USS Richard S. Edwards (DD-950)
_underway_in_the_Pacific_Ocean_1962.jpg)
Richard S. Edwards in 1962
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Namesake: | Richard Stanislaus Edwards |
| Ordered: | 27 January 1956 |
| Builder: | Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company |
| Laid down: | 20 December 1956 |
| Launched: | 27 September 1957 |
| Acquired: | 30 January 1959 |
| Commissioned: | 5 February 1959 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 December 1982 |
| Struck: | 7 February 1990 |
| Fate: | Sunk as a target off Kauai in Hawaii on 12 May 1997 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Forrest Sherman class destroyer |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 407 ft (124 m) waterline, 418 ft (127 m) overall. |
| Beam: | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Draft: | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 x 1,200 psi (8.3 MPa) Babcock & Wilcox boilers, Westinghouse steam turbines; 70,000 shp (52 MW); 2 x shafts. |
| Speed: | 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement: | 15 officers, 218 enlisted. |
| Armament: | 3 x 5 in (127 mm)/54 calibre dual purpose Mk 42 guns; 4 x 3 in (76 mm)/50 calibre Mark 33 anti-aircraft guns; 2 x mark 10/11 Hedgehogs; 6 x 12.75 in (324 mm) Mark 32 torpedo tubes. |
USS Richard S. Edwards (DD-950), named for Admiral Richard Stanislaus Edwards USN (1885–1956), was a Forrest Sherman class destroyer built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company at Seattle in Washington and launched on 24 September 1957 by Mrs. W. B. Franke; and commissioned 5 February 1959, Comdr. Richard R. Law in command.
Richard S. Edwards served as plane guard for carriers on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf, participated in Sea Dragon operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties and carried out Naval Gunfire Support missions during the Vietnam War and underwent an ASW modernization at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard between 27 February 1970 and 15 January 1971.
Richard S. Edwards’ shakedown took her to Valparaiso, Chile, then back to San Diego 13 May 1959. She then deployed to the western Pacific area where she operated with the fast carrier units of the 7th Fleet, and as a member of the U.S. Taiwan Patrol Force. She returned to the west coast 13 May 1960 and operated there until deploying to the western Pacific again in February 1961 to operate with the fast carrier group in the South China Sea. She returned to San Diego 14 September 1961.
Richard S. Edwards commenced her third WestPac cruise 13 November 1962 for fast carrier operations throughout the western Pacific, returning home in June 1963. She resumed local operations until commencing her fourth WestPac cruise from August 1964 to January 1965. During this deployment [Richard S.] Edwards and USS Morton (DD-948) engaged North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Tonkin Gulf on 18 September, probably sinking several.
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