The ultimate World War II destroyer and the backbone of the post-war navy was the 98 vessels of the Gearing class. Operations as anti-submarine (ASW), Anti-aircraft (AA), and fire support platforms throughout the world revealed the versatility and worthiness of this class ship.

The Beginning

The first ship laid down was USS William C. Lawe DD763 in March 1944, with this ship also amazingly the last retired in October 1983. The 98 ships of the Gearing class started joining the wartime fleet with the first that was commissioned, USS Frank Knox DD742, in December 1944. Between 1944 and 1949, 98 Gearing class Destroyers joined the Navy as a minor improvement of the previous Sumner class, which were built from 1943 until 1945. The main difference was that the Gearings were 14 feet longer amidships, allowing for increased fuel storage for greater range. With their large size and greater steaming radius, these ships were planned for the Pacific War Offensive and the proposed invasion of the Japanese home islands.

As designed, the Gearings' armament and speed was similar to their predecessors in the Sumner class. Three twin 5"/38cal Mark 38 dual purpose (DP) mounts constituted the main battery and were guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System. This fire control system provided effective long-range anti-aircraft (AA) or anti-surface fire and computes all targetting information for the twin 5"38 mounts. It also transmits and receives data from both CIC and the IC compartments within the ship. Twelve 40 mm guns and eleven 20 mm guns were also retained. The initial design retained the Sumners' heavy torpedo armament of ten 21" (533mm) tubes in two quintuple mounts, firing the Mark 15 torpedo. As the threat from kamikaze aircraft mounted in 1945, and with few remaining Japanese warships to use torpedoes on, most of the class had the after quintuple 21" torpedo tube mount replaced by an additional 40 mm quadruple mount (prior to completion on later ships) for 16 total 40mm guns. 26 ships (DD-742-745, 805-808, 829-835, and 873-883) were ordered without torpedo tubes to allow for radar picket equipment; these were redesignated as DDRs in 1948.

 

The first Gearings were not ready for service until mid-1945 and thus saw little service in World War II.  However, a few saw wartime action and participated in fire support missions against Japanese held islands and in carrier task forces.

Late 40s and 1950s

The Gearings' increased size made them much more suitable for upgrades than the Sumners, with the radar picket destroyer (DDR) and escort destroyer (DDE) conversions. Following World War II most of the class had their AA and ASW armament upgraded to meet potential new threats. The 40 mm and 20 mm guns were replaced by two to six 3"/50 caliber guns. One depth charge rack was removed and two Hedgehog mounts were added with K-guns launchers retained. Nine additional (for a total of 35) ships were converted to radar picket destroyers (DDR) in the early 1950s; these typically received only one 3"/50cal twin mount to save weight for radar equipment, as did the wartime radar pickets. Nine ships were converted to escort destroyers (DDE), emphasizing ASW. USS Carpenter (DD-825) was the most thorough DDE conversion, with four 3"/70cal guns in twin enclosed mounts, two Weapon Alpha launchers, four new 21" torpedo tubes for the Mark 37 ASW torpedo, and one depth charge rack.

 

During the 1950s, Gearing class destroyers saw extensive operations during the Korean War in gun fire support and carrier tasks forces.  Many performed with extraordinary efforts including taking out North Korean trains.

1960s Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization Program (FRAM)

The FRAM program of the US Navy was in response to the build up of the Russian military threat of the cold war. Submarine detection and destruction was now the priority of the late 50s and early 60s. The Navy did a study that revealed that the existent Gearing and Sumner class destroyers could be modernized to meet these challenges at considerable costs savings over building new ships. Thus the FRAM I and II came into being with each ship in these classes being granted its own 18 month yard time. Ships began entering the shipyard by the early 1960s. 

​

The FRAM project was supposed to add 8-10 years on to the operating lives of these ships. However the actual service of these ships lasted some 20 years in some cases due to the use as a outstanding gunfire support platform during the Vietnam War and ASROC continuing to provide a standoff ASW capability. They were finally replaced in the fleet by the new Spruance class Destroyer but paved the way for a modern US Navy.

 

The 1960s were a very active time for this class of destroyer.  The decade began with intensive support on the Quarantine line during the Cuban Missile Crisis followed by major operations off Vietnam.  All the while the ships of the Atlantic fleet contributed as a deterrant against Soviets submarines and surface forces in the Atlantic, Black Sea, and the Med. Non-military roles consisted as part of the US Navy Space Capsule Recovery Teams supporting the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo NASA missions.

