USS Gyatt

USS Gyatt (DD-712/DDG-1/DDG-712) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy operated between 1945 and 1968. The ship was named for Edward Gyatt, a United States Marine Corps private and Marine Raider killed during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She was laid down in 1944, commissioned in 1945, and missed combat during the Second World War. In 1955, she was converted into the world's first guided missile destroyer (DDG) to evaluate the RIM-2 Terrier surface-to-air missile and the practicality of similar weapons. Her service contributed to the development of dedicated air-defense missile escorts and of later anti-air missiles by identifying flaws in both designs. Her goal was completed in 1962, and she was converted into a floating test bed for radars and other electronic equipment. By 1969, structural issues caused by missile launches forced her to be decommissioned; she was sunk as a target in 1970.