Aylwin-class destroyer

USS Aylwin circa 1916-17
Class overview
Name:	Aylwin class
Builders:	William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Cassin class
Succeeded by:	O'Brien class
Built:	1912-14
In commission:	1913-22
Completed:	4
Retired:	4
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	1,036 tons (normal) 1,165 (full load)
Length:	305 ft 3 in (93.04 m)
Beam:	30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)
Draft:	9 ft 5 in (2.87 m)
Installed power:	4 × White-Forster boilers 2 × direct-drive Cramp steam turbines 16,000 shp (12,000 kW) (design)
Propulsion:	2 × shafts
Speed:	29.6 kn (54.8 km/h; 34.1 mph) (trials)
Capacity:	307 tons oil (fuel)
Complement:	8 officers 8 Chief Petty Officers 90 enlisted
Armament:	4 x 4 in (102 mm)/50 caliber guns 4 x twin 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes

The Aylwin class was a class of four destroyers in the United States Navy; all served as convoy escorts during World War I. The Aylwins were the second of six "second-generation" 1000-ton four-stack destroyer classes that were front-line ships of the Navy until the 1920s. They were known as "thousand tonners". All were scrapped in 1935 to comply with the London Naval Treaty.

All four ships were built by William Cramp and Sons in Philadelphia.

These ships were built concurrently with the Cassin class and in some references are considered to be in that class. In design and armament they were essentially repeats of the Cassin class.

Unlike the other "thousand tonner" classes, the Aylwins were not a significant improvement on the previous class.

They retained the Cassins' armament of four 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber Mark 9 guns and eight 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes in twin broadside mounts. Compared with the previous Paulding class of the "flivver" type, the increased gun armament reflected the increasing size of foreign destroyers they might have to fight. The broadside (two twin mounts each side) torpedo armament reflected the General Board's desire to have some torpedoes remaining after firing a broadside. The class was probably equipped with one or two depth charge racks each for anti-submarine convoy escort missions in World War I.Benham was equipped with four twin 4-inch mounts in 1917, but these were replaced with single mounts before she deployed overseas. By 1929 all except Parker had a 3-inch (76 mm)/23 caliber anti-aircraft gun added.