Editing O'Brien-class destroyer (section)

{{short description|Destroyer class of the US Navy}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS O'brien DD-51.jpg|300px|[[Lead ship]] of the ''O'Brien''-class, {{USS|O'Brien|DD-51}}]]
|Ship caption=[[Lead ship]] of the ''O'Brien'' class, {{USS|O'Brien|DD-51|6}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''O'Brien'' class
|Builders=
* [[Bath Iron Works]] (1)
* [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]] (1)
* [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]] (1)
* [[William Cramp & Sons]] (3)

|Operators=
* {{navy|United States|1912}}
* {{coast guard|United States|coast guard}}

|Class before={{sclass|Aylwin|destroyer|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|Tucker|destroyer|4}}
|Built range=1913–1915
|In commission range=*U.S. Navy: 1915–1922
*U.S. Coast Guard: 1924–1933
|Total ships planned=6
|Total ships completed=6
|Total ships retired=6
|Total ships scrapped=6
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship type=[[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1050|LT|MT|lk=on}} (normal)<ref name="Con-122-123">Gardiner, pp. 122–23.</ref>
*{{convert|1171|LT|MT}} (full)
|Ship length={{convert|305|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Con-122-123"/> ([[length overall|oa]])
|Ship beam={{convert|31|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Con-122-123"/>
|Ship draft=*{{convert|9|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (normal)<ref name="Con-122-123"/>
*{{convert|10|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} (max)<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship propulsion=*4 × [[White-Forster boiler]]s,
*2 × [[direct drive]] [[Heinrich Zoelly|Zoelly]] [[steam turbine]]s, 2 × [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s for cruising [DD-55: 2 × geared steam turbines]<ref name=Bauer-171 />
*2 × [[propeller shaft (ship)|shafts]]
*{{convert|17000|shp|abbr=on}}<ref name="Con-122-123"/>
|Ship speed={{convert|29|knots|km/h|lk=in}}
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=101<ref name=Bauer-171 />
|Ship armament=*4 × [[4-inch/50-caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}/50-caliber guns]]
*8 × [[American 21-inch torpedo|21-inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s (4 × 2), 8 [[torpedo]]es
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''O'Brien'' class''' of [[destroyer]]s was a [[ship class|class]] of six ships designed by and built for the [[United States Navy]] shortly before the United States entered [[World War I]]. The ''O'Brien'' class was the third of five classes of destroyers that were known as the "thousand tonners", because they were the first U.S. destroyers over {{convert|1000|LT|MT|0|lk=on}} [[displacement (ship)|displacement]].

The design of what became the ''O'Brien'' class was the result of discussions between the [[General Board of the United States Navy]] and the U.S. Navy's [[Bureau of Ordnance]]. What resulted was a design that was an incremental development of the {{sclass|Aylwin|destroyer|4}}, which itself was similar to the first of the thousand tonners, the {{sclass|Cassin|destroyer|4}} (which displaced about a third more than the preceding {{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}). The key difference in the ''O'Brien'' class was the increase in [[torpedo]] size, going up to {{convert|21|in|mm|0}} from the preceding classes' {{convert|18|in|mm|0|adj=on}} torpedoes.

The ships had a median displacement of {{convert|1050|LT|MT}}, were just over {{convert|305|ft|m}} in length, and had a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of about {{convert|31|ft|m}}. All of the ships had two direct-drive [[steam turbine]]s and a combination of other engines for cruising at speeds less than {{convert|15|knots|km/h|lk=in}}. All of the ships were designed for a maximum speed of {{convert|29|knots|km/h}}. As built, they were armed with four {{convert|4|in|mm|0|adj=on}} guns and had four twin [[American 21-inch torpedo|21-inch]] [[torpedo tube]]s with a load of eight torpedoes, but all were later equipped with [[depth charge]]s. The ships were built by four private American shipyards—[[Bath Iron Works]], [[Fore River Shipbuilding Company]], [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]], and [[William Cramp & Sons]]—and were [[keel laying|laid down]] between September and November 1913; [[launch (ship)|launched]] between April 1914 and February 1915; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] into the U.S. Navy between June 1914 and August 1915.

All six ships operated in the Atlantic or Caribbean until the U.S. entrance into World War I in April 1917, when all six were sent overseas to [[Queenstown, Ireland]], for [[U-boat Campaign (World War I)|convoy escort]] duties. Several of the ships rescued passengers and crew from ships sunk by [[U-boat]]s, and several had encounters with U-boats themselves; {{USS|Nicholson|DD-52|2}} helped sink {{SMU|U-58||2}} in November 1917, the first U-boat sunk by the U.S. Navy. All six members of the class had returned to the United States in January 1919 and were decommissioned by June 1922. In 1924, two of the six—{{USS|Ericsson|DD-56|2}} and {{USS|McDougal|DD-54|2}}—were commissioned into the [[United States Coast Guard]] to help enforce [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] as a part of the "[[Rum Patrol]]". They were returned to U.S. Navy custody in 1932 and 1933, respectively. All six ships had been sold for [[ship breaking|scrapping]] by June 1936.