USS Oldendorf (DD-972)
| | Career |  | USN Jack |
|
|---|
| Ordered: | 26 January 1972 |
| Laid down: | 27 December 1974 |
| Launched: | 21 October 1975 |
| Commissioned: | 4 March 1978 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 June 2003 |
| Fate: | Placed in reserve at Bremerton in Washington. |
| Struck: | 6 April 2004 |
| General Characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | 8,040 tons full load. |
| Length: | 529 ft (161 m) waterline; 563 ft (172 m) overall |
| Beam: | 55 ft (16.8 m) |
| Draught: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines; 80,000 shp (60 MW); 2 x shafts. |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60 km/h) |
| Range: | 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h); 3,300 nautical miles (6,000 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h) |
| Complement: | 19 officers, 315 enlisted |
Armament:
* 1 × 61 cell Mk 41 Vertical Launching System
* 2 × 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns
* 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns
* 1 × 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher
* 2 × quadruple Harpoon missile canisters
* 2 × triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mark 46 torpedoes)
* 2 × 6 canister Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff Systems
* 1 × 21 cell RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launcher |
| Aircraft: | 2 x SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters. |
Radars:
*AN/SPS 40B/C/D air search
*AN/SPS 55 surface search
*AN/SPS-64(V) Navigation
*Mark 86 GFCS with AN/SPG-60 and AN/SPQ9A
*SWG-3 Tomahawk weapon control system
*Mk 48 MOD 1 TAS Radar
*Mk 78 MOD 1 NATO Sea Sparrow Missile Director
*Mark 91 missile FCS
*Mark 116 ASW FCS |
Sonars:
*AN/SQS 53A bow mounted sonar
*SQQ-89(V)5 Sonar Suite |
EW:
*AN/SLQ 25 Nixie
*AN/SLQ32(V)3
*SQQ-108 Outboard ELINT |
| Motto: | "Ad Proelium Victoriamque Futuram" (To the Fight and Victory Ahead) |
USS Oldendorf (DD-972), named for Admiral
Jesse B. Oldendorf USN, was a
Spruance class destroyer built by the
Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of
Litton Industries at
Pascagoula in
Mississippi.
History from 1978 to 1994 goes hereOldendorf took part in the surface exercise Eager Sentry, as part of the larger Exercise Native Fury '94. Involving
Kuwaiti and
British military members, the exercise was the largest naval exercise ever conducted in
Kuwait. It was conducted from
4 April through
25 April, to demonstrates U.S. resolve to support the peace in the
Persian Gulf region after ousting
Iraq from Kuwait three years prior. Native Fury comprised several exercises under one umbrella. In the namesake exercises, two Maritime Prepositioning Ships sailed from their homeport of
Diego Garcia and discharged more than 1,000 tanks, artillery pieces and vehicles at the port of Shuaibah, starting
5 April. Approximately 2,000
marines and sailors from I Marine Expeditionary Force, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Force Service Support Group and Naval Beach Group One arrived by air, off-loaded and convoyed the equipment to a training range north of
Kuwait City. There, they trained with the Kuwaiti Army and British
Royal Marines, perfecting tactics which would delay, and perhaps turn back, any repeat of the invasion of Kuwait. Other elements of Native Fury involved the surface exercise Eager Sentry; Eager Archer, an aerial exercise; and Eager Express with explosive ordnance disposal units training on the southern Kuwaiti beaches.
As part of a reorganization by the
Pacific Fleet's surface ships into six core battle groups and eight destroyer squadrons, with the reorganization scheduled to be completed by
1 October,
1995, and homeport changes to be completed within the following, year,
Oldendorf was reassigned to
Destroyer Squadron 23.
Oldendorf departed on
1 December 1995, as part of the
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) Battle Group for a regularly scheduled
Western Pacific deployment.
In March
1996, and in response to the announcement of missile tests and military live-fire exercises to be conducted by the
Chinese in the waters surrounding the island of
Taiwan, the United States dispatched forward deployed naval assets, including a carrier and other combatants to the area to monitor the situation.
USS Independence (CV-62) and other units in its battle group, operating in international waters, were on the scene from the beginning of the exercises. However, to augment the monitoring efforts, and further demonstrate U.S. commitment to peace and stability in the region,
Nimitz and elements of its battle group, including the
Oldendorf, were ordered to sail from the Persian Gulf to the Western Pacific earlier than planned, after two months in the Persian Gulf for
Operation Southern Watch.
Oldendorf took part, from
13 April through
24 April in Pacific Joint Task Force Exercise 98-1 (PAC JTFEX 98-1) off the Southern
California Coast. The aim of the exercise was to prepare naval forces to participate in joint operations with other U.S. forces. Naval operations included Maritime Interception Operations (MIO), Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), various air strike and support missions, operational testing of various weapons systems, Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD), logistics support, search and rescue, and command and control. An
amphibious landing at
Camp Pendleton, California, on
21 April, involved Navy surface and helicopter assault forces,
U.S. Air Force aircraft, as well as units from
Canada,
Australia and the
United Kingdom.
