Charles F. Adams - class Guided Missile Destroyer
Charles F. Adams class DDG with Mk-11 twin-arm missile launcher (DDG 2 - 14) Charles F. Adams class DDG with Mk-13 single-arm missile launcher (DDG 15 - 24)
The Charles F. Adams class of guided missile destroyers was a group of twenty-nine built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty-three of these ships were built for the United States Navy, three for the Royal Australian Navy, and three for the West German Bundesmarine. The ships were based on the existing Forrest Sherman class, but were the first destroyers designed to serve as missile destroyers. The destroyers of this class served in the Cuban blockade of 1962 and the Vietnam War. The United States Navy decommissioned its last Charles F. Adams destroyer, the USS Goldsborough, on April 29, 1993. The Australian and German navies had also decommissioned their last ships of this class by 2003. Four ships of this class were transferred to the Hellenic Navy in 1992. All four have since been decommissioned. The USS Charles F. Adams has been placed on inactive hold status and there are attempts by private groups to have it preserved as a museum ship. The USS Hoel has been sold to a private corporation which is attempting to use it as a power generating plant in Brazil. With the exception of these two ships and the Kimon, all of the ships in this class have been sunk as targets, sold for scrap, or are scheduled for one of the two fates.
Ships:
unit			in service	fate
DDG 2 USS Charles F. Adams			1960
DDG 3 USS John King			1961
DDG 4 USS Lawrence			1962
DDG 5 USS Claude V. Ricketts			1962	(ex USS Biddle)
DDG 6 USS Barney			1962
DDG 7 USS Henry B. Wilson			1960
DDG 8 USS Lynde McCormick			1961
DDG 9 USS Towers			1961
DDG 10 USS Sampson			1961
DDG 11 USS Sellers			1961
DDG 12 USS Robison			1961
DDG 13 USS Hoel			1962
DDG 14 USS Buchanan			1962
DDG 15 USS Berkeley			1962	transferred to Greece as HS Themistoklis (D 221)
DDG 16 USS Joseph Strauss			1963	transferred to Greece as HS Formion (D 220)
DDG 17 USS Conyngham			1963
DDG 18 USS Semmes			1962	transferred to Greece as HS Kimon (D 218)
DDG 19 USS Tattnall			1963
DDG 20 USS Goldsborough			1963
DDG 21 USS Cochrane			1963
DDG 22 USS Benjamin Stoddert			1964
DDG 23 USS Richard E. Byrd			1964
DDG 24 USS Waddell			1964	transferred to Greece as HS Nearchos (D 219)
Specifications (US Navy ships only):
Displacement:	3,190-3,647 tons (light) 4,500 tons (full load)
Length:	437 feet (133,20 meters)
Beam:	47 feet (14,30 meters)
Draft:	20 feet (6,10 meters)
Speed:	31+ knots / max. (57+ kmh)
Propulsion:	4 1200 psi boilers; 2 General Electric geared gas turbines; 2 shafts; 2 propellers; 70,000 shaft horsepower;
Aircraft:	None - VERTREP capable only
Armament:	1 - Mk-11 twin-arm missile launcher with 42 missiles (DDG 2-14) or 1 - Mk-13 single-arm missile launcher with 40 missiles (DDG 15-24) for RIM-24 Tartar SAM (earlier) RIM-66 Standard MR SAM (later) RGM-84 Harpoon SSM 1 - Mk-16 octuple launcher for RUR-5 ASROC anti-submarine rockets 2 - Mk-32 triple-torpedo-tubes for Mk-46 torpedoes 2 - Mk-42 5”/54 caliber gun (127mm)
Systems:	2 - AN/SPG-51 Fire Control Radar 1 - AN/SPS-10 Surface Search Radar 1 - AN/SPS-29 B,C Band Air Search Radar (DDG 2-14) 1 - AN/SPS-37 (2D) B,C Band Air Search Radar (DDG 2-14) 1 - AN/SPS-39 (3D) E,F Band Air Search Radar (DDG 15-24) 1 - AN/SPS-40 (2D) UHF Band Air Search Radar (DDG 15-24) 1 - Mk 4 or 13 weapon director 1 - Mk 68 gun fire control w/SPG-53A (DDG 2-18) 2 - Mk 74 missile fire control 1 - Mk 86 fire control w/SPG 60D & SPQ 9A (DDG 19-24) 1 - Mk 111 antisubmarine fire control (DDG 2-15) 1 - Mk 114 antisubmarine fire control (DDG 16-24) 1 - AN/SQQ-23 active/passive hull mounted Sonar (DDG 16-19) 1 - AN/SQS-23 active long range hull mounted Sonar (DDG 2-16) 1 - AN/SQS-24 bow mounted Sonar (DDG 20-24) 1 - AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy 1 - AN/WLR-1 ESM/ECM [initially] 1 - AN/SLQ-32 ESM/ECM [later]
Complement:	approx. 330
Foreign customers of Charles F. Adams class Guided Missile Destroyer
Royal Australian Navy (Perth class) – US built (3 ships)
D 38 HMAS Perth (1965)
D 39 HMAS Hobart (1965)
D 41 HMAS Brisbane (1967)
German Navy (Lütjens class) – US built (3 ships)
D 185 FGS Lütjens (1969) (laid down as USS Tolman / DDG 28)
