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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books In the News About the Ship's Coat of Arms About the Name "McClusky" History SINKEX Patch Gallery Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS McCLUSKY was one of the PERRY - class guided missile frigates and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Decommissioned on January 9, 2015, the ship was last homeported at Naval Base San Diego, Calif. On July 19, 2018, the McCLUSKY was sunk as a target during RIMPAC 2018 55 nautical miles north of Kauai, Hi.
| General Characteristics: | Keel Laid: October 21, 1981 |
| Christened: September 18, 1982 | |
| Commissioned: December 10, 1983 | |
| Decommissioned: January 9, 2015 | |
| Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards Co., Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, Ca. | |
| Propulsion system: two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, two 350 Horsepower Electric Drive Auxiliary Propulsion Units | |
| Propellers: one | |
| Blades on each Propeller: five | |
| Length: 453 feet (135.9 meters) | |
| Beam: 45 feet (13.5 meters) | |
| Draft: 24,6 feet (7.5 meters) | |
| Speed: 28+ knots | |
| Aircraft: two | |
| Armament: one | |
| Crew: 17 Officers and 198 Enlisted |
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageCrew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS McCLUSKY. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageUSS McCLUSKY Cruise Books:
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS McCLUSKY in the News:
back to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship's Coat of Arms:
The Shield:
The colors gold and dark blue, associated with the Navy, symbolize the sun and the Pacific Ocean, the area where Admiral (then Lieutenant Commander) McClusky led dive bombing attacks on Japan’s aircraft carrier force. The pheon, winged and red in color to indicate fiery destruction from the air, represents the Dauntless dive-bombers in action sinking four aircraft carriers at Midway. The carriers are symbolized by the four red rounders which allude to Japanese aircraft markings. For his heroic actions during the Battle of Midway, alluded to by the pile diving through enemy forces, Admiral McClusky was awarded the Navy Cross represented by the blue cross.
The Crest:
Admiral McClusky’s achievements during the Korean War, for which he was awarded the Legion of Merit, and his distinguished service as Chief of Staff of the Seventh Fleet during that period, are indicated by the wreath and the Neptune spear of seven barbs, respectively. The gold and blue taeguk and the red dragon refer to Korea.
back to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship's Name, about Rear Admiral Clarence Wade McClusky:
As an aviation hero of World War II and Chief of Staff for Seventh Fleet operations during the Korean War, Rear Admiral McClusky's illustrious naval career led him from battlefront to executive positions and back again. His diversified leadership and administrative skills afforded him, throughout his naval career, duties vital to the safekeeping of our nation.
He assumed command of USS ENTERPRISE (CV 6) Carrier Air Group Six in April 1942. In the Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942 he led two squadrons of his air group on a skillful search to discover and destroy the powerful Japanese carrier striking force of Admiral Nagumo, successful eliminating the KAGA and AKAGI. A third enemy carrier, SORYU, fell victim to USS YORKTOWN dive bombers led by Lieutenant M.F. Leslie, USN. The forth and remaining Japanese carrier, HIRYU, was later sunk by the combined attacks of YORKTOWN and ENTERPRISE planes. As Samuel Eliot Morrison recorded in The Two-Ocean War, "Never has there been a sharper turn in the fortunes of war than on that June day when McClusky and Leslie's dive bombers snatched the palm of victory from Nagumo's masthead, where he had nailed it on December 7."
For outstanding service while attached to USS ENTERPRISE, participating in raids on Marshall, Wake, Gilbert and Marcus islands and the Battle of Midway, he was awarded the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, a letter of Commendation with Ribbon, a Ribbon and facsimile of the Presidential Unit Citation to ENTERPRISE, the Purple Heart Medal and the Navy Cross.
In addition, he held the American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp; the American Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II victory Medal; Naval Occupation Service Medal, Asia Clasp; China Service Medal; National Defense Medal; Korean Service Medal; United Nations Service Medal; and the Korean Presidential unit Citation. He retired on July 1, 1956, and was advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral on the basis of combat awards. Rear Admiral McClusky died June 27, 1976.
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back to top go to the end of the pageUSS McCLUSKY History:
USS McCLUSKY, a Flight III OLIVER HAZARD PERRY-class guided missile frigate, was laid down on October 21, 1981, at Todd Pacific Shipyards Corp., Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, launched on September 18, 1982, and commissioned at Naval Station Long Beach on December 10, 1983, with Cmdr. Robert B. Lynch as her first commanding officer. In the final weeks before and just after commissioning, she already showed the traits that would define much of her career: technical experimentation, aviation integration, and a readiness-heavy operating rhythm. On December 9, 1983, a production-model SH-60B LAMPS Mk III landed on her flight deck, and on December 21, 1983, she passed her light-off examination.
