The Ship Model Forum

this will be my Xmas gift. i hope! from a nice female.

The basic reason that all ships in the class didn't receive the ASROC magazine was due in large part to weight. During the 1970-77 class upgrades all ships received their AAW modernizations. What this required was superstructure extensions to accommodate the NTDS equipment; it also required larger ship-service turbo generators to accommodate the electrical requirement increases. And finally, the SPQ-5A radars were replaced with the SPG-55 to improve the capability of the Terrier system. All of this tied in with the SPS-48 radar on the foremast meant that the class was getting top-heavy. With the Farragut they found that the instability wasn't desirable and made the decision not to equip the remaining nine with the magazine.
Now, on a personal note; I can attest to the class being top-heavy! On Preble, when we got underway you could feel the ship rolling almost as soon as we passed the mouth of the channel! It was always good for laughs to get boots watching the inclinometer in CIC; even in relatively clam seas our normal roll was in the area of 10-12 degrees from plum. Add some cigars and greasy lunch and the job was done!


Good times,

Bruce Ross
OSC(USN-Ret)
USS Preble DLG-15/DDG-46

Well, that let's most of us, here, off the hook, Mardis.

I'll have to get you something else for Xmas, I guess. But, I hope you get what you wished for.

Maybe I'll just buy you a beer at the 2011 Nationals, here, in Omaha. I hope you can make it.

Garry, your question that a preliminary design for the DLG-6 could have included Weapon Alfa and torpedo tubes prompted me to double check Norman Freidman's book "U.S. Destroyers." There is nothing stated about torpedo tubes for the DLG-6. The ASROC launcher was the primary anti-submarine defense system.

As for additional information - The Farragut had the misfortune to be the lead ship of a new class with a new main propulsion system design. The 1200 psi boilers were controlled by a new pneumatic control system known as the Automatic Combustion Control System. It was a nightmare for the fireroom crews to operate until the "bugs" were worked out. As a result of many problems with the Automatic Combustion Control System, DLG-6 became known as "Building 6" because it spent so much time along side the pier for repairs.

Carl, thanks for the kind words. I too was a MM. I opted to not volunteer for the nuke program because I did not want to sign on for a six year obligation program when I entered A School in '61. It never entered my mind that I would serve a whole lot more than six years ....as a conventional monkey mate.

a set of plans for the King