USS Semmes DDG 18 / Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes / Charles F. Adams class Guided Missile Destroyer – US Navy

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Guided Missile Destroyer
DDG 18 - USS Semmes
		USS Semmes (DDG 18)							US Navy photo
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Destroyer; Charles F. Adams - class; planned and built as DDG 18;
Builder:		Avondale Shipyards, Inc; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA;
STATUS:		Awarded: July 21, 1959 Laid down: August 15, 1960 Launched: May 20, 1961 Commissioned: December 10, 1962 Decommissioned: April 14, 1991 Fate: stricken 13 September 1991; sold to Greece September 13, 1991; renamed HS Kimon (D 218); decommissioned on June 17, 2004; as of 2005 Kimon was in reserve at Souda Bay, Crete.
Homeport:		-
Namesake:		Named after and in honor of Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes (1809 – 1877); > see history, below;
Ship’s Motto:		> DARE TO EXCEL <
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO >> Guided Missile Destroyer / Charles F. Adams – Class
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HS Kimon (D 218) >>
Raphael Semmes
RADM Raphael Semmes				RADM Semmes Memorial – Mobile, Alabama, USA			Capt. Semmes & Lt. Kell on board of the CSS Alabama, 1863
Photo credits: US Navy, US Naval Historical Center,
Namesake & History:
Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes (September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877);
Raphael Semmes was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 to 1865. During the American Civil War he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS Alabama. Late in the war he was promoted to admiral and also served briefly as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. Semmes was born in Charles County, Maryland, the cousin of future Confederate general Paul Jones Semmes. He entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1826. While serving in the navy he studied law and was admitted to the bar. During the Mexican War, he commanded the brig USS Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship was lost in a storm off of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in December 1846. Semmes was commended for his actions during the loss of the Somers. After the Mexican War, Semmes went on extended leave at Mobile, Alabama, where he practiced law. He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1855 and was assigned to lighthouse duties until 1860. When Alabama seceded from the Union, Semmes resigned from the United States Navy and sought an appointment from the Confederate States Navy. In April of 1861 Semmes was accepted into the Confederate navy as a commander and was sent to New Orleans, Louisiana, ordered to convert a steamer into the cruiser/commerce raider CSS Sumter. In June 1861 Semmes ran the Federal blockade in the Sumter and commenced a career as one of the greatest commerce raiders in naval history. Semmes's time in command of CSS Sumter would last six months. He raided U.S. commercial shipping in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, accounting for 18 merchant vessels while eluding pursuing Union warships. In January 1862 the state of the Sumter was such that she required a major overhaul. Semmes attempted to have her repaired at Gibraltar, but the arrival of U.S. warships ended her career. Semmes and his crew escaped to England, where he was promoted to captain and was given command of the newly constructed CSS Alabama. Semmes sailed on the Alabama from August of 1862 to June of 1864. His operations carried him from the Atlantic, to the Gulf of Mexico, around the Cape of Good Hope, and into the East Indies. During this cruise the Alabama captured some 60 U.S. merchantmen and destroyed one U.S. warship, the USS Hatteras. The Alabama returned to the Atlantic and made port in Cherbourg, France, where she was blockaded by the USS Kearsarge. Captain Semmes took Alabama out and met the Kearsarge in one of the most famous naval engagements of the war. The commander of the Kearsarge cleverly turned his ship into a makeshift ironclad by draping the sides with chains. This, combined with the poor quality of gunpowder on the Alabama, ensured a Union victory. Semmes was wounded in the battle, but was rescued by the British yacht Dearhound. Semmes went to England where he recovered. Semmes made his way back to the Confederacy where he was promoted to rear admiral in February 1865 and, during the last months of the war, commanded the James River Squadron. With the fall of Richmond, Virginia, in April 1865, Semmes supervised the destruction of his squadron and was appointed as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. Semmes's sailors were turned into an infantry force. Semmes was briefly held as a prisoner after the war. He was arrested for treason on December 15, 1865, but was released on April 7, 1866. After his release he worked as a professor of philosophy and literature at Louisiana State Seminary (now Louisiana State University), a judge, and a newspaper editor. He returned to Mobile and resumed his legal career. Semmes defended both his actions at sea and the political actions of the Southern States in his 1869 book Memoirs of Service Afloat During The War Between the States. The book was viewed as one of the most cogent, but bitter, defenses of the Lost Cause. Raphael Semmes died on 30 August 1877. Raphael Semmes is a member of the Alabama Hall of Fame. - A part of history about - USS Kearsarge vs. CSS Alabama, 19 June 1864 – After nearly two years of highly successful cruising at the expense of the United States' commercial shipping, CSS Alabama returned to European waters in early June 1864. Badly in need of a refit, she put into Cherbourg, France, on 11 June. News of her presence soon reached the USS Kearsarge , which promptly steamed to Cherbourg, arriving on the 14th. Seeing that he was blockaded, with repairs delayed and with the probabability that his ship would not be able to resume her raiding activities, Alabama's Captain Raphael Semmes challenged Kearsarge's Captain John Winslow to a ship-to-ship duel. That suited Winslow very well, and he took station offshore and waited. After four days of coaling, drill and other preparations, Alabama steamed out of Cherbourg harbor in the morning of 19 June 1864, escorted by the French ironclad Couronne, which remained in the area to ensure that the combat remained in international waters. On paper, Kearsarge and Alabama were well-matched, with the Union warship having a slight advantage in gun power and speed. As the Confederate approached, Kearsarge steamed further to sea, to ensure that Alabama could not easily return to port. At 10:50 AM, Captain Winslow put his ship around and headed for the enemy. Alabama opened fire a few minutes later, at a distance of about a mile, and continued to fire as the range decreased. As the ships closed to about a half-mile, Kearsarge turned and began to shoot back. Both ships had their guns trained to starboard, and the engagement followed a circular course, with the ships steaming in opposite directions and turning to counter the other's attempts to gain an advantageous position. Superior Federal gunnery, and the deteriorated condition of Alabama's powder and shells, soon began to tell. Though Alabama hit her opponent several times, the projectiles caused little damage and few casualties. One shell hit Kearsarge's sternpost, failed to explode and survives today as a relic of the battle. After about an hour's shooting, Alabama was beginning to sink, with several men killed and many others wounded. Among the injured was Semmes, who turned and tried to run back toward Cherbourg. However, when Kearsarge headed him off and the rising water stopped his engines, Semmes struck his flag. As Alabama sank, some twenty minutes after firing ceased, most of her crew were rescued by the victor and by the British yacht Deerhound. Those saved by the latter, including Semmes and most of his officers, were taken to England and thus escaped capture and imprisonment. One of the Civil War's most significant naval actions was at an end, as was the career of the Confederacy's most destructive ocean raider.