During the following years, she entered the normal Pacific Fleet cycle of shakedown work, local operations, and deployment preparation before moving into sustained overseas service. Her first major deployment began on January 15, 1986, when she sailed with Battle Group Foxtrot built around USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65), a deployment that took her into the western Pacific, the South China Sea, and the Arabian Gulf.
By 1988, she was operating in the Persian Gulf during the tanker war phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict and participated in Operation Earnest Will, the U.S. escort effort intended to protect reflagged shipping in a theater threatened by mines, missiles, and attacks on commercial traffic. Official summaries of that period credit her with spending 103 days in the Persian Gulf and later taking part in RIMPAC 1988.
She began 1990 in Bahrain with HSL-45 Detachment 12 embarked and continued patrol work tied to the northern Persian Gulf. USS McCLUSKY was still homeported in San Diego at the end of 1990 and spent December 7, 1990, through December 31, 1990, there preparing for an upcoming homeport move to Yokosuka, Japan. By 1991, she was serving from Yokosuka as part of Destroyer Squadron 15.
In June 1991, after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, USS McCLUSKY took part in Operation Fiery Vigil and transported 375 dependents, 12 dogs, and 5 cats to Cebu. In the broader Gulf War period, she was also credited with escorting more than 70 merchant ships of many nations into and out of Kuwaiti ports through swept channels.
In 1992, she entered Vladivostok together with USCGC CHASE during the reopening of the U.S. consulate, a visit that reflected the abrupt geopolitical shift after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993, she remained associated with Yokosuka, made a recorded port visit to Beppu with USS FIFE (DD 991), and continued operations that included another Strait of Hormuz transit. In 1994, she conducting a four-month North Arabian Gulf deployment. On February 17, 1995, she departed for a Middle Eastern Forces deployment MEF 95-1 with USS O'BRIEN (DD 975). By March 1995, she had reached Karachi, and later in the deployment she detached from Seventh Fleet into NAVCENT waters, where she intercepted the tug SHAIMA towing an illegal fuel barge during sanctions-enforcement work linked to the containment architecture built around Iraq after the 1991 war.
On January 5, 1996, she marked a change of command, and during that year she completed her final Yokosuka-based operating period before shifting homeport back to San Diego. In July 1997, USS SAFEGUARD (ARS 50)'s command history placed USS McCLUSKY in Singapore during CARAT-Singapore, where USS SAFEGUARD (ARS 50) carried out a hull-inspection dive on her.
In 1998, with HSL-47 Detachment 6 embarked, she deployed from June 29, 1998, to August 13, 1998, for RIMPAC and then again from November 10, 1998, into the Arabian Gulf as part of the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70) battle group. During that same general period, she was credited with saving a gravely ill Ukrainian sailor from a merchant vessel stopped for interrogation. That deployment continued into 1999 and the ship returned to San Diego on May 2, 1999, after 172 days away from homeport.
A new and especially well-documented phase began on September 13, 2000, when USS McCLUSKY, with HSL-47 Detachment 3 embarked, departed Naval Station San Diego for counter-drug operations. She reached Puerto Quetzal on September 19, 2000, to refuel and embark Coast Guard LEDET 101, visited Golfito from September 29, 2000, to October 1, 2000, made a brief stop at Vasco Nunez de Balboa on October 4, 2000, called at Manta from October 10, 2000, to October 12, 2000, returned to Balboa on several occasions later in October and November, transited the Panama Canal northbound on November 12, 2000, called at Key West on November 17, 2000, and entered Mayport on November 24, 2000, for a ten-day mid-deployment IMAV. During the same deployment, Cmdr. William B. Haflich relieved Cmdr. John N. Christenson on November 18, 2000. On December 18, 2000, the ship and her embarked Coast Guard team recovered 3,500 pounds of cocaine after intercepting a go-fast boat in the eastern Pacific. Later movements included Golfito on December 23, 2000, Talara on December 29, 2000, Paita from December 30, 2000, to January 2, 2001, another refueling stop in Golfito on January 7, 2001, a three-day Golfito visit beginning on January 16, 2001, anchorage off Acapulco from January 29, 2001, to February 1, 2001, and return to San Diego on February 7, 2001, after a five-month deployment in the U.S. 4th Fleet area.
The rest of 2001 mixed training, maintenance, and homeland-defense duty: she visited San Francisco on March 20, 2001, offloaded ammunition at Seal Beach from March 26, 2001, to March 28, 2001, supported Kernel Blitz from March 28, 2001, to April 6, 2001, completed sea trials on June 28, 2001, and June 29, 2001, after a two-month SRA at Continental Maritime, visited Port Hueneme beginning on July 20, 2001, anchored off Hermosa Beach on August 10, 2001, and operated off southern California in support of Operation Noble Eagle from September 11, 2001, to September 19, 2001.
