Mitscher class destroyers

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Post subject: Mitscher class destroyers

Posted: September 5th, 2018, 9:50 pm

Posts: 5218
Joined: July 26th, 2010, 9:38 pm
Location: Austin, TX
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This is MITSCHER (DL-2) in August of 1953, during the ship's shakedown period. She is camouflaged in the standard overall Haze Grey #27 of Measure US 27.

Designed as "destroyer leaders" (and later reclassified as "frigates" in 1955), the MITSCHER class were intended as fast task force escorts. These powerful ships mounted two of the new 5"/54-caliber Mark 42 guns fore and aft (each the equivalent of a dual 5"/38 mount). The new Mark 67 director sits atop the bridge, with the Mark 25 ranging radar above it. This director was an improvement over the wartime Mark 37 director incorporating gyro-stabilization of the director mount itself, greatly simplifying operation. Mark 64 "Gunar" has been fitted to the aft 5" mount (visible as a small dish to the right of the barrel and a blister on the rear of the gun mount shield for the radar equipment). This allowed for two targets to be simultaneously tracked and engaged.

As designed, the MITSCHER class was intended to mount the new and advanced 3"/70 Mark 37 rapid-firing mount, but development delays meant the four ships of the class went to sea with the older 3"/50 RF mounts instead. These were directed by a Mark 56 director on a small pedestal aft, with the forward 3" mount receiving a Gunar installation (similar to the arrangement for the 5" guns).

The two new Mark 108 "Weapon Alfa" anti-submarine rocket launchers were situated ahead of the bridge and just aft of the Mark 56 director. This was a rocket projector system which fired the RUR-4 rocket up to 975 yards away from the ship, a great improvement over wartime depth charge racks or K-gun projectors. Late-war QHB (and later SQS-4) sonar was coupled with AN/SQG-1 depth-finding sonar (visible as the smaller dome forward), though these were replaced in later refits. Four fixed 21" torpedo tubes were mounted in the aft superstructure, loaded with Mark 35 acoustic homing torpedoes. These could be loaded with anti-ship torpedoes if necessary.

Electronics include the SPS-6B air search antenna on the foremast, with SPS-4 above for surface and zenith search. As these ships required radar picket capability, the large SPS-8 heightfinder was fitted aft, with its own stable element below decks. The ECM antennas of the SLR-2 system sit atop the mainmast bracketed to the second funnel, and various IFF and tactical radio dipoles are mounted on the forward yardarms.

MITSCHER would serve throughout the 1960s and 70s, being converted into a guided missile destroyer in 1966, before finally being scrapped in 1980.

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Mitscher class destroyers

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