Farragut (DLG 6) - Naval Cruise Book

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defense at a peak of battle readiness. During the necessary maintenance, supply, and relaxation periods all hands were engaged as good will am- bassadors in forging ties of friendship with the Medi- terranean countries. Among the ports visited were: Cannes and Myeres, France; Rhodes and Athens, Greece; Naples, Gaeta, Genoa, San Remo, and Palermo, Italy; and Barcelona, Spain. Naples was the site of FARRAGUT ' s second successive holiday season away from home. FARRAGUT finished out her deployment with an eagerly awaited return to Port Mahon, Menorca. She arrived home in Mayport on 2 March 1963, for a welcomed leave period prior to readying the ship for an interim shipyard availability period in May 1963. Entering Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, Virginia on 7 May, FARRAGUT underwent minor repairs and alterations and acquired a new Captain, CDR. W. B. ALTHOFF, USN, in change of command ceremonies at Portsmouth on 9 May 1963. Avail- ability completed, the ship welcomed 63 Naval Academy Midshipmen aboard and participated in her second Midshipmen Cruise, which included visits to New York City and Quebec as well as extensive underway training. FARRAGUT returned to Mayport on 27 July for a period of leave and upkeep. During the following month she was underway for local operations and a one-day dependents cruise on 16 August. A brief operational cruise to the Carribean from 16 Septem- ber until return to Mayport on 1 October included visits to San Juan and St. Thomas. FARRAGUT departed Mayport again on 28 Oc- tober for twelve days of operations as part of Task Force 23 and returned to her homeport on 8 No- vember 1963. Except for brief periods of refresfer training in the Jacksonville operations area, the ship remained in Mayport for a period of leave and upkeep, spending Christmas in her homeport. The months of December and January were spent in completing preparations for FARRAGUT ' s impending Mediterranean deployment with the United States Sixth Fleet on 8 February 1964. FARRAGUT ' s crossing to the Mediterranean went quickly and without noticeable event. Arriving in the Mediterranean the ship participated in Sixth Fleet operations until 6 March when she anchored for the first liberty of the deployment, Istanbul, Turkey, where FARRAGUT spent five days. In this sunny port, FARRAGUT ' s crew set on outstanding record for people to people relations. Departing our first liberty port we found ourselves enjoying the sunny waters of the Cyprus patrol, until the 28th of March when FARRAGUT dropped anchor in Naples harbor to remain there for 18 days receiving repairs to the engineering plant. Leaving Naples on the 1 1 th of March FARRAGUT took part in normal Sixth Fleet operations. On the morning of the 18th of March FARRAGUT began a two day visit to the enchanting island of Menorca, Spain. Sailing, fishing, Softball, and the pleasure of relaxing were enjoyed by all. FARRAGUT returned to Naples. Many of FAR- RAGUT ' s crew again took advantage of the low priced tours to Capri, Mount Visuvius and Rome. On leaving Naples for the final time in this Medi- terranean cruise FARRAGUT enjoyed rough seas and a two day visit to St. Tropez, France home of Bridget Bardot. Home again after an enjoyable short trip, FAR- RAGUT awaits her time to go into the Charleston Naval Shipyard. .fr W .-

