USS Somers
Contents
Description
The Somers-class, USS Somers (DD-381), 1938 was the lead ship of the Somers-class destroyers built for US Navy between 1937 and 1945. The ship was named for Richard Somers, a US Navy officer killed in action during the First Barbary war in 1804. Somers was laid down on 27th June 1935 at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny, New Jersey and subsequently launched on 13th March 1937. Her main armament consisted of eight 5-inch/38-calibre guns in four twin turrets with two located on the bow and two astern. Anti-aircraft protection consisted of eight 1.1-inch/75-calibre guns, two in quadruple mounts with each on bow and astern of the main turrets. Additionally, two .50 cal machine guns were between the bow turrets, one on each side of the hull. Torpedo armament consisted of three quadruple 533 mm torpedo tubes amidships. On 6th November 1941, Somers together with Omaha-class cruiser USS Omaha captured German freighter Odenwald carrying rubber while disguised as American merchant ship Willmoto. In November 1942, Somers and two Omaha-class cruisers USS Milwaukee and USS Cincinnati captured German blockade runner Anneliese Essberger near coast of Brazil. From January 1943, Somers operated in the Mediterranean performing convoy escort duties. On 15th August 1944, during the invasion of Southern France, Somers sunk German corvette UJ6081 and sloop SG21 at the Battle of Port Cros. After that, she bombarded the coast off Toulon with her 5-inch shells. She was decommissioned on 28th October 1945 and subsequently sold for scrap.
The USS Somers was introduced Update 1.87 "Locked On". The Somers shares same advantages and disadvantages with the other US Navy destroyers such as Porter class or Allen M. Sumner class, such as the exposed magazines right at the waterline for all turrets, and weak anti-air protection in terms of secondary armament. Somers is also only equipped with single purpose main armament. Unlike USS Porter, the Somers has a bigger crew complement, allowing for more time spent taking damage before sinking.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Somers-class, being based on the earlier Porter-Class, has very similar armour and layout. This gives her a main belt and armoured deck 0.5 inches thick, made of anti-fragmentation armour. These cover her machinery spaces and crew compartments amidships. This will not prevent any AP shells larger than 40 mm from penetrating at any more than extreme range. However it will greatly reduce damage from HE shells impacting the armour and makes her very survivable against destroyers with only HE shells. The bridge is also shielded frontally with the same 0.5 inches of anti-frag armour, which shields from splinters.
The turrets are covered in 0.125 inches of anti-frag armour. This will not stop any direct hits, and even splash damage will usually destroy the turrets. This effectively only protects against 20 mm or smaller weapons, so captains should expect turret mounts to be frequently knockout out of action. The magazine is placed beneath the rear two turrets, and has no protection. Any hits to the rear of the Somers will vaporize the ship, so captains should attempt to shield the magazine as much as possible.
Mobility
Nearly 70 km/h forward when spaded makes the Somers a very fast ship for its BR, though it does not have the best turning circle.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | Turn Time (s) | Turn Radius (m) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||||
| AB | Stock | 62 | 23 | ~112.42 | ~218.67 |
| Upgraded | 85 | 31 | ___ | ___ | |
| RB/SB | |||||
| Upgraded | 69 | 25 | ___ | ___ | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armament
Primary armament
The Somers is equipped with 4 x twin 5"/38 (12.7 cm) Mark 12 guns, mounted in Mark 22 turrets. This gives Somers incredible anti-surface firepower, as these guns have 22 rounds/minute rate of fire with 40 rounds of ready-rack ammunition and 15 rounds/minute after that.
Like the other American 5"/38 guns, Somers comes with the AAC Mark 34 HE shell as stock and can upgrade to the Common Mark 32 SAP shell. Somers does also have the AAVT Mark 31 HE-VT shell, but this is somewhat hampered due to the limited elevation of the guns (at a maximum of +35 degrees), which limits it to aircraft at long ranges (or low altitudes).
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| AAC Mk.34 | HE | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| Common Mk.32 | Common | 124 | 103 | 77 | 58 | 46 | 37 |
| SP Common Mk.46 | SP Common | 150 | 125 | 93 | 71 | 56 | 45 |
| AAVT Mk.31 | HE-VT | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| AAC Mk.34 | HE | 792 | 25 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,220 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Common Mk.32 | Common | 792 | 24.49 | 0.01 | 6 | 1,150 | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| SP Common Mk.46 | SP Common | 792 | 25 | 0.01 | 6 | 906.5 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| AAVT Mk.31 | HE-VT | 792 | 25 | 0 | 0.1 | 457 | 23 | 3,220 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |
Secondary armament
For auxiliary armaments, Somers has a pair of quadruple 1.1"/75 (28 mm) Mark 1 Automatic guns as well as two .50" (12.7 mm) AN-M2 machine guns. One of the 1.1" mounts is placed on an elevated position between the front primary turrets and the bridge while the other is placed just before the after primary turrets. The two machine guns are on the fore end of the ship next to the front primary turrets.
