USS Irwin
DD 794

The Ship and Her History  

Operational Highlights (1943-1958)

 With a war underway in Europe and Asia in turmoil, the United States Navy in mid-1940 ordered 24 new destroyers known as the Fletcher class. By the end of 1940 the request was increased to one hundred.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy ordered 56 additional Fletcher class destroyers to augment those already being commissioned or under construction. One of these "later" Fletchers was the USS Irwin.

Fletcher destroyers were to become a familiar sight in the war against Japan as 175 were eventually completed - more than any other destroyer class. From the time Irwin slid down the ways and put her bow westward, the ship’s operational history coincides with the important island campaigns against Japan during the decisive last 15 months of World war II.

The Irwin went on to fight in Korea and serve with NATO and SEATO navies during the cold war. Her US Navy service ended when the Fletcher design could no longer incorporate the new technologies.