USS Parsons

History
United States
Namesake	R.Adm. William S. Parsons
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	17 June 1957
Launched	17 August 1958
Acquired	22 October 1959
Commissioned	29 October 1959
Decommissioned	19 November 1982
Stricken	1 December 1984
Fate	Sunk as a target, 25 April 1989
General characteristics
Class and type	Forrest Sherman-class destroyer
Displacement	4,000 tons
Length	418 ft (127 m)
Beam	45 ft (14 m)
Draft	20 ft (6.1 m)
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	4,500 nautical miles at 20 kt; (8,300 km at 37 km/h);
Complement	256 officers and men
Armament	3 × 5 in (127 mm) guns,; 6 × 3 in (76 mm) guns,; RUR-5 ASROC,; one depth charge track,; two hedgehog depth change projectors,; 2 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes;

USS Parsons (DD-949/DDG-33) began her career as a

William S. Parsons (1901–1953), who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II

.

Parsons' keel was laid down 17 June 1957 by

launched on 17 August 1959, sponsored by Mrs. William S. Parsons, and commissioned 29 October 1959 at Charleston, South Carolina

.

History

After shakedown, Parsons reported to her home port,

First Fleet

in extensive coastal training from January to November 1962, deployed for her second WestPac tour in November, and returned in July 1963 to the California coast.

Under the command of Cdr. Jack Jester, USN, during the summer and fall of 1963 she carried out AAW and ASW operations in the San Diego, California area. During November she escorted

Hancock (CVA-19) to the Western Pacific and returned to San Diego. During the summer of 1965, Parsons visited San Francisco, Puget Sound, and Hawaii as part of the Pacific Midshipman Training Squadron.^[1]

Parsons continued her training and service operations alternately with First Fleet and Seventh Fleet until she was decommissioned at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 19 January 1966.

Parsons was one of four Forrest Sherman-class destroyers selected for conversion from all-gun destroyers to the new

Sasebo

. She returned to San Diego, California, on 12 May 1969 to resume operations from there and train for her next deployment.

The conversion removed both of the after 5 in (127 mm) 54-caliber gun mounts and installed one AN/SPG-51C Missile Fire Control System (MFCS), one Mk.13 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS), one Anti-Submarine Rocket (

Tartar

medium-range, less than 20 nautical mile (37 km) missiles, depending upon the engagement policy in force (Shoot-Look-Shoot or Shoot-Shoot-Look).

The forward five-inch/54-caliber gun mount was retained as were the torpedo tubes. The 5 in (127 mm) 54-caliber gun was, nominally, a rapid-fire mount capable of firing over 30 rounds per minute at targets up to ranges of 12 nautical miles (22 km). The torpedo launchers each held three Mk46 torpedoes, for use only against submarines.

The conversion created a unique ship, but one that never found a unique role. In the long run, one of the ship's best capabilities,

Oliver Hazard Perry class

.

After conversion, Parsons was homeported in

San Diego, California, from re-activation until late 1971, when the ship, as part of Destroyer Squadron 15 (DesRon 15), was forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. As part of this movement, the families of all eligible crewmen were transported to Japan, where they lived in U.S. Navy Housing, located in both the Yokosuka and Yokohama

areas.

From December 1971 through December 1972, Parsons provided support to forces afloat and ashore involved in the Vietnam War by operating as:

IV Corps areas, with the vast majority of operating time spent very close to the DMZ, supporting Marines
in that area.

Tonkin Gulf

. This station provided a means to rescue downed U.S. pilots.

Carrier escort on Yankee Station.

Parsons left Vietnam for the last time on or around 19 December 1974.

On 29 October 1980 she rescued 111 Vietnamese refugees 330 miles south of

Saigon

.

DDG operations ranged from Anti-Aircraft Warfare (AAW) to Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) to Anti-Surface Warfare (SUW) and Naval Gunfire Support (NFGS) and included, as necessary, Electronic Warfare (EW).

Fate

Parsons was decommissioned on 19 November 1982. She was stricken from the Navy Directory on 1 December 1984, and finally disposed of as a target on 25 April 1989.

References

^ Litrenta, P.L. SEABAT 65 USS Columbus (CG-12)

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.

External links

[1] Litrenta, P.L. SEABAT 65 USS Columbus (CG-12)

[1]

v t e Forrest Sherman-class destroyer
Barry Bigelow Blandy Davis Decatur Du Pont Edson Forrest Sherman Hull John Paul Jones Jonas Ingram Manley Morton Mullinnix Parsons Richard S. Edwards Somers Turner Joy
Preceded by: Mitscher class Followed by: Farragut class
List of destroyers of the United States Navy

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1989
Shipwrecks	7 Jan: Lavia 21 Jan: USS Muliphen 28 Jan: Bahía Paraíso 15 Feb: Maassluis 8 Apr: K-278 Komsomolets 25 Apr: USS Parsons 24 May: Moby Dick June (unknown date): USS Blenny 20 Aug: Marchioness 10 Sep: Mogoșoaia 29 Oct: Murree 4 Dec: USCGC Mesquite Unknown date: HMS Leander, YO-257, ROCS Tze Yang
Other incidents	17 Jan: USS Norfolk, USS San Diego 16 Mar: NOAAS Oregon II 24 Mar: Exxon Valdez (oil spill) 19 Apr: USS Iowa (turret explosion) 19 Jun: Maxim Gorkiy 25 Jun: K-131 19 Aug: Ross Revenge 20 Aug: Bowbelle 29 Sep: USS Pennsylvania October (unknown date): HMS Spartan 19 Dec: Khark 5 (oil spill)
1988 1990