USS Power (DD-839) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named for First Lieutenant John V. Power, USMC (1918–1944), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in the Battle of Kwajalein. This ship was involved in the Project SHAD tests off Newfoundland.
_underway_off_the_coast_of_Florida_on_21_June_1966.jpg) USS Power underway in 1966
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Power |
| Namesake | John V. Power |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works |
| Laid down | 26 February 1945 |
| Launched | 30 June 1945 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. George F. Power |
| Commissioned | 13 September 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 1 October 1977 |
| Stricken | 1 October 1977 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sold to Republic of China, 1 October 1977 |
| Badge | _insignia.png) |
| History | |
 Taiwan | |
| Name | Shen Yang |
| Namesake | Shen Yang |
| Acquired | 1 October 1977 |
| Commissioned | 18 December 1978 |
| Reclassified | DDG-923 |
| Decommissioned | 1 January 2006 |
| Identification | Hull number: DD-923 |
| Fate | Scrapped, November 2013[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Gearing-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 3,460 long tons (3,516 t) full |
| Length | 390 ft 6 in (119.02 m) |
| Beam | 40 ft 10 in (12.45 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m) |
| Propulsion | Geared turbines, 2 shafts, 60,000 shp (45 MW) |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 4,500 nmi (8,300 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 336 |
| Armament |
|
Construction and career
editPower was laid down on 26 February 1945 by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched on 30 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. George F. Power, mother of Lt. Power; and commissioned on 13 September 1945 at Boston.
Service in the United States Navy
editAfter shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Power sailed on 9 January 1946 on the first of many Mediterranean deployments. Returning to the east coast six months later, she remained in the western Atlantic and Caribbean until late in 1948 when she again sailed for Mediterranean waters, to patrol the coast of Palestine under the direction of the United Nations Mediation Board.
During early 1950, Power operated with units of the British Royal Navy and visited ports in Northern Europe, whence she steamed to the Mediterranean for another tour with the 6th Fleet. In the summer of 1952 Power completed a South American cruise, then returned to the east coast to resume her schedule of reservist and Midshipman training cruises, fleet and type exercises, and Mediterranean deployments.
On 12 January 1955, Power collided with USS Warrington during a night exercise near Puerto Rico.[2]
In early 1956 during ASW exercises Power was involved in a collision with the destroyer USS Eaton (DD-510).
Lebanon Crisis
editIn 1958 Power faced the Lebanon crisis with the 6th Fleet; and participated in the first Project Mercury launches after her return to the east coast.
From November 1960 to January 1962 Power received a Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM I) overhaul, giving her the ASROC system and DASH capability. By September 1962 she was back in the Mediterranean.
During her 1963 overseas deployment Power served with the Middle East Force and at the end of the year, into 1964, operated off eastern Florida in connection with the Polaris program. Following another Mediterranean cruise and further east coast exercises in late 1965, she steamed in mid-Atlantic as a member of the recovery teams for Gemini 6 and 7.
Vietnam War
editDuring 1966 and 1967, she again served with the 6th Fleet and the Middle East Force, but in August 1968 she transited the Panama Canal for a tour in the western Pacific. With the 7th Fleet from 26 September 1968, she served in the "Yankee Station" Surveillance Area and provided gunfire support and search and rescue (SAR) off South Vietnam. Power made a port call at Da Nang, South Vietnam on 13 November 1968. She arrived Mayport, Florida on 9 July 1969. Following a Med Deployment in 1973, Power was transferred to the Naval Reserve Fleet and homeport was moved to New York City at the NY State Maritime Academy pier (Fort Schuyler)
Power was decommissioned in September 1977, and sold to Taiwan in October.
Service in the Republic of China Navy
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The ship served in the Republic of China Navy as ROCS Shen Yang (DD-923).
Her number was changed to DDG-923 after she underwent Wu-Chin III modernization program.
Sheng Yang's decommissioning ceremony was held on 26 November 2005 in Keelung Harbor, in a ceremony hosted by Admiral Bon-Chi Chen, the commander-in-chief of the ROCN. Her official decommissioning was on 1 January 2006.[3]
The ship, then Taiwan's last ex-Gearing-class destroyer, will possibly become a museum ship but unfortunately plans fell through and she was scrapped in November 2013.
References
edit- ^ "● 台灣英雄艦當廢鐵賣，老兵不捨". ★ 台灣 旅遊網 ★ Taiwan Tour Guide Website. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ Arkin, William M.; Handler, Joshua (1989). Naval accidents, 1945-1988 (PDF). Washington, DC: Greenpeace/Institute for Policy Studies. p. 14. LCCN 91182987.
- ^ "歡迎光臨 - 明德新村". mingder-village.appspot.com. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.
External links
edit- Photo gallery of USS Power at NavSource Naval History
- USS Power Association website