Help us to save our museum ships! Learn More

Hull Number: DD-862

Launch Date: 01/15/1945

Commissioned Date: 04/28/1945

Call Sign: BLACK WIDOW, DRIPSTONE

Voice Call Sign: NBFP


Class: GEARING

GEARING Class

Data for USS Gearing (DD-710) as of 1945


Length Overall: 390’ 6"

Beam: 40’ 10"

Draft: 14’ 4"

Standard Displacement: 2,425 tons

Full Load Displacement: 3,479 tons

Fuel capacity: 4,647 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: 34.6 knots

Namesake: CARL THEODORE VOGELGESANG

CARL THEODORE VOGELGESANG

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Published 1980)

Carl Theodore Vogelgesang-born on 11 January 1869 at North Branch, Calif.-was appointed a naval cadet (the name at that time applied to young men studying at the Naval Academy) on 6 September 1886. On 6 June 1890, he graduated from the Academy and began active duty on board Alliance as a passed naval cadet. At the completion of his requisite two years of sea duty before final graduation, he was commissioned an ensign on 14 July 1892 to date from 1 July 1892. Successive tours of duty on board Adams and Mohican occupied his time until 1895 when he was ordered to Washington, D.C., for duty in the Bureau of Navigation. Detached from that post on 29 August 1896, Ens. Vogelgesang reported to the gunboat Bancroft on 3 September. That ship remained his home through the Spanish-American War. Vogelgesang served in her during convoy escort missions and on blockade duty off Havana and near the Isle of Pines. Tours of duty in Celtic and at the New York Navy Yard in conjunction with the fitting out of Kentucky (Battleship No. 6) and Wisconsin (Battleship No. 9) followed. On 6 June 1904, he returned to the Bureau of Navigation for a two-year tour of duty as navigator on board Louisiana (Battleship No. 19), during which he attained the rank of lieutenant commander on 1 July 1905. A fifteen-month assignment from June 1906 to September 1907 was followed by his first command, Mayflower.

That tour of duty ended in March 1908 when he transferred to Wisconsin as navigator. In May 1909, Lt. Comdr. Vogelgesang reported for duty ashore once more, this time to study at the Naval War College at Newport, R.I. On 2 May 1911, near the end of his assignment at the war college, Vogelgesang was promoted to full commander. On 2 May 1912, he transferred to Wyoming (Battleship No. 32) to fit her out. When she was commissioned, he assumed duty as her executive officer. In late January 1914, Comdr. Vogelgesang was ordered to Des Moines (Cruiser No. 15) which he commanded until 23 October. On 21 November 1914, he reported for duty at the Naval War College and remained there until the beginning of 1917, when he became Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet. Just after assuming the duties of that office, he received his promotion to captain, to date from 29 August 1916. In January 1918, Capt. Vogelgesang relinquished his position as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Asiastic Fleet, and reported to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as senior officer of the American naval commission.

On 9 January 1919, Capt. Vogelgesang took charge of the fitting out of Idaho (Battleship No. 42) at Camden, N.J., and assumed command of her when that battleship was placed in commission on 24 March 1919. He commanded Idaho until June 1920 when he became the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet. A year later, Capt. Vogelgesang became Commandant, 3d Naval District, at New York. That tour of duty lasted until November 1922 when he received orders to organize and lead the United States Naval Mission to Brazil. For the next two years, he and his staff joined their Brazilian counterparts in reorganizing the Brazilian Navy. During his two years in ‘Brazil, he helped to strengthen the warm and enduring friendship between that nation and the United States. Early in that assignment, he was promoted to rear admiral, to date from 16 October 1922. Rear Admiral Vogelgesang completed his mission in South America in January 1925 and returned to the United States on 7 February. On 3 April, he broke his flag in New York (BB-34) and became Commander, Battleship Division 2 of the Scouting Fleet. In June 1926, he was detached from command of Battleship Division 2 and took command of the Light Cruiser Division, Scouting Fleet. That tour of duty was abbreviated when Rear Admiral Vogelgesang entered the Naval Hospital, Washington, D.C., for treatment of a kidney ailment. He died there on 16 February 1927.


