Gearing-class destroyer
USS
Wiltsie
(DD-716)
was a
Gearing
-class
destroyer
in the
United States Navy
. She was named for
Irving Wiltsie
. The destroyer entered service in 1946 and remained active with the United States Navy until 1977, when
Wiltsie
was
decommissioned
and sold to Pakistan in 1977. The vessel entered service with the
Pakistan Navy
as
PNS
Tariq
(D165)
in 1978. In 1990, the ship was renamed
PNS
Nazim
to allow the name
Tariq
to be given to a newly-acquired
Type 21 frigate
. The ship was then transferred to the
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency
and used as an alongside "at sea" headquarters for the agency. Though afloat, the vessel no longer sails.
Service history
[
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]
Wiltsie
was
laid down
on 13 March 1945 at
Port Newark, New Jersey
, by the
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
. The destroyer was
launched
on 31 August 1945,
sponsored
by Mrs. Irving D. Wiltsie, the widow of Captain Wiltsie. The vessel was
commissioned
on 12 January 1946 at the
New York Naval Shipyard
,
Brooklyn, New York
.
1946?1950
[
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]
Following a shakedown cruise which took the ship to
Guantanamo Bay
,
Cuba
,
Wiltsie
transited the
Panama Canal
on 8 July 1946 and proceeded to
San Diego
, California. She spent the fall and winter of 1946 engaged in
training exercises
before departing the west coast on 6 January 1947, bound for the Far East. She subsequently operated out of
Qingdao
,
China
, on exercises and maneuvers while standing by the American community in that port during rising local tensions between the communist and Nationalist Chinese.
Wiltsie
remained at Qingdao until June 1947, when she shifted to
Sasebo
,
Japan
, for occupation duty. Departing Sasebo on 8 March 1948, the destroyer proceeded to
Bremerton, Washington
, for an overhaul at the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
.
After training off the west coast,
Wiltsie
sailed once more for the Far East, departing San Diego on 1 October. Late that autumn, she again operated out of Qingdao during the evacuation of Americans from that port to
Yokohama
because of the
Chinese Civil War
then raging. During this period,
Wiltsie
briefly visited
Hong Kong
and
Okinawa
before returning to Qingdao.
Chinese Communist
forces rolled southward, and
Nanking
fell in April 1949.
Wiltsie
arrived at
Shanghai
on 22 April, to stand by during the evacuation of all foreign nationals from the city. Over the ensuing days,
Wiltsie
watched a veritable parade of merchant vessels of many nationalities?Chinese,
Dutch
,
Norwegian
,
French
,
Danish
,
British
, and American?as well as American, British, and Chinese naval vessels. On 5 May 1949, 20 days before the fall of the city to the communists,
Wiltsie
departed Chinese waters for the last time, bound for
Buckner Bay
, Okinawa.
From there,
Wiltsie
soon headed homeward and made port at San Diego on 4 June 1949. She later moved up the coast; embarked
NROTC
midshipmen
at
Treasure Island
, near
San Francisco
, California on 1 August; and departed the following day for a training cruise to
Balboa, Panama
, and the
Galapagos Islands
. Returning to San Diego on 31 August, the destroyer soon sailed for
Hawaii
, where she participated in Operation "Miki", a mock invasion of the Hawaiian Islands in which
Army
, Navy, and
Air Force
units all took part. Returning to the west coast soon afterwards,
Wiltsie
spent the period from December 1949 to April 1950 at the
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
,
Vallejo, California
, undergoing an overhaul.
1950?1953 (Korean War)
[
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]
In July 1950,
Wiltsie
sailed for the Far East to augment the American naval presence in
Korean
waters.
On the evening of 16 August,
USS
Helena
, with four
landing ship tanks
(LSTs) and escorting destroyers, closed the coast. Captain J. R. Clark, Commander, Destroyer Division 111, embarked in the recently arrived
Wiltsie
, assumed direction of the embarkation operation for the
Republic of Korea
(ROK) troops. He ordered the four LSTs to beach at a pre-arranged site, guided in by
jeep
headlights from shore. Before sunrise the next day, 327 officers and 3,480 soldiers of the ROK
3rd Division
, 1,260 civilians, and 100 vehicles had been loaded.
