The Influence of History

After the initial introduction of guided missile systems on converted gun cruisers, it became clear that a new type of warship was needed as the existing designs were either too small or unnecessarily large. These new ships were assigned the hull designation DLG and dubbed “frigates” after the famous sailing ships such as USS Constitution. That the USN applied this name to powerful guided missile ships while the European navies used it to refer to cheap submarine hunters reflects a historic difference - in the nineteenth century, the frigates were the most powerful vessels in the small American navy, while in Europe the frigates were seen as minor combatants that lived in the shadow of the ships of the line. However, the American use of this term did not survive long, and, in 1975, the USN dropped the DLG designation as part of a wider simplification of its hull numbers. The frigates were redesignated as either cruisers (CG) or destroyers (DDG). Simultaneously, the ocean escorts (DE)...

Gyatt (DDG-1) The United States Navy’s first guided missile destroyer was the converted  Gearing -class destroyer  Gyatt (originally given the designation DDG-712 during her conversion, she was renumbered DDG-1 five months after recommissioning). Gyatt rejoined the fleet in 1956 with a Mk8 twin arm Terrier launcher and a fourteen round magazine replacing her torpedoes and aft 5" mount. However, she was always something of a test platform to determine the practicality of putting missiles on destroyers and in 1962, just six years after recommissioning, the Terrier launcher was removed and Gyatt reverted to her original destroyer designation Gyatt (DDG-712) in 1956: 14x Terrier Charles F. Adams-class While Gyatt conversion had tried to put too big a missile on too small a ship, the Navy still desired guided missile destroyers and the development of the smaller Tartar missile made it possible. The first purpose built guided missile destroyers were the Charles F. Adams -...