Aboard the Farragut Class Destroyers in World War II: A History with First-person Accounts of Enlisted Men

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The World War II-era Farragut class destroyers were a unique collection of eight U.S. Navy ships. The first destroyers to be equipped with five-inch, 38 caliber dual-purpose guns and a fully automated fire control system, they presented unique challenges and experiences for the enlisted men who served aboard them. Fittingly, their sailors were a proud and cocky group, as they served on the smallest, roughest riding, and fastest men-of-war, ships with more firepower for their size than any other class of ship in the U.S. Navy.This book describes the life of the enlisted man aboard a Farragut class destroyer during the pre-war years when the ships were assigned to the Hawaiian Detachment; the war preparation period in 1941; and, finally, the wartime years. First-person narrations from the sailors collected from interviews and correspondence with the few remaining Farragut class destroyer sailors are the primary feature of this book. With the exception of narratives of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the book focuses not on combat but on the day-to-day recollections of sailors who lived and worked on some of the most distinguished ships ever built by the U.S. Navy. The book also briefly describes the evolution of the destroyer and the Farragut class destroyers, five of which survived the war.