History of the USS Cromwell (DE-1014)

USS Cromwell (DE-1014): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Cromwell, (DE-1014: destroyer escort), was named for Captain John P. Cromwell, a Medal of Honor winner during WWII. Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, earned the contract and laid down her keel on August 3, 1953. Cromwell launched on June 4, 1954. She was commissioned on November 24, 1954, carrying one hundred forty enlisted men and nine officers, under the command of LTCDR E. J. Cummings, Jr.

Underway

After her commissioning, Cromwell established her homeport at Newport, Rhode Island. From there, she conducted ASW exercises from the Virgin Islands to the North Atlantic. She also participated in fleet exercises in the Caribbean Sea and carried out duties near Key West as a training ship for the Fleet Sonar School. During September and October of 1957, she worked with NATO ships during exercises where she visited ports in England and France. Starting in May 1958, she had her first deployment in the Mediterranean, which ended that October. It was in those busy months that she, like her classmate USS Dealey, patrolled the eastern Mediterranean during the Lebanon crisis.

In February 1959, Cromwell left Newport on a two-month cruise, during which she transited through the Panama Canal and visited numerous ports on South America's western coast. While on this cruise, she conducted exercises with ships of the Peruvian Navy. From August until October, she sailed across the Atlantic again for NATO operations.

During the early part of 1960, Cromwell duties were focused on amphibious exercises with Marines along the coast of North Carolina. In the autumn of that year, she participated in NATO exercises, then came back to resume operations along the east coast for the rest of the year.

Decommissioning

Cromwell was decommissioned on July 5, 1972 and stricken from the Naval Register on the same day. She was to be transferred to New Zealand, but the transfer was never completed. She was sold for scrap in June 1973.
Characteristics of the USS Cromwell
(*Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cromwell_(DE-1014))

Characteristics of the USS USS Cromwell (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:

Namesake:     John P. Cromwell
Builder:     Bath Iron Works
Laid down:     3 August 1953
Launched:     4 June 1954
Commissioned:     24 November 1954
Struck:     5 July 1972
Homeport:     Naval Station Newport, RI
Fate:     Sold for scrap, 15 June 1973

Timeline:

August 1953 – USS Cromwell keel laid down
June 1954 – USS Cromwell launched
November 1954 – USS Cromwell commissioned
December 1954 – USS Cromwell established homeport in Newport, Rhode Island
September 1957 – USS Cromwell joined in NATO exercises
May 1958 – USS Cromwell deployed to Mediterranean
February 1959 – USS Cromwell transited Panama Canal and cruised South America
August 1959 – USS Cromwell participated in NATO operations
Early 1960 – USS Cromwell participated in amphibious exercises along Virginia and North Carolina coasts
Fall 1960 – USS Cromwell participated in NATO exercises
July 1966 – USS Cromwell underwent overhaul in Boston
July 1972 – USS Cromwell decommissioned
July 1972 – USS Cromwell stricken from Naval Vessel Register

Crewmembers of the USS Cromwell:

An unofficial list of crewmembers that served on the USS Cromwell 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=2003.

Lauren Reichard: (Served from December 1962 - June 1964) “Served with Cdr Roy Hoffman (now Admiral), made 3 Unitas Cruises, many friends, ED Berger, Ron Bauer, Pete Vonderbank. Had a great time.”

Robert A. Hughes, Jr. (Served from July 1966 – September 1969) “Arrived while ship was in the shipyards in Boston 1966 for an overhaul. Ship was listing at the dock and remained that way for a few days after I came aboard.”

Links:
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/destroyerspostwwii.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cromwell_(DE-1014)
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=2003
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021014.htm

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