USS Gearing

Type

Destroyer

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Gearing (DD-710) was the lead ship of the 98-vessel Gearing class, the U.S. Navy's final World War II-era destroyer design. She is historically notable as the namesake of an entire destroyer class widely used by the U.S. and allied navies through the Cold War, making her a benchmark subject for modelers of late-WWII/Cold War American destroyers. Specifications: As built she displaced 2,616 tons standard and 3,460 tons full load, measured 390.6 ft (119.1 m) in length with a 40.10 ft beam and 14.4 ft draft. She carried six 5-inch dual-purpose guns, twelve 40mm and eleven 20mm anti-aircraft guns, and ten 21-inch torpedo tubes, with propulsion from General Electric steam turbines producing 60,000 shp for a top speed of 36.8 knots. Service History: Built by Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Kearny, New Jersey, she was launched 18 February 1945 and commissioned 3 May 1945, arriving too late for WWII combat. Her postwar career included Mediterranean and Caribbean deployments, participation in Operation Frostbite (Arctic cold-weather trials) in 1949, and later Cold War-era duty including a role tied to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis period; she underwent FRAM modernization (FRAM IB, 1964) to extend her service life as an anti-submarine escort. Notable Facts: Gearing was decommissioned in 1973, stricken from the Navy list on 1 July 1973, and sold for scrap on 6 November 1974. As lead ship of the class, her configuration is the reference standard for the many Gearing-class kits and aftermarket detail sets modelers use, though individual sisters varied in armament fit after FRAM conversions.