Spruance-class destroyer

USS Briscoe on 21 March 2003
Class overview
Name	Spruance class
Builders	Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Charles F. Adams class
Succeeded by	Kidd class Arleigh Burke class
Built	1972–1983
In commission	1975–2005
Completed	31
Active	1 (Paul F. Foster) as SDTS
Retired	30
General characteristics
Displacement	8,040 long tons (8,170 t) full load
Length	529 ft (161 m) waterline 563 ft (172 m) overall
Beam	55 ft (17 m)
Draft	29 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp (60 MW)
Speed	32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	19 officers, 315 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-40 air search radar AN/SPG-60 fire control radar AN/SPS-55 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar Mark 23 TAS automatic detection and tracking radar AN/SPS-65 missile fire control radar AN/SQS-53 bow-mounted active sonar AN/SQR-19 TACTAS towed array passive sonar Naval Tactical Data System
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare system AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo countermeasures Mark 36 SRBOC decoy launching system AN/SLQ-49 inflatable decoys AN/WLR 1 in DD-971 & DD-975.
Armament	As built 2 × 5-inch (127mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns 1 × 8-cell ASROC launcher 1 × 8-cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher 2 × Mark 32 triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes) (14 torpedoes) Later fitted 2 × Quadruple Harpoon missile canisters 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns 2 × Quadruple ABL Mark 143 Tomahawk missile launchers (7 ships) 1 × 61-cell Mark 41 VLS launcher for Tomahawk/ASROC missiles in place of the 8-cell ASROC launcher (24 ships). 1 × 21-cell Rolling Airframe Missile launcher on some ships
Aircraft carried	2 × Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and enclosed hangar for up to two medium-lift helicopters

The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace the many World War II–built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the United States Navy during the 1970s and 1980s. It was named in honor of U.S. Navy Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, who successfully led major naval battles in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II such as the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea.

Introduced in 1975, the class was designed with gas-turbine propulsion, a flight deck and hangar for up to two medium-lift helicopters, all-digital weapons, and automated 127 mm (5-inch) guns. The Spruance class was originally designed to escort a carrier group, primarily for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), with point-defense anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) missiles and limited anti-ship capabilities. Two dozen members of the class were upgraded with Tomahawk cruise missiles for land attack.^[1][2] The Navy retired the class somewhat earlier than planned, decommissioning the last ship in 2005. Most Spruances were broken up or destroyed as targets.^[3] Its hull form and propulsion plant were adopted as the foundation of the Ticonderoga-class cruisers constructed in the 1980s. The class was succeeded as the main U.S. destroyer by the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Much larger than other destroyers of the era, the Spruances were comparable in size to contemporary guided-missile cruisers (CG and CGN) and U.S. Navy light cruisers (CL) in World War II. This allowed them to accommodate a helicopter flight deck, a first for a U.S. Navy destroyer, and an enclosed hangar with space for up to two medium-lift helicopters, a first for a U.S. Navy destroyer or cruiser.^[4] The "Spru-cans" were the first large U.S. Navy ships to use gas turbine propulsion: four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines that generated about 80,000 horsepower (60 MW). This configuration (developed in the 1960s by the Royal Canadian Navy for the Iroquois-class destroyers and known as COmbined Gas And Gas, or COGAG) was very successful and used on most subsequent U.S. warships. As of 2010, all U.S. Navy surface combatants (except nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and the LCS-1) used the LM2500 COGAG arrangement, usually with two turbines per shaft.^[5]

The ships were initially controversial, especially among members of the United States Congress who believed that their unimposing looks, and their original armament of two guns and an ASROC and Sea Sparrow missile launcher, implied that the vessels were weak compared to Soviet designs that carried large numbers of anti-ship missiles.^[1] The Spruance class was also unfavorably compared to earlier U.S. designs that had more visible guns or launchers for Standard medium-range missiles. Their advocates noted that they were successful in their intended ASW role due to their seaworthiness, quiet operation, and ability to operate two helicopters.^[5]

The Spruance class received the "DD" designation in the hull classification symbol system which was previously applied to gun destroyers, though their primary armament as designed was missiles. However, their original complement of 8 Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles was only sufficient for point defense, compared to other American destroyers designated as DDG which were designed to provide anti-aircraft warfare screening to the fleet, while some newer DDG ships further added surface-to-surface capabilities for anti-ship or land strike. In the early 1980s, the class received quadruple Harpoon missile launchers that were installed amidships. Six members of the class received Armored Box Launchers Tomahawk surface-to-surface missiles, while a major update from the mid-1980s for 24 members of the class added a 61-cell Vertical Launch Missile System (VLS) for the Tomahawk. Despite these upgrades, the class remained their DD classification because they continued to lack the area anti-aircraft capabilities of guided-missile cruisers (CG and CGN) and destroyers (DDG).^[5]

Until the class was named for Admiral Spruance, the acquisition effort had been known as the DX program. It aimed to award the production contract for the entire class of 30 ships to a single shipyard, under the Total Package Procurement concept originated by the Whiz Kids of Robert McNamara's Pentagon. The idea was to reap the benefits of mass construction. After a selection process "noted for political influence and shifting rules," the entire contract was awarded on 23 June 1970 to the Litton-Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.^[6] Labor and technical problems caused cost overruns and delayed construction.^[7][8]

