The 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers comprised the first post-war class of US destroyers. Commissioned beginning in 1955, these ships served until the late 1980s. Their weaponry underwent considerable modification during their years of service. Four were converted to guided-missile destroyers. This class also served as the basis for the guided-missile destroyers.
Two ships of the class became museum ships, nine were sunk in training exercises, and the others were scrapped.
Nine ships were constructed by Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, five were built by Bethlehem Steel at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, two were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi and two were built by Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in Seattle, Washington. These destroyers were assigned hull numbers 931 to 951, but the series skipped over the numbers used to designate the war prizes DD-934 (the Japanese ex-Hanazuki), DD-935 (the German T35), and DD-939 (the German Z39). DD-927 to DD-930 were completed as destroyer leaders.
At the time they entered service, these ships were the largest US destroyers ever built, 418feet long, with a standard displacement of 2800t. Originally designed under project SCB 85, they were armed with three 50NaN0/54 caliber guns mounted in single turrets (one forward and two aft), 4 30NaN0/50 caliber AA guns in twin mounts, as well as hedgehogs and torpedoes for ASW. However, over the years, weaponry was considerably modified. The hedgehogs and 30NaN0 guns were removed from all ships during the 1960s and 1970s. In addition the fixed torpedo tubes were replaced by two triple 12.75inches Mark 32 torpedo tube mounts.
and later ships were built under SCB 85A with their fire control directors reversed from the SCB 85 configuration. They were equipped with B&W Bailey Meter Company's new automatic boiler combustion control system, and a modified hurricane bow/anchor configuration. These ships are listed as Hull-class destroyers in some references.
Four of the destroyers—,,, and —were converted to guided-missile destroyers under SCB 240, armed with Tartar missiles.
Eight of the class were modernized to improve their ASW capabilities under SCB 251: Barry, Davis, Jonas Ingram, Manley, Du Pont, Blandy, Hull, and Morton; these ships became known as the Barry sub-class. These ships were fitted with an eight cell ASROC launcher in place of the No. 2 5-inch (127 mm) gun, and with a variable-depth sonar system. Six other ship modernizations were cancelled due to Vietnam War budget constraints.
As a test platform, the Hull carried the Navy's prototype 8"/55 caliber Mark 71 light-weight gun from 1975 to 1978 when the program was canceled, and the 5-inch mount was restored. Hull remains the only modern (post–World War II) destroyer-type ship to have carried an 80NaN0 gun.
Of the 18 completed, nine were disposed of in fleet training exercises, seven were sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, and two became museums.
| Name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DD-931 | Bath Iron Works | 27 October 1953 | 5 February 1955 | 9 November 1955 | 5 November 1982 | data-sort-value="15 December 2014" | Stricken, sold for scrapping 15 December 2014 | [1] | |
| 18 January 1954 | 7 May 1955 | 5 April 1956 | 15 December 1982 | data-sort-value="31 January 2001" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 31 January 2001 | [2] | |||
| DD-933 | 15 March 1954 | 1 October 1955 | 7 September 1956 | 5 November 1982 | Scrapped 11 February 2022 | [3] | |||
| Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard | 13 September 1954 | 15 December 1955 | 7 December 1956 | 30 June 1983 | data-sort-value="21 July 2004" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 21 July 2004 | [4] | ||
| DD-937 | 1 February 1955 | 28 March 1956 | 28 February 1957 | 20 December 1982 | data-sort-value="30 June 1994" | Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 30 June 1994 | [5] | ||
| DD-938 | 15 June 1955 | 7 August 1956 | 19 July 1957 | 4 March 1983 | data-sort-value="23 July 1988" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 23 July 1988 | [6] | ||
| DD-940 | Bath Iron Works | 10 February 1955 | 12 April 1956 | 1 February 1957 | 4 March 1983 | data-sort-value="30 June 1994" | Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 30 June 1994 | [7] | |
| DD-941 | 11 May 1955 | 8 September 1956 | 1 July 1957 | 4 March 1983 | data-sort-value="11 December 1992" | Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 11 December 1992 | [8] | ||
| DD-942 | 6 July 1955 | 2 February 1957 | 8 November 1957 | 5 November 1982 | data-sort-value="2 April 2003" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 2 April 2003 | [9] | ||
| DD-943 | Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard | 29 December 1955 | 19 December 1956 | 26 November 1957 | 5 November 1982 | data-sort-value="30 June 1994" | Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 30 June 1994 | [10] | |
| DD-944 | 5 April 1956 | 18 March 1957 | 7 March 1958 | 11 August 1983 | data-sort-value="23 August 1992" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 23 August 1992 | [11] | ||
| DD-945 | Bath Iron Works | 12 September 1956 | 10 August 1957 | 3 July 1958 | 11 July 1983 | data-sort-value="7 April 1998" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 7 April 1998 | [12] | |
| DD-946 | 3 December 1956 | 4 January 1958 | 7 November 1958 | 15 December 1988 | data-sort-value="1989" | Preserved, first New York from 1989, returned to navy in 2004, purchased as a museum/memorial. Now moored in Bay City, Michigan. | [13] | ||
| 4 March 1957 | 30 May 1958 | 9 April 1959 | 19 November 1982 | data-sort-value="22 July 1998" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 22 July 1998 | [14] | |||
| DD-948 | Ingalls Shipbuilding | 4 March 1957 | 23 May 1958 | 26 May 1959 | 22 November 1982 | data-sort-value="4 March 1992" | Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping, 4 March 1992 | [15] | |
| 17 June 1957 | 17 August 1959 | 29 October 1959 | 19 November 1982 | data-sort-value="25 April 1989" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 25 April 1989 | [16] | |||
| DD-950 | Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company | 20 December 1956 | 27 September 1957 | 5 February 1959 | 18 December 1982 | data-sort-value="10 April 1997" | Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 10 April 1997 | [17] | |
| DD-951 | 30 September 1957 | 5 May 1958 | 3 August 1959 | 22 November 1982 | data-sort-value="10 April 1991" | Donated as a museum/memorial, 10 April 1991; now museum in Bremerton, WA | [18] |