Bath Iron Works, General Dynamics and Litton Industries submitted proposals for production of DD-963 on 3 April 1969. Of the $30 million assigned, $28.5 million has been provided to three contractors.[2] Eventually, Litton's bid won the competition.
1970s
Spruance was the first of a highly-successful class of anti-submarine warfare and anti-ship destroyers, and was the first destroyer powered by gas turbines in the U.S. Navy. At first she was armed with two 5-inch naval guns, an ASROC missile launcher, and an eight-cell NATO Sea Sparrow missile launcher. Spruance received one Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) during the late 1980s. This replaced the original Mark 16 ASROC launcher. Also added to Spruance after several years of service was an eight-cell launcher for Harpoonantiship missiles.
Spruance, being the first gas-turbine powered ship in the U.S. fleet, had an underway replenishment breakaway flag (flown while pulling away from receiving supplies and fuel from a logistics ship at sea) that was a replication of the large yellow warning seen on the side of aircraft carriers, with red block letters saying "BEWARE JET BLAST" on a large yellow background. Upon "breaking" (unfurling) the flag on the halyards, they would play the theme song from the 1976 film Rocky as they increased speed and sailed ahead of the logistics vessel.[citation needed]
1980s
Spruance entered her first major overhaul in 1980 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. During a brief shipyard period in 1983, she received the Phalanx CIWS and the TAS Mk 23 radar system.[citation needed]
Spruance steamed to the Arabian Sea in 1983 including a port visit to Mombasa, Kenya, in May 1983. She briefly took station off Beirut in June 1982 before being relieved. In 1982, she transited both the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal during the same summer.[citation needed]
Spruance deployed for a six-month period in January 1983 to the Persian Gulf where she spent four and one-half months conducting observations in company with USSOliver Hazard Perry during the Iraq-Iran War. She also conducted operations with Teamwork '84 in the northern Atlantic and in the Arctic Ocean in 1984. She deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in November 1984 and conducted her second Black Sea Operations over Thanksgiving 1984. She returned from her deployment in May 1985 and shortly thereafter entered her second overhaul period during which she received VLS, Towed Array, and the SH 60. She deployed for a six-month period on 26 May 1993 to the Red Sea where she spent over three and a half months conducting visit and board and search operations in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq. While attached to the U.S. Sixth Fleet, Spruance conducted a brief stop for fuel in Rota, Spain, followed by a liberty port visit in Palma, Spain. Additional stops in the Mediterranean consisted of a brief stop in Augusta Bay, Sicily, then to Souda Bay, Crete, for a maintenance period (IMAV) with USSShenandoah. Spruance passed through the Suez Canal on 29 June.[citation needed]
On 26 January 1989, Spruance ran aground on a reef while traveling at 3 knots (5.6km/h; 3.5mph) near Andros Island in the Bahamas.[3] The incident occurred during anti-submarine training exercises in the deep-water trench east of the island. Navy tugs and the USS Boone re-floated the ship, which suffered $1.8 million in damage to the hull, propellers, sonar dome, and forward mast. A Navy report faulted a junior officer who had conduct at the time of the incident, Lt. W.T. Hicks, finding that he ignored the advice of the quartermaster who advised against a course change that would take them closer to the reef.[4] Hicks was discharged from the Navy following the grounding. Neither the ship's skipper, Commander Travis W. Parker Jr., or the Executive Officer, Commander J.M. Braeckel, were on the bridge at the time of the maneuvers that led to the grounding.
