USS Strong (DD-758)

Last updated
NH 107152 USS Strong.jpg
USS Strong
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameStrong
Namesake James H. Strong
Builder Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco
Laid down25 July 1943
Launched23 April 1944
Commissioned8 March 1945
Decommissioned31 October 1973
Stricken31 October 1973
MottoVirtute Et Armis
FateSold to Brazil, 31 October 1973
Flag of Brazil.svgBrazil
NameRio Grande do Norte
Acquired31 October 1973
Stricken1996
IdentificationD 37
FateReportedly sunk in high seas in 1997 off the coast of Durban, South Africa, while she was under tow from Brazil to India to be scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
Displacement2,200 tons
Length376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam40 ft (12 m)
Draft15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
Propulsion
  • 60,000 shp (45,000 kW);
  • 2 propellers
Speed34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement336
Armament

USS Strong (DD-758), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for James H. Strong, a naval commander for Union forces during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Mobile Bay, he was the first to ram the Confederate ironclad Tennessee and received high commendation for his initiative and valor.

Contents

Service history

The second Strong was laid down on 25 July 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, California and launched on 23 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Hobart Olson. The ship was commissioned on 8 March 1945, Comdr. C. M. Howe in command. Strong began her shakedown cruise in the San Diego Bay area on 27 March and on 11 May underwent a short period of post-shakedown availability there. On 31 May she stood out of port en route to Pearl Harbor. Training exercises were held off Oahu from 6 to 20 June when she departed to begin escort duty for convoys between the Marshall and Caroline Islands. From 27 July to 31 August, she served as convoy escort and antisubmarine screen in the Ryukyu Islands. She entered Japanese home waters to patrol air-sea rescue stations on 1 September and later served as courier between Wakayama, Nagoya, and Yokosuka. On 5 December 1945, the destroyer was ordered to sail to the east coast and join the Atlantic Fleet.

1946-1952

USS Strong in 1945. USS Strong (DD-758) at anchor in July 1945.jpg
USS Strong in 1945.

Strong transited the Panama Canal on 11 January 1946 and arrived at New York on 15 January. After a period of upkeep and repairs, she operated along the northeast coast until rapid demobilization kept her at Boston from 29 April until 1 August. She put to sea again and operated with the fleet as far south as the Gulf of Mexico until she sailed into Charleston, South Carolina, for inactivation and berthing. The destroyer was placed in reserve, out of commission, on 9 May 1947 as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Strong was placed in commission again on 14 May 1949 and held shakedown training in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during September and October. Her homeport was designated as Norfolk, Virginia, and she sailed from there with 2nd Fleet units for operations near the Arctic Circle. Fleet exercises Portrex and Carribex were held during March 1950 and, during June and July, Strong embarked midshipmen and reservists for a training cruise to Panama and Cuba. In late July, she sailed for the Mediterranean Sea and her first deployment with the 6th Fleet which lasted until February 1951. Routine fleet duties followed until 15 May 1952 when she steamed from Norfolk with Destroyer Divisions (DesDiv) 21 and 262 for the Korean War Zone, via Panama, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Yokosuka.

Korea

Strong sailed from Yokosuka on 19 June for Korean waters and was attached to Task Force (TF) 77 which launched the first attacks against the hydroelectric plants on the Yalu River five days later. The destroyer was in Japan from 9 July to 13 September and returned to Korean waters where she operated until 9 October. During her tour in Korea, she conducted gun strikes up and down the east coast; served with the United Nations Blockade and Escort Group on the west coast; and was at Pusan, Songjin, and Wonsan.

On 9 October, Strong sailed to Yokosuka on her way back to Norfolk via Singapore, Ceylon, Bahrain, Aden, Suez, Naples, and Villefranche, She arrived at her home port on 12 December 1952. Strong operated along the East Coast until early January 1954 when she stood out of Norfolk for another tour in the Far East and another world cruise which did not see her back in her homeport until 10 August. She resumed her routine duties along the East Coast until 13 August 1956 when she sailed for another four-month deployment period with the 6th Fleet. The destroyer was deployed to the 6th Fleet again in 1957, 1958, and 1961. In 1959 she saved 13 Bahrainis in the Persian Gulf during a severe storm. She also participated in Project Mercury and on 9 September 1959 recovered the Big Joe 1 capsule off Puerto Rico. [1]

FRAM II

Strong entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard in March 1962 for FRAM II conversion and remained there until December. She held refresher training at Guantanamo Bay in early 1963 and then participated in exercises off Nova Scotia. The destroyer was deployed to the 6th Fleet from November 1963 to March 1964; 6 January to 7 June 1965; and from 22 September 1966 to 31 January 1967. The last of these deployments was to the Mediterranean. She visited Gibraltar. Marseilles, Naples, Athens, Istanbul, and Taranto. On 8 December 1966 she participated in search and rescue operations in the Aegean Sea for victims of the capsized Greek ferry SS Heraklion. She operated along the East Coast until 1 November 1967 when she sailed with Destroyer Squadron 4 for the western Pacific and duty in Vietnam.

Vietnam

Strong sailed from Subic Bay, Philippines, on 15 December 1967 as screen for the aircraft carrier Coral Sea en route to her first assignment in Vietnam, Operation "Sea Dragon." From 18 December 1967 to 2 January 1968, she was on the gunline conducting harassment and interdiction missions against North Vietnamese water borne logistic craft. From 3 January to 5 February she operated at "Yankee Station."