American forces went ashore at Inchon on 15 September 1950.
Wiltsie
participated in one phase of this assault, screening the fast
aircraft carriers
of
Task Force 77
(TF 77)?
USS
Philippine Sea
,
USS
Valley Forge
, and
USS
Boxer
?as their aircraft hit enemy ground targets to support the advance of troops ashore. For the remainder of the deployment,
Wiltsie
supported United Nations troops ashore with
call-fire support
; screened TF 77 as it conducted air strikes against supply lines and troop concentrations; and patrolled in the
Taiwan Strait
.
Wiltsie
returned to San Diego in March 1951, underwent repairs at
Long Beach, California
and subsequently departed the west coast for her fourth tour of duty in the Far East. In Korean waters, she resumed her screening, call-fire, and interdiction duties. Highlighting her blockading activities of
Wonsan
,
Wiltsie
fired retaliatory gunfire missions against enemy
shore batteries
.
Wiltsie
returned to the west coast late in 1952, but soon found herself back in the Far East for her third
Korean War
deployment. After leaving the west coast on 2 January 1953, the destroyer patrolled the
Formosa Strait
for a time and operated off the North Korean coast before shifting to Wonsan. The Navy continued it operations to support UN ground troops, interdicted enemy supply lines by air and by surface gunfire, and blockaded the enemy's coasts.
Eight days after
Wiltsie
and
USS
Theodore E. Chandler
had destroyed a train near
Tanchon
on 3 June, enemy shore batteries took
Wiltsie
under fire off Wonsan, lobbing 45 105-millimeter (4.1 in) shells in her direction, scoring a hit on the destroyer's
fantail
. The ship suffered no casualties and soon resumed her local patrol operations. On 15 June,
Wiltsie
evacuated 13 Korean civilians from
Yo-do Island
to
Sokcho-ri
.
While preparing to abandon the Wonsan siege in accordance with the armistice stipulations,
Wiltsie
screened
minesweeping
operations and joined in the last-minute shelling of enemy ground targets. In company with
USS
Porter
and
USS
Bremerton
,
Wiltsie
shelled targets at Wonsan until a few minutes before the 2200 deadline. On 27 July 1953, the Korean armistice finally came into effect. However,
Wiltsie
remained in Korean waters, screening the continuing minesweeping operations between
Hungnam
and Wonsan until 6 August 1953.
1953?1961
[
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]
Wiltsie
conducted seven Western Pacific deployments between 1953 and 1961. During each tour, she carried out training and patrol assignments in Far Eastern waters, operating off the coasts of Japan, Korea, and Okinawa; visiting such ports as Yokosuka,
Kobe
, and Sasebo, Japan; Hong Kong; and Philippine ports such as
Olongapo
and
Manila
. Also during this time, she plane-guarded for fast carrier task forces, patrolled the Taiwan Strait, and undertook antisubmarine warfare and gunnery training exercises.
Between deployments to WestPac and the Far East,
Wiltsie
underwent regular overhaul and repair periods at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. In addition, she conducted an NROTC midshipman training cruise; visited
Seattle, Washington
, and
Esquimalt, British Columbia
; and visited
Melbourne
,
Australia
, in May 1959 to celebrate the anniversary of the
Battle of the Coral Sea
.
1961?1964
[
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]
In November 1961,
Wiltsie
began a 10-month scheduled overhaul at the
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
,
Pearl Harbor
, in which she underwent
Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization
(FRAM) alterations. She received an enclosed
bridge
; a helicopter
hangar
and landing platform; triple-mounted Mk. 32
torpedo tubes
; an
ASROC
launcher; and late model
radar
and
sonar
. She also received many improvements in accommodations for both officers and enlisted men. Following this "face lift",
Wiltsie
conducted refresher training and upkeep before becoming
flagship
of DesDiv 72, home-ported in San Diego.
