USS Wilkinson

USS Wilkinson (DL-5) in late 1950s
History
United States
Namesake	Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson
Builder	Bethlehem Steel, Fore River Shipyard
Laid down	1 February 1950
Launched	23 April 1952
Commissioned	29 July 1954
Decommissioned	19 December 1969
Stricken	1 May 1974
Fate	Sold for scrap 13 June 1975
General characteristics
Class and type	Mitscher class destroyer
Displacement	4,730
Length	493'0" (150.3 m)
Beam	50'0" (15.2 m)
Draft	14'0" (4.3 m)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	403
Armament	2 × 5 in (127 mm)/54 caliber Mark 42 guns 4 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber Mark 33 guns, later 3 in (76 mm)/70 caliber Mark 37 guns 8 × 20 mm cannons 2 × ASW rocket (Weapon Alfa) 1 × depth charge track

USS Wilkinson (DL-5) was a Mitscher class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Vice Admiral Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson USN (1888–1946).

Wilkinson was laid down by the Shipbuilding Division of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Quincy in Massachusetts on 1 February 1950; originally designated DD-930, she was reclassified as a destroyer leader and designated DL-5 on 9 February 1951, launched on 23 April 1952 by Lady Catherine Moore, the former Mrs. Theodore S. Wilkinson and commissioned on 3 August 1954.