D 186 FGS Mölders (1969) (laid down as USS Henry A. Wiley / DDG 29)
D 187 FGS Rommel (1970) (laid down as USS Shea / DDG 30)
Armament:
DDG 2 - DDG 14 with Mk-11 twin-arm missile launcher DDG 15 - DDG 24 with Mk-13 single-arm missile launcher
Mk-11 twin-arm missile launcher
Mk-11 launcher and Mk-42 gun aboard USS Buchanan (DDG14) USS Lawrence (DDG 4) fires a RGM-84 “Harpoon” anti-ship-missile (SSM) from her Mk-11 launcher USS Sampson (DDG 10) fires a RIM-66 / SM-1MR “Standard” SAM from her Mk-11 launcher
Mk-13 single-arm missile launcher
Mk-13 launcher aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) Mk-13 launcher with RGM-84 Harpoon missile aboard USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) Mk-13 launcher with RGM-84 Harpoon missile aboard USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) fires a RIM-66 / SM-1MR “Standard” SAM from her Mk-13 launcher
Mk-42 5”/54 caliber (127mm) gun
Mk-42 gun aboard USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) Mk-42 gun and Mk-13 missile launcher aboard USS Semmes (DDG 18) Mk-42 gun aboard USS Tattnall (DDG 19) forward Mk-42 gun aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) aft Mk-42 gun aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23)
Mk-16 octuple launcher for RUR-5 ASROC anti-submarine rockets
Mk-16 ASROC-launcher aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG 7) fires a RUR-5 ASROC from her Mk-16 launcher
Mk-32 triple-torpedo-tubes for Mk-46 torpedos
USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) fires a Mk-46 torpedo from her Mk-32 surface-vessel-torpedo-tubes (SVTT) Mk-32 triple-torpedo-tubes aboard USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG 5)
onboard and inboard details
A view of the upper works of USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23). Visible are (from left to right), an Mark 42 5-inch DP gun mount, twin SPG-51 missile fire control radar antennas, an SPS-52 three-dimensional search radar antenna (on No. 2 smokestack), and SPS-40 and SPS-10 radar antennas (on the foremast). A rear view of the foremast of USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23). Mounted on the mast are an SPS-10 surface search radar and an SPS-40 air search radar. In the lower right corner above the bridge is an SLQ-32(V)2 antenna. A view of the mast of USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23). Note the SPS-40 air search radar on top of the SPS-10 surface search radar DDG 16 USS Joseph Strauss A view of the SPS-52 three-dimensional air search antenna on top of the number two smokestack aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) A view of the Mark 68 gunfire control radar on top of the bridge of USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) On both sides of the bridge is an SLQ-23 antenna and on the left is an AS-3018/WSC-1 satellite receiving antenna A view of the Mark 68 gunfire control radar aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) A view of the back of a Mark 68 gunfire control unit on top of the bridge of USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) A view of the SPG-51 missile fire control radar units aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) combat information center of USS Joseph Strauss (DDG 16) combat information center of USS Joseph Strauss (DDG 16) A view of the combat information center of USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) From left to right are: target/selector and tracking console, the Tartar guided missile systems with a backup unit and the Mark 63 Tartar system A view of the Tartar guided missile systems control console in the combat information center aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) A radar technician operates the SPA-66 radar scope in the combat inforamtion center aboard USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG 23) On the bridge of USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) as it prepares for refueling during Operation Desert Shield Crew members of USS Goldsborough (DDG 20) man the bridge as the vessel operates in the Gulf of Oman during Operation Desert Shield On the bridge of USS Goldsborough (DDG 20)
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