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Hull Number: DD-758

Launch Date: 04/23/1944

Commissioned Date: 03/08/1945

Decommissioned Date: 10/31/1973

Voice Call Sign: WHITECAP


Class: ALLEN M. SUMNER

ALLEN M. SUMNER Class

Data for USS Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) as of 1945


Length Overall: 376’ 6"

Beam: 40’ 10"

Draft: 14’ 5"

Standard Displacement: 2,200 tons

Full Load Displacement: 3,315 tons

Fuel capacity: 3,293 barrels

Armament:

Six 5″/38 caliber guns
Two 40mm twin anti-aircraft mounts
Two 40mm quadruple anti-aircraft mounts
Two 21″ quintuple torpedo tubes

Complement:

20 Officers
325 Enlisted

Propulsion:

4 Boilers
2 General Electric Turbines: 60,000 horsepower

Highest speed on trials: 34.2 knots

Namesake: JAMES H. STRONG

JAMES H. STRONG

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, September 2015

James H. Strong, born in Canandaigua, N.Y., on 26 April 1814, was appointed a midshipman in the Navy while he was a student in the Polytechnic College at Chittenango, N.Y., on 2 February 1829. He made his first cruise on the Brazil station in Lexington from 1833 to 1835. After various cruises, he commanded the store ship Relief in 1859.

Strong was promoted to commander in April 1861 and commanded Mohawk and Flag in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1861 and 1862 and Monongahela in the West Gulf Blockading Squadron from 1863 to 1865. At the Battle of Mobile Bay, he was the first to ram the Confederate ironclad Tennessee and received high commendation for his initiative and valor.

Strong served at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1866 and 1867 and later commanded Canandaigua in the Mediterranean Squadron in 1869 and 1870. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1873 and served as Commander-in-Chief of the South Atlantic Squadron from 1873 to 1875. Strong retired on 25 April 1876.


Disposition:

Stricken 10/31/1973. Transferred to Brazil on 10/31/1973 as Rio Grand Do Norte (D-37).


A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS STRONG DD-758

The Tin Can Sailor, October 2001

Commissioned on 8 March 1945, the STRONG (DD-758) stood out of San Diego for Pearl Harbor on 31 May. Her first assignment was escorting convoys between Eniwetok and Ulithi, followed by more escort and antisubmarine screen duty in the Ryukyus. In September, she patrolled off Nansei Shoto and supported landing operations at Wakayama and underwater demolition operations off Honshu, Japan. Courier duties between Wakayama, Nagoya, and Yokosuka occupied her in October and November and in December she sailed for the East Coast and service with the Atlantic Fleet.

Following her arrival in New York on 15 January 1946, the STRONG operated along the northeast coast and then, south as far as the Gulf of Mexico. In May 1947 she was decommissioned at Charleston, South Carolina, and assigned to the reserve fleet. Back in commission in May 1949, she operated out of Norfolk, with cruises almost to the Arctic Circle, to the Caribbean and to the Mediterranean until February 1951. By May 1952 she was underway for Korea with stops at San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Yokosuka en route.

On 24 June, she was with Task Force 77 for attacks against the hydroelectric plants on the Yalu River and went on to conduct gun strikes up and down Korea’s east coast. She also served with the UN Blockade and Escort Group on the west coast and supported operations at Pusan, Songjin, and Wonsan. The STRONG headed for home in October, arriving on 12 December 1952. East Coast operations took her into January 1954 when she began another tour in the Far East that lasted until August. She resumed routine operations until August 1956 when she sailed for the Mediterranean. During NATO operations, the STRONG rescued a disabled Austrian ketch and towed it to the island of Corsica. The outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Egypt found the STRONG on standby off Haifa and later, escorting the attack transport CAMBRIA (APA-36) during the evacuation of the UN truce team from Gaza. While the ship was anchored off the town, those aboard were able to watch the ongoing battle between Egyptian and Israeli troops ashore.

Operations in the Caribbean and another tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet occupied the destroyer in 1957. In 1958 she operated with the CUBERA (SS-347), JOHN R. PIERCE (DD-753), CUTLASS (SS-478), INDEPENDENCE (CVA-62), and FURSE (DD-882) between Virginia and Florida. While in the Persian Gulf in 1959, the STRONG saved thirteen Bahrenians during a severe storm. Also in 1959, she participated in Project Mercury and recovered the “Big Joe” capsule off Puerto Rico.