From January 22, 2002, to February 8, 2002, she supported the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) battle group's COMPTUEX, then deployed again on April 8, 2002, with HSL-49 Detachment 4 in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South counter-narcotics operations in the U.S. Southern Command area. She refueled at Puerto Quetzal on April 13, 2002. On April 18, 2002, her Coast Guard team recovered 4,000 pounds of cocaine after a go-fast interdiction carried out on the previous day. She visited Golfito from April 27, 2002, to April 30, 2002; anchored in the Gulf of Dulce for a medical evacuation on April 30, 2002; called at Balboa on May 14, 2002; visited Manta from May 31, 2002, to June 3, 2002; briefly returned to Balboa on June 11, 2002, and June 21, 2002; transited the Panama Canal northbound on June 22, 2002; offloaded drugs at Key West from June 26, 2002, to June 29, 2002; entered IMAV at Mayport from July 1, 2002, to July 13, 2002; refueled at Guantanamo Bay on July 15, 2002; anchored off Cristobal on July 17, 2002; returned through Vasco Nunez de Balboa on July 18, 2002; and from July 25, 2002, to July 28, 2002, was in Balboa again, where Cmdr. Gary R. Parriott relieved Cmdr. Haflich on July 28, 2002. Further calls followed at Balboa on August 10, 2002, Callao from August 25, 2002, to August 28, 2002, Golfito on September 7, 2002, and Manta from September 9, 2002, to September 12, 2002. On September 17, 2002, she rescued Richard Van Pham from the sailboat SEA BREEZE after he had been missing at sea for more than three months. On September 21, 2002, she recovered another 750 pounds of cocaine and detained four smugglers after intercepting another go-fast boat, briefly stopped at Puerto Quetzal on September 22, 2002, visited Puerto Vallarta from September 27, 2002, to September 29, 2002, and returned to San Diego on October 2, 2002.
On January 15, 2003, USS McCLUSKY entered dry dock at 32nd Street for a two-month Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability, undocked on February 27, 2003, completed sea trials on March 21, 2003, reloaded ammunition at Seal Beach from April 9, 2003, to April 11, 2003, and underwent INSURV on May 7, 2003. She then supported the Leaders to Sea program from May 17, 2003, to May 23, 2003, and reached Juneau on July 3, 2003, for a Fourth of July port visit before returning south.
The next workup period included Underway Demonstration and engineering training from September 2, 2003, to September 12, 2003, Final Evaluation Problem and deck-landing qualifications from September 29, 2003, to October 4, 2003, a Friends and Family Day Cruise on October 18, 2003, and ammunition onload and training from October 20, 2003, to October 24, 2003. On December 3, 2003, with HSL-43 Detachment 5 embarked, she departed again for a scheduled counter-drug deployment, briefly stopped at Puerto Quetzal on December 8, 2003, rescued 169 people from the distressed vessels ANDREA II and SAN LUIS on December 11, 2003, briefly returned to Puerto Quetzal on December 13, 2003, stopped in Balboa on December 21, 2003, and reached Manta on December 31, 2003.
The opening months of 2004 brought a dense sequence of interdictions and port calls. On January 12, 2004, the ship and her embarked Coast Guard team recovered 5,760 pounds of cocaine after another go-fast interception. She was at Vasco Nunez de Balboa from January 17, 2004, to January 20, 2004, transited the Panama Canal northbound on January 20, 2004, and then joined a series of coordinated interdictions with Coast Guard cutters: 3,966 pounds of cocaine seized with USCGC BEAR on January 24, 2004; 1,340 pounds with USCGC TAMPA on January 27, 2004; and 4,425 pounds with USCGC NORTHLAND on February 4, 2004. Between these events, she made a brief stop in Colon on January 30, 2004, called at Guantanamo Bay on February 9, 2004, visited Cozumel on February 16, 2004, entered IMAV at Mayport from February 21, 2004, to March 5, 2004, called at Key West from March 8, 2004, to March 10, 2004, briefly stopped in Colon on March 22, 2004, and reached Ocho Rios on March 31, 2004, for a three-day port visit described as the first by a U.S. Navy ship in more than twenty years. She briefly returned to Colon on April 12, 2004, transited the canal again, was in Balboa from April 13, 2004, to April 14, 2004, and again from April 27, 2004, to April 29, 2004, returned to Vasco Nunez de Balboa on May 9, 2004, and on May 12, 2004, Cmdr. Herman T. K. Awai relieved Cmdr. Parriott at Balboa Naval Base. The deployment continued with a refueling stop at Puerto Quetzal on May 23, 2004, a port visit to Puerto Vallarta from May 28, 2004, to May 30, 2004, and return to San Diego on June 3, 2004, after a six-month Southern Command deployment.
The second half of 2004 remained busy with CORTRAMID from July 26, 2004, to July 30, 2004, CART II and engineering training in August, a Pearl Harbor port call from August 20, 2004, to August 24, 2004, and a Selected Restricted Availability at NASSCO beginning on October 12, 2004, followed by sea trials on December 16, 2004. By June 9, 2005, she was in Portland for Fleet Week during the Rose Festival.
