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USS John S. McCain (DDG-56)

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For other ships of the same name, see USS John S. McCain.
USS John S. McCain (DDG-56)
USS John S
Career Flag of the United States
Name: USS John S. McCain
Namesake: John S. McCain, Jr. and John S. McCain, Sr.
Ordered: 13 December 1988
Builder: Bath Iron Works
Laid down: 3 September 1991
Launched: 26 September 1992
Commissioned: 2 July 1994
Homeport: Yokosuka, Japan
Motto: Fortune Favors the Brave
Status: in active service, as of 2024
Badge: USS John S. McCain DDG-56 Crest
General characteristics
Class & type: Arleigh Burke-class destroyer
Displacement:
  • Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t)
  • Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
Length: 505 ft (154 m)
Beam: 66 ft (20 m)
Draft: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion: 4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed: >30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:
  • 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots
  • (8,100 km at 37 km/h)
Complement:
  • 33 commissioned officers
  • 38 chief petty officers
  • 210 enlisted personnel
    • Sensors and
    processing systems:
  • AN/SPY-1D 3D Radar
  • AN/SPS-67(V)2 Surface Search Radar
  • AN/SPS-73(V)12 Surface Search Radar
  • AN/SPG-62 Fire Control Radar
  • AN/SQS-53C Sonar Array
  • AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar
  • AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III Shipboard System
    • Electronic warfare
    & decoys:
  • AN/SLQ-32(V)2 Electronic Warfare System
  • AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures
  • MK 36 MOD 12 Decoy Launching System
  • AN/SLQ-39 CHAFF Buoys
    • Armament:
  • 1 × 29 cell, 1 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launching systems with 90 × RIM-156 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-ASROC missiles
  • 2 x Mk 141 Harpoon Missile Launcher SSM
  • 1 × Mark 45 5/54 in (127/54 mm)
  • 2 × 25 mm chain gun
  • 4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns
  • 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
  • 2 × Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes
    • Aircraft carried: 2 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters can be embarked

    USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is part of the Seventh Fleet, and she has her homeport at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan.

    This warship is named after John S. McCain, Sr., and John S. McCain, Jr., both Admirals in the United States Navy. John S. McCain, Sr., commanded the aircraft carrier Ranger (CV-4), and acted as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force during the latter stages of World War II. John S. McCain, Jr., commanded the U.S. Navy submarines USS Gunnel and USS Dentuda during World War II. Subsequently he held a number of posts, rising to Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command before retiring in 1972. These men were the grandfather and father of John S. McCain III, former naval aviator captain, a U.S. Senator representing the state of Arizona, and the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election.

    Service[]

    John S. McCain's keel was laid down on 3 September 1991, at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. The ship was launched on 26 September 1992, sponsored by Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain. McCain was commissioned on 2 July 1994, at the Bath Iron Works. The former President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, was the ceremony's principal speaker.[1]

    The ship was initially assigned a home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and shifted to a forward-deploy port in Yokosuka, Japan in 1997.

    In January 2003, John S. McCain deployed to the Persian Gulf. She launched 39 TLAMs in support of the invasion of Iraq and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for her service. She is cited by John Keegan in "The Invasion of Iraq"" as having fired the first shots of that war, though many dispute this claim. John S. McCain was awarded the Navy Battle E for DESRON 15 in 2003 and again in 2004.

    On 16 February 2007, John S. McCain was awarded the 2006 Battle "E" award.[2]

    On 11 June 2009, a Chinese submarine reportedly collided with the towed sonar array of the John S. McCain near Subic Bay, the Philippines. The incident caused damage to the array but was described as an "inadvertent encounter".[3]

    In June 2009, John S. McCain pursued the North Korean cargo ship Kang Nam 1 toward Burma in enforcement of the new United Nations resolution of an arms export embargo against North Korea. The vessel was suspected of carrying arms for the Burmese junta government. The Kang Nam 1 returned to North Korea without delivering its cargo to Burma.[4]

    In July 2009, the destroyer berthed at Yokohama's international passenger terminal on a goodwill tour. The ship was opened to the public on 22 July 2009.[5]

    In March 2011, in company with the carrier Ronald Reagan, the ship was deployed off northeastern Honshu, Japan to assist with relief efforts after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.[6] During that time, the ship may have been exposed to leaking radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.[7]

    In April 2013, the USS McCain was sent to Korea during escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.[8]

    Ship gallery[]

    See also[]

    Notes[]

    1. ↑ "USS John S. McCain (DDG 56)". www.navysite.de. http://www.navysite.de/dd/ddg56.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
    2. ↑ US Navy: Surface Force Ships, Crews Earn Battle "E" Story Number: NNS070219-04, Release Date: 19 February 2007 11:10:00 AM
    3. ↑ "Sub collides with sonar array towed by U.S. Navy ship". CNN.com. 12 June 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/06/12/china.submarine/index.html. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
    4. ↑ Sang-Hun, Choe (21 June 2009). "U.S. Destroyer Shadows N. Korean Ship". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/world/asia/22korea.html. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
    5. ↑ Kyodo News, "U.S. destroyer visits Yokohama passenger pier", Japan Times, 22 July 2009, p. 2.
    6. ↑ Rabiroff, John. "U.S. military delivers 40 tons of supplies to hardest-hit areas," Stars and Stripes (US). 17 March 2011; Seawaves,"Warships Supporting Earthquake in Japan"
    7. ↑ Stewart, Joshua. "Navy ships off Japan move to avoid radiation," Japan Times, 14 March 2011, retrieved 15 March 2011.[dead link]
    8. ↑ US Navy shifts destroyer in wake of North Korea missile threats 1 April 2013

    External links[]

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