The American dream. Give 175 ships in three years!

12
The American dream. Give 175 ships in three years!

fighting for designs instead of styles
calculating a hard nut and steel


The US naval strategy during the Second World War was a simple algorithm: building ships faster than the enemy could sink them. Despite the seeming absurdity of such an approach, it fully complies with the conditions in which the United States found itself before the war: huge industrial capacities and a huge resource base allowed “crushing” any adversary.
Over the previous 50 years, the "American vacuum cleaner", taking advantage of the turmoil in the Old World, collected all the best from around the world - competent and highly skilled labor, leading scientists and engineers, "stars of world science", the latest patents and developments. Hungry during the years of the Great Depression, American industry was just waiting for a reason to “rush off the bat” and beat all Stakhanov's records.



The pace of construction of American warships is so incredible that it sounds like a joke - in the period from March 1941 to September 1944 the year the Yankees put into use 175 destroyers of the Fletcher type. One hundred seventy five - the record has not been broken so far; the Fletchers have become the most massive type of destroyers in stories.

For completeness, it is worth adding that along with the construction of the "Fletchers":

- construction of “outdated” destroyers under the Benson / Glives project (a series of 92 units) continued,

- From 1943, destroyers like "Allen M. Sumner" went into the series (71 ship, including the subclass "Robert Smith").

- from August 1944, the construction of new “Girings” began (another 98 destroyer destroyer). Like the previous project "Allen M. Sumner", destroyers of the type "Giring" were another development of the very successful project "Fletcher".

Deck hull, standardization, unification of mechanisms and weapons, rational layout - the technical features of Fletcher accelerated their construction, facilitated installation and repair of equipment. The efforts of the designers were not in vain - the scale of the large-scale construction of the Fletcher surprised the whole world.

But could it be otherwise? It would be naive to believe that a naval war can be won only by a dozen destroyers. Thousands of combat and auxiliary ships are required to successfully carry out operations in the ocean. It suffices to recall that the list of combat losses of the US Navy during World War II contains 783 names (from battleships to patrol boats).

From the point of view of American industry, destroyers of the Fletcher type were relatively simple and cheap products. However, hardly anyone of his peers - Japanese, German, British or Soviet destroyers of the destroyers could boast the same impressive set of electronic equipment and fire control systems. Universal artillery, an effective range of anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and torpedo weapons, a huge supply of fuel, amazing strength and phenomenally high survivability - all this turned the ships into real sea monsters, the best destroyers of World War II.

Unlike its European "colleagues", the Fletchers were originally designed for operations on oceanic communications. The 492 ton oil stock provided the 6000 miles sailing range with the 15 nodal stroke — the American destroyer could cross the Pacific Ocean diagonally without replenishing fuel reserves. In reality, this meant the ability to operate thousands of miles apart from the logistics points and perform combat missions in any area of ​​the World Ocean.

Another important difference between the Fletchers and the ships of European construction was the rejection of the “pursuit of speed”. And although, in theory, the boiler-turbine power plant with power 60 000 hp allowed the "American" to accelerate to 38 nodes, in reality, the speed of the overloaded fuel, ammunition and equipment "Fletcher" barely reached 32 nodes.
For comparison: the Soviet "seven" developed 37-39 nodes. And the record holder - the French leader of the destroyers “Le Terribl” (GEM with power 100 000 hp) showed on the dimensional mile of the 45,02 node!

Over time, it turned out that the American calculation turned out to be correct - ships rarely go at full speed, and the pursuit of excessive speed only leads to fuel overspending and negatively affects the survivability of the ship.

Main armament "Fletcher" became five 127 mm Mk.12 universal guns in five closed turrets with 425 rounds of ammunition (575 shots in overload).

