Commissioning
The USS Hartley, (DE 1029: destroyer escort), was named for Admiral Henry Hartley, founder of the Deep Sea Diving School. New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey, laid down her keel on October 31, 1955. Hartley launched on November 24, 1956. She was commissioned on June 26, 1957, carrying one hundred seventy enlisted men and officers, under the command of LTCDR C. N. Crandall, Jr.
Underway
Hartley took her shakedown cruise through the Caribbean and tested out the most advanced antisubmarine warfare (ASW) technology available at the time. She joined Escort Squadron 14 (CortRon 14) at her new homeport in Newport, Rhode Island and carried out several convoy and ASW exercises in January 1958. She and the rest of her squadron deployed with the US Sixth Fleet for the Mediterranean in May and patrolled off the coast of Lebanon during that country’s power struggle in July before returning to Newport in October. Her duties included ASW exercises and local operations until early the next year.
In February 1959, Hartley steamed out of Newport for a cruise around South America. She conducted ASW training exercises with navies of many South American nations, including Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. She sailed back into Newport in May and continued with ASW and escort exercises for another twelve months.
Hartley received a new, updated sonar dome in June 1960, after docking at the Monroe Shipyard near Boston. From there, she served as a training ship for Fleet Sonar School until November. She also aided NASA research teams in developing new recovery techniques for the early Mercury and Gemini space capsules starting in October 1961.
Hartley was completing another tour with Fleet Sonar School and was preparing for the exercise BEAGLE II with the Canadian Navy in October 1962. Before she was scheduled to leave, she was called away to take part in naval operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis. She patrolled near the island to stop Soviet ships carrying missiles and supplies and to prevent the establishment of a missile launching facility within ninety miles of the Florida coast. She also carried out surveillance and reconnaissance duties near Cuba in March 1963 as well as ASW exercises near Key West, Florida and Newport.
Beginning in September 1963, Hartley docked at Boston Naval Shipyard for overhaul and upgrades to her systems. She sailed back into service in late January 1964. For the next two months, she conducted training cruises near Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and with Fleet Sonar School in Key West. She returned to Newport in April and continued ASW exercises along the east cost for the rest of the year.
On her way back from Key West, Hartley took heavy damage from the Norwegian vessel Blue Master in June 1965. The freighter collided with her broadside during a storm in Chesapeake Bay. The larger ship nearly split the smaller destroyer escort in half and she took major damage to her engineering spaces. Thankfully, neither ship suffered any casualties. Hartley was towed into the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs and sailed back into Newport in October.
In May 1967, Hartley cruised Northern Europe and Scandinavia. That July, she entered the Mediterranean to take part in peacekeeping efforts during the Arab-Israeli Six Day War.
Decommissioning
Hartley was decommissioned on July 8, 1972 and stricken from the Naval Register on the same day. She was also sold to the Colombian navy the same day and renamed Boyaca.
Characteristics of the USS Hartley (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:
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Company
Laid down: 31 October 1955
Launched: 24 November 1956
Commissioned: 26 June 1957
Decommissioned: 8 July 1972
Struck: 8 July 1972
Motto: By the sword we seek peace
Fate: Sold to Colombia
Timeline:
October 1955 – USS Hartley keel laid down
November 1956 – USS Hartley launched
June 1957 – USS Hartley commissioned
January 1958 – USS Hartley joined CortRon 14
May 1958 – USS Hartley deployed to Mediterranean with US Sixth Fleet
July 1958 – USS Hartley patrolled Mediterranean during Lebanon crisis
February 1959 – USS Hartley sailed on cruise to South America
June 1960 – USS Hartley installed new high speed sonar dome
October 1961 – USS Hartley worked with NASA on new space capsule recovery techniques
October 1962 – USS Hartley patrolled Cuba coast during Cuban Missile Crisis
March 1963 – USS Hartley carried out surveillance missions off Cuba coast
September 1963 – USS Hartley underwent overhaul at Boston Naval Shipyard
January 1964 – USS Hartley resumed duty with new sonar equipment
June 1965 – USS Hartley damaged in collision with Norwegian freighter Blue Master
May 1967 – USS Hartley sailed for Northern Europe
July 1967 – USS Hartley took part in peacekeeping mission during Arab-Israeli Six Day War
July 1972 – USS Hartley decommissioned
July 1972 – USS Hartley stricken from Naval Vessel Register
Crewmembers of the USS Hartley:
An unofficial list of crewmembers that served on the USS Hartley 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/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=2013
David K. Hoff: (Served from August 1957 – June 1959) “The shake down cruise to South America will never be forgotten. Got to port in some of the same places as President Kennedy.”
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hartley_(DE-1029)
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=2013
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021029.htm
