Gearing-class destroyer

The Gearing class was a series of 98 destroyers built for the United States Navy during and shortly after the Second World War. The design was a small modification of the Allen M. Sumner class: the hull was lengthened by 14 feet amidships, which gave room for more fuel and a longer operating range. The first ships were not ready for service until mid-1945 and saw little of the war, but they went on serving, with a series of upgrades, until the 1970s, and many were then sold to other nations, where they served much longer. Bath Iron Works in Maine built 30 of the 98 ships.