While the gun armament was typical for destroyers of this period, the torpedo armament of twelve 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes was a significant increase over the preceding Tucker class, replacing four twin mounts with four triple mounts. Both the gun and torpedo armament would remain standard through the mass-production "flush-deck" and es commissioned through 1921. As with the other "thousand tonners", a factor in the size of the torpedo armament was the General Board's decision to use broadside rather than centerline torpedo tubes.[1] This was due to the desire to have some torpedoes remaining after firing a broadside, and problems experienced with centerline mounts on previous classes with torpedoes striking the gunwales of the firing ship.[2] The Mark 8 torpedo was equipped.
This was the first US destroyer class to mount anti-aircraft guns: two 1 pounder (37 mm) autocannons. Anti-submarine (ASW) armament was added during World War I. Typically, a single depth charge track was provided aft, along with a Y-gun depth charge projector.[3]
While the main turbines were direct drive, all of the class were fitted with geared cruising turbines as in the preceding Tucker class, on one shaft in, and and on both shafts in the others.[4]
The Sampson class served in World War I as convoy escorts in the Atlantic. Wilkes and Shaw served in the United States Coast Guard as part of the Rum Patrol 1926–34. While the other ships of the Sampson class were retired and scrapped 1934–36 to comply with the London Naval Treaty, Allen survived into the 1940s and was recommissioned on 23 August 1940; she served in the Pearl Harbor Defensive Sea Area through World War II before being decommissioned at Philadelphia in October 1945 and scrapped, the only pre-flush-deck destroyer to serve in that war.[5]
| Name | Hull no. | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DD-63 | Fore River Shipbuilding | 15 April 1915 | 4 March 1916 | 27 June 1916 | 15 June 1921 | data-sort-value="1936" | Scrapped 1936 | ||
| DD-64 | Fore River Shipbuilding | 10 May 1915 | 23 March 1916 | 22 August 1916 | 19 June 1922 | data-sort-value="1939" | Scrapped 1939 | ||
| DD-65 | Bath Iron Works | 7 May 1915 | 15 August 1916 | 5 October 1916 | 20 June 1922 | data-sort-value="1934" | USCG 1926–33, scrapped 1934 | ||
| DD-66 | Bath Iron Works | 10 May 1915 | 5 December 1916 | 24 January 1917 | 15 October 1945 | data-sort-value="1946" | Sold for scrap 26 September 1946 | ||
| DD-67 | William Cramp & Sons | 11 March 1915 | 18 May 1916 | 10 November 1916 | 5 June 1922 | data-sort-value="1934" | USCG 1926–34, scrapped 1934 | ||
| DD-68 | Mare Island Navy Yard | 7 February 1916 | 9 December 1916 | 9 April 1917 | 21 June 1922 | data-sort-value="1934" | USCG 1926–33, name removed 1 November 1933 for new ship, scrapped 1934 |