One additional ship, USS Hayler, was ordered on 29 September 1979. Hayler was originally planned as a DDH (Destroyer, Helicopter) design, which would carry more anti-submarine helicopters than the standard design of the Spruance class. Eventually this plan to build a DDH was scrapped and a slightly modified DD-963 class hull was put in commission.^{[citation needed]}

Four additional ships were built originally for the Iranian Navy with the Mark 26/Standard AAW missile system and commissioned as the Kidds for the U.S. Navy. The Kidd-class destroyers used the same hull as the Spruances but they were more advanced general-purpose ships with area anti-air warfare capabilities that the Spruance class lacked. It was once planned to build all of the Spruance class up to this standard, but it was too expensive. A slightly lengthened version of the hull was also used for the Ticonderoga-class cruisers, originally planned as DDG-47-class destroyers but redesignated as cruisers in 1980 to emphasize the additional capability provided by the ships' Aegis combat systems, and their flag facilities suitable for an admiral and his staff.^[9]

An air-capable mini V/STOL aircraft carrier with fighters and ASW helicopters based on the Spruance hull was seriously considered but not produced.^[10][11]

The Spruance design is modular in nature, allowing for easy installation of entire subsystems within the ship. Although originally designed for anti-submarine warfare, seven vessels—Comte de Grasse, Merrill, Conolly, John Rodgers, Leftwich, Deyo, and Ingersoll—were initially upgraded with the installation of pair of four-round Armored Box Launchers (ABL) for the Tomahawk cruise missile, one each side of the ASROC launcher, giving them a land attack capability. 23 of the remaining vessels then received a more comprehensive upgrade with the installation of a 61-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launch Missile System (VLS) forward, replacing the ASROC launcher and allowing for a greater weapons load to be carried. One of the ABL ships, Deyo, also received the VLS upgrade while Harry W. Hill was the only Spruance that did not receive the Tomahawk as its VLS upgrade was cancelled. Hill and the remaining 6 ABL-equipped ships were the first of the class to be withdrawn from service.

• Merrill served as the Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk Cruise Missile Program receiving armored box launchers and test launching a Tomahawk on 19 March 1980. Merrill carried two ABLs and an ASROC launcher into the 1990s until the ASROC launcher was removed.^{[citation needed]}
• David R. Ray tested the RAM system in the 1980s, but had the system removed after the tests.^{[citation needed]}
• Oldendorf was the test platform for the AN/SPQ-9B Anti-ship Missile Defense (ASMD) Fire control Radar to be outfitted on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks. The AN/SPQ-9B is used to detect all known and projected sea-skimming missiles.^{[citation needed]}
• Arthur W. Radford tested the Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor system which helped in the mast design of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships.^{[citation needed]}

At least ten VLS ships, including Cushing, O'Bannon, and Thorn, had a 21-cell Mark 49 RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher mounted on the starboard fantail.^{[citation needed]}

Spruance-class destroyers fired 112 land attack Tomahawks during Operation Desert Storm.^[12]

In order to save $28 million a year, the Navy accelerated the decommissioning of the Spruance class, though they could have served to 2019 had they been maintained and updated.^[13] Despite the recent modifications to the Spruance and Kidd classes, they were still considered expensive and manpower-intensive to operate, while the succeeding Arleigh Burke class were more capable and versatile due to their Aegis combat system while also being more cost-efficient, and by the end of the 1990s, many Arleigh Burke-class destroyers had entered the fleet. While the early Flight I Arleigh Burke ships only had a flight deck, Flight IIA and subsequent vessels added the enclosed hangar which made their aviation facilities comparable to the Spruance class.^{[citation needed]}

The Navy planned to replace its current destroyers and cruisers with the new Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) destroyers, but the 2010 Defense budget funded the construction of only three DDG-1000s.^[14] Production of Arleigh Burke class continued and it became the U.S. Navy's only operational class of destroyers after the USS Cushing, the last Spruance-class destroyer on active service, was decommissioned on 21 September 2005.^[15] Cushing was unsuccessfully offered to the Pakistan Navy before being sunk as a target on 29 April 2009. The four Kidd-class destroyers were decommissioned in 1998 and were sold to Taiwan in 2005 and 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Few Spruances were preserved in storage like some older classes or offered up for sale to foreign navies. Some were broken up and most of the rest were sunk as targets in various fleet exercises. One exception is the ex-Paul F. Foster, which replaced the ex-Decatur in 2005 as the Self Defense Test Ship. The remote-controlled SDTS tows a target barge, allowing crews to fire live weapons at a ship-like moving target.^[16][17]