Following sonar calibrations at Puget Sound,
Wiltsie
spent one week off southern California, participating in exercises. After the conclusion of this maneuver,
Wiltsie
departed the west coast for the Far East, leaving San Diego on 18 May 1963. Arriving at Yokosuka on 6 June, via Pearl Harbor and
Midway
,
Wiltsie
soon got underway for a 30-day Taiwan Strait mission. During this time, she visited
Keelung
and
Kaohsiung
, Formosa. Her scheduled rest period at Hong Kong at the end of the assignment had to be cancelled because of a
typhoon
.
Returning to Yokosuka for upkeep on 30 July,
Wiltsie
departed in early August for participation in Exercise "Tire Iron."
Wiltsie
subsequently operated out of Sasebo and Yokosuka into the fall of 1963; she departed Sasebo on 29 October and operated briefly with TG 77.6 until 10 November, when she was detached to return home. After a stop at Pearl Harbor, the destroyer made port at San Diego on 24 November.
In January 1964,
Wiltsie
joined
USS
Ticonderoga
,
Theodore E. Chandler
, and
USS
Henderson
in
anti-aircraft warfare
exercises off the west coast and served as a plane guard for the carrier. She subsequently moved westward to the middle Pacific with
Ticonderoga
and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 18 February. After completing her exercises in Hawaiian waters, she returned to the west coast in the spring and participated in
anti-submarine
and anti-air warfare training with
USS
Yorktown
and
USS
Coral Sea
.
In June,
Wiltsie
embarked midshipmen for a six-week training program and later underwent ten days of hull repairs at Long Beach. Later in the month, she participated in exercises in support of Marine Corps units engaged in night reconnaissance and in amphibious and paratroop landing training at
San Clemente Island
and at
Camp Del Mar, California
.
Drydocked during August and September for hull and sonar dome repair,
Wiltsie
put to sea soon afterwards for tests and trials of her
DASH
(drone antisubmarine helicopter) qualification system which ended successfully on 3 November. The destroyer subsequently participated in Operation "Union Square", an extensive fleet exercise, before returning to San Diego to prepare for the ship's 14th WestPac deployment.
1965?1969
[
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]
Wiltsie
sailed for the western Pacific on 5 January 1965, in company with the 16 other ships of Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 7.
Wiltsie
was diverted to duty with
Coral Sea
and
USS
Hancock
during bombing raids on
Viet Cong
(VC) positions in
South Vietnam
in February.
The destroyer spent 69 of the next 80 days at sea in Vietnamese waters in a variety of roles, including antisubmarine warfare screening ship, plane guard destroyer, and early warning picket ship. In March, before proceeding to Hong Kong, she shadowed a
Russian
intelligence ship
which was gathering information on American task groups.
Wiltsie
again sailed for Vietnam and operated with TG 71.1 on
Operation Market Time
, engaged in patrolling the South Vietnamese coastline. In May and June,
Wiltsie
conducted several gunfire support missions against VC supply depots and troop concentrations in South Vietnam. During this deployment,
Wiltsie
transferred 64.2 short tons (58.2 t) of stores from
USS
Mars
by the vertical replenishment method.
Following a visit to Japan in mid-June,
Wiltsie
returned to the United States, arriving at San Diego on 2 July.
Wiltsie
next underwent a period of repairs and refresher training which carried over into 1966. After taking part in training evolutions off the west coast in the spring,
Wiltsie
again headed for the Orient on 4 June 1966. While at
Guam
for a refueling stop, the destroyer suffered slight damage on 22 June when a fuel barge collided with the ship, necessitating repairs which delayed her for 15 hours. On 2 July,
Wiltsie
commenced duty with TU 70.8.9, a naval gunfire support unit.
After a brief period of upkeep,
Wiltsie
proceeded to the northern search and rescue (SAR) station, approximately 50 miles (80 km) east of the North Vietnamese port of
Haiphong
, to stand by with
Towers
ready to recover downed airmen. For two periods?from 31 July to 2 September and from 28 September to 1 November,
Wiltsie
patrolled the northern
search and rescue
(SAR) station. In August and again in October, the destroyer participated in rescues from the waters off the North Vietnamese coast, saving a total of nine men. The ship acted as a refueling vessel for units of
Helicopter Squadron 6
. Upon completion of these SAR duties,
Wiltsie
prepared for its homeward voyage. The ship called at the port of
Hualien
, Taiwan, on 4 November, for a five-day visit.
