Ship Information
Allen M Sumner Class Destroyer
The John W Weeks was one of 70 Allen M Sumner class destroyers commissioned during World War Two and had the following characteristics.
General Characteristics
2200 Tons Standard
3515 Tons Full Load
Length, 376 ft 6 in
Beam, 40 ft
Draught, 15 ft 9 in
Two shaft geared stream turbines (4 boilers) 60,000 SHP, Speed 34 knots.
Crew Complements of 21 Officers and 314 Enlisted Men.
Armament in 1944 was Three Twin 5 inch 38 cal mounts (15 rounds per minute. 54 pound projectile, 18000 yd range). Twelve, 40mm AA guns (160 rounds per minute, 2800 yd range)
Eleven 20mm AA guns (450 rounds per minute 4000 yd range)
Ten, 21 inch torpedo tubes (2115 pound torpedo, 4500 yd range, 46 knots, 1100 pounds torpex).
Important Historical Events
Keel laid 17 January 1944 Federal Shipbuilding, Kearney, NJ. Launched 21 May 1944 Federal Shipbuilding.
Commissioned 21 July Brooklyn Navy Yard. Inactivated 28 April 1946. Reactivated approximately 17 May 1947.
Decommissioned 31 May 1950. Recommissioned 24 October 1950. Stricken from Navy list 12 August 1970. Sunk as a target November 1970 in 1300 fathoms at 37-10.9N, 73-45.6W. As we begin, the service history of the USS John W. Weeks DD701 as memorable as we make it.