Gangwon-class destroyer

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]

ROKS Jeonju
Class overview
Name	Gangwon
Builders	Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company Consolidated Steel Corporation Bath Iron Works
Operators	Republic of Korea Navy
Preceded by	Daegu class
Succeeded by	Gwanggaeto the Great class
Subclasses	Gearing class
Built	1944-1946
In commission	1974-2001
Planned	5
Completed	5
Retired	5
Preserved	ROKS Jeonju
General characteristics
Type	Destroyer
Displacement	2,616 long tons (2,658 t) standard 3,460 long tons (3,516 t) full
Length	390.5 ft (119.0 m)
Beam	40.9 ft 10 in (12.72 m)
Draft	14.3 ft 8 in (4.56 m)
Propulsion	4 × GM Mod. 16-278A diesel engines with electric drive, 60,000 shp (45 MW) 2 × screws
Speed	36.8 knots (68.2 km/h; 42.3 mph)
Range	4,500 nmi (8,300 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	350
Sensors and processing systems	1 × AN/SPS-10B surface-search radar 1 × AN/SPS-37 air-search radar 1 × AN/WLR-1 radar warning receiver 1 × Mark 37 Director
Electronic warfare & decoys	1 × AN/ULQ-6 ECM 1 × T-Mk 6 Fanfare
Armament	1970s: 2 × twin 5"/38 cal guns 2 × triple Mark 46 torpedo tubes 2 × quad RGM-84C Harpoons 1 × RUR-5 ASROC 2 × Mark 10 Hedgehog mortars 1 × depth charge track 1980s: 2 × twin 5"/38 cal guns 1 × twin 40 mm bofors 2 × Sea Vulcan 1 × RUR-5 ASROC 2 × twin RGM-84C Harpoons 2 × triple Mark 46 torpedo tubes 2 × Mark 10 Hedgehog mortars 1 × depth charge track
Aircraft carried	1 × Aérospatiale Alouette III
Aviation facilities	Single hangar and helipad

History

These were ships used by the U.S. 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. Initially leased till 1977, the ships were later purchased outright by the South Korean 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 of these ships was decommissioned in 2001.

Ships in the class

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