Wiltsie
departed Nationalist Chinese waters on 10 November, made a fuel stop at Okinawa the next day, and arrived at Yokosuka on 14 November.
Wiltsie
joined TG 77.8, based around
USS
Constellation
, and stood out of Yokosuka on 22 November, bound for the west coast. Three days out, the task group ran into bad weather. High winds prevailed for five days, and all ships suffered moderate storm damage. The heavy seas battered open a seam forward in
Wiltsie
; caused three cracks in the fantail area of the main deck and the loss of two ladders; and ripped two holes in the port bow of the motor whaleboat.
An underway replenishment with
USS
Sacramento
on the evening of 29 November turned out to be a difficult affair. Only after three separate approaches, seven fuel hose separations and seven hours alongside was the fueling completed. The ship remained blackened by oil on parts of its superstructure and hull sides until after she arrived at San Diego on 3 December.
Wiltsie
moored at San Diego for upkeep which would last into the new year, 1967.
Following operations off the southern California coast,
Wiltsie
departed San Diego on 19 September 1967. After stopovers at Pearl Harbor and Guam, the destroyer arrived at
Subic Bay
on 11 October. Shifting to
Da Nang
, South Vietnam, soon afterwards,
Wiltsie
moved to the northern SAR station on 21 October and shifted to the southern SAR station five days later.
Typhoon Emma
forced the ship to sortie from
Tonkin Gulf
on 5 November, before the storm abated enough to allow the ship to resume operations on 7 November.
During this tour,
Wiltsie
assisted in the search for two men lost overboard from
USS
William V. Pratt
.
USS
King
and
USS
Chevalier
also took part, but high seas and strong winds hampered search operations and prevented any of the ships from sighting the men.
On 13 November,
Wiltsie
relieved
USS
Buck
on the northern SAR station, only to be relieved in turn by
USS
Rogers
. After rest and relaxation at Hong Kong, an upkeep alongside
USS
Klondike
, and an in-port period at Subic Bay,
Wiltsie
returned to the SAR station in Tonkin Gulf, operating in company with
King
. During this second deployment,
Wiltsie
participated in six rescues involving 10 men. The first took place at 14:20 on 22 December, when an
A-7 Corsair II
aircraft from
VA-147
went down at a position some 40 miles (64 km) northwest of
King
. An intensive search failed to locate the downed plane's pilot, and all search aircraft were vectored back to their base.
Wiltsie
refueled a helicopter during this period when the chopper approached the ship low on fuel. The Christmas cease-fire which went into effect on 25 December resulted in only photo-reconnaissance flights being run against North Vietnam; no SAR opportunities were thus presented to
Wiltsie
and
King
until 29 December, when an
F-4 Phantom
aircraft of
VF-161
(
Coral Sea
) crashed 51 miles (82 km) from the northern SAR station among some islands off the coast near Haiphong.
King
guided a helicopter to the scene and it picked up both pilots?cold but well?and returned them to their carrier,
Coral Sea
.
Monsoons limited air action over the last few days of 1967 and the first few days of 1968. Two
Oriskany
planes went down on 10 January 1968;
Wiltsie
provided communications relays where necessary and closely plotted aircraft positions, while
King
assumed air control function and direction. The latter's UH-2 helicopter picked up two pilots from one of the planes while a logistics helicopter plucked the crewman of the second plane from the water. Later in the day,
King
picked up two more downed pilots, giving her a total of four for the day.
After being relieved by
USS
De Haven
and
USS
Reeves
,
King
sailed to Subic Bay and
Wiltsie
to Hong Kong before she, too, headed for Subic Bay, arriving on 23 January. Three days later, while at Subic Bay,
Wiltsie
received word of the capture of the American intelligence-gathering vessel
USS
Pueblo
. On the following day,
Wiltsie
and
King
sailed for SAR station to relieve
De Haven
and
Reeves
a day early.
