The Fletcher class was the most numerous of the destroyers that participated in World War II, built completely free from any treaty restrictions with a larger size, larger fuel capacity and range, and better armaments. In the world of Kantai Collection, this translates to Fletcher and Johnston being tall and having ample bustlines; among the other non-Japanese destroyers before them, only Tashkent is comparable in those areas while the others are implied to have flat chests.
Her machinery consists of two smokestacks and two 5-inch cannonturrets with one set on each side of her rigging. Her hull number is emblazoned on each side of her lower rigs. She also carries a cargo net, a reference to her rescuing many survivors of the USS Northampton during the Battle of Tassafaronga by using cork-floated cargo nets.
In one of her lines, she refers to herself as "Lucky 13," a historical nickname developed by the historal crew. This stems from the great luck they received despite multiple instances of the number. She survived the events of November 13, 1942 (a Friday to boot) during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal unharmed while being the 13th out of a line of 13 ships, with three torpedoes missing her hull. The digits of her hull number add up to 13; the same can be said of Task Force 67, of which she was a member.
Fletcher is one of the US Navy's most decorated ships during World War II, earning 15 battle stars for her service in the Pacific. She would later earn another five battle stars for service in the Korean War. Fletcher was decommissioned twice, first in 1947 before being reactivated in 1949 and then again in 1969, ending up being scrapped the same year.
Of her 174 class sisters, 19 (including Johnston) were lost in battle, six were heavily damaged and never repaired, and the rest had varying degrees of success in World War II and beyond with several being transferred to other navies (including 11 to the modern Italian Navy, the West German Bundesmarine, and the JMSDF). Four still survive to this day as museum ships (The Sullivans, Charrette/Velos, Kidd, and Cassin Young) with a fifth (John Rodgers/Cuitláhuac) serving until 2001 before being scrapped in 2006.
