Their flush deck construction added structural strength; however, it did make them cramped, as less crew space was available below decks compared with a raised forecastle. OC Division Headed by the Communications Officer. Laid down beginning in 1941, all 175 Fletchers were completed between June 1942 and February 1945, launched an average of 212 days after keel laying and commissioned after an average of 152 days more or 364 days totalnearly 10 per cent faster than the repeat Bensons and Gleaves that preceded them. One my ships was USS OBannon DD-450 , the most decorated destroyer of WWII. What they got was a destroyer design that was effective enough to provide excellent service in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam Wars. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. X-RAY provides the least protection. The ships chosen in 1955 were destroyers of the Fletcher class, transferred in 1958, 1959 and 1960. Both books have a table of . Note that both the terms is and was are used interchangeably in this discussion because many of these practices still exist today. The Fletcher class destroyers had a wartime complement of 329 personnel. In the traditional system of naming destroyers after Naval heroes, she was named after Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, Sr. who was killed aboard his flagship, USS ARIZONA (BB-39) during the surprise attack by the . United States naval ship classes of World War II. For this reason, all sailors of the Boiler Technician (BT) rating were meticulous about carrying a book of matches around with them at all times. Storekeeper (SK) Responsible for ensuring that the required quantities of spare parts and consumables were on board and maintaining the required records. Of course, ships today are fitted with Global Positioning (GPS), Electronic Chart Display (ECDIS) and other more advanced equipment. [8] 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. [5], 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 USS KIDD (DD-661) is a Fletcher-class destroyer, the six hundred sixty-first destroyer built by the United States Navy. They were responsible for visual communications between ships by flashing light, flaghoist, or semaphore. Eighteen ships were redesignated as escort destroyers (DDE), optimized for anti-submarine warfare; these reverted to destroyer (DD) designation in 1962. The first ship to moor had to place a boat in the water which carried the mooring party. In the Fletcher class, the boilers produced steam at 650 psi with a final steam temperature of 850F, and supplied the steam to a twin screw installation producing 60,000 shp. They were fortunate in catching American production at the right moment, becoming "the" destroyer design, with only the Fletcher-class derivatives, the Allen M. Sumner and Gearing classes, following it. Thank you! Others carried trainable Hedgehogs. It was an honor to serve on Fletchers as the brave sailors of WWII. At the time scheduled in the plan of the day, the boatswains pipe would whistle and the word would be passed Now set the Special Sea and Anchor Detail. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. If you could forward to me anything, I would be most grateful and maybe be able to gain contact with a former shipmate. Available methods included voice radio, teletype, and the old fashioned Morse Code key. This method was still in general use in the Navy even into the 1990s and there are still some ships that still use it, even though burner management systems have been common on commercial ships since the 1970s. 0 items. My dad (Richmond Thomas (RT) Ezzell) was on the TAYLOR DD468 during WWII .Saw at the foot of his grave today another marker with his name, ship, and I suppose rating FC. The Fletcher class destroyer came about in 1939 when the US Navy sought to create a superior new design addressing poor aspects found in previous destroyers. He currently holds the title of Chief Marine Engineer at Marine Design Dynamics. Commissioned; Brazilian Navy : K (1) 1922 - 1922 : Marcilio Dias (3) 1943 . The fictional titular warship is shown as one of the American Fletcher class destroyers, the most common destroyer class in history, with 175 built. USS Taylor (DD/DDE-468) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral William Rogers Taylor (1811-1889). The Chief Boatswains Mate (BMC) was expected to be the most capable seaman on board. The nine ships came from three yards as follows: Capps (DD 550), David W. Taylor (DD 551), Evans (DD 552) and John D. Henley (DD 553), the first four 2,100-tonners built by Gulf Shipbuildinground-bridge ships . After the yard period there would be a stint at the Fleet Training Group in San Diego (Guantanemo for East Coast Ships) for refresher training followed by a work up for deployment to the Far East (WESTPAC). As these articles say, access was from a deck hatch and a ladder. A total of 175 Fletcher Class Destroyers were commissioned between 4 June 1942 and 22 February 1945. This is the third in a series of articles by Captain Stewart detailing the technical specifications, manning, and operations of the U.S. Navys Fletcher class destroyers. . I made six month WESTPAC deployments