When the SAR station was shifted south,
Wiltsie
,
King
, and the
PIRAZ
station ship
USS
Belknap
conducted joint patrols in the heavy weather hanging over the station.
Wiltsie
'
s SAR tour was largely uneventful, as monsoon activity curtailed American air strikes over the north, and no opportunities presented themselves to pick up airmen.
Relieved by
USS
Southerland
on station on 17 February,
Wiltsie
sailed to Subic Bay where she offloaded part of her ammunition in preparation for the cruise home. Departing there on 22 February in company with
Buck
and
King
,
Wiltsie
made a fuel stop at
Darwin
and visited
Brisbane
from 2 to 7 March before proceeding on to the west coast of the United States.
Following stops at
Pago Pago
,
American Samoa
and Pearl Harbor, for fuel,
Wiltsie
moored at San Diego on 23 March and remained there into May. On 22 May, she became school ship for an engineering officers' course and performed this duty until 9 June Assigned plane guard duties for
Hancock
during that ship's carrier qualification evolution from 10 to 22 June,
Wiltsie
put her own motor whaleboat in the water on one occasion when one of the carrier's
F-8 Crusader
aircraft went into the water immediately after takeoff. However,
Hancock
'
s rescue helicopter effected the rescue before the destroyer's boat arrived.
On 26 June,
Wiltsie
sailed for San Francisco Bay to undergo an
overhaul
at the naval shipyard at Vallejo, California. Emerging from the yard on 6 November,
Wiltsie
spent the remainder of 1968 in refresher training which continued into the spring of 1969.
Departing San Diego on 16 April 1969, in company with the remainder of DesDiv 72?
Buck
,
USS
John W. Thomason
, and
USS
Perkins
?
Wiltsie
participated in type training evolutions with
Oriskany
before arriving at Pearl Harbor on 24 April. Underway again soon afterwards, bound for the ship's WestPac deployment,
Wiltsie
refueled at Midway, steamed on picket station ahead of
Oriskany
, and arrived at Subic Bay on 10 May.
Underway for
Yankee Station
soon afterwards,
Wiltsie
arrived there on 16 May and was soon shuffled between three carriers?
Oriskany
,
USS
Bon Homme Richard
and
Ticonderoga
?within a 24-hour span, serving successively as plane guard for each. Returning to Subic Bay in company with
Ticonderoga
on 20 May,
Wiltsie
underwent a tender upkeep alongside
Klondike
before being shifted to Sasebo, Japan. At Sasebo from 29 May to 6 June,
Wiltsie
then deployed to Yankee Station to provide "shotgun" services for
USS
Benjamin Stoddert
. When
Wiltsie
'
s evaporators broke down on the 10th, the destroyer was relieved by
USS
Douglas H. Fox
and headed back to Sasebo for repairs.
Wiltsie
subsequently operated in the
Sea of Japan
escorting
USS
Sterett
for three weeks before returning to Sasebo on 13 July. Eleven days later, the destroyer departed Japanese waters, bound for the Vietnam war zone.
Wiltsie
provided plane guard services for
Bonhomme Richard
until detached to join
USS
Biddle
and
USS
Chicago
on the south SAR station. After conducting anti-submarine warfare exercises en route,
Wiltsie
spent from 7 to 10 August on south SAR before deploying to the PIRAZ station with
King
on 10, 11, and 12 August. Returning to south SAR the next day, she remained at sea there for the remainder of August.
After rejoining
Bonhomme Richard
,
Wiltsie
escorted the carrier to Sasebo, Japan, from 2 to 4 September. Following a period of upkeep and recreation there, the destroyer visited Hong Kong en route to her final commitment in the Vietnam War zone.
Wiltsie
was deployed on Yankee Station for the remainder of September, and the destroyer then shifted to Subic Bay. There, she prepared for a gunnery exercise and proceeded to sea on 10 October for operations with
USS
Craig
and
USS
Cochrane
. On that day,
Wiltsie
participated in sinking the after section of the hull of
USS
Frank E. Evans
, the destroyer that had been cut in two
during a collision
with Australian aircraft carrier
HMAS
Melbourne
the previous 3 June.
