.jpg) USSAylwin circa 1916–17 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Aylwin class |
| Builders | William Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by | Cassin class |
| Succeeded by | O'Brien class |
| Built | 1912–14 |
| In commission | 1913–22 |
| Completed | 4 |
| Retired | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 305 ft 3 in (93.04 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft 4 in (9.25 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts |
| Speed | 29.6 kn (54.8 km/h; 34.1 mph) (trials) |
| Capacity | 307 tons oil (fuel) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
TheAylwin class was aclass of fourdestroyers in theUnited States Navy; all served asconvoy escorts duringWorld War I. TheAylwins were the second of five "second-generation" 1000-ton four-stack destroyer classes that were front-line ships of the Navy until the 1920s. They were known as "thousand tonners". All were scrapped in 1935 to comply with theLondon Naval Treaty.[1]
All four ships were built byWilliam Cramp & Sons inPhiladelphia.[2]
These ships were built concurrently with theCassin class and in some references are considered to be in that class. In design and armament they were essentially repeats of theCassin class.[1]
Unlike the other "thousand tonner" classes, theAylwins were not a significant improvement on the previous class.[1]
They retained theCassins' armament of four4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber Mark 9 guns and eight 18-inch (450 mm)torpedo tubes in twin broadside mounts. Compared with the previousPaulding class of the "flivver" type, the increased gun armament reflected the increasing size of foreign destroyers they might have to fight. The broadside (two twin mounts each side) torpedo armament reflected theGeneral Board's desire to have some torpedoes remaining after firing a broadside.[3] The class was probably equipped with one or twodepth charge racks each foranti-submarineconvoy escort missions inWorld War I.[4]Benham was equipped with four twin 4-inch mounts in 1917, but these were replaced with single mounts before she deployed overseas. By 1929 all exceptParker had a3-inch (76 mm)/23 caliber anti-aircraft gun added.[2]
The ships were equipped with fourWhite-Forster boilers supplying steam to twoCrampdirect-drivesteam turbines driving two shafts for 16,000 shp (12,000 kW) as designed; all of the class exceeded this on trials.[5]Compound steam engines could be clutched to the shafts for economical medium-speed cruising.[1]Aylwin achieved 29.6 knots (54.8 km/h; 34.1 mph) on trials at 16,286 shp (12,144 kW); this was typical for the others of the class. Normal fuel oil capacity was 307 tons.[5]
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| Name | Hull no. | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aylwin | DD-47 | William Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia | 7 March 1912 | 23 November 1912 | 17 January 1914 | 23 February 1921 | Scrapped 1935 |
| Parker | DD-48 | William Cramp & Sons | 11 March 1912 | 8 February 1913 | 30 December 1913 | 6 June 1922 | Scrapped 1935 |
| Benham | DD-49 | William Cramp & Sons | 14 March 1912 | 22 March 1913 | 20 Jan 1914 | 7 July 1922 | Scrapped 1935 |
| Balch | DD-50 | William Cramp & Sons | 7 May 1912 | 21 December 1912 | 26 March 1914 | 20 June 1922 | Scrapped 1935 |
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.