View source for USS William V. Pratt

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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:USS William V. Pratt (DDG-44) 1987.jpg|300px|USS ''William V. Pratt'' (DDG-44), 1987.]]
|Ship caption=USS ''William V. Pratt'' (DDG-44), 1987.
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1991}}
|Ship name=''William V. Pratt''
|Ship namesake=[[William Veazie Pratt]]
|Ship ordered=23 July 1956
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
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|Ship laid down=1 March 1958
|Ship launched=6 March 1960
|Ship sponsor=
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|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=19 October 1961
|Ship commissioned=4 November 1961
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=30 September 1991
|Ship maiden voyage= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=20 November 1992
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=DDG-44
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=*Disposed of, sold by Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping
*14 September 1995
|Ship notes=
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Farragut|destroyer (1958)|0}} [[guided missile destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=5,800 tons
|Ship length={{convert|512.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|52|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught= 
|Ship draft={{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*4 x 1200psi boilers
* 2 geared turbines
|Ship speed={{convert|36.5|kn}}
|Ship range={{convert|4500|nmi}} at {{convert|20|kn}}
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=377 (21 officers + 356 enlisted)
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*1 x Mk 42 [[5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}/54]] caliber gun
* [[Mark 46 torpedo]]es from two [[Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes|Mk-32 triple mounts]]
* 1 x Mk 16 [[ASROC]] missile launcher
* 1 x Mk 10 Mod 0 missile launcher for [[RIM-67 Standard|Standard Missile]]
* 2 x Mk 141 [[Harpoon missile]] launchers
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'''USS ''William V. Pratt'' (DLG-13/DDG-44)''' was a {{sclass|Farragut|destroyer (1958)|0}} [[destroyer]] in the service of the [[United States Navy]]. She was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] in 1961 as '''DLG-13''' and reclassified as a [[guided missile destroyer]], designation '''DDG-44''', in 1975. She was named to honor [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William Veazie Pratt]], a [[President of the Naval War College]] and a [[Chief of Naval Operations]].

==History==

''William V. Pratt'' (DLG-13) was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 7 March 1958 by the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]]; [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 16 March 1960, sponsored by Mrs. William V. Pratt; and commissioned on 4 November 1961.

Following shakedown training in the [[West Indies]] and post-shakedown availability at Philadelphia, ''William V. Pratt'' joined Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 18 as an active unit of the fleet in September 1962. Operating out of [[Naval Station Norfolk]], Virginia, she cruised the Atlantic seaboard and the West Indies until 4 August 1963 at which time she departed Norfolk to participate in [[NATO]] exercise Operation Riptide IV, in European waters. She returned to Norfolk in September and resumed normal [[United States Second Fleet|2nd Fleet]] operations. That employment continued until 8 February 1964 when she embarked upon her first tour of duty with the [[United States Sixth Fleet|6th Fleet]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. She returned to Norfolk on 9 August and once again took up her East Coast-West Indies routine. In September and October, she visited European waters again to participate in two NATO exercises, Operations Masterstroke and Teamwork. The warship returned to Norfolk on 20 October and resumed 2nd Fleet operations. In November, she began her first shipyard overhaul at Norfolk. She completed repairs on 26 March 1966 and put to sea for trials.

On 15 April she arrived in her new home port of [[Naval Station Mayport]], [[Florida]]. She conducted refresher training in the [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]] operating area in May and June and returned to Mayport on 3 July. The warship resumed East Coast operations until 27 August, at which time she deployed to the Mediterranean once again. That four-month deployment ended on 17 December when the guided missile frigate reentered Mayport. For the next six months, ''William V. Pratt'' conducted operations out of Mayport. She voyaged twice to the West Indies and once to the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. The warship also operated briefly off the [[Virginia Capes]]. In July 1966, she deployed to the Mediterranean for the third time in her career. She conducted operations with the 6th Fleet for the next five months, departing the Mediterranean for home on 10 December. She arrived back in Mayport 10 days later.