in 1957 and 1958. Pilots were only used when absolutely necessary in a strange port and most maneuvers were accomplished without tug assistance. Not a member of the Naval Institute? All sailors initially attended Boot Camp where they held the rating of Seaman Recruit (SR). The peacetime manning was 14 officers and 236 enlisted men. Naval Institute is maintaining and preserving the former Naval Historical Foundation website so readers and former NHF members can still access past issues of Pull Together and other content. The Fletcher design permitted significant increases over preceding classes in hull, armament, machinery, ammunition, stores and fuel bunkerage. They did not stand regular watches but they were the people you called when something failed to operate properly. [26][27], Learn how and when to remove this template message, National Museum of the United States Navy, List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy, "Life on a Fletcher Class Destroyer in the 1950's", "NHL nomination for USS Cassin Young (destroyer)", "Veterans' Museum to Receive Historic Navy Ship's Mast", "Flag Honors Hall of Fame | Naval ROTC Alumni Society", "USS Knapp - bridge: Fujifilm X System / SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review", "Fletcher-Klasse Mark-30 Turm Walkaround (124) Scalenews", "Tom Hanks' WWII drama filming aboard USS Kidd this week", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fletcher-class_destroyer&oldid=1133218886, 369.25ft (112.55m) wl, 376.5ft (114.8m) o/a, struck in 1978, sunk as a target on 23 February 1983, struck in 1988 and sunk as a target in 1990, struck in 1982, sunk as a target on 28 September 1991, struck in 1976, sunk as a target on 16 May 1979, transferred to Hellenic Navy on 18 September 1981, transferred to Hellenic Navy on 15 October 1980, transferred to Hellenic Navy in February 1981, transferred to Hellenic Navy in February 1982, Active - In commission as museum ship since 1991, struck on 10 October 1990, scrapped in 1997, struck in 1971 and cannibalized to provide spare parts for her sisters in Italian service, struck in 1999, sunk as a target on 1 November 2001, struck in 1999, sunk as a target on 14 October 2003, This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 19:18. In 1942 and 1943, the number of Oerlikon cannons was steadily increased with ships modified before leaving the shipyard with a seventh 20mm mount in front of the bridge behind the number two 5" gun mount and anywhere from one to three mounts on the flying bridge depending upon the configuration of the ship. The last step was to test out the main engines with steam. On many smaller ships, he usually doubles as the ships navigator. You mentioned the Radiomen being responsible for teletype and old fashioned morse code key. He volunteered for service in 1943 at which time he was in private practice in Radford Virginia where he served the area and the employees of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant adjacent to Radford. All wardroom provisions had to be purchased from the General Mess or other sources ashore. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction w. Naval officers are required to pay for their own meals. Department heads reported to XO for all administrative matters related to their departments. Electricians Mates (EM) Were responsible for the entire ships electrical and distribution systems including all power and lighting equipment. On Halsey Powell, our Ops Officer was also assigned as navigator, although that was not universal practice aboard destroyers. You are here: customer is always right in matters of taste; toronto snow storm april 1975; did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic?benji and joel madden young. Working conditions were similar, but not quite as bad as in the fire rooms. References: Bauer and Roberts, Friedman, Raven, Hearn. Also asked was at what point would the design grow large enough to become a torpedo target instead of a torpedo delivery system. US Navy - Fletcher Class Destroyer Beginning of June 1942 the first Fletcher class destroyer DD-445, was commissioned at the Boston Navy yard. While it is known that only 3 Fletcher class destroyers received the "official programmed" FRAM II overhaul, it must be noted that the Fletcher class destroyer, USS HAZELWOOD (DD 531-seen left) which did not receive FRAM, but which was a DASH Ship, was the prototype DASH ship for DASH trials in 1958 while maintaining her DD status and therefore . Tom Hank's Greyhound movie set on USS Kidd - Mechtraveller The Allen M. Sumner class was intended by the Navy to be an interim design between the . The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types. My father, Charles Ross Duncan, Sr. served on the USS Kimberly from 1943 thru 1945 in the Pacific. Previous. Underway operations will be described in the next section. This group normally had one or more qualified welders assigned. