_underway_ge%25C3%25A4.jpg) USSSomers in 1944 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Somers class |
| Builders |
|
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by | Bagley class |
| Succeeded by | Benham class |
| Built | 1935–1939 |
| In commission | 1937–1945 |
| Completed | 5 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 381 ft (116 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft 2 in (11.02 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts |
| Speed | 36 kn (67 km/h; 41 mph) design, 38.6 kn (71.5 km/h; 44.4 mph) trials |
| Range | 7,020 nmi (13,000 km; 8,080 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | Armament varied greatly from ship to ship during World War II. |
TheSomers-class destroyer was a class of five 1850-tonUnited States Navydestroyers based on thePorter class. They were answers to the large destroyers that theJapanese navy was building at the time, and were initially intended to beflotilla leaders. They were laid down from 1935–1936 and commissioned from 1937–1939. They were built to round-out the thirteen destroyers of 1,850 tonsstandard displacement allowed by the tonnage limits of theLondon Naval Treaty, and were originally intended to be repeatPorters. However, new high-pressure, high-temperatureboilers became available, allowing the use of a single stack. This combined with weight savings (including elimination of reload torpedoes) allowed an increase from two quadruple center-linetorpedo tube mounts to three. However, theSomers class were still over-weight and top-heavy.[2] This was the first US destroyer class to use 600 psi (4,100 kPa) steamsuperheated to 850 °F (454 °C),[3] which became standard for US warships built in the late 1930s andWorld War II.[4]
Like thePorters, they were originally built with eight5-inch (127 mm)/38 caliber guns in four single-purpose (surface action only) twin mounts.[5]Anti-aircraft (AA) protection was initially provided by two quadruple1.1-inch (28 mm) machine cannon mounts and two.50-caliber machine guns. The 1.1-inch mounts were intended to compensate for the 5-inch guns' lack of AA capability; in the 1930s this was thought to be sufficient. As with thePorters, theSomers' main armament was reduced to six guns (and replaced with dual-purpose mounts totaling five guns inDavis andJouett) during World War II, with the anti-aircraft armament replaced by40 mm Bofors and20 mm Oerlikon guns and the torpedo armament reduced to eight tubes.[4] In two ships (Davis andJouett) the torpedo armament was eliminated to maximize the number of 40 mm guns.[6]
All of the class served in World War II, initially onNeutrality Patrols in the Atlantic andCaribbean. In early 1942Warrington andSampson were transferred to theSoutheast Pacific Area, where they primarily escorted convoys between thePanama Canal and theSociety Islands. In mid-1943 these two were transferred to theSouthwest Pacific Area and operated nearNew Guinea and in theSolomon Islands; the others operated offBrazil and in the Caribbean andSouth Atlantic. In May 1944 all were transferred to the North Atlantic to support theinvasion of Normandy, whichSomers,Davis, andJouett were directly involved in.Somers andJouett supported theinvasion of southern France in August.Warrington foundered in ahurricane in theBahamas in September 1944. The others escorted convoys for the remainder of the war, and were scrapped by 1947.[7]
The fiveSomers class were built to round out the eightPorter-class 1850-ton destroyers to theLondon Naval Treaty tonnage limit of thirteen such ships, and were originally intended to be repeatPorters. However, controversial (for the time) high-pressure, high-temperature air-encasedboilers derived from the ones installed in the modernizedbattleshipNew Mexico became available, and the class was built to a modified design byGibbs & Cox. The new boilers allowed the use of a single stack. This combined with weight savings (including elimination of reload torpedoes) allowed an increase from two quadruple centerlinetorpedo tube mounts to three (versus thePorters). However, theSomers class were still over-weight and top-heavy.[2] The resulting broadside of twelve torpedo tubes was the heaviest ever on a US destroyer; other classes (Gridley,Bagley, andBenham) with sixteen torpedo tubes had an eight-tube broadside.[4] Gun armament remained the same as thePorters, with eight 5-inch/38caliber single purpose (anti-surface only) guns in four twin mounts.[5] Two quadruple 1.1-inch machine cannon mounts were added to compensate for the lack of main battery anti-aircraft capability.