Oldendorf deployed on
9 November 1998, for a six month overseas assignment, as part of the
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) battle group. Joining the
Carl Vinson was the
USS Boxer (LHD-4) Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). The
Carl Vinson battle group and the Boxer ARG were to relieve the
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) battle group and the
USS Essex (LHD-2) ARG, which had been forward deployed for the previous five months to the Western Pacific,
Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
Oldendorf arrived on station in the Persian Gulf with the
Carl Vinson battle group and took part in
Operation Desert Fox in December
1998. The operation was designed to degrade
Saddam Hussein's ability to deliver chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and wage war against his neighbors. It also took part in
Operation Southern Watch. The
Carl Vinson battle group, led by
Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) Eleven departed the Persian Gulf on
18 March 1999, after spending three intense months supporting Operations Southern Watch and Desert Fox in Southern Iraq. The ships returned home in May.
As of early
2000, developmental tests were in progress on
Oldendorf as part of the SPQ-9B Radar Improvement Program. The program aimed at using COTS systems and NDI to improve the performance of the SPQ-9 Radar in the Mk 86 Gun Fire Control System (GFCS), which would be integrated into the Mk 1 Ship Self-Defense System.
In August 2000,
Oldendorf was directed to the scene of a crash into the Persian Gulf, on
23 August, by a commercial passenger jet, in order to assist in the recovery of the
flight data recorder and the
cockpit voice recorder. The jet, a twin-engine
Airbus A320 operated by
Gulf Air, which originated in
Cairo, plunged into shallow water about 3 to 4 miles north of
Bahrain International Airport while making its approach. The bodies of all 143 people aboard the aircraft were recovered.
Oldendorf took part in the first Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) of
2001 during the month of February. Together with the Special Operations Capable certification (SOCCERT), the JTFEX aimed at providing progressive and realistic pre-deployment training for a carrier battle group, an amphibious ready group, a
Marine Expeditionary Unit and other deployers. The name Joint Task Force Exercise reflects the focus on preparing naval forces to participate fully in
joint operations with other U.S. forces and the armed forces of allied countries. Naval operations included Maritime Interception Operations (MIO), Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO), various air strike and support missions, operational testing of various weapons systems, Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD), logistics support, search and rescue and command and control. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces were joined in the exercise by U.S. Air Force aircraft as well as units from Canada.
The U.S. Navy Surface Force was scheduled to begin, in the summer of
2002, an initiative to test the effectiveness of deploying a single ship for 18-months while swapping out crews at six-month intervals. Called Sea Swap, this initial two-phased initiative would involve three
Spruance class destroyers (DDs)
USS Higgins (DDG-76),
USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) and
USS Benfold (DDG-65). For the DD phase,
Fletcher and her crew would deploy with their battle group this summer, but after six months, only the crew would return. The ship would remain deployed and be manned by the crew from
Kinkaid. After completing their training cycle and decommissioning
Kinkaid, these sailors would fly to a port in either
Australia or
Singapore to assume ownership of
Fletcher and steam her back on-station. After six months, they would be replaced by the crew from
Oldendorf who would have completed the same training and decommissioning schedule with their ship before flying out to relieve the
Kinkaid crew. After four more months on station, the
Oldendorf crew would then bring
Fletcher back to the United States where it too would be decommissioned. Additionally, by executing this plan, the Navy would be able to eliminate the deployment of
USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964) because the additional on-station time generated by swapping out the crews meant a ship would already be in theater meeting that requirement.
Oldendorf was decommissioned
20 June 2003 and berthed at
Bremerton, Washington NISMF. She was stricken
6 April 2004.
 |
Ship's crest |
The design of the
Oldendorf crest is composite of emblems representing Admiral Oldendorf's achievements during his illustrious career. The shield commemorates Admiral oldendorf's crossing of the "T" in the epic sea
Battle of Surigao Strait during
World War II, which resulted in a brilliant and decisive victory for the United States.
The vertical blue bar, alluding to a narrow passage or waterway, refers to
Surigao Strait, and the eight red and white sections of the background represents the total losses of the enemy in terms of the number of ships sunk, damaged or crippled. The blue chief at the top crossing of the "T" battle plan, with upper section simulating red sky over the night battle of Surigao Strait. The four stars denote Admiral Oldendorf's highest rank. The crest symbolizes the award of the Navy Cross, The Navy's highest decoration, awarded to Admiral Oldendorf for exceptional leadership and heroism in the Battle of Surigao Strait. The trident signifies authority and power and the annulet with red center suggest the muzzle of a gun in action. The two wavy bars are indicative of World War II and the
Pacific area. The ship's motto, "Ad Proelium Victoriamque Futuram" (To the Fight and Victory Ahead) is the Latin translation of a line taken from Admiral Oldendorf's memoirs regarding his charge to his forces on the eve of the decisive Battle of Surigao Strait.
*
Naval Vessel Register entry for Oldendorf*
navsource.org: USS Oldendorf*
united-states-navy.com: USS Oldendorf
