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| USS John King (DDG-3) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | USS John King (DDG-3) |
| Ship class | Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down | 14 August 1959 |
| Launched | 2 July 1960 |
| Commissioned | 30 June 1961 |
| Decommissioned | 31 March 1990 |
| Struck | 20 November 1992 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 13 December 1994 |
| Displacement | ~4,526 tons full load |
| Length | 437 ft 6 in (133.4 m) |
| Beam | 47 ft (14.3 m) |
| Draft | 15 ft 8 in (4.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Geared steam turbines, 2 shafts |
| Speed | ~33 knots |
| Complement | 337 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | RIM-24 Tartar, 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun, ASROC, torpedoes |
| Role | Air defence, anti-submarine warfare |
| Nickname | John King |
USS John King (DDG-3) was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer that served the United States Navy from 1961 to 1990. Named for Chief Quartermaster John King, the ship conducted Cold War forward deployments, supported Vietnam War operations, and performed air defense and anti-submarine escort missions with Carrier Strike Groups and NATO forces. Throughout her career she participated in multinational exercises, crisis responses, and fleet modernization programs that reflected evolving United States Navy doctrine and technology.
John King was ordered as part of the Charles F. Adams-class program derived from developments in guided missile technology influenced by lessons from World War II and the early Cold War. Designed for area air defense around Carrier Strike Groups and task forces, her design incorporated the RIM-24 Tartar missile system, dual-purpose 5-inch Mark 42 gun, and antisubmarine weapons such as ASROC and torpedo tubes. Built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, her hull and engineering plant reflected contemporaneous shipbuilding practice alongside other Bath-built combatants like the USS Charles F. Adams (DDG-2). The vessel's propulsion used high-pressure steam turbines enabling speeds comparable to fleet carriers for escort duties, and her electronics suite integrated radars and fire control systems evolving from AN/SPS-48 and AN/SPS-49 lineages.
After commissioning on 30 June 1961, John King conducted shakedown and fitting-out operations along the United States East Coast, visiting ports such as Norfolk, Virginia, Boston, Massachusetts, and Charleston, South Carolina. Early assignments included participation in Atlantic Squadron maneuvers with units from Destroyer Squadron 8 and transits to the Caribbean for exercises with CINCLANT task groups and allied navies including units from Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and navies of the Latin America region. The ship integrated into fleet air defense screens for carriers like USS Enterprise (CVN-65) and trained with antisubmarine assets including Submarine Force Atlantic boats and Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron helicopters. During these years she also took part in Cold War contingencies such as patrols and presence missions linked to crises in the Cuban Missile Crisis aftermath and operations supporting NATO commitments.
John King deployed to the Western Pacific and entered the combat environment of the Vietnam War supporting carrier operations from Yankee Station and providing plane guard, escort, and radar picket duties for carriers like USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) and USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). The destroyer participated in naval gunfire support missions offshore near the Demilitarized Zone and coastal zones, interdicting maritime supply and providing illumination and counterbattery fire in coordination with Seabees and United States Marine Corps units ashore. John King conducted complex operations with Seventh Fleet surface action groups, providing air defense against potential threats and integrating with Carrier Air Wing fighters and A-4 Skyhawk and F-4 Phantom II strike aircraft. Her deployments included port visits to Yokosuka, Subic Bay, and Hong Kong, and she supported multinational logistics with units from Royal Australian Navy and Republic of Korea Navy allies.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s John King alternated Western Pacific cruises with Atlantic and Mediterranean deployments, operating under commands such as United States Seventh Fleet and United States Sixth Fleet. She participated in NATO exercises like Exercise Ocean Venture and bilateral drills with Royal Navy and French Navy units, escorted carriers including USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Constellation (CV-64), and conducted freedom of navigation operations in contested regions. John King performed counter-submarine warfare (ASW) barriers against Soviet Navy submarine patrols, tracked Soviet surface units including Kresta and Udaloy types, and supported maritime interdiction scenarios during crises such as the Yom Kippur War aftermath and tensions around the Persian Gulf. She undertook search and rescue coordination with United States Coast Guard assets and provided humanitarian port calls in Philippines, Japan, and Thailand.
To remain tactically relevant, John King underwent periodic overhauls and modernizations at shipyards including Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Bath Iron Works. Upgrades included improvements to radar and combat data systems reflecting successors to AN/SPS-48 arrays, replacement of electronic warfare suites aligning with AN/SLQ-32 family developments, and maintenance of the Tartar missile launchers and fire-control directors until fleetwide transitions to Standard Missile systems on later classes. Engineering availabilities replaced boiler and turbine components, updated habitability in line with Mare Island Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard practices, and incorporated damage control and stability modifications learned from incidents such as aircraft carrier fire lessons. Mid-life refits emphasized interoperability with emerging Aegis Combat System concepts, even as full Aegis installations became standard on Ticonderoga-class ships.
Following the end of the Cold War drawdown and changing force structure priorities under initiatives like the Base Realignment and Closure Commission adjustments, John King was decommissioned on 31 March 1990 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 November 1992. Transferred to the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility inventory, she was retained for potential transfer or disposal. Ultimately the ship was sold for scrap on 13 December 1994 and dismantled in accordance with commercial shipbreaking practices, concluding a service life that had spanned crises from Vietnam War operations to late Cold War deterrence patrols.
During her career John King earned multiple unit and campaign citations including Meritorious Unit Commendations and Battle "E", alongside campaign medals for service with the Vietnam Service Medal and expeditionary deployments recognized by Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Her namesake, Chief Quartermaster John King, was a Medal of Honor awardee for actions during the American Civil War, a legacy commemorated by shipboard ceremonies and visits from veterans and civic groups throughout the vessel's operational history.
Category:Charles F. Adams-class destroyers Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine Category:1960 ships