![]() ROKS Chungmu | |
Class overview | |
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Name | Chungmu |
Builders | |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | N/A |
Succeeded by | Chungbuk class |
Subclasses | Fletcher class |
Built | 1942-1943 |
In commission | 1963-1993 |
Planned | 3 |
Completed | 3 |
Retired | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 376.5 ft (114.8 m) |
Beam | 39.5 ft 10 in (12.29 m) |
Draft | 17.5 ft 8 in (5.54 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 36.5 knots (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph) |
Range | 5,500 nmi (10,200 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 329 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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The Chungmu class was a class of 3 destroyers by the Republic of Korea Navy. They entered service in 1963, with the last one being decommissioned in 1989.[1]
It was the first destroyer of the Republic of Korea Navy. Many people know that the Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyer is Korea's first destroyer, but they were the first domestically built destroyer but not the first destroyer.
These were ships used by the US Navy during World War II and slightly modernized in electronics and weaponry at the beginning of the 1950s. They were once magnificent ships, which throughout the 1960s constituted the backbone of the Republic of Korea Navy. Eventually, they were replaced in escort duties by the Chungbuk class destroyers in the mid to late 1980s. However, they remained in service until well into the 1980s, when they were downright obsolete. They were all leased till 1977 then bought by the navy.[2]
They received three destroyers of the Fletcher class for the Republic of Korea Navy from the USA in 1963 as part of the American Military Assistance Program.
They were all put out of service between 1982 till 1993.[3]
Main article: Fletcher-class destroyer |
Before the takeover, the ships were modernized to a considerable extent. All 20 mm Oerlikon cannons were removed and the two quad and one twin 40 mm Bofors guns remained. The electronics were modernized and the mast was replaced by a tripod mast.
All five ships were retrofitted with two triple Mark 44 torpedo tubes on each side of the ship.
Pennant | Name | Builders | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DD-91 / DD-911 | Chungmu | Bath Iron Works | 28 October 1942 | 21 March 1943 | 16 May 1963 | 1993 |
DD-92 / DD-912 | Seoul | Bethlehem Mariners Harbor | 3 February 1943 | 30 June 1943 | 27 April 1968 | 1982 |
DD-93 / DD-913 | Busan | Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | 12 March 1943 | 4 July 1943 | 15 November 1968 | 1989 |