TheSomers-class propulsion plant was the most advanced yet installed in a US Navy destroyer. Compared with thePorters, fourBabcock & Wilcox boilers of a new air-encased design raised the design horsepower from 50,000shaft horsepower (37,000 kW) to 52,000 shaft horsepower (39,000 kW). Steam conditions rose to 600 psi (4,100 kPa),superheated to 850 °F (454 °C) for the first time;[3] this became standard for US warships built in the late 1930s and World War II.[4] Boilereconomizers were included for improved fuel efficiency. The mainsteam turbines wereimpulse-type (also called Curtis turbines) and included cruising turbines and double-reductiongearing.[8] This increased the ships' range from 6,380nautical miles (11,820 km; 7,340 mi) to 7,020 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,080 mi).[3]
_underway_c1945.jpg)
Like thePorters, theSomers class were originally built with eightMark 12 5-inch/38 caliber guns in four Mark 22 single purpose (anti-surface only) twin mounts.[5] Torpedo armament was increased to twelve 21-inch (533 mm) tubes in three quad mountings on the centerline, but with no reloads. TheMark 15 torpedo was equipped.[9]Anti-aircraft (AA) protection was initially provided by two quadruple1.1-inch machine cannon mounts and two.50-caliber machine guns. The 1.1-inch mounts were intended to compensate for the 5 inch guns' lack of AA capability; in the 1930s two quad mounts were thought to be sufficient. During World War II, as with thePorters, theSomers-class main armament was reduced to six guns, with the light AA armament replaced by up to six40 mm Bofors in twin mounts and several20 mm Oerlikon guns by also landing a torpedo tube mount.[4] On most ships fourK-gundepth charge throwers were added to augment the as-built pair of depth charge racks. InDavis andJouett the main armament was replaced by five dual-purpose guns in two twin and one single mount.[4] Later in these two, the torpedo armament was eliminated along with two K-guns and one depth charge rack to maximize the number of 40 mm guns at 14, placed in two quad mounts and three twin mounts.[6]
In 1941, all of the class were based in theAtlantic orCaribbean conductingNeutrality Patrols, during whichSomers and thecruiserOmaha captured a German blockade runner, earning the last prize money ever awarded by the US Navy. In early 1942Warrington andSampson moved to theSoutheast Pacific Area, escorting convoys from thePanama Canal to theSociety Islands, along with patrols to ports inSouth America. These two transferred to theSouthwest Pacific Area in mid-1943, with operations including the start of theBougainville Campaign, a raid onNew Ireland, and actions nearNew Guinea.Somers,Davis, andJouett spent the first years of the war patrolling the Caribbean and South Atlantic, intercepting several German blockade runners and at least oneU-boat (U-128) nearBrazil. In January 1943Somers relocated toBathurst,Gambia to support the Roosevelt-Churchill-De GaulleCasablanca Conference, later escorting theFree French warshipsRichelieu andMontcalm fromDakar,Senegal to the United States.
In May 1944 all of the class were transferred to the North Atlantic as part of the buildup for theinvasion of Normandy, whichSomers,Davis, andJouett directly supported. AlthoughDavis struck amine and returned to the US for repairs,Somers andJouett also supported theinvasion of southern France in August, in whichSomers sank two German vessels and engaged shore batteries.Warrington foundered in a hurricane near theBahamas in September. The remainder of the class spent the rest of the warescorting convoys in the Atlantic andMediterranean. Following the war, all were scrapped by 1947.[7]
| Name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somers | DD-381 | Federal Shipbuilding,Kearny, New Jersey | 27 June 1935 | 13 March 1937 | 1 December 1937 | 28 October 1945 | Sold for scrap 1947 |
| Warrington | DD-383 | 10 October 1935 | 15 May 1937 | 9 February 1938 | — | Lost in ahurricane north of theBahamas, 13 September 1944 | |
| Sampson | DD-394 | Bath Iron Works | 8 April 1936 | 16 April 1938 | 19 August 1938 | 1 November 1945 | Sold for scrap 1946 |
| Davis | DD-395 | 28 July 1936 | 30 July 1938 | 9 November 1938 | 19 October 1945 | Sold for scrap 1947 | |
| Jouett | DD-396 | 26 March 1936 | 24 September 1938 | 25 January 1939 | 1 November 1945 | Sold for scrap 1946 |
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.