USS Fitzgerald

USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) underway in 2012
History
United States
Name: Fitzgerald
Namesake: William Charles Fitzgerald
Ordered: 22 February 1990
Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down: 9 February 1993
Launched: 29 January 1994
Sponsored by: Betty Ann Fitzgerald
Christened: 29 January 1994
Commissioned: 14 October 1995
Identification:
Motto: "Protect Your People"
Nickname(s): "Fighting Fitz", "Fightin' Fitz"
Status: Undergoing repairs after a 2017 accident.
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t)
  • Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
Length: 505 ft (154 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed: >30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:
Complement:
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters can be embarked

USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), named for United States Navy officer Lieutenant William Charles Fitzgerald, is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the US Navy.

In the early morning hours of 17 June 2017, the ship was involved in a collision with the container ship MV ACX Crystal, seriously damaging the destroyer. Seven of Fitzgerald's crew were killed. Several others were injured, including the commanding officer, Commander Bryce Benson.

Construction

The keel was laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 9 February 1993; launched 29 January 1994; sponsored by Mrs. Betty A. Fitzgerald, widow of the late Lt. Fitzgerald; and commissioned 14 October 1995, in Newport, Rhode Island, Commander Gary M. Holst in command.[1] She was then homeported in Naval Base San Diego, California.

Operational history

USS Fitzgerald pulls into port at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in March 2003

In early April 2004, it was announced that Fitzgerald would be one of fifteen destroyers and three cruisers that would be deployed to counter ballistic missile threats worldwide. She arrived in Yokosuka, Japan on 30 September 2004, to join the U.S. 7th Fleet after participating in a personnel exchange known as "Super Swap". One-hundred forty sailors from the destroyer O'Brien transferred to Fitzgerald and 95 of Fitzgerald's sailors joined the decommissioning unit for O'Brien. She is now home-ported at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan, and is part of Destroyer Squadron 15.

In March 2011, in company with the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, Fitzgerald was deployed off northeastern Honshu, Japan, to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[2][3][4]

On 16 November 2011, while docked in Manila, Philippines, Fitzgerald acted as the site where US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario signed the Manila Declaration calling for multilateral talks to resolve maritime disputes and to mark the 60th anniversary of the American–Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty.[5][6]

On 1 June 2017, Fitzgerald, operating out of Yokosuka Naval Base, was noted for participating in routine exercises with Japan that were described in the media as a show of force to North Korea. She sailed with the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, the cruiser Shiloh, and the destroyers Barry, McCampbell, and Mustin, joined by the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, cruiser Lake Champlain, and destroyers Wayne E. Meyer and Michael Murphy, and Japanese ships Hyūga and Ashigara.

2017 collision

Damaged Fitzgerald after the collision

About 1:30 a.m. on 17 June 2017, Fitzgerald collided with ACX Crystal, a Philippine-flagged container ship[7] measured at 29,060 gross tons and almost 40,000 tons deadweight. Most of Fitzgerald's crew of about 300[8] were asleep at the time.[9] The collision occurred about 56 nautical miles (104 kilometres; 64 miles) southwest of her homeport of Yokosuka, Japan.[7]

The starboard side of Fitzgerald was seriously damaged. The container ship's bulbous bow penetrated the destroyer's hull below the waterline, flooding a machinery space, the radio room, and two crew berthing spaces.[10] The captain's cabin was crushed.[11] Seven crewmen were reported missing after the collision, but their bodies were found the next day after rescue workers gained access to flooded compartments.[10][12] Several others were injured, including the ship's commanding officer and two sailors whom the Japanese evacuated by helicopter.[13]

Within a day of the collision, investigations were begun by the United States Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Japanese Coast Guard, Japan Transport Safety Board, and the insurers of the Crystal. The U.S. Navy's Manual of the Judge Advocate General (JAGMAN) investigation concerns the crew's operations, and is led by Rear Adm. Brian Fort, a former commander of USS Gonzalez, who now commands Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.[14][15][16] The U.S. and Japanese coast guards are investigating the cause of the accident.[17]

According to early damage estimates, repairs for the damage to Fitzgerald are expected to surpass the $250 million cost for repairs to the USS Cole (DDG-67) inflicted in the 2000 bombing by at least double, and it should take under a year. Repairs on the ship may overlap with planned service life extension and electronics upgrades, increasing the cost further.[18] Fitzgerald is to be transported on a heavy lift ship from Japan to the United States in September 2017.[19]

