Destroyer > Related Articles

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Parent topics

• Naval warfare [r]: The miltary history of the organized navies of the world from 300 BCE to the present. [e]
• Fast attack craft [r]: Small naval craft, used in coastal waters, which rely on speed and maneuverability to survive to deliver heavy weapons (e.g., torpedoes, anti-shipping missiles) against warships, or to make gunfire attacks on merchant ships and landing craft [e]

Subtopics

First World War & interwar classes

United States

• Clemson-class [r]: A post-First World War "four stack" U.S. destroyer class, of 1,190 tons/1,308 tons full load displacement, armed with 4x4" guns and 1 3" guns plus torpedoes; USS Reuben James (DD-245) was of the class [e]
• Wickes-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Caldwell-class [r]: Add brief definition or description

Second World War classes

Classes of a single or very few ships are not listed.

France

• L'Adroit-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Bourrasque-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Le Hardi-class [r]: Add brief definition or description

United Kingdom

• Town-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Admiralty V & W-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Tribal-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Battle-class [r]: While the name has been applied to several classes, the core definition is the 1942 war construction class, for which the highest priority was improving its antiaircraft capability; there was much debate on retaining a large torpedo battery, and greater range was definitely needed [e]
• Admiralty Modified W-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• N-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• A-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Admiralty S-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• F-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• I-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• D-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• E-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• G-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• H-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: A medium-sized British WWII destroyer, displacing approximately 2,000 tons and equipped with four or five 4.7in guns [e]
• Q-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• V-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• B-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Ca-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Ch-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Co-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Cr-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• J-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• K-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• L-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• M-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• O-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• P-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• R-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• S-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• T-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• U-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• W-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Z-class (U.K. destroyer) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Admiralty Leader-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Havant-class [r]: Add brief definition or description

United States

• Farragut-class [r]: A 1931 U.S. Navy destroyer type, which was the first to move away from the First World War "flush deck" design; they were the oldest destroyer type in general U.S. use in the Second World War, the "flush deckers" having been converted to auxiliaries or transferred to Britain [e]
• Gridley-class [r]: A two-ship U.S. Navy destroyer class, built during the 1930s to experiment with a new high-speed power plant [e]
• Bagley-class [r]: U.S. Navy destroyers of a 1935 design, slightly slower than the two-ship Gridley-class, with the same powerplant and weapons as the Mahan-class [e]
• Benson-Gleaves-class [r]: Two closely associated classes of U.S. Navy destroyer, built between 1938 and 1940, which were somewhat undergunned compared with the Fletcher and especially Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers, but did workhorse duty during the war [e]
• Mahan-class [r]: A U.S. Navy destroyer design, which served in the Second World War, based on the Sims-class but rearranged to provide more space for torpedo tubes, and featuring a turbine power plant much advanced of the precedessor Sims-class [e]
• Sims-class [r]: Designed in 1937, the last class of U.S. Navy destroyer built before the Second World War; the last with a single fireroom and single stack, which represented a single point of failure [e]
• Benham-class [r]: U.S. Navy destroyers of the general layout of the Gridley-class, but with a higher pressure power plant, thus needing one less stack than the Bagley-class; in wartime, traded torpedo tubes for more antiaircraft and antisubmarine armament [e]
• Porter-class [r]: A class of U.S. Navy destroyer leaders of which the first was built in 1936, slightly heavier in armament and displacement (1850 tons) than a conventional 1500-ton destroyer but smaller than a light cruiser; an enlarged Farragut-class [e]
• Somers-class [r]: A class of U.S. Navy destroyer leaders, with a more advanced power plant than the Porter-class but with a similar mission: slightly heavier in armament and displacement (1850 tons) than a conventional 1500-ton destroyer but smaller than a light cruiser [e]
• Fletcher-class [r]: A U.S.-designed destroyer of Second World War vintage, armed with 5"-38 caliber guns and anti-aircraft autocannon, torpedoes, and depth charges. More were built than any other type; some served into the 21st century with other navies [e]
• Allen M. Sumner-class [r]: A development of the U.S. Navy Fletcher-class destroyer of the Second World War, which took advantage of the newly available dual 5"-38 caliber gun mount for more concentrated firepower [e]
• Gearing-class [r]: An evolution of the WWII U.S. Navy Allen M. Sumner-class destroyers, lengthening the hull to provide more fuel storage and thus endurance, and improved masts for more radar antennas [e]