Following an overhaul in 1960, she joined the JAMES C. OWENS (DD-776), DOUGLAS H. FOX (DD-779), and WILLIS A. LEE (DL-4) for exercises and patrol duty in the Caribbean. The STRONG was operating with the Middle East Force in April 1961 when she was called on to carry relief supplies to Hodeida, Yemen, which was the victim of a devastating fire. Most of 1962 was spent in the Charleston Naval Shipyard for FRAM II conversion. Following refresher training at Guantanamo Bay in early 1963, she took part in exercises off Nova Scotia and deployed to the Sixth Fleet. While on Red Sea patrol in November 1963, she rescued three aviators from their downed helicopter. Operations during 1965 included another Mediterranean deployment and  patrol off Santo Domingo during the Dominican crisis. The STRONG was back in the Mediterranean in 1966/67 and joined the BELKNAP (DLG-26), JAMES C. OWENS, BORDELON (DD-881), LAWRENCE (DDG-4), and other ships in the search for survivors of a Greek ship sunk in the Aegean Sea. She then operated along the East Coast and in the Caribbean until November 1967 when she sailed with the ROBERT H. McCARD (DD-822), BORDELON, and MANLEY (DD-940) for duty in Vietnam.

Sailing out of Subic Bay, in December 1967, she screened the CORAL SEA (CVA-43) en route to Operation Sea Dragon, which involved harassment and interdiction missions against the North Vietnamese water-borne logistic craft. On the gun line with the ROBISON (DDG-12) and GOLDSBOROUGH (DDG-20), the STRONG sunk several logistic craft. On 21 December, while firing on land targets she escaped damage from enemy fire. During December, her guns fired 1,214 rounds, sunk eleven logistic craft, damaged one coastal defense site, and hit a seventy-truck convoy. From January to February, she on Yankee Station then was ordered toto the Sea of Japan on 23 February after the North Koreans seized the PUEBLO (AGER-2). Back on the gun line in the III Corps area on 2 April, she sank twenty enemy sampans, damaged or destroyed forty-six Vietcong structures, three base camps, and four bunker-trench complexes. From 22 April to 1 May, the STRONG fired on Vietcong targets in the Phan Thiet area. Upon completion of her Vietnam tour, she returned to the U.S., arriving in Charleston on 10 June 1968.

In September 1968, the STRONG participated in NATO exercises in the Norwegian Sea and after visiting Gravesend, England, returned to Charleston in October to resume routine  operations. November 1969 was marked by a deployment to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The STRONG joined the NORRIS (DD-859) on the Black Sea patrol and later retrieved the body of a pilot from the ROOSEVELT (CVA-42). She returned home in May 1970. Much of the remainder of the year was spent in port but she spent the period from April to October 1971 in the Mediterranean. In November 1971, she began operating as a naval reserve training ship with a Mediterranean cruise in the summer of 1972. She continued reserve training until September 1973 when she was decommissioned. The STRONG was struck from the navy list on 31 October 1973 and transferred to the government of Brazil as the RIO GRANDE DE NORTE (D-37). She served in their navy until 1996.

USS STRONG DD-758 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, September 2015

The second Strong (DD-758) was laid down on 25 July 1943 by Bethlehem Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif.; launched on 23 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Hobart Olson; and commissioned on 8 March 1945, Comdr. C. M. Howe in command.

Strong began her shakedown cruise in the San Diego Bay area on 27 March and on 11 May underwent a short period of post-shakedown availability there. On 31 May she stood out of port en route to Pearl Harbor. Training exercises were held off Oahu from 6 to 20 June when she departed to begin escort duty for convoys between the Marshall and Caroline Islands. From 27 July to 31 August, she served as convoy escort and antisubmarine screen in the Ryukyu Islands. She entered Japanese home waters to patrol air-sea rescue stations on 1 September and later served as courier between Wakayama, Nagoya, and Yokosuka. On 5 December 1945, the destroyer was ordered to sail to the east coast and join the Atlantic Fleet.

