The second USS ''Norfolk'' (DL-1) was the first

destroyer leader Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955Blac ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Originally projected as a hunter-killer

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

, she was in service until 1970, and was scrapped in 1974.

History

The first major U.S. warship built after the construction boom of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ''Norfolk'' was designed beginning in 1945, designated project SCB 1 in 1946, and authorized in 1947 as CLK-1, an anti-submarine hunter killer ship which could operate under all weather conditions and would carry the latest

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

, and other electronic devices. She was designed on a

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

hull so she could carry a greater variety of detection gear than a

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 ...

. She was laid down 1 September 1949 by the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, launched 29 December 1951 with the destroyer leader reclassification DL-1, sponsored by Miss Betty King Duckworth, and commissioned 4 March 1953, Capt. Clarence Matheson Bowley in command. After her Caribbean shakedown cruise (February 1954), ''Norfolk'' was assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and between 1955 and 1957 served successively as

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 ...

for Commander Destroyer Flotillas 2, 4, and 6. During 1956 and 1957 she acted as flagship for Commander Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. In June 1957, ''Norfolk'' participated in the International Fleet Review as flagship for Admiral

Jerauld Wright Admiral (United States), Admiral Jerauld Wright (June 4, 1898 – April 27, 1995) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Joint Forces Command, United States Atlantic Command (CINCLAN ...

, Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet and

Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic The Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) was one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the other being the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The SACLANT led Allied Command Atlantic was based ...

for NATO. A boiler on the ship blew up in late 1955. By 1959 ''Norfolk''s eight 3 inch/50 caliber guns had been replaced by eight 3 inch/70 caliber guns and her 20 mm battery had been removed. In 1960 the addition of an

ASROC The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...

launcher enhanced her antisubmarine capabilities. On 10 May 1960, an 83-foot Cuban vessel harassed ''Norfolk'' while she was patrolling the

Florida Straits The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait () is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys (U.S.) ...

with in Cuban waters. In Fall 1961 she took part in UNITAS II as flagship for Commander Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 2. During the operation she performed ASW training exercises with the navies of

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Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

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, and

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. ''Norfolk'' repeated this cruise over the next five years during which she served as flagship of Commander South Atlantic Forces except in 1962 when she was flagship for Commander Cruiser Destroyer Forces Atlantic Fleet. In 1965 she was the flagship for UNITAS VI. ''Norfolk'' joined LANTFLEX 66 as flagship between 28 November and 16 December 1966. During this exercise she shadowed the Russian trawlers ''Repiter'' and ''Teodilit''. She proved her antisubmarine capabilities again as flagship for Commander South Atlantic Forces during UNITAS VIII in Fall 1967. ''Norfolk'' was assigned to Commander

Middle East Force United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the ...

as flagship (17 April–15 October 1968). On this mission she visited Bahrain, French Somaliland, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia. Kenya, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Malagasy Republic, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Mexico, and Panama Canal Zone. In October 1968 ''Norfolk'' returned to Norfolk where she decommissioned 15 January 1970 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. By 1 September 1974, ''Norfolk'' was stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

and sold for scrap.

CLK-2

A projected sister ship, to be named ''New Haven'', was deferred and then cancelled in favor of the smaller and less expensive s, due to the high cost ($61.9 million, $ today) of ''Norfolk''. While ''Norfolk'' was fully combat ready, she was effectively a one ship class experiment that tested new ASW weapons and concepts.

Memorials

Two of ''Norfolks 3″/70 gun mounts were saved from the scrap heap and were on display at the Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida. When NTC-Orlando closed, the

Boca Raton Community High School Boca Raton Community High School is a magnet school that is part of the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The high school has been rated an "A" school each consecutive year by the Florida Department of Education since ...

's NJROTC requested custodianship of the mounts. The guns then stood near the east end zone of the football field in Boca Raton, Florida. The two mounts were then moved to Naval Station Norfolk by November 2020 and with the help of volunteers of current and former military personnel have been in the process of cleaning and preserving them in preparation for their display in front of Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic headquarters. ''Norfolks bell is preserved in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. From 1975 to 1987 the bell was located at the foot of St. Paul's Boulevard along the Elizabeth River waterfront. The bell was moved to Town Point Park and then eventually relocated to Wisconsin Square, Norfolk, just north of the

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

berth of .

References

Notes

Sources

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External links

destroyerleaderassociation.org: USS ''Norfolk''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norfolk (DL-1), USS Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation 1951 ships Destroyers of the United States Navy Cold War destroyers of the United States