Rendezvousing with
Bonhomme Richard
soon afterwards,
Wiltsie
and the carrier steamed to Japan, arriving at Yokosuka on 15 October. Two days later, with ComDesDiv 72 embarked,
Wiltsie
got underway with the remainder of her division to escort
Bonhomme Richard
back to the United States and arrived at San Diego at the end of a fortnight's voyage. For the remainder of 1969, the destroyer remained in her home port.
Wiltsie
conducted an ASW training operation early in January 1970 and returned to San Diego on 8 January. Between that day and 15 April,
Wiltsie
remained in port. During this time, she suffered hull damage while moored alongside
John W. Thomason
. "Exceptionally high winds" buffeted the ships together when a mooring camel between the two ships overturned, opening riveted seams in
Wiltsie
'
s hull. On 13 March 1970,
Wiltsie
was drydocked at the San Diego Marine and Shipbuilding Co. and was under repairs there until 7 April.
1970?1977
[
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]
After operating locally out of San Diego into the summer,
Wiltsie
departed her home port on 27 July 1970. Following stops at Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Guam, she arrived at Subic Bay on 18 August. There, she took on additional .50-caliber machine guns and flak jackets before getting underway on 21 August for the Gulf of Tonkin.
Relieving
USS
Gurke
three days later as picket for
USS
Bainbridge
on TF 77's northern SAR/PIRAZ station,
Wiltsie
operated on station until 9 September. During that assignment, the ship provided in-flight refueling services to ship and shore-based helicopters standing ready to rescue downed aircrews. Although the ship originally headed for Kaohsiung for upkeep, the track of
Typhoon Georgia
resulted in a re-routing to Subic Bay.
Departing
Luzon
on 18 September,
Wiltsie
sailed for South Vietnam to perform 22 days of gunfire support duty to assist operations of the United States
1st Air Cavalry Division
; the
1st Australian Task Force
; and an
ARVN
battalion. During the deployment on the "gun line"?her first since 1967?
Wiltsie
fired 3,365 rounds of 5-inch ammunition before she departed the station on 11 October and headed for Taiwan for rest and recreation at Keelung.
While there,
Wiltsie
was preparing to move on to Japan when urgent orders arrived on the evening of 19 October to report back to the "gun line."
Typhoon Joan
had damaged another destroyer severely enough to limit its ability to fight, so
Wiltsie
was substituted. Arriving at her station in the
Gulf of Thailand
on the morning of 23 October,
Wiltsie
supported the ARVN
21st Division
with gunfire, shelling communist troop concentrations, gun positions, and supply lines for five days, expending 485 rounds of 5-inch projectiles.
Refueling and rearming from
USS
Ashtabula
on 29 October,
Wiltsie
headed north, for Japan, avoiding
Typhoon Kate
en route.
Wiltsie
reduced speed to 12 knots (22 km/h) in the worsening weather conditions before putting into Buckner Bay, Okinawa, to refuel on 2 November before again setting out for Sasebo. The next morning, while underway and approaching the coast of
Kyushu
, a sailor was swept over the side.
Wiltsie
, joined by
Richard B. Anderson
and the
Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force
vessels
Asagunmo
,
Makiguma
, and
Hic-kugo
, conducted a day-long search for her missing sailor but came away empty-handed. A few days later, his body was discovered washed up on a nearby island.
Later departing Sasebo on 6 November, she served as screen for
King
as a Peacetime Aerial Reconnaissance Program (PARPRO) picket in the Sea of Japan from the 8th to the 10th, before returning to Sasebo. Shifting to Korean waters for a port visit to
Pusan
, South Korea, from 27 to 30 November, and replenishing at Sasebo,
Wiltsie
served a second tour as PARPRO picket ship for
USS
Halsey
from 30 November to 6 December.
Subsequently, returning again to Sasebo to replenish,
Wiltsie
refueled at Keelung and spent Christmas at Hong Kong before shifting to the Philippines where it spent the remainder of 1970.
