SPRUANCE CLASS DESTROYER

''Spruance'' class destroyer
USS Barry (DD-933)
General Characteristics
Preceded By	''Gearing'' class destroyer
Succeeded By	''Arleigh Burke'' class destroyer
Displacement:	8,040 (long) tons full load.
Length:	529 ft (161 m) waterline; 563 ft (172 m) overall.
Beam:	55 ft (16.8 m)
Draught:	29 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines; 80,000 shp (60 MW); 2 x shafts.
Speed:	32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11 000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h); 3,300 nautical miles (6000 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h).
Complement:	19 officers, 315 enlisted
Armament:	2 x 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns; 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns; 1 x 8 cell ASROC launcher; 1 x 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher; 2 x quadruple Harpoon missile canisters; 2 x triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes); 2 x quadruple ABL Mark 43 Tomahawk missile launchers (some ships of the class); 1 x 21 cell Rolling Airframe Missile launcher in some ships.A 61-cell Mark 41 VLS launcher for Tomahawk/ASROC missiles was fitted to 24 ships in place of the 8-cell ASROC launcher.
Aircraft:	2 x SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Radars:	AN/SPS 40B/C/D air search, AN/SPS-55 surface search, Mark 86 GFCS with AN/SPG-60 and AN/SPQ-9A, SWG-2 Tomahawk weapon control system in ABL ships (SWG-3 in VLS ships), Mark 91 missile FCS, Mark 116 ASW FCS.
Sonars:	AN/SQS 53A bow-mounted sonar (AN/SQS 53B in DD-980), AN/SQR 19(V) TACTAS towed array in DD-980.
EW:	AN/SLQ 25 Nixie, AN/SLQ32V, AN/WLR 1 in DD-971 & DD-975.

The '''Spruance''-class destroyer' was developed by the United States to replace a large number of World War II-built ''Allen M. Sumner''- and ''Gearing''-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the U.S. Navy during the 1970s. The class was designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) with point defense anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) missiles; upgrades provided anti-ship and land attack capabilities. The ships were initially controversial, especially among members of the United States Congress who believed that their unimposing looks, with only two guns and an ASROC or Armored Box Launcher (ABL) missile launcher per ship implied that the vessels were weak. Nonetheless, they were very successful for their intended ASW roles. Despite their "DD" designation indicating gun destroyers, their primary armament was the missiles they carried, and they should properly have been designated DDG under the US Navy's hull classification symbol system. Ironically enough, the DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyers are to be built around the 6.1" advanced gun system and thus properly deserving of the unmodified DD hull classification symbol.
The "Spru-cans" were the first large U.S. Navy ships to use gas turbine propulsion; they have four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines to generate about 80,000 horsepower (60 MW). This configuration was so successful that its hull and physical plant were used for the later ''Kidd''-class destroyers, and a slightly lengthened version of the hull was used for the ''Ticonderoga''-class cruisers.
The entire class of 30 ships was contracted on June 23, 1970 to the Litton-Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, under the Total Package Procurement concept forced on the Navy by the Whiz Kids of Robert McNamara's Pentagon. The idea was to reap the benefits of mass construction, but labor and technical problems caused cost overrruns and delayed construction. One additional ship, USS ''Hayler'', was ordered on September 29, 1979. USS HAYLER was originally planned as a "DDH" (Destroyer, Helicopter) design, which would carry more Anti-Submarine helicopters than the standard design of the SPRUANCE class. Eventually this plan to build a DDH was scrapped and a slightly modified DD-963 class hull was put in commission. Four additional ships were built for the Iranian Navy with the Mark 26/Standard AAW missile system but were completed as ''Kidd''-class destroyers for the U.S. Navy.
The Spruance design is modular in nature, allowing for easy installation of entire subsystems within the ship. Although originally designed for anti-submarine warfare, 24 ships of this class were upgraded with the installation of a 61 cell Vertical Launch Missile System (VLS) capable of launching Tomahawk missiles. The remaining seven ships not upgraded were decommissioned early.
The last Spruance-class destroyer on active service, USS ''Cushing'', was decommissioned on September 21, 2005. It was then offered to the Pakistan Navy under a "free deal (any 2nd hand military equipment to be given for free to Pakistan -- The deal was awarded along with Major non-NATO ally or MNNA Status)."
The majority of the class finished their lives as targets, being deliberately sunk in various fleet exercises.
Larry Blumberg was the first commanding officer of a Spruance-class destroyer.

Contents

Units

See also

External links

Units

Ship Name	Hull No.	Commission– Decommission	Disposition	Link
''Spruance''	DD-963	1975-2005	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[1]
''Paul F. Foster''	DD-964	1976-2003	Active, in service as EDD-964	[2] [3]
''Kinkaid''	DD-965	1976-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[4]
''Hewitt''	DD-966	1976-2001	Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling	[5]
''Elliot''	DD-967	1977-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[6]
''Arthur W. Radford''	DD-968	1977-2003	Stricken, to be disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[7]
''Peterson''	DD-969	1977-2002	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[8]
''Caron''	DD-970	1977-2001	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[9]
''David R. Ray ''	DD-971	1977-2002	Stricken, to be disposed of	[10]
''Oldendorf''	DD-972	1978-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[11]
''John Young''	DD-973	1978-2002	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[12]
''Comte de Grasse''	DD-974	1978-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[13]
''O'Brien''	DD-975	1977-2004	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[14]
''Merrill''	DD-976	1978-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[15]
''Briscoe''	DD-977	1978-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[16]
''Stump''	DD-978	1978-2004	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[17]
''Conolly ''	DD-979	1978-1998	Stricken, available for donation as a museum and memorial	[18]
''Moosbrugger''	DD-980	1978-2000	Stricken, to be disposed of by scrapping	[19]
''John Hancock''	DD-981	1978-2000	Stricken, to be disposed of by scrapping	[20]
''Nicholson''	DD-982	1979-2002	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[21]
''John Rodgers''	DD-983	1979-1998	The Navy awarded a contract for the dismantling of this ship, but it is not characterized as disposed of until the contractor completes and certifies completion of the dismantling	[22]
''Leftwich''	DD-984	1979-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[23]
''Cushing''	DD-985	1979-2005	Stricken, to be disposed of by Foreign Military Sale	[24]
''Harry W. Hill''	DD-986	1979-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[25]
''O'Bannon''	DD-987	1979-2005	Stricken, to be disposed of by Foreign Military Sale	[26]
''Thorn''	DD-988	1980-2004	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[27]
''Deyo''	DD-989	1980-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[28]
''Ingersoll''	DD-990	1980-1998	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[29]
''Fife''	DD-991	1980-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[30]
''Fletcher''	DD-992	1980-2004	Stricken, to be disposed of by Foreign Military Sale	[31]
''Hayler''	DD-997	1983-2003	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise	[32]

See also

★ Ship decommissioning

External links

★ ''Spruance''-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation

★ News story: "Last Spruance-Class Destroyer Decommissioned"

starboard bow view of ''Deyo''

starboard quarter view of ''Fife''