1990s
Upon arrival in the Red Sea, under command of CTG152.1, Commander Maritime Interdiction Forces, Spruance assumed the duties of the flagship for the task force commander. While on station, Spruance was the flagship for three different task force commanders. While on station, Spruance conducted exercises with the Egyptian Navy and the Jordanian Navy. During Spruance's tenure in the Red Sea, she conducted several port visits to Hurghada, Egypt, for crew rest and relaxation. Other official port visits were conducted in Safaga, Egypt, and Aqaba, Jordan, where Spruance hosted receptions for top military and embassy officials. On 10 September 1993, Spruance intercepted the 18,000th ship since sanctions were put into place in August 1990, as part of the multinational maritime interception effort enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq. The ship's crew intercepted the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier "Early Star" in the North Red Sea during normal intercept operations. The merchant ship was sailing from Massaua, Eritrea, to Aqaba. As the ship was empty, it was allowed to proceed toward its destination.[citation needed]
Spruance was relieved as flagship by USSHayler on 9 October after having completed more than 170 boardings, and then started her transit homeward through the Suez Canal on 11 October. Once back in the Mediterranean Sea, the ship made port calls in Toulon, France; Alicante, Spain; and Rota, Spain. She returned home on 14 November.[citation needed]
In July 1994, as part of Operation Restore Democracy, U.S. Navy ships were assigned to helping to enforce the United Nations embargo of Haiti. However, so many Haitians were picked up from the sea that U.S. Coast Guard ships needed an assist from U.S. Navy ships in the region to handle the volume. Among these was Spruance which took onboard nine hundred Haitians for the transit to Guantanamo Naval Station.[citation needed]
Spruance transferred to Portsmouth, Virginia and entered drydock after the deployment.
In mid-1996, Spruance took part in the 24th annual U.S. invitational maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea, the BALTOPS 96 exercise. Made up of air, surface and subsurface operations, the exercise involved 47 ships and aircraft from 12 different squadrons sent by 13 NATO-member and Partnership for Peace nations: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States.[citation needed]
Spruance steamed in the Mediterranean from April through October 1997 with the carrier battle group supporting USSJohn F. Kennedy. Serving as the flagstaff of Destroyer Squadron 24, Spruance made significant contributions throughout the deployment including: visiting thirteen foreign ports; participating in five multinational naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea; serving as Presidential Support Ship in Rotterdam, Netherlands; representing the U.S. Navy in Thoule Sur Mer, France, in commemorating the fifty-second anniversary of the Allied landings in southern France; and hosting Ukrainian military and diplomatic distinguished visitors during the 1997 Ukrainian Independence Day celebration. During that period, Spruance also took part in the Partnership For Peace Exercise "Sea Breeze 97" in the Black Sea. Sea Breeze 97 trained military forces on how to provide humanitarian relief for victims of a simulated earthquake in Southern Ukraine.[citation needed]
In the fall of 1999, Spruance detached from the John F. Kennedy carrier group to relieve USSPeterson as the U.S. representative to the Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED). After dealing with the effects of Hurricane Floyd and Hurricane Gert off the east coast of Florida, Spruance crossed the Atlantic and entered the Mediterranean with other ships from the John F. Kennedy carrier group. STANAVFORMED is part of NATO's 'Reaction Force' and as such was ready to respond to any crisis in NATO's area of interest, although its primary area of operations is the Mediterranean. Spruance was expected to remain assigned to STANAVFORMED through March 2000.[citation needed]
2000s
Spruance arrives for a port visit in Crete in 2004
On 1 June 2000, Spruance became the first U.S. Navy ship to use the drydock in Jacksonville, Florida, in over ten years. She left Naval Station Mayport, Florida, early on 1 June, traveled up the St. John's River to the drydock facility, and remained there until early August. During the drydock, the ship was raised out of the water, her hull was cleaned and inspected, and corrective and preventative maintenance was performed. On 24 September 2001, as part of the John F. Kennedy Carrier Battle Group, Spruance commenced use of the Vieques Island inner range in conjunction with their Composite Unit Training Exercises (COMPTUEX). The exercise, which began the week prior, also utilized the northern and southern Puerto Rican operating areas, and involved complex battle group training events, naval surface fire-support training and air-to-ground bombing. COMPTUEX is an intermediate level battle group exercise designed to forge the battle group into a cohesive, fighting team, and is a critical step in the predeployment training cycle and prerequisite for the battle group's Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) scheduled for early the following year. Successful completion of the COMPTUEX also certifies the carrier and its embarked air wing as qualified for open ocean operations.[citation needed]
Spruance, along with the John F. Kennedy carrier group took part, from 19 January through 26 January 2002, in Phase I of Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 02-1; and from 7 – 14 February in Phase II of Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 02-1. The JTFEX is designed to meet the requirement for quality, realistic training to prepare U.S. forces for joint and combined operations and also provides the opportunity to certify the CVBG for deployment. That particular JTFEX was scheduled for two phases to accommodate recent repairs to the carrier, which required it to be pierside during Phase I. The exercise took place in the waters off the East Coast, as well as on training ranges in North Carolina and Florida.[citation needed]
Deploying with the John F. Kennedy carrier group in June 2004, Spruance returned to Mayport on 7 December 2004. She decommissioned 23 March 2005. She was sunk as a target for aircraft-launched Harpoon missiles in the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia Capes on 8 December 2006.[5][6]
USS Estocin (FFG-15), ninth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Captain Michael John Estocin (1931–1967). Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY76 program, Estocin was laid down on 2 April 1979, launched on 3 November 1979, and commissioned on 10 January 1981.
