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 s 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.
| Ship name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| DM-24 (ex-DD-736) | 31 January 1944 | 10 June 1944 | 22 August 1944 | 12 September 1955 | Sold for scrap, 12 June 1974 | ||
| DM-25 (ex-DD-737) | 14 February 1944 | 24 June 1944 | 8 September 1944 | 24 October 1955 | Sold for scrap, May 1973 | ||
| DM-26 (ex-DD-738) | 6 March 1944 | 9 July 1944 | 22 September 1944 | 12 March 1956 | Sold for scrap, 1 June 1974 | ||
| DM-27 (ex-DD-739) | 20 March 1944 | 23 July 1944 | 10 October 1944 | December 1946 | Sold for scrap, 16 December 1971 | ||
| DM-28 (ex-DD-740) | 10 April 1944 | 13 August 1944 | 27 October 1944 | 29 January 1947 | Sunk as a target 25 January 1997 | ||
| 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 | |
| DM-30 (ex-DD-750) | 23 December 1943 | 20 May 1944 | 30 September 1944 | 9 April 1958 | Sold for scrap, 1 September 1974 | ||
| DM-31 (ex-DD-751) | 25 January 1944 | 4 July 1944 | 28 October 1944 | 28 September 1945 | Scrapped, July 1946 | ||
| 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 | |
| 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 | ||||||
| DM-34 (ex-DD-773) | 12 December 1943 | 5 May 1944 | 28 October 1944 | 28 September 1945 | Sold for scrap 1946 |