The U.S. Navy's Sumner-Gearing-class destroyers served as a standard for post-World War II destroyer design and development. This handsomely illustrated work traces the origins of the US Navy's Sumner-Gearing class destroyers through half a century of changing naval technology, showing the great advances made in ordnance, fire control and steam engineering. The destroyers served as a standard for post-World War II destroyer design and development. This classic work on WWII destroyers is now available again after being long out of print.