Guess "That's Life" but RIP USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD

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USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD (DD-968)

Click on the RED name to see a link...


Flag Hoist/Radio Call Sign - NAWR

CLASS - SPRUANCE
As Built.Displacement 7800 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 563' (oa) x 55' x 20' 6" (Max)
Armament 2 x 5"/54 RF (2x1), 1 Sea Sparrow SAM (1x8) ASROC ASW (1x8),
6 x 12.75" Mk 32 ASW TT (2x3). 1 Helicopter.
Machinery, 80,000 SHP; 4 LM 2500 Gas Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 30 Knots, Range 6000 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew 296.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Litton Ingalls, Pascagoula Miss. January 24 1974.
Launched March 1 1975 and commissioned April 16 1977.
Decommissioned March 18 2003 at Naval Station Norfolk.
Stricken April 6, 2004.
Fate: Sunk as an artificial reef on August 10 2011
as part of the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Site equidistant from Cape May, Ocean City and Indian River Inlet. :cry:

Hard to see something I was a part of (Technical Director and Trials Officer 1975-1979, Naval Sea Systems Command) meet this kind of end. Better than rusting away in a Ghost Ship Fleet though, I guess... :? Still miss my Active Duty but 32 years was probably enough!

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Destroyers under construction Ingalls Shipbuilding 1975 Pascagoula MS
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USS Arthur W. Radford 1988 Boston Harbor

We built 31 Spruance Class ships, the first was commissioned in 1975, the last one in service was decommissioned in 2005. They had a pretty good run! :thup :love
 
For those that enjoyed the RADFORD story, here's a .ppt presentation of the sinking of the USS La Moure County (LST-1194) in a Navy Exercise in 2001. A tough little ship, she took a Harpoon hit (Surface to Surface Missile), gunfire hits before a torpedo from a sub finally broke her keel and sank her. RIP USS La Moure County ( and Don Anderson (SNEAKS) my favorite Brat Submariner who passed suddenly about a year ago and would have approved highly of the victory of the submarine!!).

Don't know what's wrong with the wiki link, maybe the wiki leaks folks have gotten to it... :shock:

Charlie
 
Maybe this is a more fitting end than sending to China or Thailand for scrap, and then recycled into Asian war ships! The Oriskany was sunk off the Gulf Coast (CV/CVA 34, Essex-class aircraft carriers) She was sunk on May 2006 and I believe still remains the world's largest artificial reef in one piece. The process was not easy or cheap. All of the potential contaminates had to be removed, as well as part of the rigging, which might give potential problems for divers. Initially The top of the tower was at 65 feet and the flight deck at 130 feet. Total depth at the bottom is 212 feet. During surges from distant hurricanes, she has sunk another 8 feet into the sand, and how has a 5 degree list, making the top of the tower closer to 80 feet and the flight deck closer to 150 feet. There have been several diving accidents with at least two fatalities and a number of injuries. There is a protocol for diving accidents on the site:

http://myfwc.com/media/131600/OriskanyD ... gtPlan.pdf

Diving safety has been a special interest of mine for many years. Reports of dives on the Radford show that she is considerably shoaler and at this point a safer dive (but colder water, and the season will be limited). These ships do help the local economy by increasing SCUBA dive trips and tourist spending.

As an offshoot of our local program, we finally are putting in shoal snorkeling reefs both inside Pensacola Bay and outside of the pass. These are all placed with pilings and anchoring structure. Some of the doubters learned that with the 2004 thru 2006, almost all of the "numbers" of the dive sites off Pensacola had changed, with shifting of even large ships, old army tanks and concrete blocks.

Be safe--and thanks for the update on another great dive site--and a useful end for America of our of our outstanding Navy War Ships!
 
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