These guns will find good use as anti-torpedo boat guns, as the quadruple 1.1" automatics fire purely HE-T shells giving them a nasty bite against thinly armoured vehicles. If they manage to hit aircraft, you can be assured that it will not be unscathed.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| Mk.1 HE-T | HEF-T* | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| Mk.1 HE-T | HEF-T* | 823 | 0.42 | 0 | 0.1 | 14.7 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
Additional armament
The Somers has an impressive battery of 3 x quadruple 21" (533 mm) torpedo tubes, using the Mark 15 torpedo. All of the launchers are on the ship's centreline so a total broadside of 12 torpedoes can be launched. No other destroyer has such a large volley, but they also do not have the same reload capacity as the Japanese destroyers.
The default torpedo setting is a range of 5,500 m at a speed of 45 knots. This can be modified to a range of 9,150 m at a reduced speed of 33.5 knots. Each torpedo has a warhead of 224 kg TNT.
Usage in battles
The USS Somers is a powerful ship. This is because of the ship's main armament, which consists of eight 127 mm cannons mounted in four dual turrets, gaining an extra turret compared to the Sumner. This gives it the most broadside potential of any destroyer in the game. These guns also fire ridiculously fast at a whopping 2.8 seconds aced. This allows the Somers to have unmatched firepower potential for a destroyer, with its main rival being the Z32 with its slower firing but larger calibre guns. As such, you should use this ship mainly to combat enemy destroyers. With good aim and luck, you should be able to take on any destroyer in the game in a straight-up 1 vs 1 fight. The ship is also equipped with 12 torpedoes, mounted in three quadruple launchers. While these torpedoes lack the reload ability of Japanese destroyers, you are able to fire more torpedoes in a single volley. These launchers are also equipped centreline meaning you can fire them off in any direction. The Somers is capable of dealing significant damage to even cruisers, but you should not fight a cruiser one-on-one as they will still have better firepower and more durability. However, the Somers makes a great support ship to attack a cruiser if it's already engaging a friendly ship.
Unlike a majority of the late-war USN destroyers, the Somers does not have an adequate anti-air suite. The main power of your anti-air will be your main battery which is capable of firing radio-fused shells. These will prove to be very useful to deal with enemy aircraft at long range, but you will struggle to deal with enemies that breach your defences. The ship is also equipped with two 1,1 inch/75 Mk.1 (28 mm) anti-air guns, and two AN-M2 Browning machine guns. However, you lack the stronger and more modern Oerlikon 20 mm and Bofors 40 mm cannons that your fellow USN destroyers are equipped with. This means that you have a significant disadvantage when it comes to anti-air protection and as such, you cannot use the Somers in an anti-air role to the same extent as USS Sumner or USS Cowell.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Eight 127 mm guns, the highest amount of main guns of a destroyer, tied with IJN Akizuki
- Twelve torpedoes, giving it the largest torpedo volley potential of any destroyer
- Fast rate of fire on main guns
- Equipped with Radio Fuse shells to combat aircraft
- Is devastating in a down-tier
Cons:
- Weak anti-air armament, only equipped with 28 mm autocannons and 12.7 mm Browning machine guns
- Up-tiered to face heavy cruisers and pocket battleships
- Not as well armoured as other USN DDs
- Turrets easy to destroy
History
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USS Somers (DD-381) was the lead ship of the Somers class of large destroyers built for the United States during the interwar period. Designed as destroyer leaders, the ships were large and featured an extremely heavy main armament for their size. Somers herself was laid down in 1935 and launched in 1937; she went on to see some service in the Atlantic ocean as a convoy escort ship. Given her obsolete nature, Somers didn't participate in many conflicts, and was eventually scrapped in 1947; she received two battle stars for her service during the Second World War.
Design and development
During the interwar period, the United States Navy built a number of large destroyers, or destroyer leaders, designed to lead destroyer flotillas in future conflicts. The first of these classes, the USS Porter class, was designed and built in the late 1920s to early 1930s. The Somers class was designed in the early 1930s, and was designed to supplement the Porter class in combat. Somers herself was laid down in June of 1935, and commissioned by December 1st 1937.
