USA (1898-1902): USS Truxtun, Whipple, Worden DD14-16 more DDs The Truxtun-class destroyers were authorized by the Congress in their 4 May 1899 resolution after the Spanish–American War, FY1899 program. Built between 1899 and 1902, they represented only three ships, denominated DD-14 to DD-16 when laid down in 1899, and the second class of USN destroyers. … Read more
USA (1898): USS Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin The Illinois class were three pre-dreadnought battleships built in 1896-1901, missing the Spanish-American war, and now seen by historians as transitional ships incorporating many advances over preceding designs, like modern gun turrets, new rapid-firing secondary guns, while retaining like fire-tube boilers and Harvey armour. Standard speed was 16 knots, … Read more
USN Fleet Destroyers (1917-1947): 156 destroyers (DD-186 to DD-347) The Clemson-class were 156 destroyers built for the US Navy between 1918 and 1922. Second of the two wartime mass-produced classes of “flush deck” hull destroyers (“four-pipers”). They were near-repeats of the Wickes class, themselves derived from the experimental Caldwell design. The previous class was faster, … Read more
USN Fleet Destroyers (1917-1947): 111 destroyers (DD-75 to DD-185) The Wickes-class were 111 destroyers built for the US Navy between 1917 and 1921. First of the two wartime mass-produced classes of “flush deck” hull destroyers (“four-pipers”), and improved version of the Caldwell design but faster. Seeing little from WWI for most, they served in the … Read more
