The USS Spruance, which shelled and intercepted the Iranian cargo ship on Sunday, is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.
U.S. Central Command said the Spruance fired “several shots” from its 5-inch gun into the engine room of the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska, disabling it. U.S. Marines then boarded the Towska and took control of the ship.
The Spruance 5-inch gun is designed for use against ships, aircraft and land targets, according to a Navy fact sheet.
First fielded in 1971, the Mark 45 gun has a range of 15 miles with conventional ammunition.
It is a fully automatic weapon capable of firing 16 to 20 rounds per minute from a 20-round drum that can then be reloaded by the crew below deck for further use, the Navy said.
The ship is also equipped with a variety of other weapons, including torpedoes, Tomahawk missiles for ground attack, standard interceptors for ballistic missile defense, and Sea Sparrow missiles for short-range and aircraft defense.
Spruance displaces approximately 9,000 tons, is over 500 feet long, and carries a crew of 329 people. She joined the fleet in 2011 and currently operates as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, homeporting in San Diego.
The Spruance was named after Admiral Raymond Spruance, who was the commander of a US aircraft carrier during the Battle of Midway in World War II. In this naval battle, the U.S. Navy sank four Japanese aircraft carriers and changed the course of the war in the Pacific.
