.gif)
USS Fletcher (DD-992)
Encyclopedia
USS Fletcher (DD-992), the thirtieth Spruance-class
Spruance class destroyer
The Spruance-class destroyer was developed by the United States to replace a large number of World War II-built Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class destroyers, and was the primary destroyer built for the U.S. Navy during the 1970s....
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, was part of the first major class of United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
surface ships to be powered by gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
s. She was commissioned in July 1980 and was deployed mainly in the western and southern Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, but also voyaged to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. 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
Frank Jack Fletcher
Frank Jack Fletcher was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II. Fletcher was the operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway. He was the nephew of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher.-Early life and early Navy career:Fletcher was born in Marshalltown, Iowa...
. After her decommissioning in 2004, she was sunk in a torpedo test exercise in 2008.
Construction
Designed and built by Ingalls ShipyardsIngalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
of Litton Industries
Litton Industries
Named after inventor Charles Litton, Sr., Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States, bought by the Northrop Grumman Corporation in 2001.-History:...
in Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, USA, Fletcher was a member of the first major class of surface ships in the United States Navy to be powered by gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
engines. Four General Electric LM2500
General Electric LM2500
-External links:* .* *...
gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
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 propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s provided Fletcher with a degree of maneuverability unique among warships of her size.
History
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 PacificPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, with some of those extending into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
areas. During the 1990s, she was modernized with the vertical launch system, giving her a much broader range of capabilities.
A highly versatile multi-mission destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, Fletcher was capable of operating independently or in company with Amphibious or Carrier Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
s. Her main mission was to operate offensively in a Strike Warfare or Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. The Tomahawk
BGM-109 Tomahawk
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...
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
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
(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
Naval Tactical Data System
Naval Tactical Data System, commonly NTDS, refers to a computerized information processing system developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s and first deployed in the early 1960s for use in combat ships.- Reason for development :...
(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
Mark 36 SRBOC
The BAE Systems Mark 36 Super Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff is a short-range mortar that launches chaff or infrared decoys from naval vessels to foil anti-ship missiles...
, 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
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
, a high degree of automation permitted a crew of 24 officers and 296 enlisted to operate the ship.
Deployment in 1983
On July 20, 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 July 15, 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 NicaraguaNicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
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
USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8)
USS Lynde McCormick was a Charles F. Adams-class destroyer in the United States Navy.Lynde McCormick was laid down 4 April 1958 by Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan; launched 28 July 1959; sponsored by Mrs. Lillian McCormick, wife of Admiral McCormick; and commissioned at Boston 3...
, the destroyer Fife
USS Fife (DD-991)
USS Fife , a , was a ship of the United States Navy named for Admiral James Fife, Jr. , a distinguished Submarine Force commander during World War II....
, the frigate Marvin Shields
USS Marvin Shields (FF-1066)
USS Marvin Shields was a of the US Navy. The ship was named after the only Seabee to receive the Medal of Honor. CM3 Marvin Glenn Shields was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Constructed by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington, laid down April 12, 1968, launched October...
, the oiler Wichita
USS Wichita (AOR-1)
USS Wichita was the lead ship of the s. She was the second ship to be named for the city of Wichita, Kansas.The second Wichita was laid down on 16 June 1966 at Quincy, Massachusetts, by the General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division; launched on 16 March 1968; sponsored by Mrs. Howard B....
, and the support ship Camden
USS Camden (AOE-2)
The USS Camden is the second ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Camden, New Jersey that lies on the Delaware River across from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
.
Sea Swap in 2003
On August 2, 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. 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.Fate
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 SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. 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
HMAS Waller (SSG 75)
HMAS Waller is the third of six Collins class submarines operated by the Royal Australian Navy .Named for Captain Hector Waller, the boat was laid down in 1992, and launched in 1997...
test fired a modified live Mk48 Mod7 ADCAP torpedo specifically designed for shallow water operations. The Fletcher suffered a direct hit and sank within minutes. The Fletcher's final resting place is located at 23°01′02"N 159°59′09"W.