IV.

Destroyer

The destroyer is a light, fast, hard-hitting ship that serves a great variety of functions because of its speed, armament, and maneuver-ability. It replaced the sloop of war of the navy of the sailing era and evolved from the torpedo-boat destroyer designed to combat the torpedo boat. After the submarine was introduced into naval warfare, the destroyer, with acoustic and electronic underwater detection devices, was used for locating and destroying enemy submarines. Destroyers also served as protective screens against enemy submarines for larger ships, as smoke-screen layers, as airplane guards for carriers, as escort ships for convoys, and as support ships for amphibious landings. They now provide antiair, antisurface, and antisubmarine warfare capabilities. Armed with 5-in. guns, a variety of antiship missiles, the Phalanx system, antisubmarine helicopters, and torpedoes, destroyers are ready to execute their missions. They displace from 5,000 to 8,300 tons, measure from 133 to 172 m (437 to 563 ft) in length and from 14 to 18 m (47 to 59 ft) in beam, range in speed from 30 to 33 knots, and have crews of about 400.