US Navy Destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) Christened

[Sherman A1]

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) christened pre-commissioning unit Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) at the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss.

The new 513-foot-long Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is the first of the Flight III variants and 75th overall in the class. It is expected to be commissioned in 2023.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States military strategy. Guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century.

Jack H. Lucas, a longtime resident of Hattiesburg, Miss., was the youngest Marine and youngest service member in World War II awarded the Medal of Honor. During a close firefight with Japanese soldiers, Lucas saved the lives of three Marines when he unhesitatingly placed himself on two grenades.

https://www.marinelink.com/news/us-navy-destroyer-jack-h-lucas-ddg-495363

[Auggie]

1. Not your grandfather's Destroyer

[krispos42]

2. No it is not

Those we turned out more than two per week!

Of course, that was wartime. But yeah, about two Fletcher-class destroyers were launched per week during the production run from February 19th 1942 to September 25th, 1944. We launched 175 of them!


And this new Arleigh Burke can wipe out most of them with missiles launched from over 7 times the range a Fletcher-class can shoot.

[Auggie]

3. Some of these new weapons are mind-boggling in their capability to destroy

Last edited Wed Mar 30, 2022, 02:41 PM - Edit history (1)

The anti-tank NLAWs being deployed in Ukraine, for example.

Knew a guy who served in World War II. His bunk abutted the hull. Said he could hear the sea on the other side. Beam was only 35 1/2 feet across. His ship, a Bagley-class Destroyer, was torpedoed by a Japanese sub in 1943. It sunk in eight minutes.

[Angleae]

4. Current day destroyers are about the size of a WWII cruiser.

Arleigh Burke class Flight III: 9500 tons, 510x66 ft
New Orleans class cruiser: 9950 tons, 588'2"x61'9"