Commissioning
The USS Bridget was a member of the Dealey class of destroyer escorts. She was named in honor of Navy Capt. Francis Joseph Bridget, who won the Navy Cross and the Legion of Merit for his actions on the Philippine Islands in World War II. He was killed when the Japanese prison ship he was on was sunk on Dec. 15, 1944.
The order to build the Bridget was awarded to the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Co. of Seattle. Her keel was laid down on Sept. 19, 1955; she was launched on April 25, 1966. She was commissioned on Oct. 24, 1957, and joined the Pacific Fleet.
Underway
During her relatively short career, the Bridget would make seven deployments to the Western Pacific. She took part in several anti-submarine warfare exercises with the navies of other SEATO members and patrolled a number of hot spots in the region.
In during her first deployment to the Western Pacific, she patrolled the contested Taiwan Straits between communist China and Taiwan as tensions between those two countries remained high. The Bridget, which served as part of a U.S. task for intended to prevent any attack by the communists against Taiwan, patrolled the straits for two weeks in September 1958. She received her first Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for this deployment.
In 1964, 1966 and 1967, the Bridget was deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the Vietnam War zone. During her time there, she served in a number of roles, including carrier escort and search and rescue. For her deployment from August—November 1964; she received the Armed Force Expeditionary Medal; for the other deployments, she received the Vietnam Service Medal.
In September 1968, the Bridget was relegated to reserve status and homeported in Seattle. She became a training vessel for naval reserve personnel from the west coast of the United States. In July 1971, she became the flagship of the commander of Destroyer Squadron 37. During her time in the reserve fleet, the Bridget took part in several U.S.—Canadian anti-submarine warfare exercises and visited ports from Alaska to Mexico.
Decommissioning
The Bridget joined the reserves in September 1968. She was decommissioned when she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on Nov. 12, 1973 and sold for scrap in 1974.
Characteristics of the USS Bridget (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Class and type: Dealey-class destroyer escort
Displacement: 1,877 long tons (1,907 t) full load
Length: 314 ft 6 in (95.9 m)
Beam: 36 ft 9 in (11.2 m)
Draft: 18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion: 2 × Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 × De Laval geared turbine, 20,000 shp (15 MW)
1 shaft Speed: 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h)
Range: 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement: 170
Armament: • 4 × 3″/50 caliber guns
• 1 × Squid ASW mortar
• 6 × 324 mm (12.8 in) Mark 32 torpedo tubes
• Mark 46 torpedoes
Career:
Name: USS Bridget
Namesake: Francis Joseph Bridget
Laid down: 19 September 1955
Launched: 25 April 1956
Commissioned: 24 October 1957
Decommissioned: September 1968
Struck: 12 November 1973
Fate: Sold for scrap
Timeline:
September 1955: Keel of USS Bridget laid down
April 1956: USS Bridget launched
October 1957: USS Bridget commissioned
1964, 1966-67: USS Bridget serves in the Gulf of Tonkin during Vietnam War
September 1968: USS Bridget decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Bridget:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Bridget can be found on the unofficial navy website at: http://navysite.de. This list is compiled by former crewmembers that voluntarily register. Some quoted comments from former crewmembers are listed below; many more are available on the source website at the following Web address:
http://navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=de_1024
David Kasse (served May 1965—February 1967): “This independent Supply-Disbursing Officer first job after commissioning and graduating from NSCS was a great job and it was the incentive for me to volunteer for Vietnam duty and then make the decision to go regular Navy for a 20 year career.”
Steven Strable (served July 1966—June 1968): “Great crew and tour to Vietnam would like to hear from some of the old shipmates if they are still out there some where.”
Frank Doherty (served December 1970—June 1972): “Enjoyed the trips to Mexico,Canada & Alaska.”
Links:
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/mesothelioma/veterans/navy-destroyers-post-ww2/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bridget
http://navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=de_1024
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021024a.htm
