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USS Sampson in late-1980s
Class overview
Name	Charles F. Adams class
Builders	Bath Iron Works New York Shipbuilding Corporation Defoe Shipbuilding Company Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington Avondale Marine Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company
Operators	United States Navy  Hellenic Navy
Preceded by	Farragut class
Succeeded by	Spruance class
Subclasses	Perth class Lütjens class
Built	1958–1967
In commission	1960–2003
Completed	29
Retired	29
Preserved	Mölders
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer (DDG)
Displacement	3,277 tons standard 4,526 full load
Length	437 ft (133 m)
Beam	47 ft (14 m)
Draft	15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion	2 × steam turbines providing 70,000 shp (52,000 kW); 2 shafts 4 × 1,275 psi (8,790 kPa) boilers
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement	310–333
Sensors and processing systems	1 AN/SPS-10 surface search RADAR 1 AN/SPS-37 air search radar 1 AN/SPS-39 air search 3D radar 2 AN/SPG-51 Tartar fire control radar 1 AN/SPG-53 gun fire control radar AN/SQS-23 SONAR
Armament	1 Mk 11 missile launcher (DDG-2–14) or Mk 13 single arm missile launcher (DDG-15–24) for RIM-24 Tartar SAM system, or later the RIM-66 Standard (SM-1) and Harpoon anti-ship missile 2 × 5-inch (127 mm)/54 caliber Mark 42 guns 1 × RUR-5 ASROC launcher 2 × Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes (6 torpedoes)

The Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided-missile destroyers (DDG) built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty-three were built for the United States Navy, three for the Royal Australian Navy, and three for the West German Bundesmarine. The design of these ships (known as project SCB 155) was based on that of Forrest Sherman-class destroyers, but the Charles F. Adams class were the first class designed to serve as guided-missile destroyers. 19 feet (5.8 m) of length was added to the center of the design of the Forrest Sherman class to carry the ASROC launcher. The Charles F. Adams-class were the last steam turbine-powered destroyers built for the U.S. Navy. Starting with the succeeding Spruance-class, all U.S. Navy destroyers have been powered by gas turbines. Some of the U.S. Charles F. Adams class served during the blockade of Cuba in 1962 and during the Vietnam War; those of the Royal Australian Navy served during the Vietnam War and Gulf War.

New threat update program and decommissioning

Although designed with cutting-edge technology for the 1950s, by the mid-1970s it was clear to the Navy that the Charles F. Adams-class destroyers were not prepared to deal with modern air attacks and guided missiles. To reduce this vulnerability, the U.S. Navy began the New Threat Upgrade (NTU) program. This consisted of a number of sensor, weapons and communications upgrades that were intended to extend the service lives of the ships. Under the NTU, these destroyers received improved electronic warfare capability through the installation of the AN/SLQ-32(V)2 EW Suite.

The upgraded combat system would include the MK86 Gun Fire Control System with AN/SPQ-9 radar, the Hughes AN/SPS-52C 3D radar, the AN/SPG-51C (Digital) Fire Control Radars, and the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS). These ships were also planned to have the ability to launch several Harpoon anti-ship missiles, which were to be installed in their MK-11 or MK-13 Tartar missile launcher.

During the 1980s, the Reagan Administration chose to accelerate production of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers and build the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, both classes with the Aegis Combat System that was considered more effective than NTU-upgraded ships, to gradually replace all existing destroyer and cruiser classes (especially the expensive nuclear-powered cruisers). The result of this was that only three of Charles F. Adams-class destroyers, Tattnall, Goldsborough, and Benjamin Stoddert received the full upgrade. Other ships, of the class, such as Charles F. Adams, received only partial upgrades, which included the AN/SLQ-32 and Harpoon Missile upgrades, that were intended to extend their service lives until the Arleigh Burke class could reach operational capability.

The United States Navy decommissioned its last Charles F. Adams destroyer, Goldsborough, on 29 April 1993. The Australian and German navies decommissioned their last ships of this class by 2003. Four ships of this class were transferred to the Hellenic Navy in 1992, but those have also been decommissioned.

Charles F. Adams was originally planned to open as a museum ship sometime in 2018, but those plans were put on hold and the ship was sent to be scrapped in 2020. The Mölders was made into a museum ship, but all of the other destroyers in the class have been sunk as targets, sunk for diving wrecks or sold for scrap.