Disposition:

To Mexico 2/24/1982. Renamed Arm Quetzalcoatl. Hull #E11.


A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS VOGELGESANG DD-862

The Tin Can Sailor, April 2009

The GEARING-class destroyer VOGELGESANG (DD‑862) was launched at Staten Island, New York, by the Bethlehem Steel Co. on 15 January 1945 and commissioned on 28 April 1945 at the New York Navy Yard. She arrived at Norfolk, her new home port, in August to serve as a training ship for destroyer nucleus crews. She operated out of Norfolk, along the East Coast, and in the West Indies until November 1947. That month she set out on her first Mediterranean deployment, which lasted until March 1948.

Back home in Norfolk, she returned to Second Fleet operations along the East Coast until January 1949 when she headed back to the Mediterranean. Over the next eight years, the  VOGELGESANG alternated five deployments to the Mediterranean with tours of duty along the East Coast and in the West Indies. She also visited northern European ports during the summer of 1956 on a midshipman training cruise. In 1957 there came a change in her routine. That July, she added service in the Indian Ocean to her schedule. In December, when she returned to the Mediterranean, she again transited the Suez Canal, adding Bahrein and Abadan, Iran, to her itinerary.

The VOGELGESANG’s  schedule of alternating Mediterranean and Second Fleet operations continued for the next nine years. Highlights included service in 1961 and 1962 as a support ship for the Project Mercury space shot. She completed her FRAM conversion in January 1963. Over the next two years she participated in joint exercises with ships of Canadian and European navies. In January 1965, she served as part of the Project Gemini recovery force.

A major change came in June 1966 when the VOGELGESANG and the other ships of DesRon 32 steamed out of Norfolk for WestPac deployment. By July, she was headed for the Gulf of Tonkin in the screen of the CONSTELLATION (CVA‑64). In the gulf, her task group provided antisubmarine defense and plane guard services as the carrier’s air group struck at targets in North Vietnam. In mid August, the destroyer moved in to provide gunfire support for troops operating ashore in South Vietnam. On the night of 18 and 19 August, her 5‑inch guns broke up a company‑strength Viet Cong attack on an outpost near Dien Huong. She was credited with killing 70 and wounding 40 of the attacking guerrillas. The VOGELGESANG concluded her only combat cruise during the Vietnam conflict on 10 November when she stood out of Subic Bay, bound via the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea for Norfolk.

She resumed her schedule alternating Mediterranean cruises with operations out of Norfolk starting in November 1967, with her first tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet since 1965. The year 1968 was highlighted by a cruise to South American waters to participate in UNITAS IX, a series of multinational exercises with units of various Latin American navies.

Normal operations and an overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard took her through 1969.  April 1970 saw her underway for another Mediterranean tour of duty. Early in September that year, she joined a special contingency force assembled in the eastern Mediterranean responding to Syrian intervention in the Jordanian civil war on the side of militant, anti-government, Arab guerrillas. She cruised that portion of the sea into October when the American show of force finally succeeded in getting the Syrian forces to withdraw from Jordan. She resumed normal operations with the Sixth Fleet and headed for home in November.

Routine operations out of Norfolk and in the Mediterranean carried her through June 1972. In January 1974, the VOGELGESANG was transferred from DesRon 2 to DesRon 28 and reassigned to naval reserve training duty. That March, her home port changed to Newport, Rhode Island. She continued to operate as a training ship for naval reservists, NROTC midshipmen, and OCS students, alternating short periods at sea and in port with periodic extended training cruises to the West Indies. She was decommissioned and struck from the navy’s list on 24 February 1982  when she was transferred Mexico and renamed the QUETZALCOATL. The ex-VOGELGESANG was decommissioned by the Mexican navy in late 2002.

USS VOGELGESANG DD-862 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Published 1981)

Vogelgesang (DD-862) was laid down on 3 August 1944 at Staten Island, N.Y., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; launched on 15 January 1945; sponsored by Miss Senaide Vogelgesang; and commissioned on 28 April 1945 at the New York Navy Yard, Comdr. 0. W. Spahr in command.

