Harry E. Yarnell was launched 9 December 1961 by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. Philip Yarnell, widow of Admiral Yarnell; and commissioned 2 February 1963 at the Boston Naval Shipyard.
Harry E. Yarnell was equipped with RIM-2 Terriersurface-to-air missile launching rails both fore and aft and ASROC anti-submarine missiles, as well as more conventional torpedo tubes and guns. The new ship was fitted out at Boston and began sea trials. While out on trials, Yarnell was diverted on 10 April 1963 to search for USS Thresher (SSN-593), the nuclear submarine later found on the bottom some 8,000feet down. Quartering the area where the sub was last reported, the guided missile frigate found an oil slick and some debris but could not contact the lost submarine.
On her way to her new home base, Naval Station Norfolk, on 23 April, Harry E. Yarnell passed and photographed several Soviet "merchant" ships. The next few months were spent conducting training for shakedown and missile qualification. Designated to carry out standardization trials for her class as well as special acoustical tests, Yarnell spent 28 October–26 November in the Caribbean operating out of Guantanamo Bay and then returned to Norfolk.
Yarnell continued operating in the Virginia Capes area and the Caribbean until departing from Norfolk on 8 September 1964 for her first Atlantic crossing. NATOASW exercises en route took the guided missile frigate far north, and she crossed the Arctic circle on 21 September. She visited Amsterdam en route to the Mediterranean, where she remained until returning to Norfolk in February 1965.
On her next Mediterranean deployment, which began 8 October, she transited the Dardanelles on 3 January 1966 and entered the Black Sea to operate close to the Soviet Union before returning to Norfolk in March. After NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, Harry E. Yarnell received the battle efficiency "E" for the preceding year. She also won the 1966 Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.
Operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean brought the ship and her crew to a high degree of readiness before she sailed for her 3rd Mediterranean deployment early in 1967. She cruised the Mediterranean until returning to Norfolk in May. At mid-year she operated in the North Atlantic.
After the upgrade in Bath, Maine, in 1969, the Yarnell made her way to Boston Naval Shipyard. The Yarnell was given a new crew and recommissioned for service in Boston. The Yarnell was then assigned to Naval Station Newport. A year of testing all the new systems and the Yarnell set sail in July, 1970 on a UNITAS cruise for exercises with the naval forces of South American countries. Following departure from Newport and an overnight visit at Dam Neck, VA, Yarnell sailed to San Juan, Puerto Rico to pick up the admiral for the cruise. The Yarnell visited Caracas, Venezuela; and Salvador, Rio de Janeiro (twice) and São Paulo, Brazil. A scheduled visit to Montevideo, Uruguay was cancelled due to political activity there, so Yarnell returned to Rio de Janeiro for a second visit. Following a stop in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina to take on supplies, Yarnell proceeded through the Magellan Straits and the Chilean Waterway into the Pacific Ocean, where stops were made in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Panama before going through the Panama Canal and returning to Newport via San Juan and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
In late 1972, the Yarnell was again deployed to the Mediterranean. On the way across the Atlantic a helicopter from a Russian cruiser flew around the Yarnell taking many photographs. The Yarnell was ordered to accompany the Russia submarines from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Black Sea. Yarnell made port visits at Naples, Genoa, and Venice, Italy; Nice, France; Mallorca, Valencia and Barcelona, Spain; and Athens, Corfu, Rhodes, and Kavalla; Greece.
USS Harry E. Yarnell in 1990.
Yarnell returned to the Mediterranean in August 1973. En route she visited Lisbon, Portugal, then took part in Exercise Quickshave off the coasts of France, England and Portugal, followed by turnover in Rota with the USSDale. Yarnell then deployed to La Palma, followed by Western Med operations as a picket with a short return afterward, to Palma. Group Operations off Crete along with an ORE, were followed by a trip to Athens. Further visits to Barcelona and Malaga occurred before turnover in Rota to USSLeahy on 14 January, Yarnell returning to Newport on 24 January 1974. After a short period of local operations, the Yarnell entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for a one-year overhaul. Completion of overhaul also included a trip to New York, during which time she briefly ran aground, before ammunition load-out at Naval Weapons Station Earle, and a Home Port change to Norfolk. Refresher Training at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, with a visit over 4 July to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, followed by local operations off Virginia.
The entire Leahy class was given an AAW upgrade during the late-1970s and early 1980s. The 3/50s were replaced by 8 RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, the Terrier launchers were upgraded to fire the Standard missile, and 2 Phalanx CIWS were added. All were upgraded under the late-1980s NTU program. This included new radars, a new combat system, new fire control systems, and upgraded missiles and missile launchers.
On 19 November 1980 Yarnell, under the command of Captain Howard F. Burdick Jr, sailed with the USSIndependence and her battle group to the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean, during which the ship made port calls at Mombasa, Kenya and Perth and Fremantle, Australia from 3–7 February 1981. The Yarnell returned home to Norfolk Naval Base, VA, on 10 June 1981.