USS Barney (DD-956/DDG-6) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship named for Commodore Joshua Barney USN (1759–1818).
USS Barry (DD-933) was one of eighteen Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy, and was the third US destroyer to be named for Commodore John Barry. Commissioned in 1954, she spent most of her career in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, but also served in the Vietnam War, for which she earned two battle stars. Another notable aspect of her service was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
USS Kinkaid (DD-965), named for Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid USN (1888–1972), was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Launched in 1974, she was decommissioned in 2003 and sunk in 2004. She was the third "Spru-can" to be built.
USS Arthur W. Radford (DD-968) was a Spruance-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Admiral Arthur W. Radford USN (1896–1973), the first naval officer to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She was decommissioned on 18 March 2003 after serving for 26 years, and on 10 August 2011 her hull was scuttled off the coast of Delaware to form part of an artificial reef.
USS Oldendorf (DD-972), named for Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf USN, was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi.
USS Comte de Grasse (DD-974), named for Admiral Francois-Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse (1722–1788), was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was laid down 4 April 1975, launched 26 March 1976 and commissioned 5 August 1978. She was christened 21 May 1976 by sponsor Madame Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes, wife of the then-President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
USS Merrill (DD-976), named for Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill USN (1890–1961), was a Spruance-class destroyer that entered service with the United States Navy in 1978. Merrill served as the US Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk cruise missile. In the 1980s, the destroyer took part in Operation Earnest Will in the Persian Gulf during heightened tensions with Iran. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1998. The vessel was used as a target ship in 2003 and sunk off Hawaii in 2003.
USS Stump (DD-978) was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. The USS Stump was decommissioned and stricken on 22 October 2004.
USS Conolly (DD-979), named for Admiral Richard Lansing Conolly USN, was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi.
USS Moosbrugger (DD-980) was a Spruance-class destroyer built for the United States Navy by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Affectionately nicknamed the "Moose" by her crews, she was named in honor of Vice Admiral Frederick Moosbrugger who is best known for his service in World War II as a highly successful commander of destroyer squadrons.
USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer. She is the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the five Sullivan brothers–George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan, aged 20 to 27–who died when their ship, USS Juneau, was sunk by a Japanese submarine in November 1942 in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II.
USS Preble (DDG-88) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the sixth U.S. Navy ship named in honor of Commodore Edward Preble, who served in the American Revolutionary War and was one of the early leaders of the Navy.
USS O'Bannon (DD-987), a Spruance-class destroyer, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon (1776–1850), an early hero of the US Marine Corps.
USS John Hancock (DD-981), a Spruance-class destroyer, was the second ship of that name, and the sixth ship of the United States Navy to be named for Founding Father John Hancock (1737–1793), the President of the Continental Congress and first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
USS Nicholson (DD-982), a Spruance-class destroyer, was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for a family which was prominent in early American naval history, including James Nicholson, the senior Continental Navy Captain, and Samuel Nicholson, the first captain of USS Constitution.
USS Deyo (DD-989), a Spruance-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Vice Admiral Morton L. Deyo (1887–1973), a veteran destroyerman and distinguished naval gunfire support task force commander of World War II.
USS William M. Wood (DD/DDR-715) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the final year of World War II. She was in commission for 31 years, from 1945 through 1976, serving in both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. She was the second Navy ship named for Navy Surgeon-General William M. Wood (1809–1880).
USS W.S. Sims (FF-1059) was a Knox-class frigate of the United States Navy named for William Sims. She was in commission from 1970 to 1991.
Carrier Strike Group Seven was a U.S. Navy carrier strike group active from October 2004 until 30 December 2011. The strike group's antecendants included two previous aircraft carrier formations, Carrier Division Seven and Carrier Group Seven. Its heritage thus includes the Second World War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War, as well as the first and the second Persian Gulf wars, encompassing a total of 34 deployments to the Western Pacific Ocean and Persian Gulf.
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