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32-524: There are three major versions of HF-2 in service. The first to enter service is the ship-based HF-2, with 2 twin box launcher on destroyer DD-915 first as a trial vessel. Later all major surface combatant in RoCN, except the Knox, were equipped with 2 quad-launchers, plus the 7 World War II-era Gearing -class guided missile destroyers that was upgraded to WC3 standard, from the late 1980s to mid-1990s, had added

64-463: A 1 quad-launcher by mid-1990s to give those air defense ships an anti-surface ability. An air-launched version appeared in the early 1990s. Carried by two AT-3B trainer/attacker and a single A-3 attacker, the small force poses little threat to the marine intruders due to its small quantity. However, the recent upgraded IDF (F-CK-1C/D) will add the capacity to carry and launch the HF-2, thus greatly enhance

96-464: A new radar system, Mark 32 torpedo tubes, DASH ASW drone, and variable depth sonar (VDS). Importantly, it did not include ASROC. FRAM II ships included six DDRs and six DDEs that retained their specialized equipment (1960–1961), as well as four DDRs that were converted to DDs and were nearly identical to the Allen M. Sumner class FRAM IIs (1962–1963). The FRAM II ships retained all six 5-inch guns, except

128-516: A new short range anti-ship missile which while weighting significantly less than the Hsiung Feng II is said to have the same range. The test was conducted using NCSIST’s Glorious Star test ship. The provisional designation is HF-2B and production is scheduled to begin in 2021. The reported range of the HF-2B is 250km. In 2019 Sputnik News and other began propagating a conspiracy theory that

160-617: A target 14 July 1999. After the Gearing -class ships were retired from USN service, many were sold abroad, including over a dozen to the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) in Taiwan . These ships, along with Fletcher -class destroyers and Allen M. Sumner -class destroyers also acquired then, were upgraded under the Wu ;Chin ( Chinese : 武進 ) I, II, and III programs and known throughout

192-726: The Allen M. Sumner class's heavy torpedo armament of ten 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes in two quintuple mounts, firing the Mark 15 torpedo . As the threat from kamikaze aircraft mounted in 1945, and with few remaining Japanese warships to use torpedoes on, most of the class had the aft quintuple 21-inch tube mounts replaced by an additional 40 mm quadruple mount (prior to completion on later ships) for 16 total 40 mm guns. Twenty-four ships (DD-742, DD743, 805-808, 829, 831-835, and 874-883) were ordered without torpedo tubes to allow for radar picket equipment; these were redesignated as DDRs in 1948. Following World War II most of

224-624: The Gearing class were too small to accommodate. An upgraded version of DASH, QH-50D, remained in use by the United States Army until May 2006. FRAM I "A" Ships: (First 8 conversions) Removal of aft twin 5-inch gun mount (Mount 53). Group A ships also received two MK10/11 Hedgehogs fitted on each side of the bridge at the 01 level and had the MK-32 triple torpedo launchers aft of the second stack. FRAM I "B" Ships (remainder of conversions): Kept their forward 5-inch mount (Mount 51), lost

256-678: The Gearing class's armament was identical to that on the Allen M. Sumner class. Three twin 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 38 dual purpose (DP) mounts constituted the main battery. The 5-inch guns were guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System with a Mark 25 fire control radar linked by a Mark 1A Fire Control Computer stabilized by a Mark 6 8,500 rpm gyro. This fire control system provided effective long-range anti-aircraft (AA) or anti-surface fire. Twelve 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors guns in two quad and two twin mounts and 11 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons in single mounts were also equipped. The initial design retained

288-573: The Vinson–Trammell Act : 114 vessels were authorized on 19 July 1943 under the 70% Expansion Act: (Of the missing numbers in this sequence - 722 to 741, 744 to 762, 770 to 781, and 857 were allocated to orders for Allen M. Sumner -class destroyers ; 792 to 804 were awarded to orders for Fletcher -class destroyers .) In March 1945, the orders for 36 of the above vessels were cancelled, and 11 more orders were cancelled in August 1945. Following

320-532: The Argentinian submarine ARA  San Juan had been sunk by a Taiwanese HF-2 anti-ship missile used by international mercenaries working for multinational oil companies. Gearing-class destroyer The Gearing class was a series 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 Allen M. Sumner class , whereby

352-622: The DDEs retained four 5-inch guns and a trainable Hedgehog in the No. 2 position. All FRAM IIs retained two Hedgehogs alongside either the No. 2 5-inch mount or the trainable Hedgehog mount. The four DDRs converted to DDs were armed with two new 21-inch torpedo tubes for the Mk. 37 ASW homing torpedo. Photographs of the six retained DDRs show no markings on the DASH landing deck, as well as a much smaller deckhouse than