Ships of the Spruance destroyer class

Name	Hull no.	Crest	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Disposition	Ref
Spruance	DD-963		27 November 1972	10 November 1973	20 September 1975	23 March 2005	Sunk as target, 8 December 2006	[18]
Paul F. Foster	DD-964		6 February 1973	22 February 1974	21 February 1976	27 March 2003	Struck 6 April 2004; in use as a Self Defense Test Ship	[19][20]
Kinkaid	DD-965		19 April 1973	25 May 1974	10 July 1976	7 January 2003	Sunk as target, 14 July 2004	[21]
Hewitt	DD-966		23 July 1973	24 August 1974	25 September 1976	19 July 2001	Sold for scrap, 9 August 2001	[22]
Elliot	DD-967		15 October 1973	19 December 1974	22 January 1977	2 December 2003	Sunk as target, 25 June 2005	[23]
Arthur W. Radford	DD-968		31 January 1974	1 March 1975	16 April 1977	18 March 2003	Scuttled as artificial reef off coast of Delaware, 10 August 2011	[24]
Peterson	DD-969		29 April 1974	21 June 1975	9 July 1977	4 October 2002	Sunk as target, 16 February 2004	[25]
Caron	DD-970		1 July 1974	24 June 1975	1 October 1977	15 October 2001	Sunk as target, 4 December 2002	[26]
David R. Ray	DD-971		23 September 1974	23 August 1975	19 November 1977	28 February 2002	Sunk as target, 11 July 2008	[27]
Oldendorf	DD-972		27 December 1974	21 October 1975	4 March 1978	20 June 2003	Sunk as target, 22 August 2005	[28]
John Young	DD-973		17 February 1975	6 January 1976	20 May 1978	30 September 2002	Sunk as target, 13 April 2004	[29]
Comte de Grasse	DD-974		4 April 1975	26 March 1976	5 August 1978	5 June 1998	Sunk as target, 7 June 2006	[30]
O'Brien	DD-975		9 May 1975	8 July 1976	3 December 1977	24 September 2004	Sunk as target, 9 February 2006	[31]
Merrill	DD-976		16 June 1975	1 September 1976	11 March 1978	26 March 1998	Sunk as target, 1 August 2003	[32]
Briscoe	DD-977		21 July 1975	28 December 1976	3 June 1978	2 October 2003	Sunk as target, 25 August 2005	[33]
Stump	DD-978		25 August 1975	1 January 1977	19 August 1978	22 October 2004	Sunk as target, 7 June 2006	[34]
Conolly	DD-979		29 September 1975	3 June 1977	14 October 1978	18 September 1998	Sunk as target, 29 April 2009	[35]
Moosbrugger	DD-980		3 November 1975	23 July 1977	16 December 1978	15 December 2000	Scrapped, 2006	[36]
John Hancock	DD-981		16 January 1976	29 October 1977	10 March 1979	16 October 2000	Scrapped, 2007	[37]
Nicholson	DD-982		20 February 1976	11 November 1977	12 May 1979	20 December 2002	Sunk as target, 30 July 2004	[38]
John Rodgers	DD-983		12 August 1976	25 February 1978	14 July 1979	4 September 1998	Scrapped, 2006	[39]
Leftwich	DD-984		12 November 1976	8 April 1978	25 August 1979	27 March 1998	Sunk as target, 1 August 2003	[40]
Cushing	DD-985		2 February 1977	17 June 1978	21 September 1979	21 September 2005	Sunk as target, 14 July 2008	[41]
Harry W. Hill	DD-986		1 April 1977	10 August 1978	17 November 1979	29 May 1998	Sunk as target, 15 July 2004	[42]
O'Bannon	DD-987		21 February 1977	25 September 1978	15 December 1979	19 August 2005	Sunk as target, 6 October 2008	[43]
Thorn	DD-988		29 August 1977	3 February 1979	16 February 1980	25 August 2004	Sunk as target, 22 July 2006	[44]
Deyo	DD-989		14 October 1977	20 January 1979	22 March 1980	6 November 2003	Sunk as target, 25 August 2005	[45]
Ingersoll	DD-990		5 December 1977	10 March 1979	12 April 1980	24 July 1998	Sunk as target, 29 July 2003	[46]
Fife	DD-991		6 March 1978	1 May 1979	31 May 1980	28 February 2003	Sunk as target, 23 August 2005	[47]
Fletcher	DD-992		24 April 1978	16 June 1979	12 July 1980	1 October 2004	Sunk as target, 16 July 2008	[48]
Hayler	DD-997		20 October 1980	2 March 1982	5 March 1983	25 August 2003	Sunk as target, 13 November 2004	[49]

• 
  starboard quarter view of Fife
• 
  Ingersoll with only ASROC launcher forward, as all destroyers were initially built. Image also shows an example of black masts and no Phalanx CIWS
• 
  Deyo with ASROC and ABL's forward.
• 
  starboard bow view of Deyo, VLS equipped
• 
  Kidd class (left) compared to Spruance class
• 
  Ticonderoga-class cruiser (right) compared to the Spruance class
• 
  Arthur W. Radford with experimental mast
• 
  Cushing with VLS forward and RAM launcher on fantail
• 
  Hayler, the last Spruance destroyer to be built, is sunk

• Ticonderoga-class cruiser

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spruance class destroyers.

• Spruance-class destroyers at Destroyer History Foundation
• News story: "Last Spruance-Class Destroyer Decommissioned"