Robert H. Smith-class destroyer

Template:Infobox ship imageTemplate:Infobox ship class overviewTemplate:Infobox ship characteristics

The Robert H. Smith class of destroyer minelayers was built by the United States during World War II. The class was named for naval officer Robert H. Smith.

These vessels were all originally laid down as Template:Sclasss and converted during construction in 1944. In that time the United States produced twelve Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayers. Their original hull numbers were DD-735-40, 749-51, and 771-73. None of the Robert H. Smith-class vessels ever laid a mine in wartime, though they were frequently employed in minesweeping. Minelayers did not carry torpedo tubes. Otherwise they were used interchangeably with other destroyer types. As radar pickets at Okinawa, Aaron Ward, Lindsey, and J. William Ditter were damaged by kamikazes, and Shea by a Baka bomb. Five of the class served actively in the 1950s, but all survivors were mothballed by the end of the decade and were disposed of in the 1970s. None of this class received FRAM conversions.

Ships in class

Ship name	Hull no.	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate
Template:USS	DM-23 (ex-DD-735)	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine	10 January 1944	25 May 1944	4 August 1944	29 January 1947	Struck, 26 February 1971
Template:USS	DM-24 (ex-DD-736)		31 January 1944	10 June 1944	22 August 1944	12 September 1955	Sold for scrap, 12 June 1974
Template:USS	DM-25 (ex-DD-737)		14 February 1944	24 June 1944	8 September 1944	24 October 1955	Sold for scrap, May 1973
Template:USS	DM-26 (ex-DD-738)		6 March 1944	9 July 1944	22 September 1944	12 March 1956	Sold for scrap, 1 June 1974
Template:USS	DM-27 (ex-DD-739)		20 March 1944	23 July 1944	10 October 1944	December 1946	Sold for scrap, 16 December 1971
Template:USS	DM-28 (ex-DD-740)		10 April 1944	13 August 1944	27 October 1944	29 January 1947	Sunk as a target 25 January 1997
Template:USS	DM-29 (ex-DD-749)	Bethlehem Staten Island, Staten Island, New York	28 November 1943	21 April 1944	31 August 1944	29 January 1947	Sold for scrap, 30 May 1972
Template:USS	DM-30 (ex-DD-750)		23 December 1943	20 May 1944	30 September 1944	9 April 1958	Sold for scrap, 1 September 1974
Template:USS	DM-31 (ex-DD-751)		25 January 1944	4 July 1944	28 October 1944	28 September 1945	Scrapped, July 1946
Template:USS	DM-32 (ex-DD-771)	Bethlehem Shipbuilding, San Pedro, California, Terminal Island	12 September 1943	5 March 1944	20 August 1944	25 May 1946	Sunk as a target 1 May 1972
Template:USS	DM-33 (ex-DD-772)		31 October 1943	9 April 1944	30 September 1944	3 September 1946	Transferred to Turkey 15 August 1971
					8 July 1952	3 April 1958
Template:USS	DM-34 (ex-DD-773)		12 December 1943	5 May 1944	28 October 1944	28 September 1945	Stricken 11 October 1945; sold for scrap 1946

Earlier Destroyer Minelayer (DM) conversions

The previous DM-classed vessels were all conversions from earlier flush-deck destroyers of WW1 vintage.

Ship name	Hull no.	Converted to DM	Fate
Template:USS	DM-1 (ex-DD-96)	17 July 1920	Stricken 1 December 1936; target 20 July 1937
Template:USS	DM-2 (ex-DD-97)	17 July 1920	Stricken 7 January 1936
Template:USS	DM-3 (ex-DD-98)	17 July 1920	Stricken 25 January 1936
Template:USS	DM-4 (ex-DD-99)	17 July 1920	Stricken 7 January 1936
Template:USS	DM-5 (ex-DD-100)	17 July 1920	Stricken 22 October 1930
Template:USS	DM-6 (ex-DD-101)	17 July 1920	Stricken 25 January 1936
Template:USS	DM-7 (ex-DD-102)	17 July 1920	Stricken 22 October 1930
Template:USS	DM-8 (ex-DD-110)	17 July 1920	Stricken 11 November 1931
Template:USS	DM-9 (ex-DD-111)	17 July 1920	Stricken 1 December 1936; target 23 July 1937
Template:USS	DM-10 (ex-DD-112)	17 July 1920	Stricken 18 November 1930
Template:USS	DM-11 (ex-DD-171)	March 1921	Sold 22 April 1932
Template:USS	DM-12 (ex-DD-172)	July 1920	Stricken 1 December 1936; target 22 July 1937
Template:USS	DM-13 (ex-DD-173)	July 1920	Stricken 1 December 1936; target 20 July 1937
Template:USS	DM-14 (ex-DD-174)	July 1920	Stricken 11 November 1931
Template:USS	DM-15 (ex-DD-123)	June 1930	Scuttled 16 July 1945
Template:USS	DM-16 (ex-DD-124)	June 1930	Stricken 13 November 1945
Template:USS	DM-17 (ex-DD-121)	January 1931	Stricken 28 April 1945
Template:USS	DM-18 (ex-DD-122)	January 1931	Sold 16 May 1946
Template:USS	DM-19 (ex-DD-214)	January 1937	Stricken 7 February 1946
Template:USS	DM-20 (ex-DD-345)	June 1937	Stricken 3 January 1946
Template:USS	DM-21 (ex-DD-346)	June 1937	Stricken 19 December 1945
Template:USS	DM-22 (ex-DD-347)	une 1937	Stricken 5 December 1945

See also

• USS Terror
• Abdiel Class
• French cruiser Pluton
• HMS Adventure (M23)

File:Map of WW2 Shipyards building DD.jpg

World War II destroyer shipbuilders map from Department of Defense (DoD)

References

Sources

• Friedman, Norman "US Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History (Revised Edition)", Naval Institute Press, Annapolis:2004, Template:ISBN.
• Gardiner, Robert and Chesneau, Roger, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946, Conway Maritime Press, 1980. Template:ISBN.
• Silverstone, Paul H., U.S. Warships of World War II (Ian Allan, 1965), Template:ISBN

External links

• Robert H. Smith-class destroyer minelayers in World War II
• NavSource Destroyer Photo Page
• DiGiulian, Tony Navweaps.com US Navy mines page