USS Callaghan (DDG-994)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

USS ''Callaghan'' (DD/DDG-994) was the second ship of the ''Kidd'' class of
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s operated by the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
. Derived from the ''Spruance'' class, these vessels were designed for
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
in hot weather. She was named for Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan, who was killed in action aboard his
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
, the
heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...
''San Francisco'', during the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 12 to 15 November 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allies of World War II, Allied (primarily American) and Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, Imperial Japan ...
on 13 November 1942. Originally to be named ''Daryush'', the ship was ordered by the
Shah of Iran The monarchs of Iran ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 7th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian king is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty () ...
, but was undelivered when the 1979
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
occurred. Subsequent to this, the U.S. Navy elected to commission her and her sister ships for service in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, as they were equipped with heavy-duty
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
and were also well suited to filtering sand and the NBC warfare contaminants.


History


1981–1998: U.S. service

She was commissioned in 1981, and home ported in
San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...
at
NAS North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado ...
. On 1 September 1983 ''Callaghan'' was on deployment to the Western Pacific, and making a port visit in
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...
, Japan.
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)In aviation, two types of Airline codes, airline designators are used. The flight number KAL 007, with the ICAO code for Korean Air Lines, was used by air traffic control. In ticketing, however, IAT ...
, on its way from
Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...
to
Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, carrying 269 passengers and crew, strayed into Soviet airspace. A Soviet
Sukhoi Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...
fighter jet was sent up to destroy the intruding
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
. After the attack, the ''Callaghan''s crew was recalled and sent to search for survivors. During its survey of the crash site, the ''Callaghan'' was under very close scrutiny of the
Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
, narrowly avoiding open conflict while engaged in their search. No survivors were found. The ''Callaghan'' received a Meritorious Unit Citation from the U.S. Navy and a special citation from the South Korean government for its role in the mission. ''Callaghan'' earned her first Battle Efficiency E for grade period July 1983 to December 1984, and earned the
Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (incl ...
for saving two boatloads of people in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. For grading period January 1985 to June 1986 ''Callaghan'' earned her second Battle Efficiency E by winning all the awards from the ships in competition. On her return to port, with the news of her clean sweep, the captain ordered that every lanyard on the ship would display a broom, to honor the crew and show all ships present the outstanding accomplishment. Clean sweeps are rare. In 1987 the Callaghan did a world cruise. She left San Diego 21 Jan with two other destroyers sailing to the Persian Gulf. The first stop of the cruise was Honolulu 27–28 Jan 1992. Where there was a change of command ceremony. The ships then sailed to Subic Bay, Philippines arriving 10 Feb for a short working port stop. The next stop was Singapore 18 Feb. Then stopping for fuel in Columbo, Sri Lanka on 24th. On 1 March the ships arrived in the gulf and went onto separate missions. The Callaghan took up "shotgun" for the USS America CV-66. Stopping in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Bahrain. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). Jebel U.A.E.. Dubai, U.A.E.. Damman, Saudi Arabia. Kuwait City, Kuwait. In May 1992 the Callaghan began its independent cruise. Transiting the Suez Canal 12 May. The Callaghan steamed up the coast of Italy, made a port call at Monte Carlo and after that anchored at Toulon, France 16 May. Then made a port call in Barcelona, Spain 21 May. Callaghan began to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, stopping at the Azore Islands for fuel. Arriving at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 5 July. On 12 July the Callaghan transited the Panama Canal. Then made their last port call of Acapulco, Mexico 16 July. Finally returning to San Diego late July. The ship's crew earned the Royal order of Magellan certificate for sailing around the world. Both ditch certificates (Panama and Suez) and the crossing the international date line certificate. Following this cruise, Callaghan underwent a short Ship Repair Availability (SRA) before deploying independently to the Persian Gulf for Operation Earnest Will in August of 1988. "Callaghan left San Diego for a six-month deployment on 11 August 1988, making stops at Pearl Harbor (17–18 August), Subic Bay (2–5 September) and Singapore (9–10 September) en route to the Middle East, where the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq was drawing to its conclusion. The destroyer transited the Strait of Hormuz on 20 September, entering the Persian Gulf. With Sitrah, Bahrain, as her base of operations, Callaghan conducted 22 escort and accompaniment operations during her time in the Gulf. She was underway from 26 September–14 October before taking a short break at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. HSL-35 Detachment (Det) 3 was attached to Callaghan for the deployment and in October 1988 flew more hours than any other LAMPS-I helo detachment and received U.S. Pacific Fleet’s LAMPS Safety Award. Resuming operations from 18 October–7 November, Callaghan then headed to Masirah Anchorage, Oman, for a week-long tender availability with Prairie (AD-15) from 10–17 November. Following her maintenance period, the ship once again resumed Gulf patrols until Christmas Eve, when she transited the Strait of Hormuz and commenced the voyage back to the United States. Touching first at Colombo, Sri Lanka, to refuel on 28 December, Callaghan’s crew celebrated the new year in Phuket, Thailand, from 1–5 January 1989. The ship’s route home then took her to Singapore (6–8 January), Subic Bay (11–14 January), Hong Kong (16–21 January), and Pearl Harbor (2–4 February). Callaghan sailed in to San Diego on 10 February 1989. Her crew was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for their work in the Persian Gulf during this deployment." https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/callaghan-ii.html Also of note, on April 27th, 1989, during routine drug interdiction operations, ''Callaghan'' detected a high-speed contact off Colombia waters. When the sun rose, the contact was visually identified as a high-speed cigarette boat. ''Callaghan'' pursued the contact for over three days, and in the final three hours the craft dumped its load of illegal drugs. Once completed the craft was able to accelerate and outran ''Callaghan''. It was pursued by a high-speed craft and helicopters until the cigarette boat reached Colombia territorial waters. ''Callaghan'' returned and fished 3.5 metric tons of watertight cocaine bundles floating in the water. The bales tested to be pure cocaine and had a street value at over $1 billion. They were individually unloaded by the crew dressed in whites during the first CONUS port call upon return from the deployment in a spectacular media event covered by all networks in NAVSTA San Diego. In September 1989, Callaghan put into Long Beach Naval Shipyard for a year-long overhaul, during which she received a designated "new threat upgrade" to her radar and engineering systems, which was completed in September 1990. ''Callaghan'' was decommissioned in April 1998.


Awards

* Navy
Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...
– (1983) * Battle "E" – (1983-84, 1985-86) *
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...
*
National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...
*
Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (incl ...
– (1984) *
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon A Sea Service Ribbon is an award of the United States Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps which recognizes those service members who have performed military duty while stationed on a Un ...


2004–present: Taiwanese service

''Callaghan'' was sold to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
in 2004. She was originally to be named ''Ming Teh'', but it was later decided to name her ROCS ''Su Ao'' (DDG-1802), after the Su-Ao naval base in eastern
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, and become the second ship of the new ROCN ''Kee Lung'' class of destroyers. After almost two years of refit and training in the U.S., ''Su Ao'' was commissioned on 17 December 2005 at Kee-Lung naval port in northern Taiwan.


Popular culture

* In the movie ''Threads'', the ship collided with the Russian battlecruiser during a naval battle in the Persian Gulf.


References

*


External links


Navysite.de: USS ''Callaghan''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan (DDG-994) 1979 ships Cold War destroyers of the United States Kidd-class destroyers Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi