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| USS Conyngham (DDG-17) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | USS Conyngham (DDG-17) |
| Ship builder | Bath Iron Works |
| Ship class | Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer |
| Laid down | 2 November 1958 |
| Launched | 16 January 1959 |
| Commissioned | 7 January 1963 |
| Decommissioned | 1 October 1990 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 1994 |
| Displacement | 4,526 tons (full) |
| Length | 437 ft 4 in (133.3 m) |
| Beam | 47 ft 10 in (14.6 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam turbines, twin shafts |
| Speed | 33 knots |
| Complement | Approx. 324 |
| Armament | Tartar missile system, ASROC, 5-inch/54 caliber gun, torpedoes |
USS Conyngham (DDG-17) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy commissioned in 1963 and active through the late stages of the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Built by Bath Iron Works and named for Gideon Conyngham lineage, Conyngham served in multiple theaters, conducting naval gunfire support, anti-submarine warfare, and missile escort duties before decommissioning in 1990.
Conyngham was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine during a period of naval expansion sparked by the Cold War and the Naval Expansion Act. As a member of the Charles F. Adams-class, she reflected design evolution from the Fletcher-class and Gearing-class lineages toward guided missile capability, incorporating the RIM-24 Tartar system and dual-purpose 5-inch/54 caliber Mark 42 gun mounts. Her propulsion plant used steam turbines similar to those on contemporary Forrest Sherman-class destroyer designs, enabling integration with carrier task forces such as those centered on USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and USS Forrestal (CV-59). Armor and compartmentalization followed standards set after Battle of the Atlantic lessons, while sensor suites drew on developments from Naval Research Laboratory programs and partnerships with Raytheon and General Electric.
Commissioned on 7 January 1963, Conyngham entered service amid events including the Berlin Crisis of 1961 aftermath and heightened tension during the Cuban Missile Crisis aftermath. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and later the Pacific Fleet, she trained in Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea operations, participated in exercises with NATO partners such as Royal Navy units and embarked on shakedown cruises linked to Naval Station Norfolk deployments. Early assignments included plane guard duties for carriers like USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42), participation in UNITAS-style exercises with Argentine Navy and Brazilian Navy units, and integration tests for the AN/SPG-51 fire-control radar with Tartar missiles.
During the Vietnam War, Conyngham deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin and supported Operation Rolling Thunder targets through naval gunfire support and escort missions for carrier task groups including USS Coral Sea (CV-43) and USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). She conducted patrols along the South China Sea and coordinated with Seventh Fleet assets, interacting with units from the Republic of Vietnam Navy and participating in multi-national interdiction operations linked to Operation Market Time. In Cold War patrols, Conyngham escorted ballistic missile submarine deterrent patrols and shadowed Soviet surface units such as Soviet Navy cruisers and Kresta-class cruiser escorts, while her electronic warfare suites monitored emissions consistent with Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) practices of the era.
Throughout her career Conyngham received multiple modernizations to maintain combat effectiveness against evolving threats including upgrades to missile fire-control systems, radar suites and electronic countermeasures sourced from contractors like Westinghouse Electric Corporation and General Dynamics. Midlife overhauls at shipyards including Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard retrofitted improved ASROC launch capability, enhanced sonar arrays for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tasks, and worked on integrating newer versions of the Tartar family and point-defense systems inspired by developments such as the Phalanx CIWS. These refits aligned Conyngham with fleet modernization efforts contemporaneous with programs like Naval Sea Systems Command initiatives and Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM)-derived philosophies.
Conyngham's operational history included deployments to the Mediterranean Sea with Sixth Fleet units during crises such as the Yom Kippur War aftermath and escort operations tied to Operation Earnest Will-era doctrines. She participated in multi-national exercises alongside Royal Canadian Navy, French Navy, and Italian Navy vessels, and took part in freedom of navigation operations in contested waters reflecting United Nations maritime concerns. Incidents during her career involved on-board engineering casualties addressed during underway replenishment evolutions and friendly-force coordination events while operating with carriers including USS Nimitz (CVN-68). Crewmembers received commendations under standards influenced by Navy Unit Commendation criteria for performance during high-tempo deployments.
With the end of the Cold War restructuring of the United States Navy and the introduction of newer classes such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Conyngham was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1990. Transferred to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, she was later sold for scrap during post-Cold War reductions and processed in shipbreaking operations that paralleled disposals of other Cold War-era combatants like USS Barry (DD-933). Artifacts and shipboard memorabilia were preserved by naval heritage organizations including Naval History and Heritage Command affiliates and veterans' associations connected to Destroyer Escort Historical Museum-style groups.
Category:Charles F. Adams-class destroyers Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States Category:Vietnam War destroyers of the United States