Talk:USS Caldwell (DD-69)

The Caldwell-class of destroyers served in the United States Navy near the end of World War I.

Built in 1917 and 1918, the Caldwells were flush-decked, to remove the weakness at the fo'c'sl break of the preceding Tuckers, with improved sheer forward, to keep "A" turret from being constantly washed out. The class had beam torpedo tubes and wing turrets, both flaws in design.

Manley's high-speed destroyer transport (APD) conversion, removing her forward stacks and boilers, gave her the capacity to lift 200 Marines and four 11 m (36 foot) Higgins assault boats. She saw action at Guadalcanal and Kwajalein.

Three entered Royal Navy service under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement as the Leeds-class. Leeds provided cover at Gold Beach on 6 June, 1944; her sisters served as convoy escorts. All survived the war, two being sunk as targets and one scrapped, postwar.

• Displacement: 1020 tons (standard), 1125 tons (normal)
• Length: 93.88 m (308 feet) wl, 96.2m (315 feet 6 inches) overall
• Beam: 9.52 m (31 feet 3 inches)
• Draft: 2.44 m (8 feet)
• Machinery:

(DD.69-71) Thornycroft boilers, Parsons geared turbines, two shafts: 20000 horsepower = 35 kt

(DD.72-73) White-Forster boilers, Parsons turbines, three shafts: 18500 horsepower = 30kt

• Armament: 4 inches (102 mm)
• 'Weaponry:
  • .50 cal guns (4x1)
  • 1x1pdr (28 mm, 1.1 inch) AA, later 1x76 mm (3 inch) AA
  • twelve 53cm torpedo tubes (TT; 2x3, each beam)
• Crew: 146

Sources

• Fitzsimons, Bernard, General Editor. The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, Volume 5, pp.510-11, "Caldwell", and Volume 16, pp.1717-18, "Leeds". London: Phoebus, 1978.
• http://www.navsource.org/archives

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Just why in the hell is there a Caldwell-class page & a Caldwell page, but N connection between them? Trekphiler 23:55, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

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This was the original spec box; I replaced it. Trekphiler 23:55, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

Career
Ordered:
Laid down:	9 December 1916
Launched:	10 July 1917
Commissioned:	1 December 1917
Decommissioned:	27 June 1922
Fate:	Sold, 30 June 1936
Struck:	7 January 1936
General Characteristics
Displacement:	1020 tons
Length:	315 ft 6 in
Beam:	31 ft 2 in
Draft:	11 ft 6 in
Propulsion:
Speed:	32 knots
Complement:	100 officers and enlisted
Armament:	4 4 in (102 mm), 12 21" tt.