The USS Mahan (DD-364) was a United States Navy destroyer and the lead ship of her class. She was named after Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, who was a naval theorist and historian. She was was laid down on 12 June 1934, she was launched on 15 October 1935, and she was commissioned on 18 September 1936. Destroyers of this class were designed as an improved version of the Farragut class and featured state-of-the-art machinery. However, the final two ships, the USS Dunlap and the USS Fanning, are often classified as a separate subclass because they were the first U.S. Navy destroyers to use enclosed forward gun mounts instead of shields. The USS Mahan initially served in the Atlantic Fleet, but she was based at Pearl Harbor from 1937 onward. On December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the destroyer was at sea as part of Task Force 12. She subsequently participated in the search for Japanese vessels. She later took part in nearly every major engagement in the Pacific Theater, including the battles for the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the New Guinea campaign, the landings at Arawe and Borgen Bay, and other operations. On December 7, 1944, the destroyer was attacked by Japanese air forces. Although she shot down four planes, she was struck by three kamikazes and sustained severe damage. Ultimately, the crew abandoned the ship, with only five men reported missing.

The USS Mahan was introduced in Update 2.59 "Sky Odyssey". The destroyer boasts decent speed and main battery guns. However, since these guns are mounted on open shields, their rate of fire is low, and the ship's anti-aircraft armament is weak.