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USS Goldsborough (DDG 20)

- decommissioned -

USS GOLDSBOROUGH was the 20th ship in the CHARLES F. ADAMS - class of guided missile destroyers and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name.

USS GOLDSBOROUGH was last homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hi., and was the last ship in her class to be decommissioned. The ship was stricken from the navy list on April 29, 1993, and on September 17, 1993, the GOLDSBOROUGH was sold to Australia where she was cannibalized for spare parts. After all useable parts had been removed, the ship was sold to Indian shipbreakers. In late 1994, GOLDSBOROUGH was towed from Sydney to Goa, India, where she was finally scrapped.

General Characteristics:Keel laid: January 3, 1961
Launched: December 15, 1961
Commissioned: November 9, 1963
Decommissioned: April 29, 1993
Builder: Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock, Seattle, Wash.
Propulsion system:4 - 1200 psi boilers; 2 geared turbines
Propellers: two
Length: 437 feet (133.2 meters)
Beam: 47 feet (14.3 meters)
Draft: 20 feet (6.1 meters)
Displacement: approx. 4,500 tons
Speed: 31+ knots
Aircraft:none
Armament: two Mk 42 5-inch/54 caliber guns, Mk 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts, one Mk 16 ASROC Missile Launcher, one Mk 13 Mod.0 Missile Launcher for Standard (MR) and Harpoon Missiles
Crew: 24 officers and 330 enlisted


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS GOLDSBOROUGH. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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USS GOLDSBOROUGH Cruise Books:


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Accidents aboard USS GOLDSBOROUGH:

DateWhereEvents
November 24, 1965Pearl Harbor Naval Station, HawaiiWhile moored at Mike Two Pier at Pearl Harbor Naval Station, GOLDSBOROUGH mistakenly fired a live torpedo onto the pier. The torpedo broke into two pieces (one the warhead, the other the motor) but it did not detonate. Since torpedoes are not armed when a ship is in port, the detonating mechanism had not been activated. A Team from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 1 at West Loch removed the torpedo from the pier.

The incident happend at 8.45 a.m. local time. Nobody was injured. The pier was slightly damaged.
April 19718 nautical miles off Taiwan
Boiler room blast aboard the destroyer while operating off Taiwan. Two crewmen were killed and two were injured. The GOLDSBOROUGH was damaged.
December 19, 1972off North VietnamGOLDSBOROUGH was hit by coastal artillery fire causing fires and a hole five feet wide through an upper deck. The ship was able to continue its combat mission, despite the damage and casualties. Two sailors were killed and six were injured. One of these six injured died later as a result of his wounds.

Initial repairs were conducted at Da Nang which were later completed in Sasebo, Japan.
November 1982Pearl Harbor Naval Station, HawaiiAs GOLDSBOROUGH left the harbor to ride out hurricane Iwa the ship was hit by a huge wave killing Seaman Jose Cantu. He was thrown across the deck and broke his neck. Another crewmember, Lieutenant Ray Beard was washed overboard by the wave. Despite suffering from a broken arm, he swam two miles to the reef runway at Honolulu International Airport



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About the Ship's Name:

Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough, born 18 February 1805 in Washington, D.C., was appointed Midshipman 28 June 1812, but did not serve until 13 February 1816 when he reported for duty at the Washington Navy Yard. He led a four-boat night expedition from PORPOISE in September 1827 to rescue British merchant brig COMET from Mediterranean pirates. In 1830 he was appointed first officer in charge of the newly created Depot of Charts and Instruments at Washington, the rude beginning of the United States Hydrographic Office. It was Goldsborough who suggested creation of the depot and initiated the collection and centralization of the instruments, books and charts that were scattered among several Navy yards. After 2 years he was relieved by Lt. Charles Wilkes.
Goldsborough led German emigrants to Wirt's Estates near Monticello, Fla., in 1833; then took leave from the Navy to command a steamboat expedition and later mounted volunteers in the Seminole War. After cruising the Pacific in frigate UNITED STATES, he participated in the bombardment of Vera Cruz in OHIO. He served consecutively as: commander of a detachment in the expedition against Tuxpan; senior officer of a commission which explored California and Oregon (1849-1850); Superintendent of the Naval Academy ( 1853-1857), and commander of the Brazil Squadron (1859-1861). During his command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron October 1861 to September 1862, he led his fleet off North Carolina, where in cooperation with troops under General Burnside, he captured Roanoke Island and destroyed a small Confederate fleet. After special administrative duties in Washington, D.C., he took command of the European Squadron in the last year of the Civil War, returning to Washington in 1868 to serve as Commander of the Washington Navy Yard until his retirement in 1873. Rear Admiral Goldsborough died 20 February 1877.


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USS GOLDSBOROUGH's Commanding Officers:


PeriodName
November 9, 1963 - July 17, 1965Commander Charles D. Allen, Jr., USN
July 17, 1965 - October 31, 1966Commander William H. Rogers, USN
October 31, 1966 - July 29, 1968Commander R. R. Hansen, USN
July 29, 1968 - June 13, 1970Commander Paul A. Lautermilch, USN
June 13, 1970 - May 4, 1971Commander Gilbert E. Schmidt, USN
May 4, 1971 - June 1, 1971Lieutenant Commander William C. Carlson, USN
June 1, 1971 - February 6, 1973Commander James A. Major, USN
February 6, 1973 - June 11, 1974Commander Walter T. Piotti, USN
June 11, 1974 - August 29, 1975Commander William Rentz, USN
August 29, 1975 - July 16, 1977Commander Joseph S. Hurlburt, USN
July 16, 1977 - September 15, 1979Commander Paul L. Sovey, USN
September 15, 1979 - August 19, 1981Commander Milton M. Finkelstein, USN
August 19, 1981 - September 20, 1983Commander H. C. Owen III, USN
September 20, 1983 - June 6, 1985Commander Patrick E. Fitch, USN
June 6, 1985 - October 9, 1987Commander Michael G. Mullen, USN
October 9, 1987 - December 18, 1989Commander Melvin Kaahanui, USN
December 18, 1989 - May 24, 1991Commander J. A. Reid, USN
May 24, 1991 - April 30, 1993Commander Michael Sarraino, USN


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The photo below was taken by William Chiu while the GOLDSBOROUGH was moored alongside the USS JOUETT (CG 29) in Hong Kong on November 16, 1990.

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