Wickes Class Destroyer Summary

The Wickes-class destroyers were a class of 111 destroyers built by the United States Navy in 1917–19. Only a few were completed in time to serve in World War I. Some were scrapped in the 1930s, while the rest served throughout World War II. Most of these were converted to other uses.

The destroyer type was at this time a relatively new class of fighting ship for the U.S. Navy. The type arose in response to torpedo boats that had been developing from 1865. During the Spanish–American War, it was realized that a torpedo boat destroyer was urgently needed to screen the larger warships.

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. The lesson of these early destroyers was the appreciation of the need for true seakeeping and seagoing abilities. 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. Smaller destroyers used fuel far too quickly, and that wargames showed the need for fast vessels with a larger radius of action. 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.

Congress authorized 50 destroyers in the 1916 Act. However, the realization of the scope of the U-boat campaign resulted in 111 being built. Production of these destroyers was considered so important that work on cruisers and battleships was delayed to allow completion of the program. The program continued after the war ended and left the U.S. Navy with so many destroyers that no new destroyers were built until 1932 (the Farragut class).

Starting in 1940, sixteen were converted to high-speed transports with the designation APD. Eight were converted to destroyer minesweepers (DMS). Most ships remaining in service during World War II were rearmed with dual-purpose 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns for better anti-aircraft protection. Nearly all had half the boilers removed, for increased fuel and range or to accommodate troops, reducing their speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)

In 1944 seven were transferred by Britain to the Soviet Navy, in place of Italian ships claimed by the USSR after Italy's surrender. These vessels all survived the war, and were scrapped between 1949 and 1952.

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