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As a 1630-ton destroyer authorized in 1940, known at the time to shipmates as a Bristol (repeat Livermore)-class ship, the specifications for Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. hull no. 209, Lansdowne reflected the characteristics of all Gleaves-class ships built there:
Length Overall: 348' 3"
Extreme Beam: 36' 3"
Normal Displacement: 1,630 long tons
Draft: Mean: 13' 5"
Designed Complement: Officers, 11; Enlisted, 201
Designed Shaft Horsepower: 51,000
Designed Speed: 35 knots
Screws: Two
Rudder: One
Stacks: Two
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DATA
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Name: United States Ship Lansdowne
Type: Destroyer
Namesake: Lieutenant Commander Zachary Lansdowne, USN
Navy Classification: DD 486
Class: DD 423, Gleaves, also Livermore, Bristol
Authorized: 19 July 1940
Builder: Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. Kearny, New Jersey
Builder’s Hull Number: 209
Keel laid: 31 July 1941
Launched: 20 February 1942
Commissioned: 29 April 1942
Decommissioned: 2 May 1946
Commissioned: Turkish Gaziantep (D-344), 10 June 1949
Decommissioned: 1973
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At launch, Lansdowne’s armament was typical for a mid-1942 Bristol-class destroyer, with four dual purpose 5-inch/38 cal. guns in gunhouses, a single quintuple mount between the stacks for 21-inch torpedoes, 20mm single Oerlikons (replacing five of the six 0.50 cal. machine guns of earlier ships) plus a 1.1-inch quadruple “Chicago Piano” anti-aircraft cannon aft.
Primary: 4 x 5-inch/38 cal. in four single mounts
Long-range anti-aircraft: 4 x 1.1-inch cannon in a single mount
Short-range anti-aircraft: 5 x 20mm Oerlikon in single mounts
Torpedo Tubes: 5 x 21-inch in one quintuple mount
ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 4 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges
Her electronics were also typical of the period just before SG (surface search) radar became available:
In the spring of 1943, Lansdowne returned to San Francisco for modifications, which included installation of an SG radar set, replacement of the 1.1-inch mount and the after 20mm single with side-by-side director-controlled 40mm twin Bofors. Forward, she received a centerline 20mm mount on an elevated platform constructed forward of the bridge, plus two more—on on each side—on the after corners of the bridge wings.
Primary: 4 x 5-inch/38 cal. in five single mounts
Short-range anti-aircraft: 9 x 20mm Oerlikon in single mounts
Torpedo Tubes: 5 x 21-inch in one quintuple mount
ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 4 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges
In the summer of 1944, Lansdowne returned to Bremerton for another overhaul. No additional armament changes were made at this time.
Primary: 4 x 5-inch/38 cal. in five single mounts
Long-range anti-aircraft: 4 x 40mm Bofors in twin mounts
Short-range anti-aircraft: 7 x 20mm Oerlikon in single mounts
Torpedo Tubes: 5 x 21-inch in one quintuple mount
ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 4 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges
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