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Hull Number: DDG-17

Launch Date: 05/19/1962

Commissioned Date: 07/13/1963

Decommissioned Date: 10/29/1990

Call Sign: NHLT

Voice Call Sign: PRIVATEER


Class: CHARLES F. ADAMS

CHARLES F. ADAMS Class

Data for USS Cochrane (DDG-21) as of 1982


Length Overall: 440’ 3"

Beam: 44’ 11 1/2"

Draft: 16’ 0"

Standard Displacement: 3,527 tons

Full Load Displacement: 4,642 tons

Fuel capacity: 736 tons

Armament:

Two 5″/54 caliber guns
One ASROC Launcher
Two 12.75″ triple anti-submarine torpedo tubes
One Mark 13 Mod 0 Guided Missile Launching System (Tartar)

Complement:

22 Officers
21 Chief Petty Officers
298 Enlisted

Propulsion:

4 Boilers
2 General Electric Turbines: 70,000 horsepower

Highest speed on trials: 35 knots

Namesake: GUSTAVUS CONYNGHAM

GUSTAVUS CONYNGHAM

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, June 2015

Born about 1744 in County Donegal, Ireland, Gustavus Conyngham commanded the merchant brig Charming Peggy in 1775. When his ship was interned in Europe, Conyngham sought and on 1 March 1777 obtained a captain’s commission in the Continental Navy. As commanding officer, successively, of Surprise, and Revenge, he became a terror to British shipping, taking some 60 prizes in 18 months. As a privateer he was captured in 1779, escaped to Europe, and was recaptured while returning to America in 1780. Exchanged a year later, he was in France preparing to cruise against the British when the war ended. He returned to the merchant service and commanded the armed brig Maria during the Quasi-War with France. As a member of the Common Council of Philadelphia, he assisted in the defense of that city during the War of 1812. Captain Conyngham died 27 November 1819 at Philadelphia, Pa. the Quasi-War with France. As a member of the Common Council of Philadelphia, he assisted in the defense of that city during the War of 1812. Captain Conyngham died 27 November 1819 at Philadelphia, Pa.


Disposition:

Stricken 5/30/1991.


USS CONYNGHAM DDG-17 Ship History

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

USS Conyngham (DDG-17), the third ship named for Captain Gustavus Conyngham USN (1744–1819), was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile armed destroyer in the United States Navy.

Conyngham was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden in New Jersey on 1 May 1961, launched on 19 May 1962 by Mrs. Carl B. Albert, wife of Representative Albert of OklahomaHouse Majority Leader and commissioned on 13 June 1963.[1]

Conyngham was one of a few warships with shamrocks on her stacks (USS Coral Sea (CV-43)USS The Sullivans (DD-537) and others for example).[citation needed] During her 27 years of commissioned service, Conyngham lived up to her motto, Ready to Serve. Her presence exerted a powerful influence during times of crisis and helped maintain peace as a component of NATO seapower throughout the Cold War period. Conyngham made 15 Mediterranean deployments—three to the Persian Gulf, seven to Northern Europe, and 11 deployments to the Caribbean. She distinguished herself during crises in Cyprus (1964, 1974); provided air cover for planes evacuating Americans from an insurrection in Amman, Jordan (1970); took part in contingency operations during the Arab-Israeli Yom-Kippur War (1973); was the escort combatant during the evacuation of Americans from Beirut, Lebanon (1976); and conducted Black Sea Freedom of Navigation operations (1979).[citation needed]

During the 1980s, Conyngham continued to support United States foreign policy when she served off the coast of Libya (1982); was awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal for providing naval gunfire support of Marines stationed in, and off the coast of, Beirut, Lebanon (1983) and monitored maritime traffic off the coast of Nicaragua (1983). She sailed with the USS America (CV-66) Battle Group in support of U. S. intervention forces in Grenada (1983). While deployed to the Caribbean in 1986, Conyngham was credited with four drug interdictions and was awarded the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal.[citation needed]

Conyngham continued superior performance as she escorted U. S. Flagged merchant shipping through the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War in 1987 in Operation Earnest Will. During that deployment she sortied from Bahrain on short notice and provided assistance to USS Stark (FFG-31) after she was hit by two anti-ship missiles launched by an Iraqi F-1 Mirage. Conyngham was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her efforts in assisting the crippled ship. In 1988, Conyngham continue the Gus Can Do tradition during her deployments to the Fjords of Norway and Northern Europe.[citation needed]

A 16-year-old girl from CorkIreland stowed away aboard Conyngham in July 1988 during the 10-day return voyage to Norfolk. Eight sailors were found guilty of assisting her with the highest sentence being 70 days in the brig for hiding an illegal alien and aiding entry to the United States.[2] She was returned to Ireland[3][4] at which point she reported she was held against her will, drugged and sexually abused while on board.[5] No charges were filed with regard to claims of drugs and sexual abuse.[2]

Conyngham completed her fifteenth Mediterranean deployment and received her fourth Battle Efficiency “E” in 1989 while part of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) battlegroup.[citation needed]

Conyngham suffered a severe fire on 8 May 1990, while conducting pre-deployment operations off the Virginia coast. A major fuel oil fire erupted from the ship’s Forward Fire Room into the ship’s superstructure, isolating the crew forward and aft, requiring an all-hands effort to extinguish it. The ship had just completed a maintenance availability and a fuel oil strainer had not been assembled properly by a contractor and not inspected to verify assembly by ships company. The result was that the assembly failed catastrophically and started a fuel oil fire, caused an officer to die, 18 other sailors to be injured and the ship to be decommissioned shortly thereafter. USS Normandy (CG-60) and USS Briscoe (DD-977) rendered assistance during the incident.[6]

Conyngham was decommissioned on 20 October 1990, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 May 1991 and sold for scrap on 15 April 1994. Conyngham was “broken up” in the Cape Fear River near Wilmington, North Carolina in 1995.