Somers carried a main armament of eight 5-inch (127 mm) guns in four dual mounts - this was an exceptionally-heavy armament for a destroyer, matched only by her predecessor, the Porter. Her anti-aircraft armament was extremely weak, with just two quadruple 28 mm (1.1 inch) Chicago Piano anti-aircraft mounts and two 12.7 mm (0.5 inch) AN/M2 machine guns. Somers had a massive engine block delivering 52 000 shaft horsepower, allowing her to reach a maximum speed of 36 knots. As well, this new engine block allowed weight savings, which allowed her to carry an extra set of torpedo tubes - this meant that she had the heaviest torpedo broadside of any American ship ever built, with 12 torpedoes in a salvo. She had a crew of 278 men and 16 officers.
Operational history
After her commissioning, Somers joined the Atlantic fleet, and voyaged on a long shakedown cruise which took her to the Caribbean and to South America. Upon the outbreak of war in the European theatre, Somers participated in two years of neutrality patrols in the western Atlantic. On the morning of November 6th 1941, Somers and the cruiser Omaha encountered a merchantman under American flag, but upon approaching the ship, found that she was actually the German blockade runner Odenwald. Despite efforts by the Odenwald's crew to scuttle her, the pair of ships were able to salvage the blockade runner and bring her back to port for disposition. For this action, the sailors of the Somers were awarded a sizable sum of prize money, the last instance of prize money being given out in the navy.
Somers later encountered a second disguised German blockade runner, but that time, the blockade runner's crew succeeded in scuttling the ship. In January of 1943, Somers escorted the cruiser Memphis, with president Franklin D. Roosevelt onboard, to his summit with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Casablanca. Later, she escorted the French warships Richelieu and Montcalm to the United States. Throughout the rest of 1943, Somers served as a patrol ship in the southern Atlantic, searching for German blockade runners and guarding from German submarines.
In 1944, Somers was sent to the European theatre to serve in the Normandy invasion. Her sailors had hoped to be in an active role, but instead, the Somers was assigned to escort convoys across the English channel. She made this run numerous times, braving attacks from enemy aircraft. After Normandy, Somers was sent to the Mediterranean, where she remained for the rest of the war, visiting ports and seeing little action. Following the cessation of hostilities, Somers was decommissioned and eventually scrapped in 1947. She earned two battle stars for her service during the Second World War.
Devblog
In the mid-1930s, the U.S. Navy ordered the construction of the Somers-class destroyers. Although initially intended to only be repeats of the preceding Porter-class, the availability of a more economical power plant, developed for the Mahan-class, resulted in the Somers design being modified to facilitate this new power plant and being made into a new class entirely.
As a result of using the new power plant, great savings in weight and space were made, allowing for the use of just a single funnel, which made it possible to install a third torpedo launcher on the ship's aft. Despite these changes however, the design remained overweight and top heavy. Nevertheless, construction commenced, with the lead ship of the class, USS Somers (DD-381) being laid down in June 1935 and commissioned into service in December 1937.
USS Somers (DD-381) spent most of her early service period assigned to various missions in the Atlantic. On one instance, the ship was tasked with transporting a consignment of gold from London to New York in 1938.
During WW2, USS Somers continued operating in the Atlantic, occasionally intercepting German blockade runners and briefly operating off the coast of West Africa in early 1943. In 1944, USS Somers took part in the invasion of Normandy as well as the allied landings in Southern France in the Mediterranean theater.
USS Somers' final missions are marked with convoy escort duties as part of several transatlantic voyages. In May 1945, USS Somers returned to U.S. waters and underwent overhauls in August, before being decommissioned from active service in October. In May 1947, USS Somers was taken apart for scraps, marking the end of her service life of almost 10 years.
Media
- Skins
See also
Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
References
- Navy History and Heritage Command. (2015, September 10). Somers V (DD-381). Retrieved January 19, 2021, from https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/somers-v.html
| Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company | |
|---|---|
| Gun Destroyers (DD) | |
| Somers-class | USS Somers |
| Fletcher-class | USS Fletcher |
| Allen M. Sumner-class | USS Sumner |
| Gearing-class | USS Gearing |
| Cruiser, Light (CL) | |
| Atlanta-class | USS Atlanta |
| USA destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Clemson-class | USS Welborn C. Wood · USS Barker · USS Litchfield |
| Farragut-class | USS Aylwin |
| Bagley-class | USS Bagley |
| Porter-class | USS Porter · USS Phelps · USS Moffett |
| Somers-class | USS Somers · USS Davis |
| Fletcher-class | USS Fletcher · USS Bennion · USS Cowell |
| Allen M. Sumner-class | USS Sumner |
| Gearing-class | USS Gearing · USS Frank Knox |
| Mitscher-class | USS Mitscher · USS Wilkinson |