During the following deployment she reached Acajutla by August 16, 2005, seized 3.5 tons of cocaine and detained five suspected smugglers on August 30, 2005, rescued 299 Ecuadorians from three overloaded vessels during August, seized approximately 5,800 pounds of cocaine from the fishing vessel JOSE ANTONIO on October 24, 2005, and returned to San Diego on December 20, 2005. Cmdr. Johnny L. Schultz relieved Cmdr. Awai on April 7, 2006. During late 2006 and early 2007 she supported the Leaders to Sea program, and on April 26, 2007, she departed San Diego for a scheduled deployment to the South American region to conduct naval exercises.
After three months of eastern Pacific counter-narcotics operations, sailors from the ship offloaded approximately 12 tons of seized cocaine at Key West on August 6, 2007. Cmdr. Daniel W. Bryan II relieved Cmdr. Schultz on August 24, 2007, and USS McCLUSKY returned home on October 22, 2007, after a six-month underway period under Joint Interagency Task Force South and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command.
On March 25, 2008, she served as opposition forces for the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) carrier strike group's COMPTUEX. Cmdr. Mark A. Lakamp assumed command on December 17, 2008. On July 20, 2009, the frigate returned to San Diego after escorting the disabled sailboat NORDIC LIGHT. She deployed again on October 5, 2009, with HSL-45 Detachment 3 for counter-illicit-trafficking duty in the eastern Pacific and returned on April 5, 2010, after seizing or disrupting more than 11 metric tons of cocaine and detaining 13 suspected smugglers. She then arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 24, 2010, for RIMPAC 2010, and Cmdr. Darren W. Glaser relieved Cmdr. Lakamp on October 8, 2010, during a ceremony held aboard ship at sea.
On January 28, 2011, USS McCLUSKY departed dry dock at Naval Base San Diego after a 17-week repair and modernization period valued at nearly $6 million, including extensive rudder work and replacement of one auxiliary propulsion unit. She visited Portland on June 9, 2011, returned to San Diego on June 27, 2011, after a four-day training period that included a June 26, 2011, PASSEX with USS SAMPSON (DDG 102), USNS YUKON (T-AO 202), JS MINEYUKI, JS KASHIMA, and JS ASAGIRI, and by September 25, 2011, she was operating off southern California in the USS CARL VINSON strike group's Sustainment Exercise. On December 30, 2011, she conducted a Friends and Family Day Cruise.
Her next deployment began on January 4, 2012, when she departed San Diego for counter-illicit-trafficking operations in the eastern Pacific. She reached Vasco Nunez de Balboa on May 2, 2012, and on May 22, 2012, Cmdr. Murzban F. Morris relieved Cmdr. Glaser as commanding officer. She returned home on July 3, 2012, after a six-month deployment. In January 2013, she completed a three-month Selected Restricted Availability, reloaded ammunition at Seal Beach on May 6, 2013, and returned to San Diego on October 11, 2013, after a four-day Task Group Exercise with U.S. and Canadian ships. On February 21, 2014, the ship hosted the change of command for Destroyer Squadron 1 aboard while in San Diego.
Her final deployment began on April 10, 2014, when, with HSC-23 Detachment 3 embarked, she departed San Diego for scheduled Counter Transnational Organized Crime operations. She refueled at Puerto Quetzal on April 25, 2014, made a brief stop at Puerto de Acajutla on May 10, 2014, and on August 3, 2014, and August 4, 2014, conducted deck-landing qualifications with two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks from Joint Task Force-Bravo's 1-228th Aviation Regiment twenty miles off the coast of Honduras. She returned to San Diego on September 26, 2014, after completing her final deployment.
A decommissioning ceremony followed on January 9, 2015, and on January 14, 2015, USS McCLUSKY was officially decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. Her final chapter came on July 19, 2018, when ex-USS McCLUSKY was sunk during a RIMPAC sinking exercise 55 nautical miles northwest of Kauai.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS McCLUSKY SINKEX:
Ex-USS McCLUSKY was sunk as a target during exercise RIMPAC 2018 on July 19, 2018, in waters 15,000 feet deep, 55 nautical miles north of Kauai, Hawaii. The Navy only announced that live fire from a ship and an aircraft sunk the McCLUSKY. The video below is an official US Navy video and shows the ship's final moments.
back to top go to the end of the pageUSS McCLUSKY Patch Gallery:
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USS McCLUSKY Image Gallery:
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The photo below was taken by me and shows the McCLUSKY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 10, 2008.
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The photos below were taken by me and show the McCLUSKY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 3, 2012.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the McCLUSKY at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on December 27, 2014 - almost two weeks before decommissioning.
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