USS Fletcher (DD-992)
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| Career | 
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| Ordered: | 15 January 1975 |
| Laid down: | 24 April 1978 |
| Launched: | 16 June 1979 |
| Commissioned: | 12 July 1980 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 October 2004 |
| Fate: | Out of service. Currently awaiting disposal. |
| Struck: | n/a |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9,040 tons (8200 t) |
| Length: | 563 ft (172 m) |
| Beam: | 55 ft (17 m) |
| Draught: | 32 ft (10 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines |
| Speed: | 30+ kts (55+ km/h) |
| Complement: | 24 officers and 272 enlisted |
| Armament: | 8 Harpoon (from 2 quad launchers), Tomahawk, VLS or ABL; Vertical Launch ASROC (VLA) missiles; six MK-46 torpedoes (from 2 triple tube mounts); two 5"/54 caliber Mk-45 (lightweight gun); two 20mm Phalanx CIWS |
| Motto: | Pace et Bello Paratus, "In Peace and War Prepared" |
USS Fletcher (DD-992), the thirtieth Spruance-class destroyer, was named after Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and the second ship in the United States Navy to bear this name.
Designed and built by Ingalls Shipyards of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Fletcher was a member of the first major class of surface ships in the United States Navy to be powered by gas turbine engines. Four General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines, marine versions of those used in DC-10 aircraft, drove the ship at speeds in excess of 30 knots. Twin controllable reversible pitch propellers provided Fletcher with a degree of maneuverability unique among warships of her size.
Commissioned in July 1980, she was immediately sent to join the Pacific Fleet. Starting in 1982, Fletcher made regular deployments to the western and southern Pacific, with some of those extending into the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf areas. During the 1990s, she was modernized with the vertical launch system, giving her a much broader range of capabilities.
A highly versatile multi-mission destroyer, Fletcher was capable of operating of operating independently or in company with Amphibious or Carrier Task Forces. Fletcher's main mission was to operate offensively in a Strike Warfare or Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. The Tomahawk Weapons Systems provided Fletcher with long range cruise missile capability for use in tactical strike operations. Fletcher's primary passive ASW sensor was the AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar (TACTAS). Fletcher's active sonar together with the MK 116 Underwater Fire Control System combined as one of the most advanced underwater detection and fire control systems ever developed. The Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) provided the ship with faster and more accurate processing of target information. Integration of the ship's digital gun fire control system in the NTDS provided quick reaction in the mission areas of shore bombardment, Anti-Surface, and Anti-Aircraft Warfare.
The ship's weapons included a sixty-one cell MK 41 Launching System for firing Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) and Anti-Submarine Rockets (ASROCs), two MK 45 light weight 5-inch guns, two triple barrel MK 32 torpedo tubes, and facilities for operating LAMPS helicopters. The ship was also armed with the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System, a short range, surface-to-air defensive weapon, and the HARPOON Weapon System, a medium range, surface-to-surface, anti-ship cruise missile. For defense against anti-ship missile, Fletcher employed two MK 15 (PHALANX) 20 mm Close-In Weapons System, SRBOC chaff, and topside armor in addition to the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System. The AN/SLQ-32 countermeasures set provided Fletcher with additional defense against anti-ship missiles through the use of active electronic countermeasures.
Crew comfort and habitability were an integral part of Fletcher's design. Berthing compartments were spacious and the ship was equipped with amenities not usually found aboard other destroyers, including a crew's gymnasium. Although Fletcher was as large as a World War II cruiser, a high degree of automation permitted a crew of 24 officers and 296 enlisted to operate the ship.
See USS Fletcher for other ships of this name.
External Links
- navysite.de: USS Fletcher (http://www.navysite.de/dd/dd992.htm)
- history.navy.mil/photos: USS Fletcher (http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-f/dd992.htm)
- navsource.org: USS Fletcher (http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/992.htm)
- USS Fletcher alumni website (http://www.dd992.org/forum/portal.php)