Gangwon-class destroyer

ROKS Jeonju
Class overview
NameGangwon
Builders
Operators Republic of Korea Navy
Preceded byDaegu class
Succeeded byGwanggaeto the Great class
SubclassesGearing class
Built1944-1946
In commission1974-2001
Planned5
Completed5
Retired5
PreservedROKS Jeonju
General characteristics
TypeDestroyer
Displacement
  • 2,616 long tons (2,658 t) standard
  • 3,460 long tons (3,516 t) full
Length390.5 ft (119.0 m)
Beam40.9 ft 10 in (12.72 m)
Draft14.3 ft 8 in (4.56 m)
Propulsion
Speed36.8 knots (68.2 km/h; 42.3 mph)
Range4,500 nmi (8,300 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement350
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Aérospatiale Alouette III
Aviation facilitiesSingle hangar and helipad

The Gangwon class was a class of 5 destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy. They entered service in 1974; the last one was decommissioned in 2001.[1]

History

[edit]

These were ships used by the US Navy during World War II and were modernized in electronics and weaponry during FRAM I. Throughout the 1970s they constituted the backbone of the Republic of Korea Navy as a replacement for Chungmu class destroyers. They remained in service until well into the 1990s. They were all leased till 1977 then bought by the navy.[2]

The Republic of Korea Navy acquired five destroyers of the Gearing class for the Republic of Korea Navy from the USA in 1974 as part of the American Military Assistance Program. More were later leased over in later years.

The last ship left service in 2001.

Ships in the class

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Pennant Name Builders Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned
DD-99 / DD-919 Taejon Consolidated Steel Corporation 14 April 1945 18 August 1945 23 February 1977 February 2001
DD-921 Gwangju Bath Iron Works 31 July 1945 2 March 1946 29 December 2000
DD-922 Gangwon Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company 19 October 1944 8 July 1945 1978 2000
DD-923 Gyeonggi Consolidated Steel Corporation 10 October 1944 17 March 1945 1981 1997
DD-924 Jeonju 3 June 1944 20 November 1944 11 August 1981 31 December 1999

Citations

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  1. ^ "해군의 섬너급 구축함". 디펜스투데이 (in Korean). 14 May 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  2. ^ "The South Korean Navy (ROKN)". naval encyclopedia. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.