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Dedicated to the memory of the ship and officers and men who sailed her

The first 2200-ton Allen M. Sumner-class hull was laid down at Bath Iron Works 24 May 1943, two weeks after that yard’s last Fletcher (a normal time interval within its Fletcher-class production schedule). Changeover was easy because the basic Fletcher powerplant and hull were retained with only a 14-inch increase in beam and adoption of twin rudders for greater maneuverability (a feature also incorporated in Fletcher-class DDs 801–804, not yet laid down).

A strength of the Sumners was the enormous firepower that could be directed forward—four 5-inch barrels or even six at longer ranges, as the after mount could be trained forward to fire over the mast. Another strength was the layout of the engineering plant and the increase of generating capacity to 800kW plus 200kW standby diesels. As displacement rose, speed fell: on trials, Barton made 34.2 knots at 2,880 long tons.

An initially-perceived weakness was that they were bow-heavy—the effect of a dispersed 5-inch battery was more weight nearer the ends, making the bows slower to rise in comparison with the Fletchers. Another weakness was the original bridge structure, which proved cramped. Several ships were completed before a change was made to the bridge configuration; those with the earliest bridge design were refitted.

Today, one Sumner is preserved—Laffey, the “ship that would not die”—at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

DD-692 Allen M. Sumner	DD-740 Tolman
DD-693 Moale	DD-741 Drexler
DD-694 Ingraham	DD-744 Blue
DD-695 Cooper	DD-745 Brush
DD-696 English	DD-746 Taussig
DD-697 Charles S. Sperry	DD-747 Samuel N. Moore
DD-698 Aust	DD-748 Harry E. Hubbard
DD-699 Waldron	DD-749 Henry A. Wiley (DM-49)
DD-700 Haynsworth	DD-750 Shea (DM-30)
DD-701 John W. Weeks	DD-751 J. William Ditter (DM-31)
DD-702 Hank	DD-752 Alfred A. Cunningham
DD-703 Wallace L. Lind	DD-753 John R. Pierce
DD-704 Borie	DD-754 Frank E. Evans
DD-705 Compton	DD-755 John A. Bole
DD-706 Gainard	DD-756 Beatty
DD-707 Soley	DD-757 Putnam
DD-708 Harlan R. Dickson	DD-758 Strong
DD-709 Hugh Purvis	DD-759 Lufberg
DD-722 Barton	DD-760 John W. Thomason
DD-723 Walke	DD-761 Buck
DD-724 Laffey	DD-762 Henley
DD-725 O'Brien	DD-770 Lowry
DD-726 Meridith	DD-771 Lindsey
DD-727 De Haven	DD-772 Gwin
DD-728 Mansfield	DD-773 Aaron Ward
DD-729 Lyman K. Swenson	DD-774 Hugh W. Hadley
DD-730 Collett	DD-775 Willard Keith
DD-731 Maddox	DD-776 James C. Owens
DD-732 Hyman	DD-777 Zeliars
DD-733 Mannert L. Abole	DD-778 Massey
DD-734 Purdy	DD-779 Douglas H. Fox
DD-735 Robert E. Smith	DD-780 Stormes
DD-736 Thomas E. Fraser	DD-781 Robert K. Huntington
DD-737 Shannon	DD-857 Bristol
DD-738 Harry F. Bauer
DD-739 Adams

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