USS William V. Pratt (DDG-44)

USS William V. Pratt (DDG-44), 1987.
History
United States
Name:	William V. Pratt
Namesake:	William Veazie Pratt
Ordered:	23 July 1956
Builder:	Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Laid down:	1 March 1958
Launched:	6 March 1960
Acquired:	19 October 1961
Commissioned:	4 November 1961
Decommissioned:	30 September 1991
Struck:	20 November 1992
Identification:	DDG-44
Fate:	Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping 14 September 1995
General characteristics
Class and type:	Farragut-class guided missile destroyer
Displacement:	5,800 tons
Length:	512.5 ft (156.2 m)
Beam:	52 ft (16 m)
Draft:	25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion:	4 x 1200psi boilers 2 geared turbines
Speed:	36.5 knots (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph)
Range:	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	377 (21 officers + 356 enlisted)
Armament:	1 x Mk 42 5-inch/54 (127mm/54) caliber gun Mark 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts 1 x Mk 16 ASROC missile launcher 1 x Mk 10 Mod 0 missile launcher for Standard Missile 2 x Mk 141 Harpoon missile launchers

USS William V. Pratt (DDG-44) was a Farragut-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy. She was commissioned in 1961 as DLG-13 and reclassified as a guided missile destroyer, designation DDG-44, in 1975. She was named to honor Admiral William Veazie Pratt, a President of the Naval War College and a Chief of Naval Operations.

William V. Pratt (DLG-13) was laid down on 7 March 1958 by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard; launched on 16 March 1960, sponsored by Mrs. William V. Pratt; and commissioned on 4 November 1961, Comdr. Boyd E. Gustafson in command.

Following shakedown training in the West Indies and post-shakedown availability at Philadelphia, William V. Pratt joined Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 18 as an active unit of the fleet in September 1962. Operating out of Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, she cruised the Atlantic seaboard and the West Indies until 4 August 1963 at which time she departed Norfolk to participate in NATO exercise Operation Riptide IV, in European waters. She returned to Norfolk in September and resumed normal 2nd Fleet operations. That employment continued until 8 February 1964 when she embarked upon her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. She returned to Norfolk on 9 August and once again took up her East Coast-West Indies routine. In September and October, she visited European waters again to participate in two NATO exercises, Operations Masterstroke and Teamwork. The warship returned to Norfolk on 20 October and resumed 2nd Fleet operations. In November, she began her first shipyard overhaul at Norfolk. She completed repairs on 26 March 1966 and put to sea for trials.