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, USS FARRAGUT (DLG-6) was commissioned 10 December 1 960 at Boston Naval Shipyard, CDR Roger E. SPREEN, USN, assuming command, and proudly took her place in the Navy. She was the forth of our nation ' s ships to carry the name FARRAGUT in honor of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, famous for his achievements dur- ing the Civil War, and the first Admiral of the United States Navy. The first USS FARRAGUT (Torpedo Boat 11) was launched in 1898 and served with the Fleet until 1919. The second USS FARRAGUT (DD-300) was commissioned in 1920 and operated with the Pacific Fleet Destroyer Force through 1930. The third USS FARRAGUT (DD-348) was the first of the two- stack destroyers. Commissioned in 1934, she was berthed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Throughout the war in the Pacific she fought gallantly and by the end of the war had earned 14 battly stars in engagements such as the Battle of the Coral Sea, the First Battle of Savo Island, Iwo Jima, and Oki- nawa. The forth and present USS FARRAGUT (DLG-6) is one of the most powerful ships of the modern Navy. This class of guided missile frigate is designed to carry the latest and best radar and sonar to detect the enemy, and the most powerful anti-aircraft and anti-submarine missiles with which to destroy him. Following commissioning, FARRAGUT participated in shakedown training in the Caribbean, visiting ports including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Guontanamo Bay, Cuba. Enroute northward, the ship visited Pensacola, Florida (taking part in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Naval Aviation); New Orleans, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama, the scene of Admiral Farragut ' s most famous exploits during the Civil War. In Mobile, FARRAGUT was the special guest of the pageant celebrating the 350th anniver- sary of Mobile ' s founding. Effective 1 July 1961 the ship ' s homeport was changed from Boston to Mayport, Florida, therby becoming the first guided missile frigate to be home ported in Mayport. In the Fall of 1961, FARRAGUT departed on her Shakedown Cruise to Northern Europe. Arriving in Portsmouth, England, on 30 November 1961, she began a rapid but very enjoyable succession of port visits ending in Lisbon, Portugal the first week of the New Year. Ports visited included Malmo and Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Ham- burg, Germany; and Portsmouth, England. FARRA- GUT ' s officers and men participated in many social affairs and athletic contests acquiring many friends while implementing the President ' s People-to-People Program. Interspersed between port visits were ex- tensive readiness exercises at sea, testing all phases of FARRAGUT ' s complex detection and weapons sy- systems. FARRAGUT deployed with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean during January and February 1962. A highlight of this deployment was a well received visit to Port Mahon, Menorca, the home of Admiral Farragut ' s father. On 3 March 1962 FARRAGUT arrived home in Mayport and became the flagship of Capt. A. F. JOHNSON, USN, Commander De- stroyer Squadron EIGHT. April brought participation in the Seapower Dem- onstration for President Kennedy, and saw the ar- rival of a new Commanding Officer. CDR. Adam A. HERRON, USN, became FARRAGUT ' s second CO on 21 April 1962 . In May, a short operational cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands for missile firings and shore bombardment was climaxed by an exciting race to the splashdown area of Astronaut Scott CARPENTER, America ' ssecond orbital space traveler. FARRAGUT enjoyed the honor of being the first surface ship to arrive at the scene. In Norfolk in June 1962 FARRAGUT welcomed 29 Naval Academy Midshipmen for their annual summer cruise. A highlight of the cruise spaced be- tween intensive anti-air and anti-submarine warfare exercises, was a Fourth of July visit to Wilmington, Delaware. On 3 August 1962, the ship sailed for the Medi- terranean Sea on a seven-month deployment with the United States SIXTH FLEET. An important page of FARRAGUT ' s history during the deployment was recorded in October, when she was sent on a special cruise into the Black Sea. There FAR RAGUT exercised the Navy ' s historic right of freedom to sail this land-locked sea, and visited two small Turkish ports, Eregil and Trabzon. The major part of the deployment was spent in the day-to-day conduct of advanced fleet train- ing exercises that keep our country ' s first line of

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Commander William B. ALTHOFF, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Althoff of Long Island, New York graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1945 (class of 1946). His first duty assignment was to tfie destroyer USS Cfiarles S. SPERRY (DD-697) whiere he served as Gunnery Officer. Subsequent tours in destroyer types included two years as En- gineer Officer in the USS FITCH (DMS-25) and a year as Executive Officer of the USS Richard S. ED- WARDS (DD-950). CDR ALTHOFF attended the Russian Language School in 1948 and the Naval Intelligence School in 1952, both in Washington, D.C. Upon groduation from the latter, he was assigned to the staff of Com- mander Middle East Force, whose flagship was based in the Persian Gulf. Following this and after attend- ance at the American University, Beirut, Lebanon, he reported to the Fleet Intelligence Center at Port Lyautey, Morocco, for duty. He also has served in the Officer Distribution Branch of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, D.C. CDR ALTHOFF has commanded the ' USS E-PCS 1431, a vessel engaged in experimental anit-sub- marine warfare development at Key West, Florida, and the USS LOYALTY, an ocean-going minesweeper based at Long Beach, California. In March 1961, he took command of the radar picket destroyer USS DUNCAN, then undergoing FRAM at the Long Beach CDR. William Althoff: FARRAGUT ' s CO. Naval Shipyard. In October of the same year, DUN- CAN ' S home port was changed to Yokosuka, Japan, and she became a permanent unit of the Seventh Fleet operating in the Western Pacific. On 9 May 1963, CDR ALTHOFF returned to the Atlantic Fleet to take command of the USS FARRAGUT (DLG-6), first of a class of 5600-ton guided missile frigates equipped with the latest in electronic detection equip- ment and long range anti-submarine missiles. CDR ALTHOFF is married to the former Marilynn Eustace of Charleston, South Carolina, and has two children, a daughter, Susan, and a son William.