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more . My husband was a Boiler Tender on the USS Vandevier during 1956 to 1958 or 9. Christened USS Fletcher, she carried over several design features from the earlier classes, such as a rounded pilot house. Introduced in 1942, the 2,100-ton Fletcher -class destroyers formed the core of the US Navy's destroyer force from 1943. That number was necessary to allow around the clock manning of gun mounts, repair parties, and other watch stations. Electronics Technician (ET) These sailors were responsible for maintenance of all exterior communication, navigation, and radar equipment. [6] 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. The Fletcher class was the first generation of destroyers designed after the series of naval treaties that had limited ship designs heretofore. There were 175 of them built during World War II. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War.. They followed exactly the same path but they were only assigned to the Engineering Department. There were three major operational departments i.e., Operations, Gunnery and Engineering. Next we will describe the process for getting underway from alongside another ship or a pier. These conditions are established by closing the appropriate fittings such as valves, hatches, and watertight doors. The ships Master at Arms force reports directly to the Executive Officer. did fletcher class destroyers serve in the atlantic? While at the buoys we were provided with services with some harbor craft which were referred to as fuel, water, and garbage barges operated by the Naval District. Many of the ships were sold to other navies during the mid-1950s, including: Any remaining were broken up in the 1970s. Most had been commissioned by the end of 1946 and went on to serve well into the 1960's. USS Sarsfield (DD-837) Gearing Class destroyer in 1945. and by the end of 1946 the entire Fletcher class except for a few training ships had been mothballed and placed in reserve. He has passed on and I need information for a claim with the VA. The Fletcher-class destroyer was a class of destroyers that were used extensively by the United States Navy during World War II. Great series of articles!. However the department heads were directly answerable to the CO for all purely operational matters relating to their departments. Gunnery Officer Or Gun Boss was responsible for operation and maintenance of all of the ships armament plus all matters relating to deck seamanship. He was always on call when the ship was underway. A new ahead-throwing weapon called Weapon Alpha was installed in many of the ships. Went to a Target store (Plantation, FL) to pick up some stuff, and outside I saw an older gentleman with a USS Kidd T-shirt. We were forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan as part of DESRON 15. It was a slow day, and a lot of the safety procedures were not formally set up yet, so me and another engineer friend were able to tour the forward engine room. The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The long-range Fletcher-class ships performed every task asked of a destroyer, from anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft warfare to surface action. Together, these classes dominated the US Navys destroyer force over the next 25 years. Nineteen Fletchers were lost during World War II; six more were damaged, evaluated as constructive total losses, and not repaired. They also were much less top heavy than the previous classes, allowing them to take on additional equipment and weapons without major redesign. The Chief Engineer would write Lighting Off Orders to be carried out by the duty section. ZEBRA is the highest level of protection. Thank you for writing here. The growth in the design was in part a response to the challenge that had dogged U.S. Navy designs in coping with long range operations in the Pacific Ocean. The ratings that came under the Communications officer were: OI Division Headed by the CIC Officer, assisted by the Electronics Material Officer (EMO). Built to scout for a fleet of battleships, the Omaha class featured high speed (35 kn (65 km/h; 40 mph)) for cooperation with destroyers, and 6-inch . The design parameters were the armaments desired of the next destroyer. and 2 racks, but cannot locate the number of charges in each rack (6-12?) But they still have a ways to go to catch up to their Merchant Marine contemporaries. For a secure moor, the lines were Doubled Up. Torpedoman (TM) Responsible for operation and maintenance of the ships torpedoes, depth charges, and Hegehogs. The Commanding Officer (CO) of a destroyer under peacetime conditions is normally a Commander with 15 to 18 years of commissioned service. She was laid down on 28 August 1941 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched on 7 June 1942, sponsored by Mrs. H. A. Baldridge; and commissioned on 28 August 1942 at the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, Mass., Lieutenant Commander . The long-range Fletcher-class ships would participate in battles in every aspect that could be asked of a destroyer, from anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft warfare to surface action. Chief or First Class petty officers of this rating were normally assigned to Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) duties in the Forward Engine Room where they were directly responsible for the operation of the engineering plant during their