127 mm gun Mk.12 with a barrel length 38 caliber was a very successful artillery system, combining the power of a five-inch naval gun and the rate of anti-aircraft gun. Experimental calculations could have done 20 or more shots per minute, but even the average rate of shooting 12-15 shots / min was an excellent result for its time. The gun could work effectively on any surface, coastal and air targets, being the basis of the destroyer's air defense.

The ballistic characteristics of the Mk.12 do not cause any particular emotions: the 25,6-kilogram projectile left the trunk section at a speed of 792 m / s - a rather average result for the marine guns of those years.
For comparison, the powerful Soviet 130 mm ship gun B-13 of model 1935 of the year could send a projectile with a speed of 33 m / s to the target 870-kg! But, alas, the B-13 did not have the versatility of the Mk.12, the rate of fire of the entire 7-8 rds / min, but most importantly ...

The main was the fire control system. Somewhere in the depths of Fletcher, in the combat information center, analogue computers of the Mk.37 fire control system were buzzing, processing the data stream coming from the Mk.4 radar - the American destroyer’s guns were centrally aimed at the target according to automation data!

The super-gun needs a super-projectile: to fight against the air targets, the Yankees created a phenomenal ammunition - the Mk.53 anti-aircraft projectile with a radar fuse. A small electronic miracle, a mini-locator, encased in a shell 127 mm projectile!
The main secret was radio tubes capable of withstanding enormous overloads when fired from a cannon: the projectile experienced acceleration of 20 000 g, while making 25 000 revolutions per minute around its axis!

And the projectile is not easy!

In addition to the universal "five-inch", the "Fletcher" was a dense air defense circuit from 10-20 small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. Initially installed 28 mm 1,1 Mark 1 / 1 (so-called “Chicago piano”) installations were too unreliable and weak. Realizing that nothing happened with their own anti-aircraft guns, the Americans did not “reinvent the wheel” and deployed the licensed Production of Swedish 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns and Swiss 20 mm semi-automatic Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns with band feed. The Swedish and Swiss machines turned out to be so successful that they remain in service with the armies of dozens of countries around the world (including the United States).

For the heavy anti-aircraft gun Bofors, the original director of fire control Mk.51 with an analog computing device was developed - the system showed itself from the best side, at the end of the war half of the downed Japanese aircraft accounted for paired (quadruple) Bofors built with an OMS Mk. 51.
For small-caliber automatic anti-aircraft guns "Oerlikon" was created a similar fire control device under the symbol Mk.14 - the US Navy was not equal in accuracy and efficiency of anti-aircraft fire.

Separately worth noting mine torpedo weapon Fletcher-type destroyers - two five-pipe torpedo tubes and ten Mk.15 torpedoes of the 533 caliber mm (inertial guidance system, warhead weight - 374 kg of torpex). Unlike the Soviet destroyers who never used torpedoes throughout the war, the American Fletchers regularly conducted torpedo firing in combat conditions and often achieved solid results. For example, on the night of 6 on 7 on August 1943, a compound of six Fletchers attacked a group of Japanese destroyers in Vella Bay — a torpedo volley sent three of the four enemy destroyers to the bottom.

Mk.10 Hedgehog. Despite the apparent compactness and "lightness" of the pins, this is an 2,6-ton device (13 tons with platform), capable of throwing 34-kg jet bombs at a distance of a couple of hundred meters. Standard ammunition - 240 depth charges.
To combat the submarines on the American destroyers from the 1942 of the year, the Mk.10 Hedgehog (Hedgehog), a British design, was installed with a multi-barreled jet bomb. A volley from the depth bomb 24 could cover the discovered submarine in 260 meters from the side of the ship. In addition, on board the Fletcher there was a pair of bomb-ejecting devices for attacking an underwater target in the immediate vicinity of a ship.

