.jpg) USSMugford on 28 April 1944 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bagley-class destroyer |
| Builders | |
| Operators |  United States Navy |
| Preceded by | Gridley class |
| Succeeded by | Somers class |
| Built | 1935–37 |
| In commission | 1937–46 |
| Completed | 8 |
| Lost | 3 |
| Retired | 5 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 341 ft 8 in (104.14 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m) |
| Draft |
|
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts |
| Speed | 36.8knots (68.2 km/h) on trials |
| Range | 6,940 nmi (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
TheBagley class of eightdestroyers was built for theUnited States Navy. They were part of a series of USN destroyers limited to 1,500 tonsstandard displacement by theLondon Naval Treaty and built in the 1930s.[2] All eight ships were ordered and laid down in 1935 and subsequently completed in 1937. Their layout was based on the concurrently-builtGridley class destroyer design and was similar to theBenham class as well; all three classes were notable for including sixteen21 inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes, the heaviest torpedo armament ever on US destroyers.[3] They retained the fuel-efficient power plants of theMahan-class destroyers, and thus had a slightly lower speed than theGridleys. However, they had the extended range of theMahans, 1,400nautical miles (2,600 km) farther than theGridleys.[4] TheBagley class destroyers were readily distinguished visually by the prominent external trunking of the boiler uptakes around their single stack.
All eightBagley-class destroyers were present at theattack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. They all served in thePacific duringWorld War II, withJarvis,Blue, andHenley lost in combat. In 1944Mugford suffered extensive damage from akamikaze hit that put her out of combat for six months.Ralph Talbot later received akamikaze hit offOkinawa. After the war,Bagley,Helm, andPatterson were decommissioned in 1945 and scrapped in 1947.Mugford andRalph Talbot, still in commission, were targets during theOperation Crossroadsatomic bomb tests atBikini atoll in 1946. Contaminated by radiation, they were scuttled offKwajalein in 1948.[5]
The eightBagleys were part of a series of three classes with similar characteristics laid down 1935-1937. The other two were theGridley class (4 ships) and theBenham class (10 ships). All three featured four 5-inch (127 mm) dual purpose guns (anti-surface and anti-aircraft) and sixteen 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes in four quadruple mounts as built, the largest number of torpedo tubes on any US destroyers.[3] Although all had only one stack, they differed primarily in their machinery. TheBagleys were a Navy design that duplicated the machinery of the preceding long-rangeMahan class; this led to their prominent boiler uptakes around the single stack that were their main recognition feature. TheGridleys were designed byBethlehem Shipbuilding Company with advanced high-pressure boilers (also built by Bethlehem) but turbines generally similar to the earlierFarragut class, which limited their range. TheBenhams were aGibbs & Cox design with another new boiler design that allowed a reduction from four boilers to three, with an efficient turbine arrangement resembling theMahans'.[2][3][6]
TheBagleys' propulsion plant repeated that of theMahans. Steam pressure was 400 psi (2,800 kPa),superheated to 700 °F (371 °C).[7][2][4] Features that improved fuel economy included boilereconomizers, double reductiongearing, and cruising turbines. The ships' range was 6,940 nmi (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), 1,400 nmi (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) farther than theGridleys. The engines developed 47,191 shp (35,190 kW) onBagley's trials.[4] The main turbines were manufactured byGeneral Electric.[7] Each main turbine was divided into a high-pressure (HP) and a low-pressure (LP) turbine feeding into a common reduction gear to drive a shaft, in a similar manner to the machinery illustrated at the following reference.[8] Steam from the boilers was supplied to the HP turbine, which exhausted to the LP turbine, which exhausted to acondenser. The cruising turbines were geared to the HP turbines and could be engaged or disengaged as needed; at low speeds they were operated in series with the HP turbines to improve the efficiency of the overall turbine arrangement, thus improving fuel economy.