watch. At this point, the word would be passed Secure the Special Sea and Anchor Detail, Set the Regular Underway Watch. While in the Atlantic we were part of a group that escorted the Queen Mary from the coast of Ireland to Halifax Winston Churchill and Admiral King were aboardhistory. Naval Institute is maintaining and preserving the former Naval Historical Foundation website so readers and former NHF members can still access past issues of Pull Together and other content. The individual rating groups are very specialized. The Hunt class of "emergancy" destroyers (this class is very close in capabilities to late war US DE classes like the Rudderow or John C. Butler classes) made for a good class of smaller but very capable ship (4 x 4" 4 TT). This is how I met my wife. But the onset of the Korean War in 1950 . Three (Pringle, Stevens and Halford) were built with aircraft catapults after deletion of the rear torpedo tube mount and the number 3 5-inch gun mount. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Naval Historical Foundation 1306 Dahlgren Avenue, SE Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374 1-202-678-4333 info@navyhistory.org. Since his retirement from active naval service in 1986 he has been employed in the ship design industry where he has specialized in the development of concept designs of propulsion and powering systems, some of which have entered active service. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any other destroyer class, and . On a small ship, this is usually a collateral duty. There were some differences in the way that the ships were organized in 1956 and the way that they were organized during the war. Naval philosophy in those days was to man the ships with a large number of personnel and little use was made of automatic controls or other labor saving devices. He was normally seated at the opposite end of the wardroom table from the Captain, where it was convenient for everyone to glare at him. Next. These 175 flush-deck "2,100 . The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. The class featured enclosed air-case boilers and 80kW of power available by emergency diesel generators. Aboard Halsey Powell, the Chief Boatswains Mate also functioned as the Chief Master at Arms. Some that we were called upon to perform included: There are probably some others that I have forgotten about. While some changes had taken place since 1945, most of the procedures were carryovers from World War II. Posted on . Since 1975 all new destroyer, cruiser, and frigate types have been powered by aircraft derivative gas turbine engines. These are senior petty officers who function as the ships police force. The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any . East Coast deployments tended to be much better because ports in the Mediterranean are much closer together than in the Far East and there never were as many potential shooting situations over there that demanded that we be underway for prolonged periods. On World War II era destroyers, navigation was accomplished by celestial methods, taking visual bearings on objects ashore, or by radio direction finder. This was to have a great impact upon my own career in the navy. The Steering Gear room (After Steering) would be manned. At 2,050 tons standard displacement and approximately 2,900 tons fully loaded, the Fletchers were significantly larger than any preceding American destroyer classes. Most were assigned to the Deck Force. Three (Pringle, Stevens, Halford) were built (six planned) with aircraft catapults, resulting in the deletion of one 5-inch mount and the after set of torpedo tubes. Fred Edwards, Destroyer Type Desk, Bureau of Ships, 1942, quoted in Holland, Rear Admiral W. J., Jr., USN (Ret), ed. Thus there were two groups of 2,100-tonners: one-third (58) were high- or round-bridge ships; two-thirds, (117) were low- or square-bridge ships. I loved the country so much that I did not want to leave. As the first big ships to appear and because there were so many of them, however, the Fletchers are remembered as the signature US Navy destroyer class of the Pacific war. Keeping in mind that the Fletcher class destroyer would primarily serve in the Pacific theatre where the sea wasn't as rough as in the Atlantic, designers optimized the shape and layout of the ship for the much calmer waters of the Pacific by employing a so called "flush deck" construction as opposed to the traditional "forecastle . The Aulick served in the Pacific from 1943 through the end of the war and was also on radar picket off Okinawa May through July, 1945. George W. Stewart is a retired US Navy Captain. This article describes destroyer operations as I remember them during the late 1950s. Does anyone have information I can get from on of his mates during that time. Construction (top) and disposition following World War II (bottom). In this article I will attempt to describe how a World War II Destroyer was manned and organized. He is a 1956 graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Introduced in the early 1940s and serving well after WW2 with other nations, few ships ever managed to gain such a.
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