USS Leahy (DLG-16)

USS Leahy
History
United States
Name	Leahy
Namesake	William D. Leahy
Ordered	7 November 1958
Builder	Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine
Laid down	3 December 1959
Launched	1 July 1961
Sponsored by	Mrs. Michael J. Mansfield
Acquired	27 July 1962
Commissioned	4 August 1962
Decommissioned	18 February 1967
Recommissioned	4 May 1968
Decommissioned	1 October 1993
Reclassified	CG-16 on 1 July 1975
Stricken	1 October 1993
Homeport	Boston, MA (1962) Charleston, SC (1963) Norfolk, VA (1968) San Diego, CA (1976)
Motto	Prompta et Parata (Prompt and Ready)
Nickname(s)	"Sweet 16"
Fate	Dismantled/scrapped in Brownsville, Texas 2005 by International Shipbreaking Limited
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Leahy-class cruiser
Displacement	8281 tons fully loaded
Length	533 ft (162 m)
Beam	55 ft (17 m)
Draft	26 ft (7.9 m)
Propulsion	2 shaft; gear turbines; 4 boilers; 85,000 shp (63,000 kW)
Speed	32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h)
Range	8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h)
Complement	37 officers and 408 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-39 followed by AN/SPS-48 3D air search radar AN/SPS-43 followed by AN/SPS-49 2D air search radar AN/SPS-10 surface search radar AN/SPG-55 missile fire control radar AN/SQS-23 bow mounted sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Mark 36 SRBOC
Armament	2 × Mark 10 Terrier SAM 1 × RUR-5 ASROC ASW system 2 × Harpoon ASMs and Phalanx CIWS in 1981) 2 × triple MK 46 torpedoes

USS Leahy (DLG/CG-16) was the

Leahy served longer than any other ship of her class. After more than 31 years of active service all over the globe, the "Sweet 16" was decommissioned on 1 October 1993. After another 11 years in the reserve fleet, she was scrapped in Brownsville, Texas, in 2005.

Design and construction

Leahy was the first of a new

Leahy carried over the propulsion plant of the Farragut class, fitted into a longer hull designed with a knuckled "hurricane" bow that reduced plunging in rough seas, thus keeping her forecastle dry as needed to operate the forward missile launcher. Other features included an expanded electrical plant and increased endurance. A major design innovation was the use of "macks"—combined masts and stacks—on which the radars could be mounted without smoke interference.^[2]

Close-in anti-aircraft defense consisted of a pair of twin MK 22 3-inch/50 caliber guns; anti-submarine armament consisted of RUR-5 ASROC and two triple MK 32 torpedo mounts. The 3-inch gun mounts were replaced with Harpoon anti-ship missiles (ASM) and the Phalanx CIWS during an overhaul in 1981.

Leahy was laid down by

After shakedown in the Caribbean, Leahy departed Boston on 19 September 1963 and reported to Charleston, South Carolina., where RADM E. E. Grimm, Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 6, selected her as his flagship. She then proceeded to the Jacksonville, Florida operating areas for type training. She briefly put into home port in November, then returned to the Caribbean to participate in AA warfare exercises.

On 2 January 1964, the DLG was again bound for the Caribbean for missile training, which ended 26 February. From 1 to 10 April, she joined in an amphibious exercise, "Quick Kick V," and on 1 June was permanently assigned to Destroyer Squadron 6.

Leahy departed for duty with the Sixth Fleet on 17 July as part of a Fast Carrier Task Group, which included the aircraft carrier Forrestal, and participated in a coordinated fleet exercise, "MEDLANDEX-64," between the Balearic Islands and Sardinia. She then carried out independent training in the eastern Mediterranean before departing from Naples, Italy, on 22 September to join in NATO exercise "FALLEX-64." She returned to Naples on 26 October and, in November, participated in another fleetwide exercise, "POOPDECK-IV," which brought some 40 ships of Task Force 60 together off the coast of Spain.

Leahy departed from Barcelona, Spain, on 2 December 1964 for replenishment, and on 14 December drew the curtain on 32,750 nautical miles (60,653 km) of steaming while deployed with the Sixth Fleet. She arrived at Charleston on 22 December and began a period of restricted availability in preparation for extensive tests to evaluate the Terrier Missile System. During these tests, which were completed in September 1965, Leahy was briefly deployed for the Dominican Republic Crisis from 28 April to 7 May 1965 as a unit of the Strike and Covering Force.