Early in 1971, the destroyer returned to Vietnamese coastal waters to render gunfire support for ARVN units between 4 and 18 January 1971.
Returning to Subic Bay,
Wiltsie
offloaded the special equipment taken on board for the "gunline" deployments?flak jackets, .50-caliber machine guns (for use against possible sappers or small boats), and "pool radio equipment" and departed the Philippines on 20 January, bound for the United States. After stopping en route at Guam, Midway and Pearl Harbor,
Wiltsie
arrived at San Diego on 11 February.
During the ensuing year,
Wiltsie
remained on the coast of southern California, for the most part at San Diego. In March and April, she served plane guard duty for
Oriskany
and
USS
Enterprise
; and, in June, entered the
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
for an overhaul which lasted until mid-November 1971.
On 19 February 1972, the destroyer was notified that, effective 1 July, it would be assigned to the Naval Reserve Force and based at San Francisco for training duty. While in the
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
preparing for its new role, however,
Wiltsie
received word on 22 May that?instead of beginning reserve duty in July she would head back to the Far East for its 19th deployment in the western Pacific.
On 25 July,
Wiltsie
sailed for the orient in company with
USS
Meyerkord
and
USS
Lang
and touched at Pearl Harbor, Midway and Guam before arriving at Subic Bay on 16 August.
Undergoing four days of upkeep and repairs alongside
USS
Jason
,
Wiltsie
prepared for another "gun line" mission off the Vietnamese coast. The destroyer loaded the extra equipment necessary for her specialized support role.
Wiltsie
departed Subic Bay on 21 August.
On 23 August,
Wiltsie
became part of TG 75.9, operating off the
Military Region I
. While providing gunfire support for
Operation Lam Son 72
, the destroyer fired some 1,803 rounds of 5-inch shells to support the South Vietnamese
147th Marine Brigade
in efforts to destroy enemy forces in their area.
Typhoon Elsie
, which was approaching near the
DMZ
, temporarily suspended
Wiltsie
'
s gunfire support operations while she avoided the tropical disturbance by moving to safer waters. Resuming operations after three days of typhoon evasion,
Wiltsie
returned to the "gun line" and supported ARVN operations around
Quang Tri City
. Ordered to proceed south on 6 September,
Wiltsie
departed the waters off northern South Vietnam to fire gunnery missions supporting the ARVN
2nd Division
in the vicinity of
Chu Lai
.
Terminating her operations supporting the ARVN 2nd Division to shift to interdiction of waterborne logistics craft and surveillance of merchant ships in the
Hon La
anchorage in North Vietnam,
Wiltsie
found diversified operations and hostile fire in store for her. Her 5-inch guns wreaked havoc on storage dumps, coastal defense sites, radar installations, and supply routes. On 14 September, she spotted a crippled A-7 Corsair aircraft plunging into the Gulf of Tonkin and rescued the pilot from the water.
Two days later, she conducted a single-ship raid against a bridge on a major North Vietnamese supply route. During the action, she came under fire from North Vietnamese shore batteries that fired some 70 rounds at the destroyer. This was the only time that the ship came under hostile fire in Vietnam. The next day,
Wiltsie
and two other ships conducted a "reactive strike" on the coastal defense site, pounding it with 5-inch gunfire. Supply route and waterborne supply interdiction continued thereafter until
Wiltsie
, relieved by
USS
Henry W. Tucker
, departed the area on 20 September.
Returning to Subic Bay for upkeep the next day, the destroyer remained in port until 27 September when it sailed for the Gulf of Thailand for gunnery support duties off the west coast of Vietnam. Between late September and early November,
Wiltsie
operated on station in the Gulf of Thailand. During the gunfire operations, she expended 1,940 5-inch rounds into the
U Minh forest
, supporting the ARVN 21st Division. Gunfire direction was provided by air spotting, but the dense foliage of the U Minh forest often prevented assessment of results.
