USS Spruance (DD-963)

USS Spruance (DD-963)

USS Spruance (DD-963) in June 2004.
History
United States
Namesake:	Raymond A. Spruance
Ordered:	23 June 1970
Builder:	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down:	27 November 1972
Launched:	10 November 1973
Acquired:	12 August 1975
Commissioned:	20 September 1975
Decommissioned:	23 March 2005
Struck:	18 March 2005
Homeport:	Naval Station Mayport, Florida, U.S.
Motto:	"Wisdom, Fortitude, Reason"
Nickname(s):	"The Spru-Can", "Spru"
Fate:	Sunk as a target on 8 December 2006
Badge:
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) 1 x 61 cell Mk 41 VLS launcher for Tomahawk missiles
Aircraft carried:	2 x Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.

USS Spruance (DD-963) was the lead ship of the United States Navy's Spruance-class of destroyers and was named after Raymond A. Spruance, a U.S. Navy admiral.

Spruance was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi, and launched by Mrs. Raymond A. Spruance, Commander Raymond J. Harbrecht in command.

Spruance served in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, assigned to Destroyer Squadron 24 and operating out of Naval Station Mayport, Florida.

Spruance was decommissioned on 23 March 2005 and then was sunk as a target on 8 December 2006.

Bath Iron Works, General Dynamics and Litton Industries submitted proposals for production of DD-963 on April 3, 1969. Of the $30 million assigned, $28.5 million has been provided to three contractors. Eventually, Litton's bid won the competition.

Spruance was the first of a highly-successful class of anti-submarine warfare and anti-ship destroyers, and was the first destroyer powered by gas turbines in the U.S. Navy. At first she was armed with two 5-inch naval guns, an ASROC missile launcher, and an eight-cell NATO Sea Sparrow missile launcher. Spruance received one Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) during the late 1980s. This replaced the original Mark 16 ASROC launcher. Also added to Spruance after several years of service was an eight-cell launcher for Harpoon antiship missiles.