Originally installed in 175 Fletcher class destroyers, the Mk 12
Mod 1, 5-inch/ 38 caliber gun was one of the most successful
surface weapons of World War II. Either installed in a single
barrel mount in the MK 30 gun mount or in the twin-barreled Mk
38 gun mount, each had the capability of firing a 55 pound
projectile over a 9 mile distance, and the
Fletcher/Sumner/Gearing class destroyers used these guns from WW
II to Vietnam is support of U.S. naval and ground forces. The
ROYAL expended some 2,600 rounds of 5-inch projectiles in
missions in the I and II Corps area and night harassment and
interdiction fire in Da Nang Harbor.
ASROC or Anti-Submarine ROCket, was the Navy's
answer to combat Submarines that were within a 5 1/2 mile
(10,000 yards) range of the launching destroyer. Using the Mk-44
or Mk-46 acoustic homing torpedo as the payload, the MK-112
rocket-thrown-torpedo system was installed on the FRAM Mk-I
ships and was the most successful Anti-Submarine Warfare system
created by FRAM. In fact, only recently was ASROC retired from
Navy Destroyers.