Smith-class destroyer

The Smith Class destroyers were first ocean-going destroyers in the United States Navy, and the first to be driven by steam turbines instead of the reciprocating engines fitted in the earlier and much smaller sixteen torpedo-boat destroyers ordered in 1896–97.

The first three of the class were ordered under the Act of 29 June 1906 "to have the highest practical speed, and to cost, exclusive of armament, not to exceed seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars each". The remaining pair were ordered under the Act of 7 March 1907 "to have the highest practical speed, and to cost, exclusive of armament, not to exceed eight hundred thousand dollars each". All five ships were built using the basic Smith design. However, Flusser and Reid are sometimes considered to be Flusser-class ships.

Unlike the earlier 16 destroyers, these turbine-driven vessels were triple-screw, and all had two widely-spaced pairs of funnels except for Smith (which had the first and fourth funnels separated from the middle pair). All had one of their 3-in guns removed in 1918, and the latter four vessels were all sold in November 1919 following the end of World War I; the Smith survived another two years.

Ships in class

 * USS Smith (DD-17)
 * USS Lamson (DD-18)
 * USS Preston (DD-19)
 * USS Flusser (DD-20)
 * USS Reid (DD-21)