Gearing Class Destroyer: Our museum quality Gearing Class Destroyer model ship is an exact replica of the original vessel. Master craftsmen create the ship's form, which is afterwards sanded and puttied. Then our talented artists diligently paint on all the details of the Gearing Class Destroyer model ship, no matter how big or small. Hand-casted resin and handmade metal parts complete the ship, and clear lacquer provides long-lasting protection. The Gearing Class Destroyer model ship comes on a handsome display base with brass pedestals and a brass name plate, and has undergone various stages of quality control before being put in its protective wood crate. This museum quality Gearing Class Destroyer model makes an ideal collectible or gift. Gearing Class Destroyer History: Towards the end of World War II, the United States Navy required more range and anti-aircraft capabilities from its Allen M. Sumner class destroyers. Thus 14 feet were added to the length in the midsection, and the Gearing class of destroyers was developed. Of 152 “long-hull Sumners” ordered, 98 were completed. Two commissioned in 1944, and 45 before the end of the war. The total reached 91 by 1946. Two more followed in 1947, four in 1949, and a final one in 1952. Seven were cancelled, and keels for the remaining 47 were never laid down. The lead ship of the class was USS Gearing (DD-710). In 1945, in anticipation of the invasion of Japan, 24 Gearings began conversion as radar picket ships that could provide early warning of massed attack without overwhelming their Combat Information Centers. Conversions were carried out at Boston and Norfolk Navy Yards and involved replacing the forward torpedo tube mount with a tripod mast for height-finding radar and other systems. The result was so effective that 11 more destroyers were converted in the early 1950s. Beginning in the late 1950s, 44 ships received Fleet Rehabilitation and Maintenance Mk I conversions while two were modified for testing. Along with surviving Sumners and Fletchers, Gearings continued in US Navy service during the Cold War until retired in the 1970s. Some were sold to navies of other nations and served through the 1990s. The remainder were sunk or scrapped. Today, two are preserved: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and Orleck. Bring any empty space to life with the Gearing class destroyer wooden model. Everything is done by hand, starting with master craftsmen who turn simple pieces of mahogany into ship replicas. After the wood has been sanded and puttied, talented artists duplicate every single detail with extraordinary accuracy. Hand-casted resin and handmade metal parts complete the ship, and a final coat of clear lacquer provides lasting protection. Each model ship comes on a display base with brass pedestals and a brass name plate.