Howorth was fitted with the original high, round bridge carried over from the Sims class. Like other 2100-ton Fletcher-class destroyers, her specifications were as follows:

Length Overall: 376' 5½"
Extreme Beam: 39' 8"
Normal Displacement: 2,050 long tons
Draft: Light: 8' 1"; Mean: 13' 5" Deep: 22’8”
Designed Complement: Officers, 34; Enlisted, 295
Designed Shaft Horsepower: 60,000
Designed Speed: 36 knots
Screws: Two
Rudder: One
Stacks: Two
Tactical diameter: 950 yards at 30 knots
Endurance: 4,800 nautical miles at 15 knots.

   Howorth’s initial armament was that of a typical Fletcher-class destroyer arriving in the war zone in 1943–44:

Primary: 5 x 5-inch/38 cal. in five single mounts
Long-range anti-aircraft: 6 x 40mm Bofors in five twin mounts
Short-range anti-aircraft: 7 x 20mm Oerlikon in single mounts
Torpedo Tubes: 10 x 21-inch in two quintuple mounts
ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 6 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges

   Her electronics were also typical:

Radar: SC (air search) and SG (surface search), Mk 37 (fire control)
Sonar: QC

   After sustaining suicide plane damage in 1945, Howorth was modified to incorporate the 1945 anti-aircraft modification: 40mm quad mounts in the waist replacing the forward torpedo tube mount and 20mm twin Oerlikons—two on each side at the waist and two on the fantail—replacing her seven 20mm single mounts:

Primary: 5 x 5-inch/38 cal. in five single mounts
Long-range anti-aircraft: 14 x 40mm Bofors in three twin mounts and five quadruple mounts
Short-range anti-aircraft: 12 x 20mm Oerlikon in twin mounts
Torpedo Tubes: 5 x 21-inch in one quintuple mounts
ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 6 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges