USS HARWOOD was a general purpose 2200 ton destroyer of the Gearing class. The ship carried 260 men and 16 officers aboard. She was 390 feet long, 41 feet wide, displaced about 3300 tons, and had a draft of 18 to 21 feet.
She was powered by four oil-fired boilers, driving turbines which were connected to two propellor shafts. The ship had a designed speed of over 30 knots; at this speed each engine produced about 30,000 horsepower. Harwood was designed for many different jobs and carried three different kinds of weapons. She had four five inch guns for use against aircraft, other ships and coastal targets. She also carried "Hedgehogs, small rockets which explode when they strike the submarine, and special anti-submarine torpedoes launched from the tubes amidships by compressed air. The hanger and platform toward the stern of the ship housed the DASH weapons system (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) of which she carried two.
STATISTICS of the USS HARWOOD (DD861)
