Description

USS GEARING (DD-710) - GEARING CLASS DESTROYER

FULLY BUILT AND READY TO DISPLAY MUSEUM QUALITY SHIP MODEL

Dimension approx.: 31.5″L x 4″W x 11″H
The model is already built. THIS IS NOT A MODEL SHIP KIT

When USS Gearing (DD‑710) was laid down at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle on 27 June 1943, she represented the culmination of three years of rapid wartime destroyer evolution. The Fletcher class had proven itself in every corner of the Pacific, the Allen M. Sumner class refined the concept, and now the Gearing class—lengthened by 14 feet for greater fuel capacity—stood ready to carry the lineage forward. Gearing was the first of 98 ships, the lead vessel of the final destroyer class built during World War II.

Launched on 27 June 1944 and commissioned on 15 December 1944, she entered service too late to fight in the great carrier battles of the Pacific. But she was built for the world that followed—one where endurance, versatility, and modernization mattered as much as raw firepower. Her three twin 5‑inch/38 caliber mounts, torpedoes, and anti‑aircraft guns gave her the punch expected of a wartime destroyer, while her extended hull and powerful machinery delivered 36.8 knots of speed and a 4,500‑mile cruising range.

In the immediate postwar years, Gearing served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, performing escort, patrol, and antisubmarine duties as the U.S. Navy shifted from global war to global tension. She soon became part of the Cold War fleet—one of the destroyers tasked with countering the growing Soviet submarine threat.

Her transformation came with the FRAM I modernization between 1960 and 1965. The overhaul replaced aging WWII systems with cutting‑edge ASW technology:

Hedgehog mortars
ASROC missile launchers
3‑inch AA guns
Variable‑depth sonar
The DASH drone helicopter

The sleek wartime destroyer became a modern hunter, capable of tracking and engaging submarines far beyond the reach of her original design.

Throughout the Korean War and later the Vietnam War, Gearing served in screening, patrol, and gunfire support roles. In Vietnam she operated in the Gulf of Tonkin, part of the Navy’s high‑tempo destroyer presence that supported carrier operations and coastal missions. Her Cold War service stretched across decades, a testament to the adaptability of the Fletcher‑Sumner‑Gearing lineage.

By the 1970s, many of her sisters were retired or transferred abroad. Gearing remained active until 1983, when she was finally decommissioned. Two years later she began a new life under the Republic of Korea Navy as ROKS Gyeonggi, serving until 1999—more than half a century after her launch.

Today, USS Gearing stands as a symbol of longevity and evolution. She was born from the lessons of World War II, reshaped by the demands of the Cold War, and carried into the modern era by nations that valued her reliability. Her career reflects the remarkable endurance of the destroyer design she led—one that proved effective from the final months of WWII through the closing years of the 20th century.