USS Preble DDG 88 / Commodore Edward Preble / Arleigh Burke class Guided Missile Destroyer – US Navy

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Guided Missile Destroyer
DDG 88 - USS Preble
		USS Preble (DDG 88)					US Navy photo
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Destroyer; Arleigh Burke – class / Flight IIA; planned and built as DDG 88;
Builder:		Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: December 13, 1996; Laid down: June 22, 2000; Launched: June 1, 2001; Commissioned: November 9, 2002; ACTIVE UNIT/ in commission (Pacific Fleet)
Homeport:		San Diego, California, USA
Namesake:		Named after and in honor of Commodore Edward Preble (1761 – 1807); > see history, below;
Ship's Motto:		> INTREPID PATRIOT <
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO > Guided Missile Destroyer / Arleigh Burke - class. ... see also: USS Preble (DDG 46);
Pictures, photos & more ...
Edward Preble
Photo credits: US Navy, US Naval Historical Center
Namesake & History:
Commodore Edward Preble (August 15, 1761 – August 25, 1807);
Edward Preble was born at Falmouth, Maine on August 15, 1761 and began his career at the age of sixteen when he ran away to sea on a privateer. Two years later, he was appointed a midshipman on the frigate Protector and fought two engagements before being captured in 1781. The following year, after his release, he became First Lieutenant on the cruiser Winthrop. While on this ship, Preble earned a reputation for undaunted courage and presence of mind. In one mission he led a boarding party in the capture of an anchored British brig at Castine, Maine, and escaped with her under hostile shore fire. After the Revolutionary War, Preble remained in the merchant service. He was appointed a First Lieutenant in the United States Navy in April of 1798, and ordered the following January to command the brig Pickering of the U.S. Revenue Marine. The Pickering sailed in the squadron of Commodore Barry, protecting American commerce against French privateers in the West Indies. Commissioned a Captain on 7 June 1799, he took command of the new frigate Essex in December, and sailed from New York in January 1800 to afford protection to American vessels engaged in China and Eastern trade. During this cruise Preble had the honor of being the first naval officer to fly the American flag east of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1803 on board his flagship, USS CONSTITUTION, Preble sailed against the Barbary pirates as Commodore of a seven-ship, thousand-man squadron. In October of that year he established a peace treaty with the Emperor of Morocco, and then effected a blockade of the harbor of Tripoli. Preble and his Tripolitan campaign became one of the focal points for the development of the fighting tradition of the U.S. Navy. Not satisfied with a passive blockade, Preble attacked the harbor, which was well-fortified and defended by 25,000 men. In a series of daring raids, Preble's men caused severe damage and inflicted heavy causalities, a direct result of strenuous training and bold thinking. Preble's influence extended not only to events of his time, but also to the later successes of Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Charles Stewart, Isaac Hull, and David Porter, all of whom served under his command at Tripoli. In 1804 Preble returned to the United States to supervise the construction of gunboats. He died a few years later on August 25, 1807.
USS Preble (DDG 88):
In June 2004, she deployed with join Expeditionary Strike Group III centered around Belleau Wood (LHA-3) to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf. During a routine logistics run on 1 September 2004, a UH-3H Sea King helicopter's tail rotor came apart after hitting the helicopter control tower while landing aboard Preble, inuring three sailors; one seriously. The helicopter did land however, and its ten passengers were unhurt. Preble arrived at Bahrain the next day to offload the damaged helicopter. …more DDG 88 history wanted …
… and patches …
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