In addition to gunfire support duties,
Wiltsie
was given the task of detecting and tracking waterborne supply traffic. Supported in this operation by
P-3 Orion
patrol planes,
Wiltsie
discouraged the enemy from attempting supply by sea along the western coastline of South Vietnam.
Henry W. Tucker
relieved
Wiltsie
on 2 November.
After a week of upkeep at Singapore,
Wiltsie
resumed gunfire support operations in Military Region I near the DMZ. She spent a week firing round-the-clock gunfire support missions before joining
USS
Saratoga
with TU 72.0.1, as plane-guard destroyer. Between 21 November and 8 December, she escorted the
Saratoga
as it launched air strikes against enemy forces ashore. In the predawn hours of 28 November, an
A-6 Intruder
aircraft crashed upon takeoff; and
Wiltsie
proceeded to the scene of the accident, pinpointing the location and vectoring rescue helicopters from
Saratoga
to the point. One of the aircraft's crew was rescued quickly and returned to his carrier, but the other pilot, despite the combined efforts of
Bainbridge
and helicopters from
USS
America
, was never found.
Wiltsie
proceeded to Hong Kong for rest and recreation and to Kaohsiung for an upkeep alongside
USS
Bryce Canyon
. During this availability, all four of her 5-inch guns were rebarreled due to the excessive wear experienced during gunfire support deployments. The ship departed Taiwan on 27 December to return to the "gun line."
Arriving on station two days later, she resumed her operations off Quang Tri City, south of the DMZ, and continued these operations until 22 January 1973, when she was detached from TG 75.9 to proceed to Yokosuka. Prom there, the ship sailed for home, arriving at its new home port, San Francisco, on 16 February.
However,
Wiltsie
'
s time on the west coast was comparatively brief for?following a yard period at Willamette Shipyard,
Richmond, California
she got underway again for WestPac on 16 June 1973. Arriving at Yokosuka, via
Adak, Alaska
, on 28 June, the destroyer shifted to Kure before conducting ASWEX 7?73 with Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force units from 9 to 12 July. Moving to Kaohsiung on 22 July, the ship participated in Exercise "Sharkhunt II" with
Republic of China Navy
units before spending an in-port period at Keelung from 28 July to 1 August.
Wiltsie
returned home via Pearl Harbor, arriving at San Francisco on 30 August. She participated in COMPTUEX 11?73 in October and served as plane guard for
Coral Sea
in local operations off the California coast in December. The destroyer continued the routine of local operations out of San Francisco for the remainder of her active service, embarking Naval Reserve units for active duty training on cruises off the west coast and to Hawaii and, on occasion, serving as escort vessel for submarines on their sea trials out of Mare Island.
Wiltsie
received nine battle stars for Korean War service and seven for Vietnam. As of 2006, no other ship in the United States Navy has been named
Wiltsie
.
Decommissioning preparations began at Alameda in November 1975, and
Wiltsie
was decommissioned there on 23 January 1976. Simultaneously struck from the
Navy List
, the veteran of Korean War and Vietnam service was transferred, via sale, to
Pakistan
.
Pakistan service
[
edit
]
For other ships with the same name, see
PNS Tariq
.
On 29 April 1977, the
United States Government
announced the transfer of
Wiltsie
from the United States Navy to the
Pakistan Navy
, following an
overhaul
in 1977.
After the Pakistan Navy received the destroyer in mid-1978, the vessel was recommissioned in the Pakistan Navy and renamed
Tariq
(D165). She was renamed
Nazim
after the Pakistan Navy acquired a former
Type 21 frigate
and recommissioned it as
PNS
Tariq
on 25 January 1990.
The Pakistan Navy later transferred the ship to its coast guard branch, the
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency
, which renamed the vessel PMSS
Nazim
.
[1]
In her present condition, she is still active with the
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency
and serves as an "on sea" headquarters.
[1]
The vessel is moored some kilometers away from
Naval Base Karachi
and is painted white.
[1]
The ship is now considered non-operational and has not been moved in years.
[1]
In this capacity, she remains the flagship of the Maritime Security Agency (MSA).
[1]
References
[
edit
]
This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
. The entry can be found
here
.