Spruance-class destroyer
23°01′02″N
159°59′09″W
/
23.0172220°N 159.9858330°W
/
23.0172220; -159.9858330
USS
Fletcher
on 4 February 1988
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| Fletcher
|
Namesake
| Frank Jack Fletcher
|
Ordered
| 15 January 1975
|
Builder
| Ingalls Shipbuilding
|
Laid down
| 24 April 1978
|
Launched
| 16 June 1979
|
Acquired
| 16 June 1980
|
Commissioned
| 12 July 1980
|
Decommissioned
| 1 October 2004
|
Stricken
| 1 October 2004
|
Identification
| |
Motto
|
- Pace et Bello Paratus
- (In Peace and War Prepared)
|
Nickname(s)
| Fighting Jack
|
Fate
| Sunk as target
, 16 July 2008
|
Badge
| |
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Spruance
-class
destroyer
|
Displacement
| 8,040 (long) tons full load
|
Length
| 529 ft (161 m) waterline; 563 ft (172 m) overall
|
Beam
| 55 ft (16.8 m)
|
Draft
| 29 ft (8.8 m)
|
Propulsion
| 4 ×
General Electric LM2500
gas turbines
, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp (60 MW)
|
Speed
| 32.5
knots
(60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
|
Range
|
- 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
- 3,300 nautical miles (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
|
Complement
| 19 officers, 315 enlisted
|
Sensors and
processing systems
| |
Electronic warfare
& decoys
| |
Armament
| |
Aircraft carried
| 2 ×
Sikorsky
SH-60 Seahawk
LAMPS III helicopters.
|
Aviation facilities
| Flight deck
and enclosed
hangar
for up to two medium-lift helicopters
|
USS
Fletcher
(DD-992)
, the thirtieth
Spruance
-class
destroyer
, was part of the first major class of
United States Navy
surface ships to be powered by
gas turbines
. She was commissioned in July 1980 and was deployed mainly in the western and southern
Pacific
, but also voyaged to the
Indian Ocean
and
Persian Gulf
. She was the second ship in the U.S. Navy to bear this name but the first to be named after
Admiral
Frank Jack Fletcher
. After her decommissioning in 2004, she was sunk in a torpedo test exercise in 2008.
Construction
[
edit
]
Designed and built by
Ingalls Shipyards
of
Litton Industries
in
Pascagoula, Mississippi
,
Fletcher
was a member of the first major class of surface ships in the United States Navy to be powered by
gas turbine
engines. Four
General Electric LM2500
gas turbine
engines, marine versions of those used in
DC-10
aircraft, drove the ship at speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h). Twin controllable reversible pitch
propellers
provided
Fletcher
with a degree of maneuverability unique among warships of her size.
History
[
edit
]
Commissioned in July 1980,
Fletcher
was immediately sent to join the
Pacific Fleet
. Starting in 1982,
Fletcher
made regular deployments to the western and
southern Pacific
, with some of those extending into the
Indian Ocean
and
Persian Gulf
areas. During 1994 and 1995, she was modernized with the
vertical launch system
, giving her a much broader range of capabilities.
A highly versatile multi-mission
destroyer
,
Fletcher
was capable of operating independently or in company with amphibious or carrier
task forces
. Her main mission was to operate offensively in a
strike warfare
or
antisubmarine warfare
(ASW) role. The
Tomahawk
weapons systems provided
Fletcher
with long range cruise missile capability for use in tactical strike operations. The ship's primary passive ASW sensor was the
AN/SQR-19
tactical towed array
sonar
(TACTAS). Its active sonar together with the Mk 116 underwater fire control system combined as one of the most advanced underwater detection and fire control systems ever developed. The
Naval Tactical Data System
(NTDS) provided the ship with faster and more accurate processing of target information. Integration of the ship's digital gun fire control system in the NTDS provided quick reaction in the mission areas of shore bombardment, anti-surface, and
anti-aircraft
warfare.
Fletcher
was originally armed with an 8-tube ASROC launcher, but was later upgraded with a sixty-one cell Mk 41 vertical launching system for firing Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAMs) and anti-submarine rockets (ASROCs). Other weapons included two Mk 45 light weight 5 inch guns, two triple Mk 32
torpedo tubes
, and facilities for operating LAMPS helicopters. The ship was also armed with the NATO Sea Sparrow missile system, a short range, surface-to-air defensive weapon; and the
Harpoon
weapon system, a medium range, surface-to-surface, anti-ship cruise missile. For defense against anti-ship missile,
Fletcher
employed two Mk 15 (PHALANX) 20 mm close-in weapons system,
SRBOC chaff
, and topside armor in addition to the NATO Sea Sparrow missile system. The
AN/SLQ-32
countermeasures set provided
Fletcher
with additional defense against anti-ship missiles through the use of active electronic countermeasures.
