Gearing Class Destroyer

The Gearing class is a group of 98 destroyers built for the U.S. Navy during and shortly after World War II. The Gearing design was a minor modification of the immediately preceding Allen M. Sumner class with the hull lengthened 14 ft (4.3 m) amidships, creating more storage space for fuel and increasing operating range. The first Gearings were not ready for service until mid-1945, so they saw relatively little wartime service. They continued serving, with a series of upgrades, until the 1970s. At that time many were sold to other nations, where they served many more years.