 

1970s and early 1980s

​

The early 1970s saw continued operations supporting the Vietnam War and intelligence gathering operations in the Atlantic against the Soviets.  The ships of the class began decomissioning due to newer and more advanced ships entering the fleet.  By the mid-70s, many Gearings served in the Naval Reserve Force (NRF)  with a partial active crew to provide training for Naval reservists. The last Gearing-class destroyer in US naval service was William C. Lawe decommissioned and struck 1 October 1983.   In foreign service, ARM Netzahualcóyotl (ex-Steinaker DD-863) was active in the Mexican Navy until 2014.

The Ships (Ships without hull numbers were never completed but were designated)

​

USS Gearing DD710

USS Kenneth D. Bailey DD711

USS Wiltsie DD716

USS Epperson DD716

USS Frank Knox DD742

USS Lloyd Thomas DD764

USS Seymour D. Owens

USS Rowan DD782

USS Henderson DD785

USS Hollister DD788

USS Seaman

USS Benner DD807

USS New DD818

USS Johnston DD821

USS Basilone DD824

USS Robert A. Owen DD827

USS Everett F. Larson DD830

USS Herbert J. Thomas DD833

USS George K. MacKenzie DD836

USS Power DD839

USS Fiske DD842

USS Bausell DD845

USS Witek DD848

USS Rupertus DD851

USS Fred T. Berry DD858

USS Harwood DD861

USS Harold J. Ellison DD864

USS Stribling DD867

USS Fechteler DD870

USS Hawkins DD873

USS Rogers DD876

USS Leary DD879

USS Furse DD882

USS John R. Craig DD885

USS Stickell DD888

USS Eugene A Greene DD711

USS William R. Rush DD714

USS Theodore E. Chandler DD717

USS Castle

USS Southerland DD743

USS Keppler DD765

USS Hoel

USS Gurke DD783

USS Richard B. Anderson DD786

USS Eversole DD789

USS Chevalier DD805

USS Dennis J. Buckley DD808

USS Holder DD819

USS Robert H. McCard DD822

USS Carpenter DD825

USS Timmerman DD828

USS Goodrich DD831

USS Turner DD834

USS Sarsfield DD837

USS Glennon DD840

USS Warrington DD843

USS Ozbourn DD846

USS Richard E. Kraus DD849

USS Leonard F. Mason DD852

USS Norris DD859

USS Vogelgesang DD862

USS Charles R. Ware DD865

USS Brownson DD868

USS Damato DD871

USS Duncan DD874

USS Perkins DD877

USS Dyess DD880

USS Newman K. Perry DD883

USS Orleck DD886

USS O'Hare DD889

USS Gyatt DD712

USS William M. Wood DD715

USS Hamner DD718

USS Woodrow R. Thompson

USS William C. Lawe DD763

USS Lansdale

USS Abner Read

USS McKean DD784

USS James E Kyes DD787

USS Shelton DD790

USS Higbee DD806

USS Corry DD817

USS Rich DD820

USS Samuel B. Roberts DD823

USS Agerholm DD826

USS Myles C. Fox DD829

USS Hanson DD832

USS Charles P. Cecil DD835

USS Ernest G. Small DD838

USS Noa DD841

USS Perry DD844

USS Robert L. Wilson DD847

USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. DD850

USS Charles H. Roan DD853

USS McCaffery DD860

USS Steinaker DD863

USS Cone DD866

USS Arnold Isbell DD869

USS Forrest Royal DD872

USS Henry W. Tucker DD875

USS Vesole DD878

USS Bordelon DD881

USS Floyd B. Parks DD884

USS Brinkley Bass DD887

USS Meredith DD890

 

The Survivors

​

Of the 98 ships built, only 6 survive today and live on as museums.  They are : TCG Gayret, (ex-Eversole DD-789) in Turkey; ROKS Jeong Buk, (ex-Everett F. Larson DD-830) in  South Korea; ROCS Te Yang, (ex-Sarsfield DD-837) in Taiwan; USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. DD-850 in Fall River, Massachusetts; ROKS Jeong Ju, (ex-Rogers DD-876) in South Korea, and USS Orleck DD-886 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.