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Nineteen Fletchers were lost during World War II; a further six more were severely damaged, evaluated as constructive total losses, and not repaired. [1] Postwar, the remainder were decommissioned and put into reserve. Of the 25 Fletchers sunk or deemed as constructive total losses, 17 were lost between March and July 1945 off Okinawa.
High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the remaining ships were reclassified as "Fast Amphibious Transports", hull symbol LPR.
By this time the destroyers had become large, multi-purpose vessels, expensive targets in their own right. As a result, casualties on destroyers were among the highest. In the US Navy, particularly in World War II, destroyers became known as tin cans due to their light armor compared to battleships and cruisers.
The first major warship produced by the U.S. Navy after World War II (and in the Cold War) were "frigates"—the ships were originally designated destroyer leaders but reclassified in 1975 as guided missile cruisers (except the Farragut class became guided missile destroyers). These grew out of the last all-gun destroyers of the 1950s.
The Grom-class destroyers were two destroyers, built for the Polish Navy by the British company of J. Samuel White, Cowes. They were laid down in 1935 and commissioned in 1937. The two Groms were some of the fastest and most heavily armed destroyers of World War II.
Their mission was to extend the Distant Early Warning Line on both coasts, in conjunction with 16 Guardian-class radar picket ships, which were converted Liberty ships. During World War II, some 95 destroyer escorts were converted by the US to high-speed transports (APDs). This involved adding an extra deck which allowed space for about 10 ...
The Weapon-class destroyers was a class of destroyers built for the Royal Navy towards the end of World War II. They were the smaller counterpart to the Battle class (which followed them) and were the first new destroyer designs for the Royal Navy since the Second World War Emergency Programme. 20 ships were planned, of which only 13 were laid ...
At the outbreak of the Second World War Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine had 21 destroyers (German: Zerstörer) in service, while another one was just being completed. [1] These 22 vessels – comprising 3 classes (Type 34, 34A and 36) – had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels (no destroyers remained in German hands following the close of the First World War).