In late June 1990, Rear Admiral Thomas D. Paulson, Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two, led the Yarnell and USSKauffman to visit Poland in conjunction with BALTOPS '90, a U.S. Naval Forces Europe-hosted international naval exercise in the Baltic Sea. Their port call at Gdynia was the first visit by United States Navy vessels to Poland since 1927.[1]
Fate
Harry E. Yarnell was decommissioned on 20 October 1993, and stricken on 29 October 1993. She was sold on 14 April 1995 for scrapping at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, but the scrap contract was terminated on 1 December 1996 (scrapping 10% complete), and the hulk returned to Philadelphia for storage. Scrapping was ultimately completed in April 2002.[2]
Related Research Articles
USS Texas (DLGN/CGN-39) was the United States Navy's second Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruiser. She was the third ship of the Navy to be named in honor of the State of Texas. Her keel was laid down on 18 August 1973, at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.
USS Virginia (CGN-38) was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser, the lead ship of her class, and the eighth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Commonwealth of Virginia. She was commissioned in 1976 and decommissioned in 1994.
USS Long Beach (CLGN-160/CGN-160/CGN-9) was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy and the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Long Beach, California.
USS Dale (DLG-19/CG-19) was a Leahy-class cruiser in service with the United States Navy from 1963 to 1994. She was sunk as a target in 2000 off the East Coast of the United States near Maryland.
USS Augusta (CL/CA-31) was a Northampton-class cruiser of the United States Navy, notable for service as a headquarters ship during Operation Torch, Operation Overlord, Operation Dragoon, and for her occasional use as a presidential flagship carrying both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman under wartime conditions. She was named after Augusta, Georgia, and was sponsored by Miss Evelyn McDaniel of that city.
USS Willis A. Lee (DD-929) was a Mitscher-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Vice Admiral Willis A. "Ching" Lee USN (1888–1945).
The third USS Columbus (CA-74/CG-12), a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Columbus, Ohio. She was launched on 30 November 1944 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Massachusetts; she was sponsored by Mrs. E. G. Meyers; and commissioned on 8 June 1945.
USS Leahy (DLG/CG-16) was the lead ship of a new class of destroyer leaders in the United States Navy. Named for Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, she was commissioned on 4 August 1962 as DLG-16, a guided missile frigate, and reclassified as CG-16, a guided missile cruiser, on 30 June 1975.
USS Springfield (CL-66/CLG-7/CG-7) was one of 27 Cleveland-class light cruisers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the third US Navy ship to be named after Springfield, Illinois. Commissioned in 1944, she served briefly in the Atlantic before transferring to the Pacific. There she served with fast carrier task forces, primarily in an anti-aircraft role, but also in a shore bombardment role in the last stages of the Pacific War. She earned two battle stars for wartime service. Like all but one of her sister ships, she was decommissioned and laid up soon after the end of World War II.
USS Thomas S. Gates (CG-51) was a flight-I Ticonderoga-class cruiser that was used by the United States Navy. The warship was named after Thomas S. Gates, Secretary of Defense in the last years of the Eisenhower Administration (1959–1961).
USS South Carolina (CGN-37) was the second ship of the California class of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers in the United States Navy.
USS Hammerberg (DE-1015), a Dealey-class destroyer escort, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Navy diver Francis P. Hammerberg (1920–1945), of Flint, Michigan, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for rescuing two fellow divers from a wreck in Pearl Harbor.
The USS Talbot (FFG-4) was the fourth Brooke-class frigate guided missile frigate and laid down on 4 May 1964 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.; launched on 6 January 1966; sponsored by Miss Frances K. Talbot; and commissioned on 22 April 1967. The ship was named for U.S. Navy Captain Silas Talbot.
USS Voge (FF-1047), a Garcia-class frigate of the United States Navy, was named after Rear Admiral Richard George Voge. It fulfilled a Protection of Shipping (POS) mission as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups and merchant convoys. It made notable contributions to submarine 'hold-down' tactics with sister ship Koelsch. A Soviet submarine collided with it in 1976.
USS Richmond K. Turner was a Leahy-class cruiser destroyer leader in the United States Navy. The ship was named for Admiral Richmond K. Turner, who served during World War II.
USS Holder (DD/DDE-819) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the second Navy ship named for Lieutenant (jg) Randolph Mitchell Holder, a Navy pilot who was killed during the Battle of Midway.
USS Wainwright (DLG/CG-28), a Belknap-class destroyer leader, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for members of the Wainwright family; specifically, Commander Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, his son, Master Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, Jr., and his cousin, Commander Richard Wainwright, as well as Rear Admiral Richard Wainwright, the son of Commander Richard Wainwright, and Commander Richard Wainwright, the son of Admiral Wainwright. Her keel was laid down on 2 July 1962 at Bath, Maine, by the Bath Iron Works Corporation. She was launched on 25 April 1965 sponsored by Mrs. Richard W. Wainwright; and commissioned on 8 January 1966 at the Boston Naval Shipyard.
USS William H. Standley (DLG/CG-32) was a Belknap-class destroyer leader / cruiser. She was named for Admiral William Harrison Standley, former Chief of Naval Operations and ambassador to the Soviet Union. She was launched as DLG-32, a frigate, and reclassified Cruiser on 30 June 1975.
USS Richard L. Page (FFG-5) was a Brooke class frigate in the United States Navy.
The first USS Halsey, a Leahy-class guided missile cruiser was a ship of the United States Navy named in honor of Fleet Admiral William Halsey. Originally called a destroyer leader or frigate (DLG-23), on 30 June 1975 she was redesignated a cruiser (CG-23) in the U.S. Navy's ship reclassification.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.The entry can be found here.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States
