scrap 1946
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Silverstone, p. 212
- ^
Silverstone, p. 212
- ^
Silverstone, p. 212
Sources
[
edit
]
- Friedman, Norman "US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History (Revised Edition)", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:2004,
ISBN
1-55750-442-3
.
- Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger,
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922?1946
, Conway Maritime Press, 1980.
ISBN
0-83170-303-2
.
- Silverstone, Paul H.,
U.S. Warships of World War II
(Ian Allan, 1965),
ISBN
0-87021-773-9
External links
[
edit
]