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| USS Hull (DD-945) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | USS Hull (DD-945) |
| Ship namesake | Isaac Hull |
| Ship class | Forrest Sherman-class destroyer |
| Builder | Bethlehem Steel Corporation |
| Laid down | 21 August 1956 |
| Launched | 15 November 1957 |
| Commissioned | 19 December 1958 |
| Decommissioned | 17 February 1983 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1999 |
| Displacement | 4,050 tons (full load) |
| Length | 418 ft 6 in (127.6 m) |
| Beam | 45 ft 6 in (13.9 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m) |
| Propulsion | Geared steam turbines, 70,000 shp |
| Speed | 32 knots |
| Complement | 336 officers and enlisted |
USS Hull (DD-945) was a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer of the United States Navy named for Isaac Hull, commissioned in 1958 and serving through the Cold War era into the early 1980s. Hull operated in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, and Western Pacific Ocean, participating in multinational exercises, crisis response, and naval gunfire support missions. The ship underwent modernization, earned multiple unit citations and campaign medals, and was decommissioned in 1983 before being sold for scrap in 1999.
Hull was laid down at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation shipyard in San Francisco, California during a period of post-Korean War naval rearmament, reflecting lessons from World War II and early Cold War requirements. As a member of the Forrest Sherman class, she shared hull lines, steam turbine machinery, and a design philosophy emphasizing high speed and multi-mission capability akin to contemporary Gearing-class destroyer evolutions. Her construction incorporated welding techniques developed at Bethlehem and fittings standardized under Naval Ship Systems Command procurement. Launched in November 1957 and sponsored in a christening ceremony drawing representatives of Navy Shipbuilding interests, Hull commissioned in December 1958 under the command of a commissioned officer from the United States Naval Academy community.
Following fitting out and shakedown training, Hull joined the Atlantic Fleet and conducted operations from homeports that included Norfolk, Virginia and Mayport, Florida. She integrated into cruiser-destroyer groups and task forces during deployments to the Mediterranean Sea with the United States Sixth Fleet and participated in peacetime show-the-flag operations linked to NATO commitments such as interactions with Standing Naval Force Atlantic units and bilateral exercises with the navies of United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Turkey. Hull transited the Panama Canal for occasional assignments in the Pacific Ocean and supported carrier battle groups during underway replenishment evolutions, plane guard duties, and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) screens shaped by encounters with Soviet Navy submarines amid Cuban Missile Crisis era tensions.
Hull took part in numerous multinational exercises including NATO Exercise series and CENTO-linked maneuvers, and deployed to the Vietnam War theater to provide naval gunfire support along the South China Sea littoral, coordinating with Task Force 77 carrier air operations and United States Marine Corps and Republic of Vietnam Navy ground units during coastal bombardment missions. She supported contingency operations during Caribbean crises and conducted port visits in strategic locations such as Gibraltar, Haifa, Piraeus, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Riyadh (via diplomatic engagements), Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, and Subic Bay. Hull participated in ASW hunter-killer groups testing tactics against Soviet submarine patrol patterns and engaged in ballistic missile tracking support with coordination involving Ballistic Missile Early Warning System assets and allied radar installations. During one Mediterranean deployment, Hull joined multinational tasking during a Middle East flare-up, coordinating with units assigned to the Sixth Fleet and allied destroyers from Greece and Spain.
As built, Hull mounted three 5-inch/54 caliber dual-purpose gun mounts, an array of 21-inch torpedo tubes for ASW, and anti-aircraft armament consistent with Forrest Sherman specifications influenced by post-Korean War evaluations. Her sensor suite featured air-search and surface-search radars procured under Naval Electronics programs, and sonar systems tied to ASW doctrine emerging from Anti-Submarine Warfare developments. During service, Hull received modernization alterations including improved fire-control systems, electronic countermeasures hardware, and upgrades to communication suites conforming to Naval Tactical Data System concepts. Crew habitability improvements paralleled Naval Personnel initiatives and maintenance cycles at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and other naval yards implemented hull and machinery overhauls under In-Service Support contracts.
Hull was commanded by a succession of commissioned officers drawn from United States Naval Academy graduates and Naval Reserve call-ups; commanding officers rotated on typical command tours and were responsible for integration into carrier task groups led by admirals from United States Fleet Forces Command and fleet commanders serving within U.S. European Command and U.S. Pacific Command areas of responsibility. Many COs previously served in destroyer divisions and on destroyer tenders, reflecting career progressions through surface warfare officer pipelines certified by Surface Warfare Officers School Command. (Specific names of commanding officers are documented in naval registers and shipboard cruise books held by the Naval History and Heritage Command and naval museum archives.)
During her active career, Hull earned campaign medals and unit commendations tied to deployments in the Vietnam War era, NATO operations, and extended fleet exercises. Awards included campaign ribbons authorized by the Department of the Navy and unit-level citations recognizing performance in gunfire support and ASW operations. Hull’s crew received individual and unit commendations in line with Navy Unit Commendation criteria and other service awards governed by Department of Defense directives.
Hull was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 February 1983 as part of fleet reductions and a modernization cycle that favored newer guided-missile destroyer designs such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. She entered the naval disposal program, was transferred to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service, and ultimately sold for scrap, with dismantling completed in 1999. Artifacts and memorabilia from Hull’s service remain in collections at naval museums and veteran organizations including local destroyer associations and historical repositories.
Category:Forrest Sherman-class destroyers Category:Cold War naval ships of the United States Category:Ships built in San Francisco