Strong was ordered to the Sea of Japan from 23 February 1968 to 6 March after the North Koreans seized USS Pueblo. She was back off Vietnam on 2 April and assigned to duties in the III Corps Tactical Zone and Rung Sat Special Zone. During the first two weeks, she sank 20 enemy sampans as well as providing fire support. From 22 April to 1 May, Strong served as II Corps naval gunfire support ship, firing against Viet Cong targets in the Phan Thiet area. On 1 May, she sailed for the East Coast, via Okinawa, Japan, Midway, Hawaii, California, Mexico, and the Panama Canal, and arrived at Charleston on 4 August.

Strong sailed on 11 September 1968 to participate in NATO exercise Operation "Silver Tower" in the Norwegian Sea. After a visit to Gravesend, England, she returned to Charleston on 15 October 1968 and remained there until 9 January 1969 when she resumed routine peacetime training. On 12 November 1969, the destroyer was again deployed to the 6th Fleet for a six-month tour and returned to her home port on 23 May 1970. Much of the remainder of the year was spent in port and she was again deployed to the 6th Fleet from 16 April to 16 October 1971. On 16 November, she was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force and became a unit of DesRon 34. Strong operated as a Naval Reserve training ship until September 1973 when she entered a standdown period at Charleston.

Brazilian service

Strong was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on 31 October 1973. She was transferred to the government of Brazil the same day as Rio Grande do Norte (D-37) and served until 1996. [2]

Battle stars

Strong received one battle star for Korean service and three battle stars for service in Vietnam.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Ault</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Ault (DD-698) was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Commander William B. Ault, air group commander aboard Lexington. Commander Ault was declared missing in action on 8 May 1942 after leading an air attack in the Battle of the Coral Sea and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his action in the battle.

USS <i>Newman K. Perry</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Newman K. Perry (DD-883/DDR-883), was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Stickell</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Stickell (DD-888) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was named for Lieutenant John H. Stickell USNR (1914–1943), who was killed in action at Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands on 13 December 1943 and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. She was renamed HS Kanaris (D212) on transfer to the Hellenic Navy in 1972.

USS <i>Steinaker</i> Gearing-class destroyer

The second USS Steinaker (DD-863/DDR-863/DD-863) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Cone</i> Gearing-class destroyer

USS Cone (DD-866) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Hutch Ingham Cone USN (1871–1941). She was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Staten Island, New York, on 30 November 1944, launched on 10 May 1945 by Mrs. H. I. Cone, and commissioned on 18 August 1945.

USS <i>Stribling</i> (DD-867) Gearing-class destroyer

USS Stribling was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was the second US Navy ship named for Admiral Cornelius Kincheloe Stribling.

USS <i>Douglas H. Fox</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Waldron</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Waldron (DD-699), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for John C. Waldron, a U.S. Naval aviator who led a squadron of torpedo bombers in World War II.

USS <i>Soley</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Soley (DD-707), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was named for James R. Soley, who became Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1899. Soley was responsible for the collection and publication of Union and Confederate Naval records. He is considered to be a naval historian.

USS <i>Willard Keith</i> (DD-775) Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Willard Keith (DD-775), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is currently the only completed ship of the United States Navy ever named for Willard Keith, a United States Marine Corps captain who died in combat during the campaign for Guadalcanal. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.

USS <i>Alfred A. Cunningham</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Alfred A. Cunningham (DD-752), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Alfred Austell Cunningham, a USMC officer and aviator.

USS <i>John R. Pierce</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS John R. Pierce (DD-753), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Commander John Reeves Pierce.

USS <i>Lowry</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Lowry (DD-770), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Reigart Bolivar Lowry, who served in the Mexican–American War and was a member of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan in 1855. He served with distinction in the American Civil War, capturing New Orleans and in the first attack on Vicksburg.

USS <i>James C. Owens</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS James C. Owens (DD-776), an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy FRAM II class to be named for Lieutenant James C. Owens Jr., a member of Torpedo Squadron 8 on board USS Hornet. His entire squadron was lost in an attack against Japanese aircraft carriers 4 June during the Battle of Midway. Lt. Owens received the Navy Cross and the Presidential Unit Citation (US) posthumously.

USS <i>Stormes</i> Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer

USS Stormes (DD-780), was an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, that served in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Ingersoll</i> (DD-652)

USS Ingersoll (DD-652) was a Fletcher class destroyer in the United States Navy, serving from 28 June 1943 through 19 May 1974. Ingersoll saw action mainly in the Pacific Ocean Areas during World War II, and during the Korean War and Vietnam Wars.

USS <i>William V. Pratt</i>

USS William V. Pratt (DLG-13/DDG-44) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy. She was commissioned in 1961 as DLG-13 and reclassified as a guided missile destroyer, designation DDG-44, in 1975. She was named to honor Admiral William Veazie Pratt, a President of the Naval War College and a Chief of Naval Operations.

USS <i>Jarvis</i> (DD-799)

USS Jarvis (DD-799) was a Fletcher-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the third Navy ship named for Midshipman James C. Jarvis (1787–1800), who was killed at the age of 13 during the historic engagement between the famed frigate Constellation and the French frigate La Vengeance.

USS <i>Keppler</i> (DD-765) Gearing-class destroyer

The third USS Keppler (DD/DDE-765) was a Gearing-class destroyer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. She was named for Boatswain's Mate First Class Reinhardt J. Keppler (1918–1942), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism" during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

USS <i>Richard E. Kraus</i> U.S. Navy Gearing-class destroyer

USS Richard E. Kraus (DD-849/AG-151) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Marine Private First Class Richard E. Kraus (1925–1944), who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his "conspicuous gallantry" during the Battle of Peleliu.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

  1. Swenson, Loyd S.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C. (1989). "7-6". This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. NASA. p. 204. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  2. "Destroyer Photo Index DD-758 USS STRONG". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 2016-01-24.