Somers class destroyers

Colosseum

Post subject: Somers class destroyers

Posted: June 27th, 2017, 5:51 am

Posts: 5218
Joined: July 26th, 2010, 9:38 pm
Location: Austin, TX
Contact: Website

This one was surprisingly easy with PORTER under my belt!

[ img ]

This is SOMERS (DD-381) in September of 1938. The ship is camouflaged in the usual #5 Standard Navy Grey, the pre-war/peacetime scheme applied to every fleet unit before the introduction of the camouflages as war loomed closer. The key recognition feature of SOMERS is the single stack with its visible funnel trunking below. The pilot house design is very similar to the preceeding PORTER (DD-356) units, and the gun armament is identical (eight 5"/38 Mark 12 guns in four Mark 22 twin mounts). Like its earlier PORTER class cousins, the SOMERS is equipped with the single-purpose Mark 35 director. The anti-aircraft battery consists of two 1.1" quad machine cannons in superfiring positions fore and aft, with a single pair of .50-caliber Brownings abeam Mount 51. These ships were expected to lead up to four 1,500-ton type destroyers (FARRAGUT class), and anti-aircraft defense would have to be provided by those ships with their dual-purpose guns. The most striking feature of the SOMERS class is the presence of twelve torpedo tubes (a preview of later strategy with the MAHAN class) in three mounts.

The aft deckhouse is a very typical pre-war arrangement with three deck levels a la the PORTER class; in this case, only one 36" searchlight is mounted atop the 03 level. Surprisingly, the SOMERS class was extremely overweight as designed and built, despite a relatively conservative appearance. As designed, the ships carried three 26' motor whaleboats and one 26' motor launch. The aft pair of boats was generally landed as soon as possible to help with top-heaviness.

SOMERS served in the Atlantic, notably participating in the capture of the German freighter ODENWALD, before performing convoy escort in support of Operation OVERLORD (the invasion of Normandy). Later still, SOMERS provided 5" gunfire support for Operation DRAGOON (the invasion of Southern France), before ending the war escorting convoys to Britain. SOMERS then made one midshipman's cruise to the Caribbean before being decommissioned and ultimately sold for scrap in 1947.

---

[ img ]

This is WARRINGTON (DD-383) in April of 1943 operating in Perles Bay in the Canal Zone. WARRINGTON is painted in the Measure 16 scheme, consisting of White (5-U) and Thayer Blue (5-B) on all vertical surfaces with Deck Blue (20-B) on the decks and turret tops. Measure 16 was a pattern intended for use in the Arctic areas, where long periods of twilight and frequent fog and overcast weather were expected. This pattern was used extensively in North Atlantic and Aleutian waters in 1943 and 1944 before being replaced with Measure 33.

WARRINGTON displays the early wartime alterations for the SOMERS class ships. The 03 and 02 level of the aft deckhouse have been completely cut down, with the removal of the aft pair of boats and their attendant boat cranes. One of the aft torpedo reload cranes has been retained to help with loading the aft set of torpedo tubes. The middle pair of tubes has been deleted to save weight and make room for a twin 40mm Bofors mount to port and a single 20mm Oerlikon to starboard. The big 36" searchlight aft sits on a small raised platform just abaft the torpedo reload crane, with a small battle gaff immediately astern. A second twin 40mm Bofors in a tub sits atop the aft deckhouse, with a pair of 20mm Oerlikons replacing Mount 53. The pilot house has been modified in a fashion similar to the PORTER class. A Mark 3 Mod.1 "FC" fire control radar has been fitted to the Mark 35 director. The mainmast mounts an SG surface search radar, and has been altered to receive an SC or SA air search mattress at the truck, but no antenna has yet been fitted. A TBS tactical radio antenna sits on the starboard yardarm.

WARRINGTON served in the Pacific before being transferred to the Atlantic in 1944. The ship was lost during the 1944 Great Atlantic hurricane off the Bahamas in September, 1944, with 248 of her crew lost at sea.

---

[ img ]

This is JOUETT (DD-396) in April of 1944, with Measure 22 camouflage. Interestingly, JOUETT's Measure 22 has been applied in a non-standard fashion with the forward stripe of Navy Blue (5-N) following the line of sheer forward, versus the standard format that would create a horizontal line up to the lowest level of sheer.

JOUETT shows typical late-war alterations for the SOMERS class, which were not totally rebuilt like the PORTERs. The main gun armament is nearly unchanged, with Mount 53 having been landed to accommodate more light anti-aircraft guns. The number 2 torpedo tube mount has also been deleted and replaced with a 40mm Bofors (to port) and a 20mm Oerlikon (to starboard). A tall mainmast (similar to that fitted to the PORTER class) sits atop the aft deckhouse, with a DAQ HF/DF antenna above, along with a small battle gaff and the screened speed light halfway up the mast. The large and distinctive pilot house windows that characterized the pre-war DD designs have been plated over and replaced with portholes. The foremast mounts antennas for the SG and SA search radars.

JOUETT served in the Atlantic, escorting convoys and intercepting German blockade runners before participating in the naval component of Operations OVERLORD and DRAGOON. The ship was decommissioned at the close of hostilities and scrapped in 1946.

---

All SOMERS class drawings available here: http://shipbucket.com/drawings/search?c ... ate=&view=

_________________
USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

Top

Shipbucket

Somers class destroyers

Who is online