Strong transited the Panama Canal on 11 January 1946 and arrived at New York on the 15th. After a period of upkeep and repairs, she operated along the northeast coast until rapid demobilization kept her at Boston from 29 April until 1 August. She put to sea again and operated with the fleet as far south as the Gulf of Mexico until she sailed into Charleston, S.C., for inactivation and berthing. The destroyer was placed in reserve, out of commission, on 9 May 1947 as a unit of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Strong was placed in commission again on 14 May 1919 and held shakedown training in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during September and October. Her homeport was designated as Norfolk, Va., and she sailed from there with 2d Fleet units for operations near the Arctic Circle. Fleet exercises Portrex and Carribex were held during March 1950 and, during June and July, Strong embarked midshipmen and reservists for a training cruise to Panama and Cuba. In late July, she sailed for the Mediterranean Sea and her first deployment with the 6th Fleet which lasted until February 1951. Routine fleet duties followed until 15 May 1952 when she steamed from Norfolk with Destroyer Divisions (DesDiv) 21 and 262 for the Korean War Zone, via Panama, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Yokosuka.

Strong sailed from Yokosuka on 19 June for Korean waters and was attached to Task Force (TF) 77 which launched the first attacks against the hydroelectric plants on the Yalu River five days later. The destroyer was in Japan from 9 July to 13 September and returned to Korean waters where she operated until 9 October. During her tour in Korea, she conducted gun strikes up and down the east coast; served with the United Nations Blockade and Escort Group on the west coast; and was at Pusan, Songjin, and Wonsan.

On 9 October, Strong sailed to Yokosuka on her way back to Norfolk via Singapore, Ceylon, Bahrain, Aden, Suez, Naples, and Villefranche, She arrived at her home port on 12 December 1952. Strong operated along the east coast until early January 1954 when she stood out of Norfolk for another tour in the Far East and another world cruise which did not see her back in her homeport until 10 August. She resumed her routine duties along the east coast until 13 August 1956 when she sailed for another four-month deployment period with the 6th Fleet. The destroyer was deployed to the 6th Fleet again in 1957, 1958, and 1961. In 1958 she saved 13 Bahrainians in the Persian Gulf during a severe storm. In 1959, she participated in “Project Mercury” and recovered the “Big Joe” capsule off Puerto Rico.

Strong entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard in March 1962 for FRAM II conversion and remained there until December. She held refresher training at Guantanamo Bay in early 1963 and then participated in exercises off Nova Scotia. The destroyer was deployed to the 6th Fleet from November 1963 to March 1964; 6 January to 7 June 1965; and from 22 September 1966 to 31 January 1967. She operated along the east coast until 1 November 1968 when she sailed with Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 4 for the western Pacific and duty in Vietnam.

Strong sailed from Subic Bay, P.I., on 15 December as screen for Coral Sea (CVA-43) en route to her first assignment in Vietnam, Operation “Sea Dragon.” From 18 December 1967 to 2 January 1968, she was on the gunline conducting harassment and interdiction missions against North Vietnamese water borne logistic craft. From 3 January to 5 February she operated at “Yankee Station.”

Strong was ordered to the Sea of Japan from 23 February to 6 March after the North Koreans seized Pueblo (AGER-2). She was back off Vietnam on 2 April and assigned to duties in the III Corps Tactical Zone and Rung Sat Special Zone. During the first two weeks, she sank 20 enemy sampans as well as providing fire support. From 22 April to 1 May, Strong served as II Corps naval gunfire support ship, firing against Viet Cong targets in the Phan Thiet area. On 1 May, she sailed for the east coast, via Okinawa, Japan, Midway, Hawaii, California, Mexico, and the Panama Canal, and arrived at Charleston on 4 August.

Strong sailed on 11 September to participate in NATO exercise Operation “Silver Tower” in the Norwegian Sea. After a visit to Gravesend, England, she returned to Charleston on 15 October 1968 and remained there until 9 January 1969 when she resumed routine peacetime training. On 12 November 1969, the destroyer was again deployed to the 6th Fleet for a six month tour and returned to her home port on 23 May 1970. Much of the remainder of the year was spent in port and she was again deployed to the 6th Fleet from 16 April to 16 October 1971. On 16 November, she was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force and became a unit of DesRon 34. Strong operated as a naval reserve training ship until September 1973 when she entered a standdown period at Charleston.

Strong was decommissioned and struck from the Navy list on 31 October 1973. She was transferred to the government of Brazil the same day as Rio Grande De Norte (D-37) and still serves that government.

Strong received one battle star for Korean service and three battle stars for service in Vietnam.