The original “goldplaters” were eight ships of the Farragut class, which surpassed the preceding flush-deckers in speed, maneuverability, seaworthiness, range, armament and

TORPEDO BATTERY Eight 21-inch: two quadruple centerline mounts abaft the stacks. MAIN GUN BATTERY Four dual purpose 5-inch/38: l Two forward in shielded pedestal mounts. l Two aft in open pedestal mounts. ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERY 1938: Four .50 cal machine guns. 1942: Six 20mm single Oerlikon. 1945: Two 40mm twin Bofors; four 20mm singles.

habitability.
   Authorized but not funded in 1918, the Farraguts were designed in 1931 by Bethlehem Steel under the provisions of the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
   Their original armament included five 5-inch/38 cal guns—two forward, two aft, and the No. 3 mount abaft the second stack—plus eight 21-inch torpedo tubes in two quadruple centerline mounts. Farragut, the lead ship, was laid down on 20 September 1932 and all ships were completed by mid-1935. Depth charge tracks were not initially installed on the first two ships, but added in 1936.
   As Destroyer Squadon 1 with flagship Phelps, all eight Farraguts were present on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, where Monaghan depth charged and sank a midget submarine during the Japanese attack. Transferred to the Aleutians, she and Dale fought in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands. She and Hull were lost off the Philippines in the typhoon of 18 December 1944, while Dewey survived rolling 75 degrees and other ships were similarly hard-pressed.
   Worden was also lost in the Aleutians in 1943, snagged by a reef in a narrow channel—a fate other destroyers operating there were lucky to avoid.
   The other Farraguts remained in the Pacific throughout the war, all earning 10 or more stars, and then were broken up.