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384-596: The FRAM II ships were disposed of in 1969–1974. With ASROC continuing to provide a standoff ASW capability, the Gearing FRAM Is were retained in service for several years, with most being decommissioned and transferred to foreign navies 1973–1980. They were replaced as ASW ships by the Spruance -class destroyers , which were commissioned 1975–1983. These had the same ASW armament as a Gearing FRAM destroyer, with

416-413: The HF-2 is the most secretive one because of its relation with the land-attack version of HF-2E. Fixed base versions were produced first, and all major outlying islands of Taiwan were equipped with fortified HF-2 bases in the late 1990s, replacing old HF-1 bases. Fixed HF-1 bases in the main island were also being replaced with fixed HF-2 launchers, again in fortified positions. The mobile launcher version

448-466: The Mk 32 torpedo tubes and ASROC launched Mk. 44 homing ASW torpedoes . ASROC could also launch a nuclear depth charge . On 11 May 1962, Agerholm tested a live nuclear ASROC in the " Swordfish " test. In Navy slang, the modified destroyers were called "FRAM cans", "can" being a contraction of "tin can", the slang term for a destroyer or destroyer escort. The Gyrodyne QH-50C DASH was an unmanned anti-submarine helicopter, controlled remotely from

480-927: The ROCN as the Yang-class ( Chinese : 陽字號 ) destroyers as they were assigned names that all end with the word "Yang". The last batch of 7 WC-III program vessels, all of them Gearing class, were retired in the early 2000s. Under the most advanced Wu Chin III upgrade program, all World War II vintage weapons were removed and replaced with four Hsiung Feng II surface-to-surface missiles, ten SM-1 (box launchers), one 8-cell ASROC, one 76 mm (3 in) Otobreda gun , two Bofors 40 mm AA, one 20 mm Phalanx CIWS and two triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes . The DASH ASW drones were not acquired, but hangar facilities aboard those ships that had them were later used to accommodate of MD 500/ASW helicopters . After

512-830: The Yang-class destroyers were decommissioned, the SM-1 launch boxes were moved to Chi Yang -class frigates to improve their anti-air capability. DDR-878 Five Gearing -class destroyers are preserved as museum ships: two in the United States, one in South Korea, one in Taiwan, and one in Turkey. The ROKS Jeon Buk (DD-916) (formerly the USS ; Everett F. Larson ) was scrapped in December 2021, leaving five survivors out of

544-713: The addition of improved sonar and a piloted helicopter, initially the Kaman SH-2 Seasprite , and from 1984, the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk . Some Gearing s served in the Naval Reserve Force (NRF) from 1973, remaining in commission with a partial active crew to provide training for Naval reservists. The last Gearing -class destroyer in US naval service was William C. Lawe , a FRAM I, decommissioned and struck 1 October 1983, and expended as

576-439: The air-to-surface capacity of RoCAF in future. The air launcher version of HF-2 carried by AT-3 is different from the one supposed carried by original IDF (F-CK-1A/B) prototype, due to differences in length of the HF-2 missile (better known as HF-2 Mark 3 and Mark 4), where the rocket designed for one aircraft cannot fit on another aircraft. Unknown if air-launched HF-2 program is continuing at this point. The land-launch version of

608-418: The class had their AA and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) armament upgraded. The 40 mm and 20 mm guns were replaced by two to six 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns in up to two twin and two single mountings. One depth charge rack was removed and two Hedgehog ASW mortar mounts added. The K-guns were retained. Nine additional (for a total of 35) ships were converted to radar picket destroyers (DDR) in

640-483: The close of World War II , 7 further vessels were cancelled in 1946: The first ship was laid down in August 1944, while the last was launched in March 1946. In that time the United States produced 98 Gearing -class destroyers. The Gearing class was a seemingly minor improvement of the Allen M. Sumner class, built from 1943 until 1945. The main differences were that the Gearing s were 14 ft (4.3 m) longer in

672-443: The early 1950s; these typically received only one 3-inch twin mount to save weight for radar equipment, as did the wartime radar pickets. Nine ships were converted to escort destroyers (DDE), emphasizing ASW. Carpenter was the most thorough DDE conversion, with 4 3-inch/70 caliber guns in twin enclosed mounts, two Weapon Alpha launchers, four new 21-inch torpedo tubes for the Mark 37 ASW torpedo , and one depth charge rack. In

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704-596: The hull was lengthened by 14 ft (4.3 m) at amidships, which resulted in more fuel storage space and increased the operating range. The first Gearings were not ready for service until mid-1945 and saw little service in World War II. 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. 31 vessels were authorized on 9 July 1942: 4 vessels were authorized on 13 May 1942: 3 vessels were authorized on 27 March 1943 under

736-688: The larger HF-3 missile boxes. Same was done to the Oliver Hazard Perry / Cheng Kung -class frigate 's new HF-2 launchers after each frigate's major overhaul, starting 2001, that allows the launcher to carry larger HF-3 AShM, besides HF-2. The Ching Chiang -class patrol ships (total 12 built) also are undergoing the same upgrade to carry two twin-mounted HF-2/3 anti-ship missiles. The Kuang Hua VI-class missile boats (total 31 built) carry two twin-mounted HF-2 anti-ship missiles. The Tuo Chiang -class corvettes also carry four quad-mounted HF-2/HF-3 anti-ship missiles. A submarine-launched version

768-546: The late 1950s and early 1960s, 79 of the Gearing -class destroyers underwent extensive modernization overhauls, known as FRAM I , which were designed under project SCB 206 to convert them from an anti-aircraft destroyer to an anti-submarine warfare platform. FRAM I removed all of the DDR and DDE equipment, and these ships were redesignated as DDs. FRAM I and FRAM II conversions were completed 1960–1965. Eventually all but three Gearing s received FRAM conversions. The FRAM I program

800-611: The midship section, allowing for increased fuel tankage for greater range, an important consideration in Pacific War . More importantly in the long run, the increased size of the Gearing s made them much more suitable for upgrades than the Allen M. Sumner s, as seen in the wartime radar picket subclass, the 1950s radar picket destroyer (DDR) and escort destroyer (DDE) conversions, and the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) conversions 1960-1965. As designed,

832-508: The second mount (Mount 52) and kept their aft 5-inch mount (Mount 53). In place of mount 52, a practice 5-inch reloading machine was installed with the MK-32 triple torpedo launchers aft of the loader. Group B ships also received greater ASROC and torpedo storage areas next to the port side of the DASH hangar. The FRAM II program was designed primarily for the Allen M. Sumner class destroyer, but sixteen Gearing s were upgraded as well. This upgrade program included life-extension refurbishment,

864-517: The ship. The drone could carry two Mark 44 homing ASW torpedoes. During this era the ASROC system had an effective range of only 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi), but the DASH drone allowed the ship to deploy ASW attack to sonar contacts as far as 22 nmi (41 km; 25 mi) away. However, DASH proved unreliable in shipboard service, with over half of the USN's 746 drones lost at sea. This

896-405: Was accepted in 2005 and went to mass production in 2006. All mobile launchers, together with mobile command center (with data-link), mobile surface search radar and portable electric generators, were kept in harden shelters and being driven out when needed. The HF-2 mobile launchers, shown in 10 October 2007 parade, was designed to be able to carry both HF-2 and the new HF-3 AShM, by leaving room for

928-607: Was an extensive conversion for the Gearing -class destroyers. This upgrade included rebuilding the ship's superstructure, electronic systems, radar, sonar, and weapons. The second twin 5-inch gun mount and all previous AA guns and ASW equipment were removed. On several ships the two forward 5-inch mounts remained and the aft 5-inch mount was removed. Upgraded systems included SQS-23 sonar, SPS-10 surface search radar, two triple Mark 32 torpedo tubes , an 8-cell Anti-Submarine Rocket ( ASROC ) box launcher, and one QH-50C DASH ASW drone helicopter, with its own landing pad and hangar . Both

960-454: Was planned and designed in the mid-1990s, but nothing more was heard. In late 2014, CSIST reportedly began the test-launching stage of an extended-range version of the HF-2, increasing range from 160 km (99 mi) to 250 km (160 mi); the range increase was successfully achieved by February 2017. In 2019 mass production of an improved Block IIB was approved with production to be completed by 2023. In November 2019 NCSIST tested

992-541: Was possibly due to inadequate maintenance support, as other services had few difficulties with DASH. By 1970, DASH had been withdrawn from FRAM I ships, though it was retained into the early 1970s on FRAM II ships, which lacked ASROC. A limitation of drones in ASW was the need to re-acquire the target at ranges beyond the effectiveness of the controlling ship's sonar. This led to shift to the LAMPS program of manned helicopters, which

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1024-471: Was usually provided for DASH, so they may not have been equipped with DASH. Many of the Gearing s provided significant gunfire support in the Vietnam War . They also served as escorts for Carrier Battle Groups ( carrier strike groups from 2004) and Amphibious Ready Groups ( Expeditionary Strike Groups from 2006). DASH was withdrawn from ASW service in 1969, due to poor reliability. Lacking ASROC,

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