Cold War classes

Canada

• St. Laurent-class [r]: Add brief definition or description

France

• T47-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• T53-class [r]: Add brief definition or description

Soviet Union

• Kotlin-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Kashin-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Kanin-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Kildin-class [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Kara-class [r]: Add brief definition or description

United Kingdom

• County-class [r]: Large destroyers of the 1960s and 1970s, built around the Sea Slug missile, primarily for anti-air warfare but with appreciable surface-to-surface capability; also guns and Exocet anti-shipping missiles; Wessex helicopter [e]

United States

• Adams-class [r]: Multirole U.S. designed destroyers, retired from the U.S. Navy in the 1990s and retired from the Royal Australian Navy in 2001; replaced by the Burke-class [e]
• Spruance-class destroyer [r]: A retired class of U.S. Navy destroyers, built on the same hull as the Burke-class but optimized for land attack and anti-submarine warfare, without the AEGIS battle management system [e]

Operational classes

Japan

• Kongo-class destroyer [r]: Destroyers currently in service with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (i.e., Japanese Navy), which are licensed copies of the U.S. Burke-class and are being upgraded for ballistic missile defense [e]

Russia

• Sovremenny-class destroyer [r]: Soviet-designed destroyer, in service with the Russian and Chinese navies, with an extremely powerful Moskit anti-shipping missile armament [e]
• Udaloy-class [r]: Soviet-designed destroyer, principally optimized for anti-submarine warfare, in service with the Russian Navy [e]

United Kingdom

• Type 42-class destroyer [r]: British destroyer class, optimized for anti-air warfare, some of which were sunk and some of which were a key part of the fleet defense in the Falklands War [e]
• Type 45-class destroyer [r]: The latest class of British destroyer, a large multirole ship with very strong anti-air warfare capabilities, with the first vessel on sea trials [e]

United States

• Burke-class destroyer [r]: Large U.S. Navy multirole destroyers equipped with AEGIS battle management system and constant upgrades; Japan has Kongo-class clones, also being upgraded to ballistic missile defense; South Korea has the KDK-class [e]
• Zumwalt-class [r]: An experimental class of U.S. destroyers, production of which has been capped, optimized for land attack, stealth, and small crew size [e]

Major destroyer engagements

• Battle of Surigao Strait [r]: Fought in October 1944 at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the last naval engagement between forces based around battleships [e]

