History of the USS Hooper (DE-1026)

USS Hooper (DE-1026): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Hooper was a member of the Dealey class of destroyer escorts. She was named in honor of Rear Admiral Stanford Hooper, who served as head of the Department of Naval Communications during World War II.

The contract to build the Hooper was awarded to Bethlehem Steel’s Pacific Coast facility at San Francisco. Her keel was laid down on Jan. 4, 1956; she was launched on Aug. 1, 1957. She was commissioned on March 18, 1958.

Underway

The Hooper was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and based at San Diego. Her first major deployment began in late 1958, when she was sent to the Western Pacific to join the 7th Fleet. In the first weeks of 1959, the Hooper returned to the region as part of a U.S. task force serving as a buffer between communist China and Taiwan during the Quemoy Matsu crisis. She stayed in the area from early January to Mid-March and received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

After serving a two-month assignment as a school ship for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training from January to March 1962, the Hooper entered drydock for an overhaul. By early 1963, she had resumed normal operations, taking part in SEATO exercises in the Western Pacific. In July 1964, the Hooper returned to the Far East, taking up station in the Taiwan Straits for the better part of two months during a period of high tension between China and Taiwan.

In January 1966, the Hooper began another Western Pacific deployment. She spent most of her six-month tour in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam, contributing to American military operations. She would receive the Vietnam Service Medal for the first time during this deployment. In July, the Hooper was on her way back to San Diego when she was diverted to help search for a Royal Thai Army DC-3 carrying U.S. Brigadier General Joseph Stillwill Jr., but no wreckage was found.

The Hooper returned to the Gulf of Tonkin in 1967, spending much of the period between May and October performing numerous duties in support of U.S. carrier battle groups stationed off the Vietnamese coast.

Decommissioning

The Hooper was moved into a reserve role in 1968. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on June 6, 1973 and was later sold for scrap.

Characteristics of the USS Hooper (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 Hooper
Namesake: Stanford Caldwell Hooper
Builder: Bethlehem-Pacific Coast Steel Corp.
Laid down: 4 January 1956
Launched: 1 August 1957
Commissioned: 18 March 1958
Decommissioned: September 1968
Struck: 6 June 1973
Motto: Sans Peur ("Without Fear")
Fate: Sold for scrap

Timeline:

January 1956: USS Hooper’s keel laid down
August 1957: USS Hooper launched
March 1958: USS Hooper commissioned
1966-67: USS Hooper serves two tours in Vietnam combat zone
September 1968: USS Hooper moved into a reserve role
June 1973: USS Hooper decommissioned and struck

Crewmembers of the USS Hooper:

An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Hooper 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_1026

George Biles (served March 1957—1960): “Commissioning crew - first chief engineer. Sea trials were roughest ride I ever had on board any ship - no stores, no fuel, little equipment - we bounced like a cork off San Francisco testing flank speed! Great crew, good ship.”

James Search (served February 1970—March 1974): “Served aboard the Hooper until she was decommisioned, left and went to CBC Gulfport, Ms. Served there until getting out in 1976. Hooper had good men, and other than a Ice Breaker, the roughest riding ship in the Navy.”

Gary Wolff (served May 1971—June 1973): “Was part of decommissioning crew.”

Links:

http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/destroyerspostwwii.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hooper
http://navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=de_1026
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021026a.htm

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