The Wickes-class destroyers were a class of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917–1919. Together with the six preceding ships of the and the succeeding 156 subsequent s, they were grouped as the "flush-deck" or "four-stack" type. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World War I, including , the lead ship of the class.
While some were scrapped in the 1930s, the rest served throughout World War II. Most of these were converted to other uses; nearly all in US service had half their boilers and one or more stacks removed to increase fuel and range or accommodate troops. Others were transferred to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy, some of which were later transferred to the Soviet Navy. All were scrapped within a few years after World War II.
Background The destroyer type was at this time a relatively new class of fighting ship for the US Navy. The type arose in response to torpedo boats that had been developing from 1865, especially after the development of the self-propelled Whitehead torpedo.Friedman, p.8 During the Spanish–American War, it was realized that a torpedo boat destroyer was urgently needed to screen the larger warships, so much so that a special war plans board headed by Theodore Roosevelt issued an urgent report pleading for this type of ship.Friedman 2004 p.11
A series of destroyers had been built over the preceding years, designed for high smooth water speed, with indifferent results, especially poor performance in heavy seas and poor fuel economy.Friedman p.14–15 The lesson of these early destroyers was the appreciation of the need for true seakeeping and seagoing abilities.Friedman p.15 There were few cruisers in the Navy, which was a fleet of battleships and destroyers (no cruisers had been launched since 1908) so destroyers performed scouting missions. A report in October 1915 by Captain W. S. Sims noted that the smaller destroyers used fuel far too quickly, and that wargames showed the need for fast vessels with a larger radius of action. As a result, the size of US destroyers increased steadily, starting at 450 tons and rising to over 1,000 tons between 1905 and 1916.Friedman, p.19-29 The need for high speed, economical cruising, heavy seas performance, and a high fuel capacity saw larger hulls, the inclusion of oil fuel, reduction geared steam turbines with cruising turbines, and increased fuel capacity.Friedman 2004 p.28–29, 34, 40–41
With World War I then in its second year and tensions between the US and Germany increasing, the US needed to expand its navy. The Naval Appropriation Act of 1916 called for a navy "second to none," capable of protecting both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The Act authorized the construction of ten battleships, six s, ten scout cruisers, and 50 Wickes-class destroyers. A subsequent General Board recommendation for further destroyers to combat the submarine threat resulted in a total of 267 Wickes- and Clemson-class destroyers completed. However, the design of the ships remained optimized for operation with the battleship fleet.Friedman, 2004 p.40
Design The requirements of the new design were high speed and mass production. The development of submarine warfare during World War I created a requirement for destroyers in numbers that had not been contemplated before the war. A top speed of was needed for operation with the Lexington-class battlecruisers and Omaha-class cruisers.
The final design had a flush deck and four smokestacks. It was a fairly straightforward evolution of the preceding . General dissatisfaction with the earlier "1,000 ton" designs ( and classes) led to the fuller hull form of the "flush deck" type. Greater beam and the flush deck provided greater hull strength. In addition, the Wickes class had - more than the Caldwell class - providing an extra . The machinery arrangement of some of the Caldwells was used, with geared steam turbines on two shafts.Friedman, 2004 p.37-39
The extra power required an extra 100 tons of engine and reduction gears. The design included an even keel and nearly horizontal propeller shafts to minimize weight.
As construction was undertaken by ten different builders, there was considerable variation in the types of boilers and turbines installed to meet a guaranteed speed requirement. However, there were in essence two basic designs; one for the 52 ships built by the Bethlehem Steel yards (including Union Iron Works) and another used by the remaining shipyards (including the naval shipyards), which was prepared by Bath Iron Works. The Bethehem shipyards used Yarrow boilers (which proved relatively short-lived) and Curtis turbines, whereas the Bath designs utilized Normand, Thornycroft or White-Foster boilers, with Parsons turbines.
The Wickes class proved to be short-ranged, and its bridge and gun positions were very wet. The fleet found that the tapered stern, which made for a nice depth charge deployment feature, dug into the water and increased the turning radius, thus hampering anti-submarine work.Friedman, p.45-46 The Clemson class added 100 tons of fuel tankage to improve operational range, but the issue of range was solved only with the development of underway replenishment in World War II.
Armament
The main armament was the same as the Caldwell class: four /50 caliber guns and twelve torpedo tubes. While the gun armament was typical for destroyers of this period, the torpedo armament was larger than usual, in accordance with American practice at the time. A factor in the size of the torpedo armament was the General Board's decision to use broadside rather than centerline torpedo tubes.Friedman, p. 24,34 This was due to the desire to have some torpedoes remaining after firing a broadside, and problems experienced with centerline mounts on previous classes with torpedoes striking the gunwales of the firing ship.Friedman, p. 24 The Mark 8 torpedo was initially equipped, and probably remained the standard torpedo for this class, as 600 Mark 8 torpedoes were issued to the British in 1940 as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement.
