USS Somers (DD-947)

USS Somers (DDG-34)
USS Somers (DDG-34)
History
United States
NamesakeRichard Somers
BuilderBath Iron Works
Laid down4 March 1957
Launched30 May 1958
Acquired1 April 1959
Commissioned9 April 1959
Decommissioned19 November 1982
Reclassified15 March 1967 as a guided missile destroyer
Stricken26 April 1988
FateSunk as target, 22 July 1998 near Hawaii
General characteristics
Class and typeForrest Sherman-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 2,800 tons standard.
  • 4,050 tons full load.
Length407 ft (124 m) waterline, 418 ft (127 m) overall.
Beam45 ft (14 m)
Draught22 ft (6.7 m)
Propulsion4 x 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) Foster-Wheeler boilers, General Electric steam turbines; 70,000 shp (52 MW); 2 x shafts.
Speed32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement15 officers, 218 enlisted.
Armament3 x 5 in (127 mm)/54 calibre dual purpose Mk 42 guns; 4 x 3 in (76 mm)/50 calibre Mark 33 anti-aircraft guns; 2 x mark 10/11 Hedgehogs; 6 x 12.75 in (324 mm) Mark 32 torpedo tubes.

The sixth USS Somers (DDG-34, ex-DD-947) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer when her keel was laid down at the Bath Iron Works on 4 March 1958, she was launched on 30 May, and commissioned on 3 April 1959.

Somers was decommissioned 11 April 1966, and converted at San Francisco Naval Shipyard. On 15 March 1967 she was reclassified as a guided missile destroyer, and was re-commissioned 10 February 1968. She was decommissioned on 19 November 1982 and on 26 April 1988, she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. On 22 July 1998, she was sunk as target near Hawaii.