Charles F. Adams-class (DDG-2)

The Charles F. Adams class consists of 29 guided-missile destroyers built between 1958 and 1967. Designated under project SCB 155, the design was based on the Forrest Sherman class but represented the first class specifically designed to serve as guided-missile destroyers. To accommodate an ASROC launcher, designers added 19 feet to the center of the Forrest Sherman hull. This class was the final group of steam turbine-powered destroyers constructed for the United States Navy, as all succeeding destroyer classes utilized gas turbines.

The class utilized two steam turbines and four boilers. Sensor systems included surface search, air search, and 3D radars, as well as the AN/SQS-23 sonar. The primary armament featured either the Mk 11 or Mk 13 missile launcher for the Tartar surface-to-air missile system, which was later updated to utilize RIM-66 Standard missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Other weapon systems included two 5-inch/54 caliber Mark 42 guns, an RUR-5 ASROC launcher, and Mark 32 torpedo tubes. Variations of the design included the Australian Perth class, which used the Ikara system instead of ASROC, and the West German Lütjens class, which featured a different layout for crew accommodations, bow sonar, aerial masts, and funnels.

Of the 29 vessels completed, 23 were built for the United States Navy, three for the Royal Australian Navy, and three for the West German Bundesmarine. United States vessels operated during the 1962 blockade of Cuba and the Vietnam War. Australian ships served in the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. In the mid-1970s, the United States Navy began the New Threat Upgrade (NTU) program to modernize sensors, weapons, and communications. This program included the installation of the AN/SLQ-32(V)2 electronic warfare suite and the Naval Tactical Data System. Full NTU upgrades were limited to three ships: Tattnall, Goldsborough, and Benjamin Stoddert. Other vessels received partial upgrades as the United States Navy transitioned to Aegis-equipped Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

The United States Navy decommissioned its final vessel of this class, Goldsborough, in 1993. Four US ships—Kimon, Nearchos, Formion, and Themistoklis—were transferred to the Hellenic Navy in 1992 and remained in service until their subsequent decommissioning. The Australian and German navies retired their final units by 2003. Most vessels in the class were scrapped, sunk as targets, or designated as diving wrecks. The Mölders is preserved as a museum ship in Germany, while the Charles F. Adams was sent for scrapping in 2020.