The Buffalo Naval & Military Park’s decommissioned Fletcher-class Destroyer, DD-537, was the largest and most important class of U.S. Destroyers used in World War II. Named after the five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa who died together aboard USS Juneau CL-52 in November 1942, USS The Sullivans was the only ship in the Navy to be named after more than one person.

She was commissioned in 1943 and saw action in the Pacific theater, shooting down eight Japanese planes, bombarding Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as rescuing American pilots and crew from burning or sinking vessels. She also saw action during the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. USS The Sullivans was decommissioned in 1965 earning 11 battle stars for meritorious performances, and is now a historic landmark moored at the Buffalo Waterfront.

On board you will see what it was like to serve as a “Tin Can Sailor” along with 310 of your shipmates. She is also a place for reflection and remembrance for the five Sullivan brothers who died together, an act which is borne out in her motto “We Stick Together!”

DD-537

Length: 376 feet
Beam: 39 feet
Draft: 19 feet
Displacement: 2,100 tons
Armament: Four 5-inch/38 caliber guns; one 3-inch/50 caliber gun; two twin-40 mm guns; depth charges
Complement: 310 Sailors