USS Dahlgren (DDG-43)

Summary

USS Dahlgren (DLG-12/DDG-43) was the 7th ship in the Farragut-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She was launched on 16 March 1960 by Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and sponsored by Mrs. Katharine D. Cromwell, granddaughter of Rear Admiral John Adolphus Dahlgren. She was commissioned on 8 April 1961. She was the third ship in the Navy to bear the name. Commissioned as DLG-12, Dahlgren was reclassified a guided missile destroyer on July 1, 1975 and given the new hull number DDG-43. The ship saw service until 1992, when she was placed in reserve. She was sold for scrapping three times, the first time in 1994, but was repossessed twice as the ship breaking companies failed. The ship was finally dismantled in 2006.

USS Dahlgren (DDG-43) underway, ca. 1990
History
United States
NameDahlgren
NamesakeRear Admiral John A. Dahlgren
Ordered23 July 1956
BuilderPhiladelphia Naval Shipyard
Laid down1 March 1958
Launched16 March 1960
Acquired31 March 1961
Commissioned8 April 1961
Decommissioned31 July 1992
Stricken20 November 1992
IdentificationDDG-43
FateDisposed of by scrapping, 28 March 2006
General characteristics
Class and typeFarragut-class guided missile destroyer
Displacement5,800 long tons (5,900 metric tons)
Length512.5 ft (156.2 m)
Beam52 ft (16 m)
Draft25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion
  • 4 x 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) boilers
  • 2 x geared turbines
Speed36.5 knots (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph)
Range4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement377 (21 officers + 356 enlisted)
Armament

Fate edit

 
USS Dahlgren (DLG-12) underway off Oahu, 1967.

Dahlgren was decommissioned 31 July 1992 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 November 1992.[1] Dahlgren was transferred to the James River Reserve Fleet on 1 July 1993.[2] Dahlgren was sold to N.R. Acquisition, New York, New York on 15 April 1994 for $283,711.78 for scrapping. N.R. Acquisition then subcontracted the actual scrapping to Wilmington Resources of Wilmington, North Carolina.[3] Wilmington Resources changed their name to Sigma Recycling in January 1996 and then lost their permits to dismantle ships on 24 July 1996.

Dahlgren was among 10 ships repossessed by the Navy on 30 September 1996.[4] Upon being returned to the Navy, Dahlgren was sold to International Shipbreakers of Brownsville, Texas on 10 February 1999. Dahlgren was repossessed for a second time on 10 July 2000 after the scrap yard failed to take delivery of the ship in a timely manner.[5] On 29 July 2005, a contract was issued to ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Texas to dismantle Dahlgren for $2,653,018.[6] Dahlgren was completely dismantled on 28 March 2006.[1]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b "Dahlgren". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Dahlgren". United States Maritime Administration. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
  3. ^ Morison, May 1995
  4. ^ Selingo, Jeff (1 October 1996). "Sigma Recycling Chronology". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. pp. 4A. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  5. ^ Morison, May 2001
  6. ^ "Navy announces ship scrapping contracts". MarineLog. 1 August 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

Sources edit

External links edit

  • Photo gallery of USS Dahlgren at NavSource Naval History
  • "USS Dahlgren (DDG-43) Deployments & History". hullnumber.com.
  • "USS Dahlgren accidents". Navsea DC Museum. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)