Vogelgesang conducted shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from mid-May to late June and returned to New York on the 24th for post-shakedown availability. In July, she moved to Newport, R.I., for gunnery exercises and, in August, began duty at Norfolk as a training platform for destroyer nucleus crews. In October, she interrupted her training schedule to take part in the Navy Day festivities at New York but resumed those duties in November. For the next two years, the destroyer operated out of Norfolk, along the east coast, and in the West Indies, conducting exercises both independently and in company with other units of the Atlantic Fleet. On 10 November 1947, she stood out of Norfolk on her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. She arrived at Gibraltar on 20 November and, after a little more than three months of exercises and port visits, departed the “middle sea” on 2 March 1948.

The warship arrived back in Norfolk on 11 March and resumed a normal schedule of 2d Fleet operations. She ranged up and down the east coast until 4 January 1949 at which time she headed back to the Mediterranean. Vogelgesang completed her second deployment to the 6th Fleet on 14 May, departed Gibraltar that day, reentered Norfolk on the 23d, and commenced a two-month upkeep period.

Over the next eight years, Vogelgesang alternated five deployments to the Mediterranean with tours of duty along the east coast and in the West Indies. In addition, she also visited northern European ports during the summer of 1956 while on a midshipman training cruise. Her five Mediterranean tours consisted of normal training operations with units of the 6th Fleet and with elements of Allied navies as well as port visits at various points throughout the Mediterranean. In 1957, there came a change in Vogelgesang’s routine of the previous eight years. She deployed to the Mediterranean once More in July; but, on this deployment, she added something new to her schedule. That new item was service in the Indian Ocean, for she added Aden an Massawa in Eritrea to her list of ports of call. In December, when she returned to the Mediterranean for another deployment with the 6th Fleet, she again transited the Suez Canal, repeated her former visits to middle eastern ports, and added Bahrein Island and Abadan, Iran, to her itinerary.

During the following nine years, Vogelgesang continue her schedule of alternating Mediterranean cruises and 2d Fleet operations. However, some special assignments highlighted her service. In 1961 and 1962, she provided support for the Project “Mercury” space shot.

On 1 March 1962, she entered the Boston Naval Shipyard to begin a fleet rehabilitation and modernization (FRAM) overhaul. For the next 10 months, she underwent extensive structural changes as well as equipment installation to improve greatly her antisubmarine warfare capabilities. She completed her FRAM conversion on 31 January 1963 and resumed normal operations out of Norfolk. In 1964, she participated in two binational exercises with Canadian ships, CANUS, SILEX in March and CANUS SLAMEX in September.

In October and November, she returned to European waters to participate in a large amphibious exercise, Operation “Steel Pike I,” carried out on the Atlantic coast of Spain. In January of 1965, the warship served as part of the Project “Gemini” recovery force which picked up an unmanned experimental Gemini space capsule. In June, she deployed to the Mediterranean once again for a two-month tour of duty with the 6th Fleet. Vogelgesang resumed 2d Fleet operations early in September following another joint United States Canadian exercise in August on her way back from Europe. On 3 December, she began her first regular overhaul since her FRAM conversion when she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

Vogelgesang completed overhaul and sea trials on 22 March 1966 and resumed normal duty with the Atlantic Fleet. That assignment lasted until 1 June at which time she and the other ships of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 32 steamed out of Norfolk for a deployment to the western Pacific. Steaming by way of the Panama Canal, Pearl Harbor, and Guam, she and her colleagues reported for duty with the 7th Fleet at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 15 July. On the 19th, she headed for the Gulf of Tonkin in the screen of Constellation, (CVA-64). The task group arrived in the gulf on 28 July, and Vogelgesang provided antisubmarine defense and plane guard services as the carrier’s air group struck at targets in North Vietnam. On 15 August, the destroyer closed the shores of South Vietnam to provide gunfire support for troops operating ashore. On the night of 18 and 19 August, her 5-inch guns succeeded in breaking up a company-strength Viet Cong attack on a Popular Forces outpost near Dien Huong. Reports credited her main battery with killing 70 and wounding 40 of the attacking guerrillas. In addition to service in Vietnamese waters, the warship made visits to Hong Kong and Kaohsiung on Taiwan as well as periodic stops at Subic Bay for upkeep and replenishments. Vogelgesang concluded her only combat cruise during the Vietnam conflict on 10 November when she stood out of Subic Bay, bound-via the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea for Norfolk. She completed her round-the-world cruise at her homeport on 17 December.