TheBagleys had the same armament as theGridleys andBenhams: four5-inch (127 mm) dual purpose guns (anti-surface andanti-aircraft (AA)) in single mounts and sixteen 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes in quadruple mounts.[3] The class was initially equipped with theMark 11 torpedo orMark 12 torpedo, which were replaced by theMark 15 torpedo beginning in 1938.[9] This was the heaviest armament intorpedoes ever on US destroyers. Compared with theMahans, they sacrificed one gun for four additional torpedo tubes. It was suggested that these ships could use "curved ahead fire", using the adjustable post-launch gyro angle of their torpedoes to launch a sixteen-torpedo spread ahead of the ship.[3] One reason for the heavy destroyer torpedo armament was that, alone among the major navies, the last nine of the seventeen USTreaty cruisers built in the 1920s and 1930s lacked torpedoes; eventually all of the US Treaty cruisers' torpedoes were removed in 1941 in favor of additional heavy AA guns.[10]
As with most other US destroyers of this period, the 5-inch guns featured all-angle power loading and weredirector controlled, making them as effective as the technology allowed against aircraft. By late 1942, radioproximity fuses (VT fuses) made them much more effective. As in the last twoMahans, the two forward 5-inch guns were inenclosed mounts, while the aft guns were open. However, in common with all US surface combatants in the 1930s, the light AA armament was weak; only four.50 caliber machine guns (12.7 mm) were equipped. It was apparently felt that the heavy AA armament would shoot down most incoming aircraft in all situations, but theattack on Pearl Harbor showed that this was not true.[11] TheBagleys' weak AA armament was partially remedied after Pearl Harbor by replacing the machine guns with one twin40 mm Bofors (1.6 in) mount and six20 mm Oerlikon cannon (0.8 in).[12] While most American destroyers had some or all torpedo tubes replaced by light AA guns during World War II, theBagleys did not.[13]
As with their contemporaries, theBagleys'anti-submarine warfare (ASW) armament started with twodepth charge racks aft. Photographs show that these were augmented during World War II by fourK-gun depth charge throwers on at least some ships.[12]
All eightBagley-class destroyers were present at theattack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, comprising Destroyer Squadron Four. They all served in thePacific duringWorld War II, withJarvis,Blue, andHenley lost in combat. In 1944Mugford suffered extensive damage from akamikaze hit that put her out of combat for six months. The remaining fourBagleys continued to operate as Destroyer Squadron Six, withRalph Talbot receiving akamikaze hit offOkinawa.Bagley accepted the surrender ofJapanese forces onMarcus Island.Bagley,Helm, andPatterson were decommissioned in 1945 and scrapped in 1947.Mugford andRalph Talbot, still in commission, were targets during theOperation Crossroadsatomic bomb tests atBikini atoll in 1946. Contaminated by radiation, they were scuttled offKwajalein in 1948.[5]
| Name | Hull no. | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bagley | DD-386 | Norfolk Navy Yard | 31 July 1935 | 3 September 1936 | 12 June 1937 | 14 June 1946 | Sold for scrap, 8 September 1947 | [15] |
| Blue | DD-387 | 25 September 1935 | 27 May 1937 | 14 August 1937 | — | Sunk by enemy action offGuadalcanal, 22 August 1942 | [16] | |
| Helm | DD-388 | 16 October 1937 | 26 June 1946 | Sold for scrap, 2 October 1947 | [17] | |||
| Mugford | DD-389 | Boston Navy Yard | 28 October 1935 | 31 October 1936 | 16 August 1937 | 29 August 1946 | Scuttled off Kwajalein, 22 March 1948 | [18] |
| Ralph Talbot | DD-390 | 14 October 1937 | 29 August 1946 | Scuttled off Kwajalein, 8 March 1948 | [19] | |||
| Henley | DD-391 | Mare Island Navy Yard | 28 October 1935 | 12 January 1937 | 14 August 1937 | — | Sunk by enemy action offNew Guinea, 3 October 1943 | [20] |
| Patterson | DD-392 | Puget Sound Navy Yard | 23 July 1935 | 6 May 1937 | 22 September 1937 | 8 November 1945 | Sold for scrap, 18 August 1947 | [21] |
| Jarvis | DD-393 | 21 August 1935 | 27 October 1937 | — | Sunk by enemy action off Guadalcanal, 9 August 1942 | [22] |
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