The vessel departed from Charleston on 30 November 1965 for the Mediterranean and relieved the destroyer

Leahy returned home to Charleston on 8 April 1966. During June and July, she gave some 60 midshipmen from

The operation was completed on 6 December 1966 and the DLG returned to Charleston on 15 December. Leahy then prepared for massive modernization at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, arriving there on 27 January 1967 and decommissioning on 18 February. For over a year the ship received new AAW and ASW equipment, allowing her to utilize the most recent developments in the technology of naval warfare. The destroyer leader was placed in commission, special, on 4 May 1968 for the extensive period of testing her updated weapons systems. Leaving Philadelphia on 18 August, she arrived at her new home port, Norfolk, 3 days later.

A second shakedown cruise and training on the new weapons systems lasted into 1969. In August, Leahy took part in UNITAS X, which included ships from the navies of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and Uruguay. She returned to Norfolk, VA shortly before Christmas.

In September 1970, while on a routine missile exercise, Leahy was ordered to make an emergency deployment to the eastern Mediterranean as part of a contingency force in response to the

In January 1976, Leahy was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and, after transiting the Panama Canal, entered her new home port of San Diego. On 6 June 1976, she rescued 22 crewmembers off the research vessel Aquasition, which caught fire at sea and eventually sank. On 1 November 1976, she entered drydock for an overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which lasted a year. She did not make her first deployment to the Western Pacific until July 1978, when she served as part of the Constellation carrier battle group. She made stops at Okinawa, Yokosuka, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, and South Korea before returning to the United States in February 1979.

Leahy’s next deployment to the Western Pacific began in May 1980. By September, she was in the Arabian Sea supporting the Midway and Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier battle groups. In October, she entered the Persian Gulf to provide anti-aircraft support for Saudi Arabia against possible attacks by Iran. Her stay in the Persian Gulf was short and the Leahy returned to San Diego on 4 December. The ship began another overhaul in January 1981 that lasted into May.

Leahy's next Western Pacific deployment began in March 1983 as part of a battle group with the newly reactivated battleship New Jersey. During the cruise, she visited ports in the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. In 1984, she operated with the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, then deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1985. In 1986, again escorting Carl Vinson, she deployed to the Western Pacific and the Persian Gulf.

After a

In 1993, Leahy won a Battle "E" for outstanding combat preparedness, as well as excellence awards in anti-aircraft warfare and anti-submarine warfare. At the time, she was the oldest conventional cruiser in the Navy’s inventory.

Decommissioning

Leahy was decommissioned on 1 October 1993^[4] and stricken from the

On 24 July 2004, Leahy was moved to the International Shipbreaking Limited yards in Brownsville, Texas to be dismantled. Scrapping started the first week of August 2004, 42 years after her 4 August 1962 commissioning. Three of her sisters, Gridley, England and Halsey, passed this way before her. Scrapping was completed 6 July 2005, 44 years after her 1 July 1961 launch date.

In October 2013, the ship's bell, builder's plaque and other items were placed on long-term loan from the

Unit awards from Navy unit awards database.[6]

	Joint Meritorious Unit Award	1992–1993
	Meritorious Unit Commendation	5 Awards: 1970, 1975–1976, 1984–1985, 1987, 1992–1993
	Battle Effectiveness Award	3 Awards: 1982–1983, 1983–1984, 1991–1992
	Navy Expeditionary Medal	1980 (Indian Ocean, Iran)
	National Defense Medal	2 Awards: Vietnam War (1961–1974), Gulf War (1990–1995)
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal	3 Awards: 1965 (Dominican Republic), 1989 (Persian Gulf), 1993 (Somalia)
	Southwest Asia Service Medal	2 awards: 1991, 1992–1993
	Sea Service Deployment Ribbon	9 Awards for post-1974 deployments

Deployments and overhauls

Summary of all 16 major deployments and 5 yard overhauls.

Note: Cruise books were published for all major deployments except 1972 and 1975.^[7] A Leahy Pictogram was published in August 1972 with deployment details and photographs of officers and crew.

Plank owners

The 4 August 1962

Ship's seal and motto

The ship's seal shows twin crossed missiles representing Leahy's status as the

Leahy's motto "Prompta et Parata" translates as "Prompt and Ready" from the Latin.[10] The words are most well known from Cicero's De Officiis as part of the phrase "... the good will of men, on the other hand, prompt and ready for the advancement of our interests, is secured through wisdom and virtue."

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• 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.

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Leahy (CG-16).

• USSLEAHY.COM.
• USS Leahy page at Seaforces.Org.
• USS Leahy page at The Patriot Files.
• RADM Hoffman bio.
• RADM Sinclair obituary.
• RADM West bio.
• The Wreck Of The USS Leahy.