Wednesday, June 4, 2014

2007 Rose Festival Fleet: USS Howard (DDG-83), USS Vandegrift (FFG-48) and HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331)

IMG_7014 USS Howard (DDG-83) in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
USS Howard

The USS Howard is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, which is now the only active class of destroyer in the US Navy. It is named after Marine Corps First Sergeant Jimmie E. Howard, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam leading a platoon of 18 men in holding their position when attacked by a battalion of 300 Viet Cong. Howard was injured by an enemy grenade, but continued to distribute ammunition to his men and direct air strikes. Over 12 hours, his platoon killed over 200 of the enemy while only losing six of their own.

IMG_7013 USS Howard (DDG-83) in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
USS Howard

The Howard is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that was built by the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. It was laid down on December 9, 1998, launched on November 20, 1999 and commissioned on October 20, 2001. It is 509 feet long, has a crew complement of about 380, has a top speed of over 30 knots with a range of about 4,400 nautical miles and carries various missiles, guns and torpedoes.

IMG_7011 USS Howard (DDG-83) in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
USS Howard

For more information, visit the official website of the USS Howard.

IMG_7068 USS Howard (DDG-83), USS Vandegrift (FFG-48) and HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
USS Howard with USS Vandegrift & HMCS Vancouver behind

They were difficult to see, but behind the USS Howard were two more ships: the US Navy frigate USS Vandegrift and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver.

IMG_7040 USS Howard (DDG-83), USS Vandegrift (FFG-48) and HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
USS Howard, USS Vandegrift & HMCS Vancouver

The USS Vandegrift one of 50 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates built for the US Navy. It is named after General Alexander A. Vandegrift, 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps. The Vandegrift was built at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Washington. It was launched on October 15, 1982 and was commissioned on November 24, 1984. As a Flight III "long-hull" Perry-class frigate, the Vandegrift is 453 feet long (8 feet longer than a Flight I, making it able to carry two SH-80 Sea Hawk helicopters instead of the smaller SH-2 Seasprites). The Vandegrift has a crew complement of about 213, has a top speed of about 30 knots with a range of about 5,000 nautical miles and carries various weapons including missiles, torpedoes and a 76mm gun.

For more information, visit the official website of the USS Vandegrift.

The HMCS Vancouver is one of 12 Halifax-class multi-role patrol frigates. It was built by St. John Shipbuilding in St. John, New Brunswick and was launched on July 8, 1989 as the second ship in the class, but on August 23, 1993 became the third in the class to be commissioned. It is 443 feet long, carries a crew complement of about 234, has a top speed of over 30 knots with a range of 9,500 nautical miles, and carries various weapons including missiles, machine guns, torpedoes and a 57mm gun.  In recent years, the Vancouver has been serving in an American carrier group in the Middle East as part of anti-terrorism operations.

Continue to HMCS Saskatoon (MM 709), HMCS Brandon (MM 710) and HMCS Nanaimo (MM 702)

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