Charles F Adams (DDG 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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r' r' I 0 F I 'v O 0, r 0 Y I 'r o,' of H A Following commissioning, the CHARLES F. ADAMS conducted intensive technical evaluations designed to test the performance of individualequipments. Particular stresswas placed on the TARTAR Weapons System and its associated equipments, since TARTAR was specifically designed for Destroyers. Also testedwas the ASROC anti-submarine system and its associated sonar fire-control equipment. During this period final acceptance by the Navy. was conducted. In addition, a period was set aside for shake- down training. This welded the crew and the ship into one fighting machine, trained to react properly to various situations of attack or defense. With shakedown training completed, the CHARLES F. ADAMS progressed to her most rugged phase of testing, Operation Evaluation. This phase evaluated the ships' capability to fight under wartime con- ditions and for extended periods of time. On 30 June 1961 the CHARLES F. ADAMS was assigned Charleston, South Carolina as a home port. She steamed up the Cooper River for the first time of 28 July 1961 and commenced operations as a part of Destroyer Squadron 6. On 13 November 1961 she left Charleston to participate in a Northern Europe Cruise prior to joining her squadron in the Mediterranean. Ports of call on this cruise included: Brest, France, Gothenburg, Sweden, Aarhus, Denmark, Kiel, Germany, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Portsmouth, England ani Lisbon, Portugal. On 6 January 1962, the CHARLES F. ADAMS joined the SIXTH FLEET in the Mediterranean, sub- sequently visiting La Spezia and San Remo, Italy, Toulon, France, and Genoa, Italy, returning to Charleston on 3 March 1962.

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On 16 .Tune 1958 at Bath Iron Works Bath, Maine, the keel was laid for the first destroyer planned and built as a missile ship With this beginning, the U. S. S. CHARLES F. ADAMS IDDG-21, first ln 2- new line of guided missile destroyers was born. She is named for Charles Francis Adams, great grandson of John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States and the great great grandson of John Adams, second president of the United States. Charles F Adams was noted for his untiring efforts to keep the Navy a power in international affairs while Secretary of the Navy in 1929-1933' in spite of an apathetic and economy minded public. He WHS noted for his yachting ability which was well demonstrated in his 1921 America's Cup Victory. On 8 September 1959 the CHARLES F. ADAMS was launched in the Kennebec River by her spOnSO1' Mrs Robert Homans a sister of her namesake. When fully equipped and manned she displaces 4500 tons. Her overall length is 437 feet and she has a beam of 47 feet She is manned by 2.1 officers and 316 enlisted men. The Commissioning Ceremony on 10September 1960 at Boston Naval Shipyard, Charlestown, Mass- achusetts marked the initiation of service as an operating unit of the United States Navy. Admiral James S Russell Vice Chief of Naval Operations, was the principal speaker. At this time she became the responsibility of her Commanding Officer, Commander William R. Munroe, Jr. , USN. 1 n v 1 : 1 ' z .v ' a

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l I X 'fl ii? .jfs 1-MI 4 ,Q . ,Jill lf' l 43 4 il, ill I COMMANDER WILLIAM ROBERT MUNRUE, lR.,USN CUMMANDING Since Commissioning as Ensign, on 16 September 1941, Commander Munroe has seen varied service in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Eastern Mediterranean Combat areas during World War II. After the war, he served in various units in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, including U. S. Naval Guided Missile Unit Fifty-Two, which he commissioned as Com- manding Officer. Atour in the Office of the Chief of NavalOperations and in the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense, along with Guided Missile Post Graduate schooling under U.S. Army auspices, in 1952, round out Commander Munroe's background. This makes him par- ticularly qualified to command the USS CHARLES F. ADAMS, the first in a line of TARTAR missile destroyers. n h lr 4 L ,hiv