USS Coontz
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | Coontz |
| Namesake: | Robert Coontz |
| Builder: | Puget Sound Naval Shipyard |
| Laid down: | 1 March 1957 |
| Launched: | 6 December 1958 as Guided Missile Frigate (DLG-9). |
| Commissioned: | 15 July 1960 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 October 1989 |
| Reclassified: | 1 July 1975 as Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG-40) |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, February 1999 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Farragut-class destroyer leader/frigate |
| Displacement: | 5,648 tons (full) |
| Length: | 512 ft 6 in (156.21 m) (oa) |
| Beam: | 52 ft 4 in (15.95 m) |
| Draft: | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) (max) |
| Propulsion: | 85,000 shp (63,000 kW); geared turbines, 2 screws |
| Speed: | 33 knots (61 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement: | 377 |
| Armament: |
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USS Coontz (DLG-9/DDG-40) was a Farragut-class destroyer leader/frigate in the United States Navy. She was named after Admiral Robert Coontz, the US Navy's second chief of naval operations.
Commissioned in 1960, she spent the early part of her career in the Pacific Ocean, participating in four tours of duty during the Vietnam War. In the early 1970s she transferred to the east coast and spent the remainder of her service years in the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Persian Gulf. She assisted in saving USS Stark after that ship was hit by Iraqi missiles. In 1975, as part of the Navy's reclassification process, all ships of her class were reclassified as guided missile destroyers (DDG).
Coontz was decommissioned in 1989, and sold for scrap five years later. Her transom nameplate was salvaged and donated to the city of Hannibal, Missouri, birthplace of Admiral Coontz.
Coontz's keel was laid at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in March 1957, 39 years after Admiral Coontz left his post as the shipyard's commander. The first guided-missile frigate to be built on the West Coast, and the second ship to bear the name of the Navy’s second chief of naval operations, Coontz was christened by Mrs. Robert J. Coontz, wife of the admiral’s grandson, on 6 December 1958.
Commanded by Commander H.H. Reis, Coontz was commissioned on 15 July 1960 and completed post-shakedown training in April 1961. Coontz was commissioned 6 months ahead of Farragut, the lead ship of the class, some references refer to the class as Coontz-class frigates/destroyers. Coontz then became a unit of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force U.S. Pacific Fleet and joined the First Fleet as flagship of Destroyer Division 152, home port in San Diego, California. Commander, Destroyer Squadron 15 flew his flag in Coontz from 4 May to 12 July 1961.
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