Weapons

• Naval guns and gunnery [r]: Artillery weapons on ships, and techniques and devices for aiming them. [e]
  • 57mm naval gun [r]: An increasingly common light naval dual-purpose gun; modern versions are usually full automatic and thus can deliver a volume of fire equivalent to guns of larger caliber [e]
  • 76mm naval gun [r]: As 76mm or 3-inch, this has been a standard light naval dual-purpose gun caliber of many navies; new full automatic weapons with advanced ammunition can be comparable to older medium weapons [e]
  • 4.5" naval gun [r]: Actually 4.45", this caliber has been the standard medium naval gun of the Royal Navy since 1938; post-WWII use is principally for naval gunfire support [e]
  • 5" naval gun [r]: The U.S. Navy standard medium naval gun series, used by many navies [e]
    • 5"-38 caliber gun [r]: A dual purpose (DP) gun, effective for both surface and antiaircraft use, mounted on very many U.S. Navy ships in the World War II era, but which has disappeared from service today. [e]
    • 5"-54 caliber gun [r]: Until the introduction of the 5"-62 caliber gun, the primary medium naval gun of U.S. warships after the Second World War [e]
    • 5"-62 caliber gun [r]: The main gun for shore bombardment and some anti-surface warfare on newer U.S. Navy warships; the successor to 5"-54 caliber guns. [e]
• Surface-to-air missile [r]: A guided missile fired from land or water, to destroy aircraft and possibly missiles; naval versions may have a secondary anti-shipping missile capability [e]
  • RIM-2 Terrier [r]: Deployed in the 1950s, the first operational ship-borne surface-to-air missile of the U.S. Navy [e]
  • RIM-24 Tartar [r]: A descendant of the U.S. Navy RIM-2 Terrier missile, with reduced size and range, but more capability within its range and usable on smaller ships [e]
  • RIM-162 ESSM [r]: In U.S. Navy service, a short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile of which four will fit in a vertical launch system cell; derived from the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile [e]
  • Standard SM missile series [r]: An evolving series of ship-launched guided missiles developed by the U.S. Navy and used by a number of countries; primarily for anti-air warfare but also for ballistic missile defense and attacking surface ships [e]
    • RIM-156 Standard SM-2 [r]: Intended to be launched from the vertical launch system of AEGIS battle management system equipment ships, this is principally a long-range surface-to-air missile using semi-active radar homing with no over-the-horizon capability; it can accept midcourse guidance for its secondar anti-shipping missile capability and thus engage over-the-horizon targets [e]
    • RIM-161 Standard SM-3 [r]: Theater anti-ballistic (i.e., midcourse and terminal phases) and anti-satellite missile, using hit-to-kill, launched from ships equipped with the AN/SPY-2 radar and AEGIS battle management system. [e]
  • Aster (missile) [r]: French-British-Italian naval surface-to-air missiles, used on the Type 45-class and French & Italian HORIZON destroyers and in a land-based derivative [e]
  • S-300 (missile) [r]: Add brief definition or description
  • Sea Dart (missile) [r]: Add brief definition or description
  • Sea Wolf (missile) [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Anti-shipping missile [r]: An air, surface (sea or land), or submarine-launched missile that can track and intercept a maneuvering ship target against the background of moving water [e]
  • AGM-84 Harpoon [r]: A U.S. developed anti-shipping missile that can be launched from aircraft, ships and submarines [e]
  • Exocet [r]: An aging French anti-shipping missile, which can be fired from land, aircraft, helicopter, submarine and ship platforms, and which has a considerable combat record [e]
  • Moskit [r]: A family of Russian supersonic, sea-skimming anti-shipping missiles, ship- and air-launched, all designated by NATO as the SS-N-22 SUNBURN guided missile [e]

Other related topics

• AEGIS battle management system [r]: An integrated system of computers, radars, and other systems that provides integrated management of a shipboard suite of strategic strike, anti-surface warfare, ballistic missile defense and anti-air warfare principally using missiles in vertical launch systems; it complements other integrated systems for anti-submarine warfare and naval gunfire support [e]
• Anti-shipping missile [r]: An air, surface (sea or land), or submarine-launched missile that can track and intercept a maneuvering ship target against the background of moving water [e]
• Cruiser [r]: While definitions vary with time and doctrine, a large warship capable of acting independently, as a flagship, or a major escort; capabilities include anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, land attack, and possibly ballistic missile defense [e]
• Depth charge [r]: Early antisubmarine weapons consisting of a large explosive charge and a fuze that was set for a given depth; free-falling and formed a barrage with no guidance; later models had streamlined cases for faster sinking [e]
• Destroyer escort [r]: Primarily a Second World War U.S. designation for an ocean escort or light destroyer, optimized for anti-submarine warfare with limited capability for anti-air warfare and anti-surface warfare [e]
• Destroyer leader [r]: Heavy destroyer intended, for the WWII and earlier period, to lead destroyer attacks with guns and torpedoes; slightly heavier weapons [e]
• Frigate [r]: Add brief definition or description
• Ocean escort [r]: A warship with weapons and sensors to defend itself and ships near it, sturdy enough to operate in ocean conditions, but with only enough speed to escort merchant and military support ships, and usually not built to full warship standards of battle damage survivability [e]
• Surface-to-air missile [r]: A guided missile fired from land or water, to destroy aircraft and possibly missiles; naval versions may have a secondary anti-shipping missile capability [e]
• Ticonderoga-class cruiser [r]: Modern U.S. Navy cruisers usually serving as carrier or amphibious escorts, but capable of independent action including long-range strike, anti-air/anti-ballistic missile/anti-satellite warfare, naval gunfire support, and antisubmarine warfare. [e]
• Torpedo [r]: A naval weapon that travels underwater, using its own propulsion, to attack its target, minimally with onboard mechanisms to keep it on a straight course. Modern torpedoes are underwater guided missiles that can track their target and adjust their course to hit it [e]