How many people can a destroyer hold?

Answer 1

Over the years, naval destroyers have come in many sizes and with a variety of people needed to operate them (called the 'crew complement').

As an example, the modern American Arleigh Burke ClassDestroyers, one of the largest and most powerful classes of destroyer in the world, have a crew compliment of 275 people.

Generally, the more advanced the technology of a ship, the smaller crew it needs by comparison... A smaller crew per "amount of ship" you might say. For example:

• The Fletcher Class used during WWII had a crew of 329.
• The Arleigh Burke Class, with 275 crew are about 33% longer and weigh almost four times as much fully loaded.
• The next US destroyer class, the Zumwalt Class, are expected to be about 20% longer, 33% wider, and weigh perhaps 50% more than the Arleigh Burke Class, with a projected crew compliment of just 140 people.