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USS Samuel Gompers (AD 37) on 24 November 1968.

USS Samuel Gompers (AD 37) on 24 November 1968. Her single 5-inch gun mount was removed in 1977.
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Class: SAMUEL GOMPERS (AD 37)
Design: SCB Project Nos. 244, 700.65, 700.66, and 700.69
Displacement (tons): 13,458 light, 20,132 full (AD 37)
Dimensions (feet): 645' oa, 620' wl x 85' e/wl x 28' max nav.
Armament: 1-5"/38; (37: 1976, 38: by 1979) 4-20mmS; (37: by 1995) 4-20mm light mg
Accommodations: 136 officers, 1,671 enlisted (AD 37)
Speed (kts.): 20 (18 sustained)
Propulsion (HP): 20,000
Machinery: Steam turbines, 2 boilers (600psi), 1 screw

Construction:
ADNameOrdBuilderKeelLaunchComm
37SAMUEL GOMPERS31 Oct 1963NSY Puget Sound9 Jul 196414 May 19661 Jul 1967
38PUGET SOUND29 Dec 1964NSY Puget Sound15 Feb 196516 Sep 196627 Apr 1968
39unnamed----------
40unnamed----------

Disposition:
ASNameTDecommStrikeDisposalFateMA Sale
37SAMUEL GOMPERS27 Oct 19957 Apr 199922 Jul 2003Target--
38PUGET SOUND27 Jan 199613 Dec 200711 Jan 2008Navy sale--
39unnamed----11 Dec 1965Canc--
40unnamed----27 Mar 1969Canc--

Class Notes:
The projected Shipbuilding and Conversion Program for FY 1964-70 as of mid-1962 called for the construction of one destroyer tender in each fiscal year 1964 thru 1968 for a total of five. Initial SCB staff proposed characteristics for the FY 1964 destroyer tender, developed in a series of working meetings, were distributed on 25 July 1962 for information and comment. The staff proposed using the hull and propulsion plant of the FY 1963 submarine tender (FBM), AS 33, SCB Project No. 238, in an effort to reduce the overall cost of the ship. (Approved characteristics for Project 238 had been promulgated on 5 January 1962.) The ship's internal arrangements were to encompass the repair and support facilities required for destroyers. Type commander accommodations and facilities were included. Alongside in-port service capabilities (electricity, water, and steam) were limited to those needed for six DDG-2 class ships, although these would also allow supporting alongside other mixes of destroyer types including fewer DLG's or more DE/DEG's. Cruisers, patrol, and miscellaneous craft could be assisted but no special shops or facilities were provided for them. Among many detailed provisions, the staff called for facilities for the storage of special weapons (probably SAM and ASROC warheads) and for their assembly and checkout, and specified that the ship's crane capability was to permit removing and reinstalling all antennas associated with DLG types with the largest boom having a lift capacity of 30 tons. There was also to be a 44 x 44-foot helicopter platform, preferably aft, a hangar for six fully assembled DSN-3 drone anti-submarine helicopters (DASH) or two HU 2K type helicopters, and stowage space for 36 disassembled DASH drones. The staff asked for two 5"/38 MK 30 gun mounts with one MK 56 fire control system. These staff proposals were to be reviewed in a working level meeting on 17 August 1964 and by the various Bureaus and then submitted to the members of the Ship Characteristics Board. Most of the staff proposals, with the conspicuous exception of the after gun mount, made it into the final design. Approved characteristics for a Destroyer Tender (AD), SCB Project No. 244 (FY 1964), were promulgated on 16 October 1962 and updated as SCB Project No. 700.65 on 24 October 1963, as SCB Project No. 700.66 on 1 April 1965, and as SCB Project No. 700.69 on 28 November 1968.

AD 37-38 and their later near-sisters, AD 41-44, were decommissioned in 1994-1996 after the Navy abandoned the use of forward deployable tenders to support operating forces.

Ship Notes:
ADNameMANotes
37SAMUEL GOMPERSFY 1964. Sank on 22 Jul 2003 just after midnight after hits by 16 Harpoon missiles and other ordnance and aircraft bombs.
38PUGET SOUNDFY 1965. Dismantlement completed 3 Mar 2009, Brownsville, TX.
39unnamedFY 1966. Deferred.
40unnamedFY 1969. Repeat of the FY65 ship, cancelled to cover overruns in FY 1969 and 1970. Also authorized in FY 1973 to be built but never awarded and authorization cancelled 1 Apr 1974.

Page Notes:
Compiled: 22 Jul 2021
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2021
Special sources: NARA: RG 19 Entry P 26 box 1