But the Fletcher-type destroyer’s most unusual weapon was the Vought-Sikorsku OS2U-3 seaplane, designed for reconnaissance and, if necessary, attacking targets (detected submarines, boats, point targets on the shore) using bombs and machine guns. Alas, in practice it turned out that the seaplane of the destroyer was useless - a too labor-intensive and unreliable system that only worsened other characteristics of the ship (survivability, the sector of shelling of anti-aircraft machine guns, etc.) As a result, the Vout-Sikorsky seaplane survived only three Fletcher. "

Survivability destroyer. Without exaggeration, the vitality of Fletcher was amazing. The destroyer "Newcomb" withstood five attacks of kamikaze aircraft in one battle. The destroyer "Stanley" was pierced through a jet aircraft-projectile "Oka", operated by a kamikaze pilot. "Fletcher" regularly returned to the base, having severe damage, fatal to any other destroyer: flooding of machine and boiler rooms (!), Extensive destruction of the hull power set, the consequences of terrible fires from kamikaze hits and holes from enemy torpedoes.

There were several reasons for the exceptional vitality of Fletcher. First, the high durability of the hull — straight lines, a smooth silhouette without exquisite contours, smooth decks — all contributed to an increase in the longitudinal strength of the ship. Unusually thick sides played their part - the Fletcher paneling was made of 19 mm steel sheets, the deck was half an inch of metal. In addition to providing anti-splinter protection, these measures had a very positive effect on the strength of the destroyer.

Secondly, the high survivability of the ship was provided by some special design measures, for example, the presence of two additional diesel generators in isolated compartments in the bow and stern from the boiler and turbine installation. This explains the phenomenon of the survival of the Fletchers after the flooding of the engine and boiler rooms - isolated diesel generators continued to power six pumps, keeping the ship afloat. But that's not all - for a particularly severe cases, a set of portable gasoline installations was provided.

A total of 175 destroyers of the Fletcher type in the fighting lost 25 ships. The Second World War ended, and the history of the Fletchers continued: a huge fleet of hundreds of destroyers of Bel was reoriented towards solving the problems of the Cold War.
America had many new allies (among which were former enemies - Germany, Japan, Italy), whose armed forces were completely destroyed during the war years - they needed to quickly restore and modernize their military potential in order to counterpose them to the USSR and its satellites.

52 "Fletcher" were sold or leased The Navy of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Japan, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Peru and Spain are all 14 countries of the world. Despite its venerable age, strong destroyers remained in service under another flag even more than 30 years, and the last of them were written off only at the beginning of the 2000-s (the Navy of Mexico and Taiwan).

In 1950-ies, the growth of the underwater threat from the rapidly increasing number of submarines of the Soviet Navy forced us to take a fresh look at the use of old destroyers. The remaining Fletchers of the US Navy were decided to be converted into anti-submarine ships under the FRAM program - fleet rehabilitation and modernization.

Instead of one of the nose guns, the RUR-4 Alpha Weapon jet bomb, the 324 mm Mk.35 torpedoes with passive self-homing, two sonars - the stationary sonar SQS-23 and towed VDS were mounted. But the main thing - a helipad and a hangar for two unmanned (!) Anti-submarine DASH (Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter) helicopters, capable of carrying a pair of 324 mm torpedoes, was equipped at the stern.

Landing an unmanned helicopter DASH on the deck of the destroyer "Allen M. Sumner"

This time, American engineers clearly "went too far" - the level of computer technology of the 1950s did not allow creating an effective unmanned aerial vehicle capable of performing complex operations on the high seas - to combat submarines at a distance of tens of kilometers from the side of the ship and to take off and landing operations on a tight helipad swaying under the impact of waves. Despite promising success in the field, 400 out of 700 delivered the fleet «drones» crashed within the first five years of operation. By 1969, the DASH system was removed from service.

However, the modernization of the FRAM program has little to do with Fletcher destroyers. Unlike the slightly newer and slightly larger Girings and Allen M. Sumnerov, where about a hundred ships underwent FRAM upgrades, the Fletcher upgrades were considered unpromising - only three Fletchers underwent a full “rehabilitation and modernization course” ". The remaining destroyers were used in escort and reconnaissance missions as torpedo-artillery ships until the end of the 1960-s. The last veteran destroyer left the US Navy in 1972.