Following six months of normal operations along the East Coast and in the West Indies, ''William V. Pratt'' departed Mayport on 20 June 1967 for her only deployment to the western Pacific during the American involvement in the [[Vietnam War]]. En route, she transited the [[Panama Canal]] and made port calls at [[San Diego]], [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Midway Atoll|Midway]], and [[Guam]] before arriving at [[Subic Bay]] in the Philippines on 28 July. Early in August, she departed the Philippines for the [[Gulf of Tonkin]] and duty on the northern [[sea-air rescue]] (SAR) station. She relieved {{USS|Berkeley|DDG-15|6}} on 12 August and remained on station in the gulf until early in September. After upkeep in Subic Bay, she headed back to the Gulf of Tonkin late in the month to take up duty on the south SAR station. That tour of duty lasted until the latter part of November at which time she departed the gulf for port visits to [[Hong Kong]] and [[Kaohsiung]] on the island of [[Taiwan]]. She did one more period of duty on the south SAR station before leaving the western Pacific via [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa|Yokosuka]] in Japan, Midway Island, and Pearl Harbor. The warship arrived in San Diego on 31 December. On 2 January 1968, she resumed her voyage back to Mayport. ''William V. Pratt'' transited the Panama Canal on 10 January and reentered her home port on 16 January.

[[File:USS William V. Pratt (DDG-44) ASROC.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Port view of the bow of ''William V. Pratt'' showing the Mark 42 5-inch/54 caliber gun and the ASROC launcher.]]
In February 1968, the warship moved to [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] to prepare for regular overhaul. On 1 March, she entered the [[Charleston Naval Shipyard]] and began a six-month repair period. She departed Charleston on 6 September and arrived back in Mayport two days later . After refresher training in the West Indies, ''William V. Pratt'' resumed her routine of alternating 2nd and 6th Fleet tours of duty. Over the next four years, the guided missile frigate was deployed to European waters once each year. She departed Mayport on 7 January 1969 and set a course for the Mediterranean. She reported for duty with the 6th Fleet on 18 January and, for the next five months, conducted the normal round of port visits and exercises. On 1 June she arrived in [[Rota, Spain]] for turnover ceremonies before heading north on the 3rd for a series of hunter/killer exercises and visits to northern European ports. She concluded that assignment on 7 July when she departed Portsmouth, England to return to the United States. The warship arrived back in Mayport on 15 July and resumed normal 2nd Fleet operations. That employment lasted until 30 April when she pointed her bow eastward again and headed for the Mediterranean. In addition to the usual exercises and port visits, that deployment included duty with a special contingency force assembled in the eastern Mediterranean in response to [[Syria]]n intervention in the [[Jordan]]ian civil war on the side of militant, anti-government, Arab guerrillas. She steamed around off the Levantine coast from early September to early October before the American show of force succeeded in securing a Syrian withdrawal. The warship then resumed normal 6th Fleet operations until 1 November when she departed [[Barcelona, Spain]], on her way home.

==1970s==
For the remainder of 1970 and during the first seven months of 1971, ''William V. Pratt'' operated out of Mayport along the East Coast and in the West Indies. Her 1971 deployment began early in August, but it consisted of a cruise to northern European waters for hunter/ killer exercises and visits to northern European ports rather than a Mediterranean cruise. She returned to Mayport on 8 October and, on 29 October, began converting her main propulsion plant to the use of Navy distillate fuel. She completed that modification on 17 January 1972 and resumed local operations until 18 February when she got underway for duty with the 6th Fleet. The warship participated in the usual schedule of training evolutions, multiship exercises, and port visits through the spring and early summer. On 28 June, after turnover ceremonies at [[Naval Station Rota, Spain|Rota]], the guided missile destroyer headed home. She reentered Mayport on 8 July and began post-deployment stand-down and preparations for her decommissioning incident to a major modernization overhaul. In September, she moved to Philadelphia for the antiaircraft warfare (AAW) modernization overhaul. ''William V. Pratt'' was decommissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

