USS Basilone (DD-824)

USS Basilone (DD-824)
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Ship name	USS Basilone (DD-824)
Ship country	United States
Ship namesake	John Basilone
Ship builder	Bath Iron Works
Ship laid down	24 June 1945
Ship launched	15 February 1946
Ship sponsor	Mrs. Jennie Basilone
Ship commissioned	9 May 1949
Ship decommissioned	1 October 1981
Ship fate	Sold for scrap, 1982
Ship class	Gearing-class destroyer
Ship displacement	3,460 tons (full load)
Ship length	390 ft 6 in (119.06 m)
Ship beam	41 ft 1 in (12.52 m)
Ship draft	14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
Ship propulsion	4 × boilers, 2 × geared steam turbines, 2 shafts
Ship speed	35 knots (65 km/h)
Ship complement	336 officers and enlisted
Ship armament	Original: 6 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns, 12 × 40 mm AA, 11 × 20 mm AA, 10 × 21 in torpedo tubes; post-FRAM: ASROC, DASH, torpedo tubes

USS Basilone (DD-824) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy named for John Basilone, a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient for valor during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Commissioned in 1949, Basilone served through the early Cold War, participating in Korean War era operations, Atlantic and Mediterranean deployments, and a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul before decommissioning in 1981.

Construction and Commissioning

Basilone was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine on 24 June 1945, launched on 15 February 1946 with Mrs. Jennie Basilone as sponsor, and commissioned at Charlestown Navy Yard on 9 May 1949. Built to the final wartime Gearing class design, she embodied improvements initiated during World War II naval construction programs and followed postwar destroyer development trends influenced by lessons from the Battle of the Atlantic, Pacific War, and fleet actions such as the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Service History

After shakedown along the East Coast of the United States and training at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Basilone joined the Atlantic Fleet for operations that included exercises with Task Force 27, antisubmarine warfare (ASW) drills influenced by encounters with U-boat operations, and goodwill visits to NATO allies. Deployments alternated between the Mediterranean Sea with the United States Sixth Fleet—operating alongside carriers like USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) and cruisers such as USS Des Moines (CA-134)—and patrols in the western Atlantic amid tensions like the Berlin Blockade aftermath and crises such as the Suez Crisis.

Korean War and Cold War Operations

Although commissioned after active Korean War combat began, Basilone conducted patrols, escort duty, and ASW training during the Korean-era period, contributing to force readiness for contingency operations near Pusan and logistic coordination with Military Sea Transportation Service. In Cold War years she alternated Atlantic and Mediterranean cruises, participated in NATO exercises such as Operation Mainbrace and Operation Strikeback, conducted plane guard and escort operations for carrier task groups featuring ships from the United States Sixth Fleet and allied navies including the Royal Navy and French Navy, and made port calls at strategic harbors like Gibraltar, Naples, La Spezia, and Valencia.

Modernizations and FRAM Overhaul

To counter emergent submarine threats exemplified by Soviet Navy advances in November-class submarine capabilities, Basilone underwent a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM I) overhaul. The FRAM refit equipped her with contemporary systems such as the Anti-Submarine Rocket (ASROC) launcher, the Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter (DASH) system, upgraded sonar like the SQS-23, and modernized fire control and electronic suites paralleling refits on sister ships including USS Joseph Strauss (DD-843) and USS Turner (DD-834). Post-FRAM, Basilone resumed deployments with enhanced ASW capability, integrated into hunter-killer groups and multinational ASW exercises with units from Canada, United Kingdom, and West Germany.

Decommissioning and Fate

After over three decades of service through events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis era readiness posture and sustained Cold War patrols, Basilone was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1981. She was sold for scrapping in 1982, concluding the operational life that paralleled the careers of contemporaries like USS Sample (FF-1048) and retired destroyers of the Forrest Sherman-class lineage.

Awards and Honors

Basilone's service earned unit commendations and campaign recognitions reflecting Cold War operations and readiness contributions; her namesake connection highlighted John Basilone's legacy recognized by the Medal of Honor and subsequent memorializations including namesake streets, parks, and memorials in Raritan Township, New Jersey and Buffalo, New York. The ship's crew participated in NATO exercises cited by fleet award authorities and received naval unit service ribbons associated with Mediterranean and Atlantic deployments.

Category:Gearing-class destroyers Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine Category:1946 ships Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States Navy