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s e a f o r c e s – online
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Naval Forces
Technology, History & Information
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Guided Missile Cruiser
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DLG 19 / CG 19 - USS Dale
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USS Dale (CG 19)
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US Navy photo
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Type,
Class:
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Guided Missile Cruiser; Leahy - class;
built as DLG 19;
redesignated to CG 19: June 30, 1975; |
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Builder:
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New York Shipbuilding
Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, USA |
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STATUS:
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Awarded: November 7, 1958 Laid down: September 6, 1960 (as DLG 19) Launched: July 28, 1962 (as DLG 19) Commissioned:
November 23, 1963 (as DLG 19) Redesignated
CG 19: June 30, 1975 Decommissioned: September 27, 1994; Fate: sunk as a target – April 6, 2000 during a SINKEX exercise / Atlantic |
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Homeport:
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-
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Namesake:
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named after: Commodore
Richard Dale (1756-1826) |
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Ship’s
Motto:
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-
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Armament:
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Pictures,
photos & more ...
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USS Dale launches a Terrier missile off Point
Mugu, California – April 1964 |
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October 1971 |
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October 1971 |
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October 1971 |
October 1971 |
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Richard
Dale
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Photo credits: US Navy, US Naval Historical
Center, |
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Namesake
& History: |
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Commodore Richard Dale
(1756-1826): |
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Richard Dale was born in
Norfolk County, Virginia, on 6 November 1756. He went to sea at the age of
twelve and had command of several merchant vessels before his twentieth
birthday. After the outbreak of the American Revolution, Dale became an
officer in the Virginia State Navy. Taken prisoner by the British, he joined
the Loyalist forces but was subsequently captured by the Continental Brig Lexington.
That vessel's Commanding Officer, John Barry, persuaded young Dale to return
to the American cause. He was an officer on Lexington
from mid-1776 until she was taken by the British cutter Alert on 19
September 1777. Imprisoned in England, Dale twice escaped, finally making his
way to France. His next position was as a Lieutenant on board the Continental
warship Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones. He performed
valiantly during her desperate fight with HMS Serapis on 23 September
1779. For the remainder of the war, Dale served in the frigates Alliance
and Trumbull, and was Commanding Officer of the privateer Queen of
France. After the Revolution Dale was
again a merchant marine officer. When the United States established its Navy
in 1794, he was one of the first six men appointed to the rank of Captain,
though the Navy's lack of ships ensured that he was primarily employed in
commercial trade for the next four years. In 1798, after undeclared war began
with France, Dale took command of USS Ganges, in which he cruised in
search of enemy shipping. Returning to the merchant marine, he made a cruise
to China in 1799. In 1801 Captain Dale was given command of a U.S. Navy
squadron and sent to the Mediterranean Sea to confront the piratical states
along the North African coast. Relieved of this command in 1802, after a
successful cruise, he resigned his commission shortly afterwards. Dale spent the rest of his
life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was a prominent citizen and was
active in local defense efforts during the War of 1812. Richard Dale died in
that city on 26 February 1826. The U.S. Navy has named
five ships in honor of Richard Dale, including: USS Dale (1840-1921);
USS Dale (Destroyer # 4), 1902-1920; USS Dale (Destroyer # 290,
later DD-290), 1920-1931; USS Dale (DD-353), 1935-1946; and USS Dale
(DLG-19, later CG-19), 1963-2000. |
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USS Dale (DLG 19 /
CG 19): |
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The fifth DALE (DLG-19) was
laid down by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, 6 September 1960; launched 28
July 1962; sponsored by Mrs. Daniel J. Flood, wife of Congressman Flood,
Pennsylvania, 11th District; and commissioned 23 November 1963 at
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Captain Robert R. Crutchfield USN, commanding. Upon entering service she
was assigned to the Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force U.S. Pacific Fleet. As
a unit of the Pacific Fleet, DALE made five deployments to the far-east for
duty with the U.S. Seventh Fleet. During these deployments,
she operated in support of U.S. military operations in South Vietnam. DALE was decommissioned on
10 November 1970 for modernization to increase flexibility in combat systems.
A major portion of the modernization was the installation of the Naval
Tactical Data Systems (NTDS) which provides real time communications and
information displays to ship and force commanders. Upon recommissioning on 11
December 1971, DALE was assigned to Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U.S.
