Of all the cold war destroyers available for preservation, none is more symbolic than Charles F. Adams. Name ship of the Charles F. Adams class, the “Charlie Deuce” was the US Navy’s first purpose-built guided missile destroyer and the final design in a sequence that began with the Fletcher class of World War II. She was built at Bath Iron Works and commissioned on 10 September 1960, in time to operate during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Twenty-eight sisters followed, three of which were built for Germany and three for Australia.
Operating alongside the aging remnants of the World War II destroyer force, the preceding Forrest Sherman class and the later, larger Spruance-class destroyers, the Charles F. Adams class remained the Navy’s front line all-purpose destroyers for nearly 30 years.
Today, the success of the effort to preserve Charles F. Adams depends in large part on funding. If you wish to contribute, please visit http://www.adams2jax.org/.
