Machines for War: June 2015

The answer was the Spruance class and thirty-one destroyers were built for the primary mission of anti-submarine warfare, that complimented the attack carrier forces. The Spruance class were more than twice as large as a World War II destroyer and as large as a World War II cruiser. When launched in 1973 Spruance lack of guns as compared to previous destroyers drew concern and criticism. On Spruance’s deck were two 5 inch guns one forward and one aft, the Gearing class had six 5 inch guns, 12 x 40 mm anti-aircraft guns and 11 x 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. At first glance the comparison to the deck armament and the small amount of radar arrays as compared to the Soviet destroyers seemed to make the Spruance less capable. At a closer look the large amount of 127 mm ammunition storage below decks for the two 5 inch guns made her as viable and the smaller radar mast was superior to her Russian counterparts. Also was one 8 cell ASROC missile launcher carrying an acoustic homing torpedo, a nuclear depth bomb (NDB) that could be directed towards submarines and 8 cell Mark 29 Launcher for NATO Sea Sparrow SAM for aircraft suppression.

By 1965 the United States Navy was ready to choose a new destroyer to replace the Gearing and Sumner class destroyers. Both classes were WW2 designs and had been upgraded and modified over their 30 year life span.

Spruance was the first gas turbine powered ship in the fleet. When she had completed receiving fuel or supplies at sea she would pull away at flank speed while she unfurled a large flag that said, “Beware Jet Blast” while playing the theme music from Star Wars.

Spruance made a brief yard stop in 1983, when she received the CIWS and TAS Mk 23 radar system. Spruance deployed for a six month period in January 1983 to the Persian Gulf where she received VLS, Towed Array, and the SH 60. She deployed on 26 May 1993 to the Red Sea where she spent over three and a half months to board and search operations in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. In July 1994, as part of Operation Restore Democracy, she helped to enforce the United Nations embargo of Haiti. However, so many Haitians were needed to be picked up from the sea that Sprunace took nine hundred Haitians onboard for the trip to Guantanamo Naval Station.