USS Goldsborough DDG 20 / Rear Admiral Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough / Charles F. Adams class Guided Missile Destroyer – US Navy

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Guided Missile Destroyer
DDG 20 - USS Goldsborough
		USS Goldsborough (DDG 20)						US Navy photo
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Destroyer; Charles F. Adams - class; planned and built as DDG 20;
Builder:		Puget Sound Bridge & Drydock, Seattle, Washington, USA;
STATUS:		Awarded: March 25, 1960 Laid down: January 3, 1961 Launched: December 15, 1961 Commissioned: November 9, 1963 Decommissioned: April 29, 1993 Fate: sold to Australia September 17, 1993 and cannibalized for spare parts; finally scrapped in India;
Homeport:		-
Namesake:		Named after and in honor of Rear Admiral Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough (1805 – 1877); > see history, below;
Ship’s Motto:		> NON SIBI < (not for self)
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO >> Guided Missile Destroyer / Charles F. Adams – Class
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Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough
Photo credits: US Navy, US Naval Historical Center,
Namesake & History:
Rear Admiral Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough – (February 18, 1805 – February 20, 1877);
Rear Admiral Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was born in the city of Washington, February 18, 1805. He early manifested a predilection for the sea. At the breaking out of the war with Great Britain-in 1812-being then seven years of age-he waited upon the Honorable Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, and solicited an appointment as a midshipman. He received this position without the aid or even the knowledge of his father, his warrant bearing date June 18, 1812 -the very day on which war was declared. In great exultation the incipient hero returned home with this unquestionable evidence of his appointment. His father was, however, a man of too nice a sense of honor to allow his son to draw pay while he was yet too young to perform duty. He accordingly waited upon the Secretary, and, while thanking him for the appointment, declined his receiving pay until capable of active service. The boy-sailor wore his uniform and attended school in Washington for several years, finally going to sea in 1817. His first cruise was in the " Franklin," a seventy-four, the Flag-Ship of Commodore Stewart, then in command of the Mediterranean squadron. She sailed from Philadelphia October 14,1817 , having on board the Honorable Richard Rush, Minister to England. The services of young Goldsborough as a midshipman were varied, in both character and position. He was promoted to a lieutenancy, January 13, 1825 . Obtaining leave of absence, and having an unofficial opportunity of visiting Europe , he made an extensive pedestrian tour in France and Switzerland , spending a fortnight with the Marquis de Lafayette. In 1827 he joined the " North Carolina ,: Captain Rodgers, in the Mediterranean . While cruising in the schooner " Porpoise," in the Grecian Archipelago, he distinguished himself by his dashing and gallant capture of a piratical brig-boarding her, and driving the pirates into their boats, and finally to the shore, keeping up a running fire upon, and producing great slaughter among them. In September, 1840, while in command of the "Enterprise," he captured at Bahia , Brazil , the pirate " Malik-Adhel," with a valuable cargo, which he sent into Baltimore . He received his commission as a Commander in the United States Navy, September 8, 1841. He was second in command of the " Ohio," at the bombardment of Vera Cruz; commanded a body of the crew of the " Ohio," detailed for shore service at the taking of Tuspan; and, after the Mexican war, was senior naval member of the joint Commission of Army and Navy officers to explore California and Oregon, and report on various military matters. He was appointed Captain, September 14, 1855 . From 1853 to 1857, he was superintendent of the Naval Academy at Annapolis -a position for which his studies and his mathematical ability fitted him in an eminent degree. During his administration many important improvements and changes were made, the general efficiency of the institution was greatly increased, and he received the special commendation of the Secretary of the Navy. After being relieved from this duty he was ordered to form a portion of a board to revise the " Ordnance Manual" for the use of naval officers. In 1858 he was ordered to the command of the frigate Le Congress, forty-four guns, the Flag-Ship of Commodore Sands, on the Brazil station. He returned home in that ship, just after the opening of hostilities in 1861. After being unemployed for a short time, he was, through the influence of Secretary Chase, appointed to the command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and hoisted his pennant on board the " Minnesotrt" Roanoke Island, the scene of Raleigh's colonization scheme, was the key to all the rear defences of Norfolk. In the joint expedition to capture that island, early in 1862, Burnside with 10,000 men were convoyed by a fleet under Flag-officer Goldsborough, and the island was taken by a combined attack, February 8, 1862 . For his services on this occasion he received the thanks of Congress. He dispersed and destroyed the confederate fleet under Commodore Lynch, in the North Carolina waters. During his absence the " Merrimac made her celebrated raid into Hampton Roads. He was appointed Rear-Admiral by act of July 16, 1862 , and soon after was relieved of his command. After the close of the Civil War, Admiral Goldsborough was put in charge of the European squadron. This was a mission of peace, and in his many reunions with brother sailors of other nationalities, he proved as genial a social companion as he had formerly been formidable as an enemy. He ended his active and useful life in the city of Washington , February 20, 1877.