These were the real gods of the sea war - the universal warships, which brought on their decks the victory of the US Navy in the Pacific theater of military operations. The best destroyers of the Second World War, who had no equal in the vast sea. But most importantly, there were a lot of them, monstrously many - 175 destroyers of the Fletcher type.




Battle Information Center



USS Radford (DD-446 / DDE-446) is one of the Fletcher destroyers that have been upgraded under the FRAM program. Instead of the second turret, the Alpha Weapon jet bombometer is noticeable. Snimak made at Pearl Harbor, 1960's



Alpha Weapon depth bomb



The destroyer museum "Cassin Young", Boston, our days



Galley of the destroyer "Cassin Young"



Operating aboard the "Cassiner Young"


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12 comments
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  1. biglow
    +6
    April 1 2013 10: 43
    war always mobilizes the release of all the most advanced, and this is happening in all countries.
    Although the amerkos did not have to evacuate their industry for thousands of kilometers, and working in a warm climate is not at all like in a cold
    1. +1
      April 1 2013 17: 27
      Quote: biglow
      Yes, and working in a warm climate is not like in a cold

      True noticed and can be added.
      Tell us "dear heart", "author -> author -> author" of this poem.
      And how many destroyers of this project were written off after the usual storms for the Akiyan Sea and what damage did they receive from the waves that were usual for the Okiyan?
      The Liberty type transports were generally "spanked" for 1000 pieces and the release reached 3 pieces. per day. They were generally calculated for one passage from the port of loading to the port of unloading. Why have you "brought attention" to their "respected author -> author -> author"?
      Viewed by you and praised "trough" was armed advanced weapon systems Mk. 37, Mk. 4, Mk. 51 and Mk. 10 Hedgehog
      I emphasize advanced weapon systems

      Technically, the "mattress" approached the 2 MB that it had spread very, very well prepared. And squeezed the maximum out of this slaughter!
      1. 0
        April 1 2013 17: 54
        Quote: Papakiko
        Liberty type transports were generally "spanked" for 1000 pieces

        2710
        Quote: Papakiko
        They generally relied on one passage from the port of loading to the port of discharge.

        After the war, Aristotle Onassis bought 600 Liberty transports and made a billion dollar fortune with them. Ships of this type were massively used until the mid-60s.

        One of the surviving "Liberty" - Jeremy O'Brien, who still drives tourists around the harbor of San Francisco

        Quote: Papakiko
        Why have you "brought attention" to their "respected author -> author -> author"?

        http://topwar.ru/19265-geroi-arkticheskih-konvoev.html
        Already been
        1. +1
          April 1 2013 19: 23
          Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
          2710

          It is less than 1000 pieces. ? belay
          Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
          Vessels of this type were massively used until the mid 60s

          Half of the world was in ruins after the war and there were not any resources to build other ships. When a burdock is better than a shred of toilet paper.
        2. +2
          April 1 2013 19: 37
          Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
          After the war, Aristotle Onassis bought 600 Liberty transports and made a billion dollar fortune with them. Ships of this type were massively used until the mid-60s.

          At the end of the seventies, when I saw a ship moored in the port, I asked my father, a seasoned sailor, why the ship looks so groomed. “Yes, it’s“ Greek, ”they are always so rusty and dirty.”
          Inborn quite succinctly. hi
  2. +4
    April 1 2013 11: 50
    But why make excuses, they had a moment in history to become a superpower and they must pay tribute to it wisely used!
    1. -1
      April 1 2013 12: 29
      The Americans created this "moment" themselves, there is no need to belittle other people's merits.
      1. +3
        April 1 2013 13: 59
        This is the art of politics - to create moments that are beneficial for your country.
  3. +4
    April 1 2013 11: 54
    But they knew how to plow. It’s hard to imagine such work in shipyards or slipways from today's Americans. More and more go to the classrooms.
    1. +10
      April 1 2013 13: 07
      Quote: Aron Zaavi
      It’s hard to imagine such work in shipyards or slipways from today's Americans.

