USS Walker (DD-517)

USS Walker (DD-517), 1963
History
United States
Namesake	John Grimes Walker
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Laid down	31 August 1942
Launched	31 January 1943
Commissioned	3 April 1943
Decommissioned	2 July 1969
Stricken	2 July 1969
Fate	Sold to Italy, 2 July 1969
History
Italy
Name	Fante (D 561)
Acquired	2 July 1969
Stricken	1977
Fate	Scrapped, 1977
General characteristics
Class and type	Fletcher-class destroyer
Displacement	2,050 tons
Length	376 ft 6 in (114.7 m)
Beam	39 ft 8 in (12.1 m)
Draft	17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45 MW); 2 propellers
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	6500 nmi. (12,000 km) at 15 kt
Complement	336
Armament	5 × single 5 in (127 mm)/38 guns 5 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) AA guns 7 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns 2 × quintuple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 6 × single depth charge throwers 2 × depth charge racks

USS Walker (DD-517), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral John Grimes Walker (1835–1907).

Walker was laid down on 31 August 1942 by the Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; launched on 31 January 1943, sponsored by Miss Sarah C. Walker; and commissioned on 3 April 1943.

The first seven months of Walker's service took place in the Atlantic where she was engaged in Caribbean escort duty and training exercises in preparation for Pacific combat duty. The highlights of this period included the capture on 7 August of 43 survivors of the U-615 which had been damaged by Navy air units off Cuba, and the responsibility of escorting the Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Casablanca to participate in the Moscow Conference of October 1943.