USS Semmes (DDG 18):
The Semmes (DDG-18) was laid down on 18 August 1960 at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.; launched on 20 May 1961; sponsored by Mrs. F. E. Hebert; and commissioned on 10 December 1962, Comdr. Richard G. Alexander in command. Following shakedown, Semmes joined Destroyer Division (DesDiv) 62, Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 6, at Charleston, S.C., in July 1963; and, into the summer of 1964, participated in various fleet exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Toward the end of that summer, she sailed east for a six-week NATO exercise "Masterstroke/Teamwork," in the North Atlantic Norwegian Sea area, and, on 22 September, she crossed the Arctic Circle. Two months later, on 28 November she deployed to the Mediterranean for her first tour of four months, with the 6th Fleet. She returned to Charleston in time to participate in the 2d Fleet's exercises during the spring of 1965. She then took part in support operations off the Dominican Republic. From February to July 1966, the guided missile destroyer conducted her second tour with the 6th Fleet and, on her return to the United States, changed her home port from Charleston to Norfolk, effective 1 August in anticipation of her first major overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. In April 1967, Semmes resumed operations with refresher training in the Caribbean. In July, she rejoined DesRon 6 at Charleston; and, in August, she deployed for her third tour with the 6th Fleet. She participated in fleet and NATO exercises into January 1968; then returned to Charleston, arriving on the 31st for a month's rest before resuming operations in the Caribbean and off the east coast. On 10 June, Semmes again sailed east. During that month and into July, she visited Germany and Denmark then turned south for another 6th Fleet deployment. On 15 November, she was relieved by John King (DDG-3) at Rota, Spain; and, 11 days later, she returned to Charleston where she remained in port for the rest of the year. In January 1969, she cleared Charleston to participate in ASW and "Springboard" exercises in the Puerto Rican operating area, then returned to her homeport. In April, she returned to the Caribbean for 2d Fleet exercises. Through the summer, Semmes continued to conduct exercises in the Caribbean and off the southeastern seaboard. In late September, she again crossed the Atlantic for a seven-month deployment with the 6th Fleet; and, on 10 February 1970, while moored at Naples, she was struck by the Greek freighter, SS Mautrie. The damage sustained to her bow was quickly repaired; and, before the end of the month, she had resumed operations. By mid-March, she had arrived at Barcelona for turnover with Conyngham (DDG-17). On the 18th, she departed the Mediterranean; and, on the 28th, she returned to Charleston. During 1971, her schedule remained basically the same, but her annual tour with the 6th Fleet, 16 July to 11 October, was followed by visits to the Netherlands and to Denmark for binational and NATO operations. On 20 December, Semmes returned to South Carolina, and, in January 1972, she entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for conversion of her engineering plant to the Navy Distillate Fuel Oil System. With the spring, she resumed operations off the east coast and in the Caribbean. In September, she participated in NATO exercise "Strong Express," which again took her above the Arctic Circle and which was followed by visits to Norway and Denmark. In October, she returned to Charleston. In November, she conducted exercises in the Caribbean; and, in December, she prepared for another deployment in the Mediterranean with NATO's Standing Naval Force, Atlantic. After sea trials in the Charleston operating area, Semmes got underway from that port on 4 January 1973. She arrived in Portsmouth, England, on the 15th, joining the NATO naval force there. For the next seven months, the guided missile destroyer cruised the Atlantic visiting ports on both sides of that ocean and participating in three exercises: NATO Exercise "Sunny Seas," in January and February, Canadian Exercise MARCOT 2/73, in April and May, and Norwegian Exercise "Midnight Sun" in June. On 1 July, Semmes changed operational control back to the 2d Fleet and nine days later, returned to Charleston. Following a month of post-deployment standdown, from 10 July until 10 August, she resumed operations along the eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean. In November and December, she took part in Exercises "Fun in the Sun" and LANTREADEX 2-74. Semmes reentered Charleston on 19 December to prepare for overhaul. > more DDG 18 history wanted … Semmes was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 14 April 1991. Sold to Greece on 13 September 1991 and renamed HS Kimon (D 218). She was decommissioned on 17 June 2004, and, as of 2005, in reserve at Souda Bay, Crete.
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