Crew comfort and habitability were an integral part of the design. Berthing compartments were spacious and the ship was equipped with amenities not usually found aboard other destroyers, including a crew's gymnasium and an improvised library of sorts with several hundred fiction novels. Although
Fletcher
was as large as a World War II
cruiser
, a high degree of automation permitted a crew of 24 officers and 296 enlisted to operate the ship.
Deployment in 1983
[
edit
]
On 20 July 1983 the
New York Times
reported that the
Fletcher
, along with seven other vessels in the carrier
Ranger
battle group, left
San Diego
on Friday 15 July 1983, and were headed for the western Pacific when they were rerouted and ordered to steam for Central America to conduct training and flight operations in areas off the coasts of
Nicaragua
,
El Salvador
and
Honduras
as part of major military exercises planned for that summer. The other ships in the battle group were the cruiser
Horne
, the guided missile destroyer
Lynde McCormick
, the destroyer
Fife
, the frigate
Marvin Shields
, the oiler
Wichita
, and the support ship
Camden
.
Following the diversion to Central America,
Fletcher
, along with Battle Group Echo, resumed the planned deployment to the Indian Ocean. Following the regular stops at Pearl Harbor and Subic Bay, Philippines,
Fletcher
was tasked with steaming down the coast of Vietnam, just outside territorial waters, to affirm the right-of-way of maritime traffic in international waters. Following the transit of the Straits of Malacca,
Fletcher
spent virtually the entire period in the Indian Ocean on station in the North Arabian Sea, as previously planned port calls were cancelled due to the changing nature of political and operational matters in the Mid-East. The one exception was an unplanned port call in Port Victoria, Seychelles.
Fletcher
returned to San Diego on 29 February 1984.
Sea Swap in 2003
[
edit
]
On 2 August 2002 USS
Fletcher
departed Pearl Harbor to begin Sea Swap, an experimental program that calls for a
Spruance
-class destroyer to deploy and remain on station for more than 400 days. The original Sea Swap
Fletcher
crew, under the command of Cmdr. Thomas Neal, stopped in Yokosuka, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. While in port Singapore, numerous repairs were accomplished as part of an availability period.
Fletcher
then headed to the Persian Gulf. The original
Fletcher
team sailed the ship to the Persian Gulf and spent the next four months conducting Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of United Nations sanctions on Iraq. The Sea Swap initiative became a reality in January 2003, when the
Fletcher
crew pulled the ship into Fremantle, Australia, and made preparations to turn it over to the former crew of the USS
Kinkaid (DD-965)
, under the command of CDR Mike Slotsky. After decommissioning
Kinkaid
, they had embarked a flight to Australia ready to turn over and assume command of
Fletcher
. Team
Kinkaid
then made preparations to take
Fletcher
back to the Persian Gulf for their six-month deployment. The original
Fletcher
crew then flew back to Pearl Harbor and disassembled to their new duty stations. Team
Kinkaid
completed a 4-month deployment in the Persian Gulf and participated in Escort Operations and Tomahawk Missile Strikes at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); at same time the
USS
Oldendorf
(DD-972)
was decommissioning in San Diego. Team
Oldendorf
, under the command of CDR Charles Gaouette, received the
Fletcher
in Singapore from team
Kinkaid.
Team
Oldendorf
then proceeded to the Persian Gulf and completed their deployment. They then proceeded to Fremantle, Australia for their relief from the crew of
USS
Elliot
(DD-967)
. It was being prepared for decommissioning. The crew of the
Elliot
, under the command of CDR John Nolan, then embarked on a flight to Fremantle to receive the
Fletcher
from Team
Oldendorf
. Team
Elliot
was the last crew to embark onboard
Fletcher
. Team
Elliot
then completed a final 4-month deployment in the Persian Gulf in 2004, continuing Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom
.
Fate
[
edit
]
Fletcher
was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list 1 October 2004. In 2004 the
President
requested authority to sell
Fletcher
to Chile; in 2005 her transfer to Pakistan was authorized by the
Senate
.
[1]
On 16 July 2008, the U.S. Navy, working with the Royal Australian Navy, sank
Fletcher
as part of a new torpedo test exercise. The Australian submarine
HMAS
Waller
test fired a modified live Mk48 Mod7 ADCAP torpedo specifically designed for shallow water operations.
[2]
The
Fletcher
suffered a direct hit, breaking in half and sinking within minutes. The
Fletcher's
final resting place is located at
23°01′02″N
159°59′09″W
/
23.01722°N 159.98583°W
/
23.01722; -159.98583
.
[
citation needed
]
Awards
[
edit
]
Gallery
[
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]
References
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]
External links
[
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]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2008
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