The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Gridley Class, U.S.
Destroyers ([original](http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/G/r/Gridley%5Fclass.htm)) ([raw](?raw))| 
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| Tonnage | 1590 tons standard displacement |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 340'10" by 35'10" by 12'9" 103.89m by 10.92m by 3.89m |
| Maximum speed | 38.5 knots |
| Complement | 158 |
| Armament | 4 5"/38 dual-purpose guns 4x4 21" torpedo tubes 4 0.50 machine guns 2 depth charge tracks (14 depth charges) |
| Machinery | 2-shaft Bethlehem geared turbines (50,000 shp) 4 Yarrow boilers |
| Bunkerage | 600 tons fuel oil |
| Range | 6500 nautical miles (12,000km) at 12 knots |
| Sensors | QC sonar |
| Modifications | Machine guns replaced by 6 20mm Oerlikon AA guns. 1943: Two more 20mm guns added. |
The Gridleys were completed in 1937-1938. They were the result of pressure on the designers by strong protagonists of torpedo armament, who wanted even more torpedo banks than on the Mahans. There was not enough deck space for four centerline torpedo banks, even with the gun armament reduced to 4 5" guns, and the ships were equipped with two banks on each side instead. This did not actually halve their broadside, as the torpedo angling capability of the Mark 15 torpedo was robust enough to permit all sixteen torpedoes to be launched at once (Branfill-Cook 2014). The top weight made them the least stable of all U.S. destroyer designs. However, they were the first U.S. destroyers to have fully enclosed forward gun mounts. Their machinery was of the latest type, with steam pressure of 565 psi (3900 kPa) that gave them unprecedented speed.
Considering the poor quality of U.S. torpedoes, the decision to carry so many torpedoes at the expense of a balanced gun armament was most unfortunate. Their lack of stability made them the only class of U.S. destroyers that never shipped quad 40mm Bofors antiaircraft armament. No other class of U.S. destroyers was built in such small numbers, which may have reflected the Navy's disappointment with the design.
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