Atlantic Fleet, and homeported in Newport, Rhode Island. DALE began her first
Mediterranean Deployment in June 1973, participated in the multinational
exercise "Swift Move" in northern European waters, and helped augment
the Sixth Fleet during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. In February 1974, DALE
moved to her new homeport in Mayport, Florida. During 1974, DALE was selected
as the operational platform for the newly deployed AN/SPS-49 two-dimensional
air search radar, which took DALE to the Caribbean several times during 1974
and early 1975. On 30 June 1975 she was reclassified a guided missile cruiser
(CG-19). In October 1975, DALE deployed again to the Mediterranean,
participating successfully in several national and multinational exercises
and earning praise from Commander, Sixth Fleet and Commander-in-Chief, U.S.
Naval Forces, Europe on her departure for home. Returning to Mayport in May
1976, DALE participated in the international Naval Review in New York Harbor
celebrating the Nation's Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. Then DALE began a
regular twelve-month overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard which upgraded
DALE'S NTDS and Missile Fire Control Systems. Upon completion of the
overhaul, DALE returned to Mayport and made preparations for another
Mediterranean deployment in June 1978. DALE again had a very successful
deployment and returned to Mayport in February 1979 with many commendations
from both military and civilian authorities. In September 1979, DALE deployed
to the North Atlantic for two months to serve as the flagship for the
Commander Striking Force Atlantic Fleet for the NATO exercise "Ocean
Safari." In January and February 1980 DALE participated in the Atlantic
Fleet Readiness Exercise "READEX 1-80". DALE deployed to the
Mediterranean Sea in March 1980 and, as a unit of the Sixth Fleet, served as
flag ship for Commander-Destroyer Group Eight. A highlight of this deployment
was a visit to the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania. DALE returned to Mayport
in August 1980. The remainder of the year included two trips to the Caribbean
for carrier support operations and participations in "COMPUTEX/ASWEX
1-81". DALE entered Charleston
Naval Shipyard in March 1981 to begin a Baseline Overhaul to update the ship's
combat weapons systems and overhaul major engineering equipment. During the
overhaul, which DALE completed a month early in February 1982, the 3"/50
caliber gun mounts were replaced with Harpoon missile systems, and the
Phalanx Close-in Weapons Systems were added to the port and starboard sides. DALE completed Refresher
Training in June 1982, and since that time has been involved with her
continual cycles of inspections, and underway exercise periods DALE was decommissioned and
stricken from the Navy Register on 22 September 1994, then laid up with
reserve fleet at Philadelphia PA. In December 1999 she was
towed to the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility ranges out of Naval
Station Roosevelt Roads (NSRR), Puerto Rico, for use in the DD-21 Weapons
Effect Test (WET). The WET program is designed to help the Navy and naval
shipbuilders design ships with increased survivability against anti-ship
missile attacks. This test involved two separate events. On 17 December 1999, a 500
lb. WDU-40 SLAM-ER warhead was detonated in the aft portion of the ship. The
DALE was located on the South Range, approximately 75 miles south of
Roosevelt Roads. Then on 13 Jan 2000, F/A-18 pilots fired a tactical SLAM-ER
and made a direct hit into the forward portion of the ship. SLAM-ER was
chosen because of the missile’s ability to precisely hit a pre-determined
aimpoint on the ship. This event was off the North Range, approximately 160
miles north of Roosevelt Roads. For both tests, over 180 sensors were placed
throughout the ship to measure the level of damage inflicted on the ship. The missile was launched
and controlled by Lt. Russ "Beacon" McCormack. Lt. Keith
"Squishy" Henry and Lt. Scott "Squeeze" Topple flew in a
second F/A-18 with a backup missile. All F/A-18 pilots were from the Weapons
Test Squadron at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, Pt. Mugu,
California. Mid-course updates of the target ship location were transmitted
to the missile while it was in flight. This SLAM-ER capability allows it to engage
moving targets from long standoff ranges. SLAM-ER transmits infrared imagery
that allows the pilots to lock-on the seeker. After the test, DALE was
cleared for tow back to NSRR by Naval Sea Systems Command, Salvage
representatives. Once at NSRR the damaged area of the ship would be
thoroughly studied and documented. NVR reports that she was expended as a
target, 6 Apr 2000. |
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… and patches … |
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DLG 19 patch (1963) |
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