A Place Called YORKSHIP Guided-Missile Destroyers of New York Ship
	Last Update: 3 October 2018

DDG-5 Claude V. Ricketts

Six members of the 23-ship Adams class of guided missile destroyers were built at New York Ship. The entire class has now been decommissioned, and only DDG-2 Adams remains afloat, being held for a prospective museum in Jacksonville, Florida. The Adams class was derived from the Forrest Sherman gun cruisers, stretched 19 feet to accommodate the ASROC and Mk 11 missile launchers. General specifications: 3277 tons standard, 4526 tons full load; length 437 ft; beam 47 ft; draft 15 ft; 2 General Electric steam turbines delivering 70,000 shp to two shafts; speed 33 knots.

Listed in chronological order. Additions and corrections welcomed.

Designation	C #	Name(s) (Links are to photos)	Keel Laid	Launched	Description	History/Disposition
DDG-4	526	Lawrence	Oct 27, 1958	Feb 27, 1960	U.S. Navy photo Guided missile destroyer, Adams class	Original designation DD-954. Decommissioned Mar 30, 1990. Stricken May 1990, sold for scrap Apr 15 1994. Original shipbreaker defaiulted and Lawrence remained in reserve basin until Feb 11, 2004. Scrapped by Metro Marine in 2004 under a contract costing $2,572,898.
DDG-5	527	Biddle Claude V. Ricketts	May 18, 1959	June 4, 1960	Photo © 1964 by Dick Leonhardt Guided missile destroyer, Adams class	Original designation DD-955. Recommissioned as Claude V. Ricketts Jul 28, 1964 to honor architect of NATO Multilateral Force. Decommissioned Oct 31, 1989. Stricken Jun 1990, sold for scrap Apr 15 1994.
DD-956 DDG-6	528	Barney	Aug 10, 1959	Dec 10, 1960	Photo © 1964 by Dick Leonhardt Guided missile destroyer, Adams class	Original designation DD-956. Stricken Nov 1992, sold for scrap Apr 15 1994. Scrapper defaulted and ship remained in Philadelphia storage facility for several more years. Scrapping by Metro Machine in a former Philadelphia Navy Yard drydock under a contract worth $1,419,924 completed 2006.
DDG-15	536	Berkeley	Aug 29, 1960	Jul 29, 1961	DOD photo, 1986 Guided missile destroyer, Adams class	Stricken Oct 1992 and transferred to Greece under Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) Section 516. Renamed H.S. Themistokles (D221). Decommissioned in Salamis on 18 Feb 2002 by the Hellenic Navy, and sold for scrap 19 Feb 2004.
DDG-16	537	Joseph Strauss	Dec 27, 1960	Dec 9, 1961	Photo © 1966 by Dick Leonhardt Guided missile destroyer, Adams class	Decommissioned Feb 1990, stricken Jan 1995 and transferred to Greece in Oct 1992. Renamed H.S. Formion (D220) and served in Hellenic Navy until decommissioned 29 Jul 2002. Sold for scrapping 19 Feb 2004.
DDG-17	538	Conyngham	May 1, 1961	May 19, 1962	DOD photo, 1984 Guided missile destroyer, Adams class	Decommissioned Oct 1990, stricken May 1991 and sold for scrap.Apr 1994. Scrapped by J&L Metals of Wilmington NC in 1995.

C# = New York Shipbuilding contract number

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