USS Damato (DD-871)

For other ships with the same name, see PNS Tippu Sultan.

300px USS Damato (DD-871) off South America, in 1968
History
United States
Name:	USS Damato
Namesake:	Anthony P. Damato
Laid down:	10 May 1945
Launched:	21 November 1945
Commissioned:	27 April 1946
Decommissioned:	30 September 1980
Struck:	1 October 1980
Fate:	Transferred to Pakistan
Pakistan
Name:	Tippu Sultan
Namesake:	Tipu Sultan
Fate:	Scrapped, 1994
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type:	Gearing-class destroyer
Displacement:	2,616 tons standard; 3,460 tons full load
Length:	390.5 ft (119.0 m)
Beam:	40.9 ft (12.5 m)
Draught:	14.3 ft (4.4 m)
Propulsion:	2 shaft; General Electric steam turbines; 4 boilers; 60,000 shp
Speed:	36.8 knots (68.2 km/h)
Range:	4,500 nmi (8,330 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Armament:	6 × 5 in /38 cal guns (3×2) guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System with a Mk25 fire control radar linked by a Mark 1A Fire Control Computer stabilized by a Mk6 8,500 rpm gyro. 12 × 40 mm Bofors gun (2×2, 2×4) 16 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannon 10 × 21 inch torpedo tubes

USS Damato (DD-871) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was named for Corporal Anthony P. Damato USMC (1922–1944), who was killed in action during the Battle of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Damato was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Staten Island in New York on 10 May 1945, launched on 21 November 1945 by Mrs. A. P. Damato and commissioned on 27 April 1946.

History

1947-1962

From her home port at Newport, Rhode Island, and after December 1947, from Norfolk, Virginia, Damato cruised the Atlantic Ocean from Cuba to Newfoundland in training and exercises. In the summer of 1949 she carried midshipmen on a training cruise to France and England, and that fall joined in experimental cold-weather operations in Arctic waters.

File:USS Damato (DD-871) in 1946.jpg

Damato in 1946.

From September to November 1950, Damato had her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, and during the next year joined in hunter-killer operations in the South Atlantic. She was reclassified DDE-871 on 4 March 1951. She returned to the Mediterranean in the fall of 1951, the summers of 1952, 1953, and 1954. In both 1952 and 1953, she joined in autumn North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises in the North Atlantic and during the summer of 1955 joined a Midshipman Training Cruise to Norway and Sweden.

Between October and December 1956, she served with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, and on 12 June 1957 was in Hampton Roads for the International Naval Review. That summer she cruised to Brazil with midshipmen on board for training, then sailed for the Mediterranean in March 1958. She patrolled off the Levant, then passed through the Suez Canal to join the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf, returning to Norfolk for local operations in September. During 1959 she served with Task Force "Alfa," concentrating on the development of improved antisubmarine warfare techniques. She visited Quebec, Canada, in July, and in August sailed north again to pass through the St. Lawrence Seaway, dedicated a month previously. She called at Montréal, at Rochester, New York, and arrived at Toronto for the Canadian National Exposition, joining in the review of NATO naval forces taken by Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Britain's senior military officer. Returning home, Damato called at Ogdensburg, New York, and resumed east coast and Caribbean operations through 1962.

1963-1980

In 1963, Damato entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and underwent the FRAM I modernization until February 1964 and was reclassified DD-871. Damato then alternated operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean with the 2nd Fleet with deployments to the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet. From September 1972 to 1980, Damato operated with the Naval Reserve Force. She was decommissioned on 30 September 1980 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. U.S.S. Damato also served with Pacific Fleet From June 1967 until Feb 1968. In 1963, Damato entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and underwent the FRAM I modernization until February 1964 and was reclassified DD-871. Damato then alternated operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean with the 2nd Fleet with deployments to the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet. Damato began the decommissioning process sometime in 1969. It had minimal manpower on board for this purpose. Then, sometime in 1970, a decision was made to see how quickly a decommissioned ship could be placed back into combat ready service. Sailors began arriving on board to the dismay of those working the decommissioning of the ship. Damato, already without all of the combat electronics, began to reinstall this equipment. Damato set sail in February 1971 for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for combat readiness testing. It passed and was sent to the Mediterranean to serve with the 6th Fleet there. While there, Damato spent 30-plus days monitoring the activity of a Soviet heavy cruiser in port in Libya being replaced by an oil skimmer to continue. Damato received accommodations for its combat readiness while in the Mediterranean. Upon returning to Norfolk, VA, it set sail again for the North Atlantic on the western coast of Europe to participate in NATO exercises as a show of force toward the Soviet Union. From September 1972 to 1980, Damato operated with the Naval Reserve Force. She was decommissioned on 30 September 1980 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. U.S.S. Damato also served with Pacific Fleet From June 1967 until Feb 1968.

1980-1994

Damato was transferred to Pakistan as Tippu Sultan, on 1 October 1980 and scrapped in 1994.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.