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Destroyer USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986)

Destroyer USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986) 0Destroyer USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986) 1Destroyer USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986) 2Destroyer USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986) 3

Classification

Ship class:
Spruance-class destroyer
Type:
Destroyer

Basic information

Operator:
United States NavyUnited States Navy
Country of build:
Builder:
Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding
Laid down:
Launched:
Commissioned (service):
Decommissioned (out):
Status:
Sunk
Fate:
Sunk as target, 15 July 2004

Ship measurements

Displacement:
8,040 t
Length:
161 m
Beam:
16.8 m
Draft:
8.8 m

Machine

Propulsion system:
COGAG
Propulsion:
  • 4 * General Electric LM2500 gas turbines
  • 2 * shafts, 80,000 shp (60 MW)
Speed:
32.5 knots
Range:
6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)

Personnel

Complement:
334

Combat assets

Electronics:
  • AN/SPS-40 air search radar
  • AN/SPG-60 fire control radar
  • AN/SPS-55 surface search radar
  • AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar
  • Mark 23 TAS automatic detection and tracking radar
  • AN/SPS-65 Missile fire control radar
  • AN/SQS-53 bow mounted Active sonar
  • AN/SQR-19 TACTAS towed array Passive sonar
  • Naval Tactical Data System
  • AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System
  • AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures
  • Mark 36 SRBOC Decoy Launching System
  • AN/SLQ-49 Inflatable Decoys
Armament:
  • 2 * 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns
  • 2 * 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns
  • 1 * 8 cell ASROC launcher (removed)
  • 1 * 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher
  • 2 * quadruple Harpoon missile canisters
  • 2 * Mark 32 triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes)
  • 2 * quadruple Armored Box Launcher (ABL) Mark 43 Tomahawk missile launchers
Aircraft:
  • 2 * Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters

The USS Harry W. Hill (DD-986), honoring Admiral Harry W. Hill USN, was a Spruance-class destroyer constructed by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

In late November 1982, Harry W. Hill was detached from the USS Enterprise battlegroup to shadow the Soviet aircraft carrier Minsk, which was navigating the Indian Ocean for its inaugural voyage to the Far East—an area of significant interest to U.S. strategists. To aid in tracking the Russians, Enterprise assigned two intelligence experts to Harry W. Hill. The vessel later rejoined the battlegroup on 19–20 January 1983.

Harry W. Hill took part in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. However, on 14 January 1991, a collision occurred with the Wichita class replenishment oiler USS Kansas City while conducting replenishment operations in the Gulf of Oman. Fortunately, no personnel suffered casualties or injuries.

In 1994, a significant incident took place when Harry W. Hill sustained substantial damage during an attempt to maneuver her out of a dry dock. Caught by a sudden gust of wind, the ship collided with the dry dock, causing one of the control lines intended to manage the ship to break. This incident resulted in serious injuries to two crew members and damage to the ship's rudders, screws, and controllable prop pitch systems.

Harry W. Hill differed from the rest of the Spruance-class destroyers as it did not receive the armored box launchers or the Mark 41 vertical launch system designed for firing Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Primarily based in San Diego throughout much of its service, Harry W. Hill was decommissioned and removed from the Navy List on 29 May 1998. Later, during RIMPAC 2004 on 15 July 2004, it was intentionally sunk as a target.

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