USS Goldsborough (DDG 20):
The third GOLDSBOROUGH DDG 20, was built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company in Seattle, Washington, and was commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington on 9 November 1963, Captain Charles D. Allen Jr., in command. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Alan Bible, wife of U.S. Senator Bible of Nevada. After working up in the Puget Sound area, she completed a series of port visits on the mainland, and arrived in her new home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 14 February 1964. Following qualification and acceptance tests in April, she sailed for Sydney, Australia for the Coral Sea celebration and returned to Hawaii in June. GOLDSBOROUGH got underway in late November for Yokosuka, Japan and her first WestPac deployment with the Seventh Fleet. In February 1966 GOLDSBOROUGH made a second deployment to the Orient. She provided gunfire support for Operation "Binh Phu I" firing nearly 600 rounds. GOLDSBOROUGH also screened attack carriers on Yankee Station in the South China Sea. She participated in SEATO exercises in May, and was station ship at Hong Kong in June. On 26 June she was again off Vietnam on picket station. The ship returned to Pearl Harbor on 23 July. In August 1966, GOLDSBOROUGH entered the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for overhaul and extensive modification. In 1967 she participated in "Operation Sea Dragon", designed to interdict the North Vietnamese lines of supply into the Republic of Vietnam, and provided Naval Gunfire Support along the DMZ. During this deployment GOLDSBOROUGH fired nearly 10,000 rounds in support of allied forces and avoided over 800 rounds of hostile fire without damage to the ship. She was awarded the Naval Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service in Vietnamese waters from 29 August 1967 to 17 February 1968 upon her return to Pearl. In November 1968 GOLDSBOROUGH made her fourth Western Pacific deployment in five years, participating in eighty-eight gunfire missions in support of Vietnam, Republic of Korea, and U. S. Marine and Army forces. In 1969 GOLDSBOROUGH participated in the Apollo 11 Recovery Mission. The command module "Columbia" splashed down about 200 nautical miles south of Johnston Island at 12:50 GMT July 24, 1969. After a yard period in 1970, GOLDSBOROUGH made a fifth WestPac tour, departing Pearl in August and returning in February 1971. Again she provided Naval Gunfire Support for allied troops, and carried out carrier escort duties in the Gulf of Tonkin. Later that year she visited Portland, Oregon for the 1971 Rose Festival. In September 1971 GOLDSBOROUGH departed on her sixth deployment to the Western Pacific, providing Naval Gunfire Support for allied ground troops and performing carrier escort services. In early 1972 she was assigned to the recovery Task Force for Apollo 16. Departing again on 13 October 1972 for her seventh deployment to the Western Pacific, this would be her last trip to the "gunline" of Vietnam. In December, while conducting a combat mission GOLDSBOROUGH was hit by coastal artillery fire. The shore battery put a hole five feet wide through an upper deck. The ship's crew received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service between October 1972 and February 1973. The ship returned to Pearl Harbor in May 1973. GOLDSBOROUGH underwent a major overhaul at Pearl in 1974. Her electronics and weapons systems were modernized, and she was fitted with a new type of sonar. Her boilers and generators were rebuilt as well. She was badly in need of this overhaul, being well worn from her repeated deployments to the Western Pacific. During the 1980's GOLDSBOROUGH participated in Persian Gulf operations, including contingency activity during the Iranian hostage crisis. She conducted maritime escort duties during the Iran / Iraq war, escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf. GOLDSBOROUGH was modernized extensively in 83-84 at Pearl Harbor. In 86 the ship was host of the CNO Adm. Watkins. In September 1990, during Operation Desert Shield GOLDSBOROUGH made the first seizure of an Iraqi ship, the Zanoobia. The Iraqi ship was boarded and diverted to a neutral port by GOLDSBOROUGH crew members. The ship's action set the standard for future boarding operations during Operation Desert Shield. GOLDSBOROUGH completed her final forward deployment in October 1992 to Central America as part of a joint task force involved in counter-drug operations, setting the standard for joint aerial and surface detection and monitoring operations. Decommissioned and stricken April 29, 1993, she was sold to Australia, September 17, 1993 and cannibalized for spare parts for her three sister ships; Perth (D-38, ex DDG-25), Hobart (D-39, ex DDG-26), and Brisbane (D-41, ex DDG-27). Two other ships were named after Rear Admiral Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough: The first Goldsborough – a torpedo boat (TB 20) / 1908 – 1919; The second Goldsborough – a Clemson-class destroyer (DD 188) / 1920 – 1945;
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