The impressive line of guided missile frigates and destroyers which have joined the Fleet in recent years has evoked admiration and praise. These ships have been particularly appreciated by those who have been in a position to compare them with their predecessors in the destroyer navy. With modern anti-aircraft and antisubmarine weapons, these splendid ships have an all-purpose capability.
However, there have been questions raised as to whether the Navy can afford to build increasing numbers of these ships with such diverse talents. It has been suggested that each ship can be in only one place at one time, and that smaller, less expensive, single-purpose ships would offer a greater contribution to the Navy’s over-all strength. Nevertheless, the supporters of all-purpose ships prevailed for a number of years, since from early 1960 until late 1964 only two new ships designed primarily for ASW were commissioned, the USS Bronstein (DE-1037) and USS McCloy (DE-1038).
In the meantime, the FRAM conversions of older destroyers provided ASW capabilities equalling those of the newer missile ships, and the role of the DDGs and DLGs in anti-air warfare has somewhat overshadowed their ASW capabilities.
This trend toward large, multi-purpose ships now appears to be shifting, with the current programs designed to restore a balance between ASW and AAW multi-purpose ships. The USS Garcia (DE-1040), commissioned on 21 December 1964, is the first of ten ships in her class, all of which are clearly ASW ships. These ten ships are being followed by six guided missile escort ships, the first of which, the USS Brooke (DEG-l), will be delivered in late 1965. The newer ships will be almost identical to the DE-1040S, the principal difference being the DEGs will have a Tartar anti-aircraft missile system. Although equipped with a Tartar, they will still be primarily ASW oriented. Finally, 26 escort ships of the DE-1052 class are in the fiscal 1964 and 1965 shipbuilding programs. Thus the current shipbuilding programs will introduce 42 DE/DEG type ships to the Fleet over the next five years, while only about a dozen DDG/DLG types will be delivered in the same period.1
The title of escort, which brings to mind the small ships of World War II days, or at best the larger, faster, and more-powerful escorts of the Dealey class (DE-1006), is somewhat misleading when applied to the Garcia and her sister ships, which carry an ASW suit more extensive than that of any other ships in the Navy. Her sonar, an AN/SQS-26, along with its earlier versions which have been installed in less than half a dozen ships, is not only the largest and most powerful to be installed in destroyers, but it takes advantage of new paths of sound propagation which, while long known, had not yet been capitalized upon.
To utilize the long-range detection capability of the sonar, a wide variety of the most modern ASW weapons have been provided, making attacks possible with the best weapon under limitless tactical situations. On the forecastle is an eight-tube ASROC launcher, able to fire either depth charges or homing torpedoes. On either side, amidships, are three-tube torpedo launchers for relatively close-in attacks, and the fantail serves as the landing area for a DASH system. However, the most unusual part of the armament is the pair of tubes for long-range, wire-guided torpedoes, which fire these weapons directly out the stern of the ship, thus eliminating problems of fouling the guidance wires. The capability of setting large gyro angles into the torpedoes obviates the necessity of “turning tail” to the target to fire these weapons. The usefulness of this bag of tricks is further increased by the provision of magazines which provide a reload capability for each weapon.
The ASW capability of the Garcia is also enhanced by the incorporation, in her design, of numerous features to ensure that she is a quiet ship, and by the inclusion of passive sonar equipment.
To complement her ASW weapons, the Garcia has two 5-inch/38-caliber, single gun mounts which, with the Mark 56 fire control system and Mark IA computer, provide a measure of anti-air, anti-surface, and gunfire support capability.
The proponents of a single-purpose ship who wish to keep the ship “small” will be disappointed if their product is to be equipped with the complex weapon systems of the type in the Garcia. She is 414½ feet long, has a beam of 44 feet, and a full load displacement in excess of 3,400 tons. The requirement for ASW magazine spaces high in the ship has resulted in the extension of the deck which serves as the 01 level in other destroyers to the entire length and breadth of the ship, making this her main deck and providing a high freeboard and a low superstructure, the bridge being the 01½ level.
Although the Garcia approximates a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer in size, she would be even larger, of course, were she not a single screw ship, with but one fireroom and one engine room. An additional saving of space is made possible by employment of a pressure- fired steam generating plant. This entirely new type of boiler uses its exhaust gases to drive a gas turbine which, in turn, develops power for an axial compressor which provides air to the furnace at pressures up to about five atmospheres at full power. This system, incorporated in a cylindrical boiler in which the entire firebox wall constitutes the heat transferring surface, makes possible a small fireroom, while the capacity of each of the two boilers in the Garcia is equal to that of each of the four in a Forrest Sherman-class ship.2 The main engine, too, is of the same power as each of the two installed in a Forrest Sherman or a Charles F. Adams-class DDG.
The single-engine plant also contributes, to economy in manning the ship with the crew, both in officers and enlisted men, being considerably smaller than that of the largest World War II destroyers. The Garcia's allowance is 12 officers and 204 enlisted men.
While the combination of a single propeller and a large, sonar dome at the bow makes the ship somewhat awkward by destroyer standards when maneuvering in restricted waters, an extremely large rudder contributes to excellent handling characteristics when at sea, where the motion is made even more comfortable by use of fin stabilizers. Far more significant, is the fact that on builder’s trials the Garcia made speeds in excess of 27 knots—a capability that certainly gives rise to serious thought as to the tactical employment of this newest of escorts.
It should not be contended for even a moment that the Garcia and her sister ships can replace the missile ships of the destroyer force, and this is not what is intended. However, the ASW capability of these new ships, which surpasses that of any previous ships, can certainly be used to tremendous advantage by the Navy.
1. Ten additional DE-1052-class escort ships are authorized in the fiscal 1966 shipbuilding program.
2. See Donald A. Smith, “Supercharged Steam Generating Plants,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, December 1964, pp. 134-137.