USS Comte de Grasse (DD-974)

History
United States
Namesake:	Admiral Francois-Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse
Ordered:	26 January 1972
Builder:	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down:	4 April 1975
Launched:	26 March 1976
Acquired:	17 July 1978
Commissioned:	5 August 1978
Decommissioned:	5 June 1998
Struck:	5 June 1998
Motto:	Sans Précédent (Without Precedent)
Fate:	Sunk as a target on 7 June 2006.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Spruance-class destroyer
Displacement:	8,040 (long) tons full load
Length:	529 ft (161 m) waterline; 563 ft (172 m) overall
Beam:	55 ft (16.8 m)
Draft:	29 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion:	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp (60 MW)
Speed:	32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) 3,300 nautical miles (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement:	19 officers, 315 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-40 air search radar AN/SPG-60 fire control radar AN/SPS-55 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar Mk 23 TAS automatic detection and tracking radar AN/SPS-65 Missile fire control radar AN/SQS-53 bow mounted Active sonar AN/SQR-19 TACTAS towed array Passive sonar Naval Tactical Data System
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures Mark 36 SRBOC Decoy Launching System AN/SLQ-49 Inflatable Decoys
Armament:	2 x 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns 2 x 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns 1 x 8 cell ASROC launcher (removed) 1 x 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher 2 x quadruple Harpoon missile canisters 2 x Mark 32 triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes) 2 x quadruple ABL Mark 43 Tomahawk missile launchers
Aircraft carried:	2 x Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.

USS Comte de Grasse (DD-974), named for Admiral Francois-Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse (1722–1788), was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was laid down 4 April 1975, launched 26 March 1976 and commissioned 5 August 1978. She was christened 21 May 1976 by sponsor Madame Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes, wife of the then-President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

After being commissioned in August 1978, Comte de Grasse journeyed to homeport in Norfolk, Virginia. She would make a deployment to the Caribbean to participate in training in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. While there she also made a port call in Nassau, Bahamas. In the Fall of 1979, she deployed to Northern Europe to participate in NATO Exercises. She visited Brest, France, Dunkirk, France, Hamburg, Germany, and Portsmouth, England. On 2 August 1979, Comte de Grasse suffered a fire in her Number 1 engine room while in Norfolk. Five sailors received minor injuries. The waste heat boiler and electrical gear were damaged.

In the early Spring of 1980, Comte de Grasse visited New York City, the hometown of Captain Frank J. Lugo. In late February-early March 1980, Comte de Grasse took part in Exercise Safepass-80. Comte de Grasse sailed on her maiden Mediterranean deployment in April 1980, returning home in December. Since then she deployed there six times.

In February 1981, Comte de Grasse went to the Vieques NGFS Range. The following month, she took part in READEX 1–81. In May, she took part in a Comprehensive Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) in the Virginia Capes Operations Area. In late August, she took part in Ocean Venture-81 and exercise Magic Sword. In September, she took part in Exercise Ocean Safari-81. She was drydocked for a short period in November for voyage repairs and replacement of her Sonar Dome Rubber Window, before departing for a Mediterranean deployment on 1 December.

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Wikipedia