| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Kearny, New Jersey (proposed) |
| Operators | United States Navy (proposed) |
| Built | ~1940 |
| Planned | 4 |
| On order | 4 |
| Cancelled | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | light destroyer |
| Displacement | 1,175 tons |
| Length | 300 ft 0 in (91.44 m)waterline |
| Beam | 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
| Speed | 24.5knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph) |
| Range | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | Data from final design[1] |
TheStevenson-class light destroyer was a planned series of four experimental lightdestroyers for theUnited States Navy. While the class was ultimately cancelled in 1941, the ships served as prototypes for Americandestroyer escorts.
By 1939, theUS Navy realized the need for a new type of smallescort ship that could be cheaplymass-produced. The initial requirements called for a ship simpler than a destroyer but more capable than atorpedo boat. To achieve this goal, two designs were submitted byGibbs & Cox. Both plans proposed a fast and light destroyer while differing indisplacement tonnage and armament. The largest design would have been equipped with two 5-inch (127 mm)dual-purpose guns, two quadruple-mounted 1.1-inch (28 mm)anti-aircraft guns, fourmachine guns, and sixtorpedo tubes in two triple mounts. The smaller proposal (at about 750 tons) called for two 3-inch (76 mm) dual purpose guns, one quadruple 1.1-inch anti-aircraft gun, four .50-caliber machine guns, and two triple torpedo tubes. Both designs could have achieved a top speed of 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).[1][2]
While the designs met the performance goals, they were a novel approach that deviated from the Navy's preference for a modernized and scaled-down version of an existing ship. Despite this,President Franklin Roosevelt ordered two ships of each design fromFederal Shipbuilding in September 1940. Naval historianNorman Friedman speculates that Roosevelt's decision was influenced by advice fromWilliam Gibbs, head of Gibbs & Cox, and the president's personal enthusiasm for fast escorts.[1]
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The two ships of the smaller design were namedStevenson (DD-503) andStockton (DD-504), while the larger duo were namedThorn (DD-505) andTurner (DD-506). Even before the ships were approved on 15 November 1940, issues began to arise. Problems with seakeeping and poor armament forced several redesigns, steadily enlarging the ships. The lack of anti-air weapons onStevenson andStockton forced their design to be completely abandoned, instead opting for the arrangements ofThorn andTurner. The final design was a ship that displaced 1,175 tons, had two additional 5-inch deck guns instead of torpedoes and a more practical top speed 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph).[1][2][3]
By 1941, concerns about the financial practicality of the class compared to full-sized destroyers led to the project being abandoned and canceled on 10 February. Efforts were instead redirected toward developing a ship based on British experience inconvoy escort during theBattle of the Atlantic, which eventually evolved into thedestroyer escort. These ships met the initial description of the light destroyer while embodying the lessons learned from the design issues and modifications of the class.[1]
On the same day of their cancellation, the four ships were re-ordered as the lastGleaves-class destroyers, becomingStevenson (DD-645),Stockton (DD-646),Thorn (DD-647), andTurner (DD-648).[2][4]