USS Fletcher (DD-445)

Type

Destroyer

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Fletcher (DD-445) was the lead ship of the 175-vessel Fletcher class, the largest and one of the most storied destroyer classes ever built for the U.S. Navy. Named for Medal of Honor recipient Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, she is remembered as an outstanding fighting ship of the Pacific War and, per the Naval History and Heritage Command, the design that became the template for the fleet's wartime destroyers. Specifications: As built she displaced 2,100 long tons standard (up to about 2,924 tons full load), with a length of 376 ft 5 in, a beam of 39 ft 8 in, and a draft of about 13 ft 9 in. She carried five 5-inch guns, ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, six depth charge projectors and two depth charge tracks, and could make roughly 36 knots on geared turbines driving two screws — a fast, heavily armed "flush-deck" hull form that modelers often cite as the archetype of the American WWII fleet destroyer. Service History: Commissioned 30 June 1942, Fletcher deployed almost immediately to the Pacific, reaching Nouméa in October 1942 and taking part in the Guadalcanal campaign, including the pivotal Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942, where she helped sink Japanese destroyers and damage the battleship Hiei. She continued operating through the Solomons campaign and the rest of WWII, earning fifteen battle stars; after brief decommissioning she was reclassified DDE-445 in 1949, recommissioned as an escort destroyer, and went on to serve off Korea (five more battle stars) and Vietnam through the 1950s and 1960s. Notable Facts: Decommissioned in August 1969, Fletcher was sold for scrapping in February 1972. A recreated bridge from Fletcher was on display In Harm's Way (Pacific Section) of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy. Her wartime nickname "Lucky 13" and her role as an early proving ground for shipboard Combat Information Center (CIC) doctrine make her a favorite subject for WWII-era Fletcher-class kits and detail sets.