- Yes
- No
USS Bigelow with pre-production Phalanx CIWS for testing (source: http://www.navsource.net/archives/05/pix1/0594212.jpg)
TL;DR: Forrest Sherman-class destroyer with one 3-inch/50 mount replaced with a Phalanx CIWS.
USS Bigelow (DD-942) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer that served in the US Navy from 1954 to 1982. This suggestion is for her 1977 refit, during which she mounted a pre-production Phalanx CIWS for final operational tests and evaluation. The CIWS was located between the aft radar gun director and the second 5-inch turret, replacing the aft 3-inch/50 mount. After testing was successful, the Phalanx CIWS was approved for full production in 1978, with the first ship fitted being USS Coral Sea in 1980. Meanwhile, USS Bigelow continued her humble career as a destroyer until being decommissioned in 1982 and sunk in naval exercises later. In War Thunder, she would most likely be a sidegrade from the standard USS Forrest Sherman, where her CIWS would easily shred small boats and planes but would be hampered by the low ammo count.
History
USS Bigelow’s namesake was Elmer Charles Bigelow, a US navy sailor and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor. While serving on USS Fletcher in 1945, an enemy shell penetrated the No. 1 gun magazine and set fire to several powder cases. Elmer Bigelow, choosing not to put on rescue-breathing apparatus in order to save precious time, managed to quickly put out the fire and prevent a catastrophic magazine explosion, but he succumbed to his injuries the next day.
USS Bigelow was launched on 2 February 1957 by Elmer Bigelow’s mother and was commissioned on 8 November. After her shake-down cruise, she served as flagship for Commander South Atlantic Force and Destroyer Squadron 6. In 1962 she participated in the quarantine of Cuba as flagship for COMDESRON 16 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, for which she received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. In 1967 she served a tour in Vietnam, operating for more than 100 days in combat and firing more than ten thousand five-inch shells. After that, she primarily served in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and North Atlantic, including service in 1971 as the first US Navy flagship of NATO’s Standing Naval Force Atlantic.
In December 1976, USS Bigelow was fitted with a pre-production Phalanx CIWS, replacing her aft 3-inch/50 mount. Earlier prototypes of the Phalanx were tested on USS King and USS Alfred A. Cunningham, but this time Bigelow was to conduct the final operational tests and evaluation. Testing lasted until late June 1977, during which the Phalanx CIWS was found to perform well in complex electromagnetic environments, including against jamming and background terrain. Consequently, the Phalanx was approved for production in 1978. It is unclear whether Bigelow kept her CIWS after testing concluded.
After her work testing the Phalanx CIWS, USS Bigelow continued serving in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, although she made a cruise to the Middle East and Indian Ocean in 1981. On 5 November 1982 she was decommissioned, and on 1 June 1990 she was struck from the naval register. Her final status was changed to “disposed of in support of fleet training exercise” on 2 April 2003, suggesting that she was sunk in naval exercises some time before this date.
Specifications
Length: 127 m
Bean: 14 m
Speed: 32+ knots
Crew: 15 officers, 218 enlisted
Armament:
- 3x 5-inch/54-caliber Mark 42 guns
- 1x dual 3-inch/50-caliber Mark 34 guns
- 1x Phalanx CIWS (presumed to be equivalent to Block 0)
- Projectiles: Mark 149 APDS
- Muzzle velocity: 1113 m/s
- Fire rate: 3000 rpm
- Ammo count: 980 or 989 rounds (source conflict)
- Elevation: -25˚/+85˚, 92˚/s
- Traverse: 360˚, 126˚/s
- 6x 12.75-inch torpedos in two Mark 32 surface vessel torpedo tubes triple mounts
More pictures
An early version of the Phalanx CIWS, probably similar to the one on USS Bigelow (source: https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/KN-20000/KN-20569.html)
Alleged special patch awarded to USS Bigelow crew who were present during the Phalanx CIWS testing (source: USS Bigelow crew members)
Sources
- https://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvr/getHull.htm?shipId=4849
- DD-942 - Tin Can Sailors
- Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
- Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: Ships and Units
- USA 20 mm Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) - NavWeaps
- History and Technology - R2D2 with Attitude: The Story of the Phalanx Close-In Weapons - NavWeaps
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080920100418/http://www.mediacen.navy.mil/pubs/allhands/jan01/weapons.htm
- https://www.gao.gov/assets/nsiad-00-149.pdf
- https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_old_pdf.cfm?ARC_ID=1781
- “The Naval Institute guide to world naval weapons systems, 1997-1998” by Norman Friedman
- USS Bigelow 1977 welcome aboard pamphlet: https://www.navsource.net/archives/05/pix1/0594216.jpg, https://www.navsource.net/archives/05/pix1/0594217.jpg, http://www.navsource.net/archives/05/pix1/0594218.jpg
- MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS)