Ships in class

Hellenic Navy

Four destroyers were transferred to the Hellenic Navy;

• Kimon (D218) (formerly USS Semmes)
• Nearchos (D219) (formerly USS Waddell)
• Formion (D220) (formerly USS Joseph Strauss)
• Themistoklis (D221) (formerly USS Berkeley)

Lütjens class

The Lütjens-class destroyer was a modification of the Charles F. Adams class for the Bundesmarine (the Navy of West Germany). It differed from the Charles F. Adams class in the layout of the crew accommodations, the location of the bow sonar, a second large aerial mast and different funnels.

• Lütjens (D185) (scrapped)
• Mölders (D186) (Museum ship)
• Rommel (D187) (scrapped)

Perth class

The Royal Australian Navy had three Charles F. Adams-class units constructed to their own specifications (these ships were designated the Perth class). Although broadly similar to the US Navy's vessels, the Australian ships were fitted with the Ikara system instead of the ASROC that was fitted to the American units. The three ships were:

• HMAS Perth (D 38) (sunk as a dive wreck)
• HMAS Hobart (D 39) (sunk as a dive wreck)
• HMAS Brisbane (D 41) (sunk as a dive wreck)

Notes

1. The Farragut class was built at roughly the same time, but they were classified as frigates until 1975.

References

1. ^ Blackman, Raymond V. B. Jane's Fighting Ships (1970/71) p.437
2. Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Shipboard Radars" United States Naval Institute Proceedings December 1978 p.144
3. Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Shipboard Radars" United States Naval Institute Proceedings December 1978 p.145
4. Polmar, Norman "The U.S. Navy: Sonars, Part 1" United States Naval Institute Proceedings July 1981 p.119
5. Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: United States Naval Institute. pp. 299, 307–309. ISBN 0-87021-733-X.
6. "USS Charles F. Adams". Naval Vessel Register.
7. "USS John King". Naval Vessel Register.
8. "USS Lawrence". Naval Vessel Register.
9. "USS Claude V. Ricketts". Naval Vessel Register.
10. "USS Barney". Naval Vessel Register.
11. "USS Henry B. Wilson". Naval Vessel Register.
12. "USS Lynde McCormick". Naval Vessel Register.
13. "USS Towers". Naval Vessel Register.
14. "USS Sampson". Naval Vessel Register.
15. "USS Sellers". Naval Vessel Register.
16. "USS Robison". Naval Vessel Register.
17. "USS Hoel". Naval Vessel Register.
18. "USS Buchanan". Naval Vessel Register.
19. "USS Berkeley". Naval Vessel Register.
20. "USS Joseph Strauss". Naval Vessel Register.
21. "USS Conyngham". Naval Vessel Register.
22. "USS Semmes". Naval Vessel Register.
23. "USS Tattnall". Naval Vessel Register.
24. "USS Goldsborough". Naval Vessel Register.
25. "USS Cochrane". Naval Vessel Register.
26. "USS Benjamin Stoddert". Naval Vessel Register.
27. "USS Richard E. Byrd". Naval Vessel Register.
28. "USS Waddell". Naval Vessel Register.

External links

• Mölders (D 186), Deutsches Marine Museum, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
• HMAS Perth (DDG-38), Artificial Dive Reef, Albany Australia
• USS Charles F. Adams (DDG-2), Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association, Jacksonville Florida
• Charles F. Adams-class Veterans Association
• Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation

v t e Charles F. Adams-class destroyers
United States Navy	Barney Benjamin Stoddert Berkeley Buchanan Charles F. Adams Claude V. Ricketts (ex-Biddle) Cochrane Conyngham Goldsborough Henry B. Wilson Hoel John King Joseph Strauss Lawrence Lynde McCormick Richard E. Byrd Robison Sampson Sellers Semmes Tattnall Towers Waddell
Royal Australian Navy Perth class	Perth Hobart Brisbane (Goldsborough was purchased by the RAN for spare parts)
German Navy Lütjens class	Lütjens Mölders Rommel
Hellenic Navy Kimon class	Kimon (ex-Semmes) Nearchos (ex-Waddell) Formion (ex-Joseph Strauss) Themistoklis (ex-Berkeley)
Preceded by: Farragut class Followed by: Spruance class
List of destroyers of the United States Navy List of destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy List of destroyers of Germany

• Charles F. Adams-class destroyers
• Destroyer classes
• Cold War destroyers of the United States