Allen-M.-Sumner class

Allen-M.-Sumner class
The USS De Haven , an Allen M. Sumner class ship
Overview
Type	destroyer
units	58 (of 70 planned)
Shipyard	various
period of service	32 years (US Navy)
Commissioning	1943 (US Navy)
Decommissioning	1975 (US Navy)
Technical specifications
displacement	2,200–2,220  ts
length	112 m (at the waterline )
width	12.5 m
Draft	4.8 m (standard)
drive	2 steam turbines from General Electric or Westinghouse 4 boilers from Babcock & Wilcox 2 shafts with propeller, 60,000 hp 1 rudder
speed	34  kn
Range	11,000 km at 15 kn (503 tons of fuel)
Armament	Second World War 6 × 127 mm cannon 12 × 40 mm flak 11 × 20 mm anti-aircraft gun 10 × 533 mm torpedo tubes 6 × depth charges -Werfer Typical equipment in the 1950s 6 × 127 mm cannon 6 × 76.2 mm cannon 6 × depth charges -Werfer 2 × Hedgehog for anti-submarine defense Typical equipment according to FRAM II 6 × 127 mm cannon 2 × 533 mm torpedo tubes 2 × torpedo tubes Mk 32 VDS sonar 1 × DASH drone for submarine hunting
Costs:	$ 8,000,000

The Allen M. Sumner class was a group of 58 destroyers built in the United States during World War II . It replaced the Fletcher class . A slightly modified version of the Sumner class became the gearing class , which were produced in larger numbers.

Of the ships built between 1943 and 1945, four were sunk during the war and two more were scrapped due to severe damage. The remaining ships served in the United States Navy until the 1970s . Thereupon 29 were sold to other countries, where they could be used for many years. Today two ships still exist as museum ships .

Namesake was the USMC officer Allen Melancthon Sumner (1882-1918). The lead ship (the USS Allen M. Sumner ) had the registration DD-692 .

description

In contrast to the ships of the previous class, the 58 new destroyers had more maneuverability and a more modern fire control system . They kept the strong focus on torpedoes. Originally the anti-aircraft armament was reduced, but in response to the threat from Kamikaze , more effective anti-aircraft defenses were reinstalled. Allen-M.-Sumner ships were a little more expensive (US $ 8 million each) than those of the older Fletcher class, but were considerably more competitive.

Eighteen ships were from the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearney, New Jersey built fourteen of the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine . The remaining ships were completed in shipyards across the country.

The USS Barton was the first ship to enter service. The last was the USS Henley .

The USS Maddox , which was involved in the Tonkin incident (which triggered the US entry into the Vietnam War ), gained some fame .

Web links

• Allen M. Sumner -class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
• GlobalSecurity.org
• http://www.gyrodynehelicopters.com/sumner_class.htm
• "Super Destroyer Packs Punch of Prewar Cruiser." Popular Mechanics , February 1945, p. 32.
• NavSource Destroyer Photo Page
• (Chinese) ships are to be scrapped, including the former US DD-746