Commanding officers

# Name Start of tenure End of tenure
16 CDR John Fray 11 July 2017 Assumed temporary command while CDR Benson recuperates from injuries he sustained in the collision[20]
16 CDR Sean Babbitt[13] 17 June 2017 11 July 2017 (CDR Babbitt assumed temporary command following the incapacitation of CDR Benson)
15 CDR Bryce Benson[21] 13 May 2017 17 June 2017
14 CDR Robert Shu 15 December 2015 13 May 2017
13 CDR Christopher S. England 29 May 2014 December 2015
12 CDR Jonathan Lowe Schmitz[22] 17 December 2012 29 May 2014
11 CDR Brian T. Mutty[22] 26 July 2011 17 December 2012
10 CDR Dennis Velez[22] 18 May 2010 26 July 2011
9 CDR Richard John Dromerhauser[22] 31 October 2008 18 May 2010
8 CDR Daniel P. Dusek[22] 4 May 2007 31 October 2008
7 CDR David Wayne Hughes[22] 7 September 2005 4 May 2007
6 CDR Bradley Joseph Smith[22] 24 October 2003 7 September 2005
5 CDR John Phillip Neagley[22] 12 December 2001 24 October 2003
4 CDR Alfred Collins[22] 19 April 2000 12 December 2001
3 CDR James Stephen Grant[22] 23 October 1998 19 April 2000
2 CDR Charles Walt Martoglio[22] 30 April 1997 23 October 1998
1 CDR Gary Michael Holst[22] 14 October 1995 30 April 1997

Awards

USS Fitzgerald earned the 2012 Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award.[23]

Fitzgerald has been awarded the Navy Battle "E" twice; 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2007.[23]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Evans, Mark L. (8 July 2015). "Fitzgerald (DDG-62)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 18 June 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ↑ Rabiroff, John (17 March 2011). "U.S. military delivers 40 tons of supplies to hardest-hit areas". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Warships Supporting Earthquake in Japan". Seawaves. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Stewart, Joshua (14 March 2011). "Navy ships off Japan move to avoid radiation". Military Times. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Clinton uses warship to push Philippines alliance". ABS-CBN News Interactive. Agence France-Presse. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "US, Philippines boost alliance amid row with China". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Associated Press. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 Shane, Scott (18 June 2017). "Sleeping Sailors on U.S.S. Fitzgerald Awoke to a Calamity at Sea". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Larter, David B. (June 18, 2017). "Fitzgerald crew's 'heroic efforts' saved their ship from sinking, admiral says". Navy Times. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Missing sailors' bodies found in damaged USS Fitzgerald". So Jazeera. 18 June 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Seven sailors missing in ship collision found dead". The Hill. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Gale, Alastair; Lubold, Gordon (18 June 2017). "Deadly Collision Crushed Captain's Cabin of USS Fitzgerald"Paid subscription required. The Wall Street Journal.
  12. ↑ "US Navy Identifies Seven Deceased Fitzgerald Sailors". U.S. Navy. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  13. 1 2 Simpkins, Jon; Larter, David (16 June 2017). "7 US sailors missing after USS Fitzgerald's catastrophic collision". Navy Times. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Shane, Scott (23 June 2017). "Maritime Mystery: Why a U.S. Destroyer Failed to Dodge a Cargo Ship". New York Times. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Rear Admiral Brian P. Fort: Commander, Navy Region Hawaii/Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific". U.S. Navy. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  16. ↑ Cole, William (23 June 2017). "Incoming Hawaii Navy commander to investigate fatal collision off Japan". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  17. ↑ Rich, Motoko (19 June 2017). "As Sailors' Bodies Are Flown to U.S., Fitzgerald Inquiries Intensify". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  18. ↑ Repair for USS Fitzgerald After Collision Will Cost More Than Fix to USS Cole After Terror Attack - News.USNI.org, 27 July 2017
  19. ↑ "Navy to Transport USS Fitzgerald by Heavy Lift Ship". Maritime Herald. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  20. ↑ LaGrone, Sam (11 July 2017). "USS Fitzgerald Commander Temporarily Relieved; Destroyer Enters Dry Dock". USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  21. ↑ Uhden, Eric (25 May 2017). "USS Fitzgerald Holds Change of Command Ceremony". www.public.navy.mil. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Willshaw, Fred (2017). "USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62)". navsource.org. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  23. 1 2 Dortch, Debbie (5 February 2012). "SECNAV Names 2012 Outstanding Food Service Ney Award Winners". U.S. Navy. Retrieved 4 October 2015.

Sources

Further reading

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