      Aron, why are you repeating stupid propaganda - the Russians are being told that all countries live with stopped factories and do nothing. And it is right. However, the reality is far from the official ideology of the Russian Federation - "" Take everything from life "," do not let yourself dry up "," make show-offs "

      The United States has built 20 Orly Burke Aegis destroyers over the past 62 years. This is their own project, their technologies and developments - Bath Iron Works and Ingall Shipbuilding.

      superstructure of the 15-ton destroyer "Zamvolt"

      The Boeing company assembles 2 airliners a day. For example, from January to July 2012, Boeing delivered 332 civil aircraft to customers. Official press release of the company:
      http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Aerial_Boeing_Everett_Factory


      _October_2011.jpg


      Boeing Everett Factory in Washington State

      1. +3
        April 1 2013 17: 32
        Quote: SWEET_SIXTEEN
        This is their own project, their technology and development.

        And they "slammed" all the previous ones from others?
        How many specialists from the former USSR work for Boeing and other "structures?
        How many Institutes, FIRMs and Design Bureaux from all over the world contribute to each "praised product" produced in a "mattress"?

        Although "zadolizam" do not care about it, because the main thing is "to sing a song of praise to the mattress."
        1. 755962
          0
          April 1 2013 22: 19
          Historically, this is the most common destroyer in the US Navy during World War II. As the Americans like to say "this is US iconic destroyer World War II" is a destroyer that became an icon during WWII. Very successful ships. The war confirmed the high survivability of the Fletcher-class destroyers. hi
  4. -1
    April 1 2013 14: 09
    How would the battle between Yamato and the 58OS aircraft carriers end, be it for the Mk.37, Mk.51, Mk.14 japons, boofers and projectiles with a radar fuse?
  5. -1
    April 1 2013 19: 12
    The author was smart about a fire control system. What are analog computers in the forties?
    1. Waterfall
      +1
      April 1 2013 19: 30
      Quote: albert
      What are analog computers in the forties?

      These are the "Ford Mark 1A Fire Control Computer".
    2. +3
      April 1 2013 19: 35
      Quote: albert
      What are analog computers in the forties?


      Mk.1 analog computer for the Mk.37 SLA, 1938 year
      Weight 1363 kg. There are no microchips in it, but there are gyroscopes, relays and precise mechanics




      "Pascaline" analog computer designed by Blaise Pascal, 1642. Performing the simplest arithmetic operations, Pascal built about 50 such machines for sale



      Antiketirsky mechanism. ~ 100 year BC


      In 2008 in Athens, a global report was announced on the results of the international project "Antikythera Mechanism Research Project". Based on 82 fragments of the mechanism (using X-Tek Systems X-ray equipment and special programs from HP Labs), it was confirmed that the device can perform addition, subtraction and division operations. It was possible to show that the mechanism was able to take into account the ellipticity of the orbit of the moon’s motion using a sinusoidal correction (the first anomaly of Hipparch’s lunar theory) - for this, a gear with a shifted center of rotation was used. The number of bronze gears in the reconstructed model was increased to 37 (30 really survived). The mechanism had a two-way execution - the second side was used to predict solar and lunar eclipses.
      1. postman
        0
        April 1 2013 23: 08
        Argo Mark V (1914)

        Kerrison Predictor


        T-10 Gun director (optical inputs) (started in 1940)
  6. ABV
    0
    April 2 2013 01: 34
    quote: "The US naval strategy during WWII was a simple algorithm: build ships faster than the enemy can sink them."

    and they dare to reproach us with the fact that we did not spare the soldiers ... a policy of double standards in action (once again)!

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