After post-deployment standdown, Vogelgesang resumed her schedule alternating Mediterranean cruises with operations out of Norfolk. She spent the first 10 months of 1967 engaged in training operations along the east coast and in the West Indies. On 14 November 1967, the warship stood out of Norfolk for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet since 1965. On 24 November, she conducted turnover ceremonies at the Spanish island of Majorca and officially joined the 6th Fleet. For the next five months, the destroyer ranged the length and breadth of the Mediterranean, conducting training evolutions and making port visits. On 13 April 1968, she departed Malaga, Spain, to return to Norfolk.

After a 10-day transit, she reentered her homeport on the 23d. She resumed normal 2d Fleet operations until 22 July at which time she departed Norfolk for a cruise to South American waters to participate in UNITAS IX, a series of multinational exercises with units of various Latin American navies. She concluded that assignment on 3 September when she reentered Norfolk.

Normal operations and a series of tender availabilities in preparation for overhaul occupied her time from September of 1968 to June of 1969. On 2 June 1969, she departed Norfolk, en route to Boston. The warship entered the Boston Naval Shipyard and commenced regular overhaul on 5 June. She concluded sea trials successfully late in September and departed Boston on 3 October and arrived in Norfolk on the 5th. For the remainder of the year, the ship conducted post-repair exercises and refresher training in the Guantanamo Bay operating area. She returned to Norfolk on14 December and remained in port for the rest of the year.

Normal operations out of Norfolk occupied her until 30 April 1970 at which time she embarked upon another Mediterranean tour of duty. She changed operational control to the 6th Fleet on 10 May and conducted turnover at Majorca between the 12th and the 17th. For the first four months of the deployment, Vogelgesang conducted normal 6th Fleet operation sort visits and training evolutions. However, early in September, she joined a special contingency force assembled in the eastern Mediterranean in response to Syrian intervention in the Jordanian civil war on the ide of militant, antigovernment, Arab guerrillas. She cruised that portion of the sea from 5 September to 6 October. Finally, however, the American show of force succeeded in getting the Syrian forces to withdraw from Jordan, and Vogelgesang resumed normal operations with the 6th Fleet. On 8 November, she departed Palma de Majorca to return home.

The warship reentered Norfolk on 17 November and remained there through the end of the year. The destroyer resumed normal 2d Fleet operations early in 1971 and remained so occupied for the next 11 months.

On 1 December 1971, she departed Norfolk for another tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She arrived in port at Rota, Spain, on the 9th and conducted turnover ceremonies. For the following six months, Vogelgesang operated throughout the Mediterranean, engaged in the usual round of exercises and port visits. After turnover in Rota, the destroyer got underway on 23 June to return to Norfolk.

On the 29th, she steamed into Hampton Roads and soon began a tender availability alongside Sierra (AD-18). She conducted operations out of Norfolk until 10 October at which time she began an extended repair period at the Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Corp. The warship completed repairs on 26 January 1973 and finished sea trials by early February. She conducted normal operations for the remainder of the year, steaming as far south as the West Indies.

On 10 January 1974, Vogelgesang was transferred from DesRon 2 to DesRon 28 and reassigned to Naval Reserve training duty. On 1 March, her homeport was changed from Norfolk to Newport, R.I. On 19 March, she headed out of Norfolk, bound for her new homeport, where she arrived the following day. Since that time, Vogelgesang has operated at and out of Newport as a training platform for naval reservists, NROTC midshipmen, and OCS students. She alternated short periods at sea with weeks in port as a stationary training platform. Periodically, however, she has made extended training cruises down the east coast to the West Indies. As of the beginning of 1980, the destroyer continued to serve with the Naval Reserve training program, based at Newport, R.I.

Vogelgesang earned two battle stars for service during the Vietnam conflict.