''William V. Pratt'' was recommissioned at Philadelphia on 6 October 1973, Comdr. Rodney B. McDaniel in command. On the 23rd, she departed Philadelphia, bound for her new home port of Charleston, South Carolina She arrived at her destination on the 26th. The guided missile destroyer conducted post-overhaul shakedown training in December and resumed 2nd Fleet operations early in 1974. Those operations continued until 23 September at which time she departed Charleston to deploy to the Mediterranean once again. She changed operational control to the 6th Fleet at Naval Station Rota, Spain, on 2 October. The following day, the warship entered the Mediterranean proper and began operations as a unit of the screen for the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Independence|CV-62|6}}. For the next five months, ''William V. Pratt'' conducted exercises with carriers ''Independence'' and {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|2}}. She ranged the length and breadth of the "middle sea", making port visits and performing the usual training missions. On 8 March 1975, she conducted turnover at Rota and got underway for Charleston. The warship reentered her home port on 19 March and, after about a month of post-deployment stand-down for leave and upkeep, she resumed normal 2nd Fleet operations. Those missions brought an [[Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps|NROTC]] [[midshipman]] cruise in May and readiness exercises in June. On 1 July 1975, ''William V. Pratt'' was reclassified a guided missile destroyer and received the designation DDG-44. On 14 August, she departed Charleston to participate in [[UNITAS]] XVI, a series of multinational exercises conducted annually with units of various Latin American navies. Those exercises occupied her time for most of what remained of 1975. On 8 December, the warship arrived back in Charleston and began holiday leave and upkeep as well as preparations for a restricted availability.

The ship entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard on 15 December and remained there until 29 March 1976. She returned to Charleston on 7 April and resumed normal 2nd Fleet duty. That assignment - broken only by her participation in the International Naval Review held at New York on Independence Day - continued through the summer of 1976. On 4 October, ''William V. Pratt'' departed Charleston in company with {{USS|Jesse L. Brown|FF-1089|6}}, {{USS|Julius A. Furer|FFG-6|6}}, and {{USS|Valdez|FF-1096|6}} for another tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. The ships arrived in Rota on 14 October, completed turnover briefings, and entered the Mediterranean on  16 October. The warship served in the screen of the aircraft carrier {{USS|Franklin D. Roosevelt|CV-42|6}} for the bulk of her 6th Fleet assignment. Once again, she visited ports and conducted exercises throughout the Mediterranean. That tour of duty with the 6th Fleet lasted until the beginning of April 1977. After turnover at Rota, the guided missile destroyer got under way on 11 April to return to the United States. She moored at Charleston once again on 21 April and, on 27 April, entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for a 10-week availability. She completed repairs on 8 July and resumed 2nd Fleet training operations out of Charleston. That employment continued through the end of 1977 and into 1978. On 11 July 1978, she departed Charleston for another deployment to South American waters to participate in UNITAS XIX. During that cruise, she completed a circumnavigation of the South American continent while engaged in a series of readiness exercises with Latin American navies. She returned to Charleston on 3 December and spent the remaining days of the year in port.

''William V. Pratt'' earned one battle star during the [[Vietnam War]].

The rest of the 1970s saw her return once to the Mediterranean and make another UNITAS cruise, this time voyaging completely around South America. She received further combat systems updates in 1979-80, operated with the 6th Fleet and visited Northern European waters in 1981, and took part in [[Lebanon Crisis]] actions in 1982, including providing gunfire support for [[U.S. Marines]] at [[Beirut]]. She was the escort ship that escorted [[Yassar Arafat]] out of Lebanon to Piraeus, Greece.

''William V. Pratt'' had three more major deployments during the last six years of the decade, operating in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and [[Red Sea]] in 1984, the Mediterranean alone in 1987 and again in 1989. Bracketing her 1989 6th Fleet cruise were major exercises off Norway and in the [[North Sea]] - [[English Channel]] area. In 1990 she worked with the [[U.S. Coast Guard]] on law enforcement service in the Caribbean Sea. ''William V. Pratt''{{'}}s final overseas tour was an important one, involving participation in the short, but intense [[Gulf War]] that drove Iraq out of Kuwait during the first months of 1991.

''William V. Pratt'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 30 September 1991 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 November 1992 and sold for [[Ship breaking|scrapping]] on 14 September 1995 to Transforma Marine of [[Brownsville, Texas]] for $49,600. ''William V. Pratt'' was dismantled shortly afterwards.

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/william-v-pratt.html}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register|{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=DDG44}}}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS William V. Pratt (DDG-44)}}
*http://www.williamvpratt.com USS ''William V. Pratt'' Reunion Association

{{Farragut class destroyer (1958)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:William V. Pratt (DDG-44)}}
[[Category:Farragut-class destroyers (1958)]]
[[Category:1960 ships]]
[[Category:Gulf War ships of the United States]]