Most ships carried a /23 caliber anti-aircraft (AA) gun, typically just aft of the stern 4-inch gun. The original design called for two 1-pounder AA guns, but these were in short supply and the 3-inch gun was more effective.Friedman, p. 44 Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) armament was added during World War I. Typically, a single depth charge track was provided aft, along with a Y-gun depth charge projector forward of the aft deckhouse.Friedman, 2004 p. 45
Production
The United States Congress authorized 50 destroyers (35 later numbered DD 75 to 109) in the Act of 29 August 1916. However, the realization of the scope of the U-boat campaign resulted in a total of 111 being built, with DD 110 to 185 being authorized under the Act of 4 March 1917. The ships were built at Bath Iron Works, Bethlehem Steel Corporation's Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Union Iron Works, Mare Island Navy Yard, Newport News Shipbuilding, New York Shipbuilding, and William Cramp & Sons. In all, 267 Wickes and Clemson-class destroyers were built. This program was considered a major industrial achievement. Production of these destroyers was considered so important that work on cruisers and battleships was delayed to allow completion of the program.Friedman, p.41 The first Wickes-class vessel was launched on 11 November 1917, with four more by the end of the year. Production peaked in July 1918, when 17 were launched - 15 of them on 4 July.
The program continued after the war ended: 21 of the Wickes class (and all but 9 of the Clemson class) were launched after the armistice on 11 November 1918. The last of the Wickes class was launched on 24 July 1919. This program left the US Navy with so many destroyers that no new destroyers were built until 1932 (the ).Friedman, 2004 p.47
Ships in class
111 Wickes-class destroyers were built (with hull numbers DD 75 to 185).
Sub-classes Some of these ships are also referred to as the Little class (52 ships - 26 built at Quincy and numbered DD 79 to 86, DD 95 to 102 and DD 161 to 170; and 26 built at San Francisco and numbered DD 87 to 92, DD 103 to 112 and DD 171 to 180), the Lamberton class (11 ships at Newport News - numbered DD 119 to 124 and DD 181 to 185), or the Tattnall class (10 ships built at Camden, New Jersey - numbered DD 125 to 130 and DD 157 to 160) in order to signify the yard that built them and to note the slight design differences from the Bath Iron Works ships (8 ships - DD 75 to 78 and DD 131 to 134). The 30 ships built by Cramp (21) and in the naval shipyards (9) were to the Bath design. Some of the non-Bath Iron Works units were actually commissioned prior to the lead ship, Wickes.
Due to these differences among what was nominally a single class, the actual dimensions and tonnages of these ships differed marginally between the designs for the ships produced by the different shipyards, as follows:U.S Navy Department, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Volume 1, Washington, 1959.
Hull Numbers Shipbuilder LengthOverall Extreme Breadth Standard Displacement Mean Draft Normal Displacement Mean Draft DD 75 - 78 Bath Iron Works 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 0 in DD 79 - 92 Bethlehem Steel (a) 315 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in (b) 1,060 tons 8 ft 6 in 1,191 tons 9 ft 2 in DD 93 - 94 Mare Island Navy Yard 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 0 in DD 95 - 112 Bethleham Steel 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 9 in 1,060 tons 8 ft 6 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 2 in DD 113 - 118 William Cramp 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 1 in DD 119 - 124 Newport News 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,213 tons 9 ft 4 in DD 125 - 130 New York Sbdg 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,211 tons 9 ft 4 in DD 131 - 134 Bath Iron Works 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 0 in DD 135 Charleston Navy Yard 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 0 in DD 136 - 141 Mare Island Navy Yard 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 9 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 2 in DD 142 - 160 William Cramp 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,090 tons 8 ft 8 in 1,154 tons 9 ft 0 in DD 161 - 180 Bethlehem Steel 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,060 tons 8 ft 6 in 1,191 tons 9 ft 2 in DD 181 - 185 Newport News 314 ft 5 in 31 ft 8 in 1,060 tons 8 ft 6 in 1,213 tons 9 ft 4 in Notes: (a) Bethlehem Steel includes both Fore River (Quincy) and Union Iron Works (San Francisco). (b) USS Colhoun (DD 85) had breadth 31 ft 9 in; USS Stevens (DD 86) had breadth 32 ft 0 i.
Operations
In US service A few Wickes class were completed in time for service in World War I, some with the battle fleet, some on convoy escort duty; none were lost. Altogether just 38 were in commission by Armistice Day, 11 November 1918. Two ships were lost soon after entering service; sank after a collision in February 1921; ran aground in December 1921, was refloated and scrapped.
Many Wickes-class destroyers were converted to other uses, starting as early as 1920, when 14 were converted to light minelayers (hull classification symbol DM). Six of these were scrapped in 1932, and replaced by five additional conversions. Another four were converted to auxiliaries or transports at that time. Four Wickes-class DM conversions and four Clemson-class DM conversions survived to serve in World War II. During the 1930s, 23 more were scrapped, sold off, or sunk as targets. This was mostly due to a blanket replacement of 61 Yarrow-boilered destroyers 1930–31, as these boilers wore out quickly in service. Flush-deckers in reserve were commissioned as replacements.DestroyerHistory.org Flush-decker page, retrieved 16 Oct 2013