USS DAMATO DD-871

A Tin Can Sailors Destroyer History

USS DAMATO DD-871

The Tin Can Sailor, April 2011

The USS DAMATO (DD‑871) was launched on 21 November 1946 by the Bethlehem Steel Company of Staten Island, New York, and was commissioned on 27 April 1946. Steaming first out of Newport, Rhode Island, and, after December 1947, from Norfolk, the GEARING-class destroyer operated from Cuba to Newfoundland. A midshipmen training cruise to France and England and experimental cold‑weather operations in Arctic waters occupied her in 1949. The following year, she deployed to the Mediterranean for the first time. In March 1951, she was reclassified DDE‑871and joined in hunter‑killer operations in the South Atlantic before returning to the Mediterranean in the fall. Deployments with the Sixth Fleet were annual events in the ensuing years, with the addition of NATO exercises in the North Atlantic in 1952 and 1953 and a midshipman cruise to Norway and Sweden in 1955. In June 1957, she was in Hampton Roads for the International Naval Review, followed by a midshipmen cruise to Brazil. In 1958, while in the Mediterranean, she patrolled off the Levant, then passed through the Suez Canal to join the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf. She was involved in the development of improved antisubmarine warfare techniques in 1959. That summer, she sailed north to pass through the St. Lawrence Seaway, dedicated a month previously. Later, in Toronto, she joined in the NATO review during the Canadian National Exposition.

During Caribbean operations in early 1961, she took part in the pursuit of the cruise ship SS SANTA MARIA that had been seized by Portuguese rebels and was instrumental in the final disposition of the ship. In June 1962, the navy eliminated the “DDE” designation, and the ship reverted to her original “DD” designation. That September, she was part of the quarantine force during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Most of 1963 was spent in the ship’s eleven-month FRAM conversion. Her service life was extended with the addition of the Anti-Submarine Rocket system (ASROC) and Drone Anti‑Submarine Helicopter (DASH).

The DAMATO became the flagship of Destroyer Division 222 in August 1964. She served as part of the American Protective Force in the Dominican Replublic in August 1965. Back home, she underwent a three-month yard period in 1966 and, then, was bound for Vietnam the following year. Her deployment began on 2 September 1967. She was immediately in action and under fire. While participated in Operation Sea Dragon, on the morning of 13 September, she  was hit twice by enemy shells. After completing repairs, the DAMATO was back on duty. She returned to Norfolk on 2 January 1968.

After deploying to the Mediterranean in 1969, she was placed in a reduced operating status from 10 October 1969 until 7 October 1970, when she began preparations for another Mediterranean deployment. That trip, from February until July 1971, involved routine Sixth Fleet operations. In September 1971, she sailed to Northern Europe for a NATO cruise, and in January 1972 took part in Operation Snowy Beach off the coast of Maine. A trip to the Caribbean in February 1972, to train naval destroyer school department head students, preceded her return to Norfolk. She subsequently steamed north for a long overdue overhaul in Boston, her new home port. Later that July, the DAMATO sailed to Newport, Rhode Island, for a major five month overhaul. Following refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, she began a new mission training naval reservists. Operating out of Newport, Rhode Island, she conducted  operations along the Atlantic seaboard. In addition to her engagement in many fleet exercises, the DAMATO underwent another overhaul from March to September 1977. As a combat-ready destroyer, she returned to duty training her naval reserve component.

The DAMATO was decommissioned in December 1980 and was transferred to Pakistan  where she served as the PNS TIPPU SULTAN.

USS DAMATO DD-871 Ship History

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, April 2016

Damato (DD-871) was launched 21 November 1945 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Staten Island, N.Y.; sponsored by Mrs. A. P. Damato; and commissioned 27 April 1946, Commander I. S. Presler in command. She was reclassified DEE-871 on 4 March 1951.

From her home port at Newport, R.I., and after December 1947, from Norfolk, Damato cruised the Atlantic from Cuba to Newfoundland in training and exercises. In the summer of 1949 she carried midshipmen on a training cruise to France and England, and that fall joined in experimental cold-weather operations in Arctic waters.

From September to November 1950, Damato had her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, and during the next year joined in hunter-killer operations in the South Atlantic. She returned to the Mediterranean in the fall of 1951, the summers of 1952, 1953, and 1954. In both 1952 and 1953, she joined in autumn North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises in the North Atlantic and during the summer of 1955 joined a Midshipman Training Cruise to Norway and Sweden.

Between October and December 1956, she served with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, and on 12 June 1957 was in Hampton Roads for the International Naval Review. That summer she cruised to Brazil with midshipmen on board for training, then sailed for the Mediterranean in March 1958. She patrolled off the Levant, then passed through the Suez Canal to join the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf, returning to Norfolk for local operations in September. During 1959 she served with TF “Alfa,” concentrating on the development of improved antisubmarine warfare techniques. She visited Quebec, Canada, in July, and in August sailed north again to pass through the St. Lawrence Seaway, dedicated a month previously. She called at Montreal, at Rochester, N.Y., and arrived at Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition, joining in the review of NATO naval forces taken by Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Britain’s senior military officer. Returning home, she called at Ogdensburg, N.Y., and resumed east coast and Caribbean operations through 1962.