Rowan (DD 782) - Naval Cruise Book

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0 Q 0 Ships USS ROWAN is the fourth U.S. Naval Ship and the third destroyer to bear the name of Vice Admiral Stephen Clegg Rowan, U.S. Navy. The present ROWAN was commissioned on March 31, 1945 under the sponsorship of the great grand-daughter of the Admiral, and 55 years to the day after the death of Admiral ROWAN. ROWAN, a unit of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, is homeported in San Diego, California, the port in which her namesake was the first man to raise the American flag.l The sleek destroyer is 390 feet 6 inches in length, 40 feet, 11 inches in width and displaces 3400 tons at full load. After her commissioning, ROWAN participated in routine exercises and type training until 1950. With the outbreak of the Korean conflict, she operated with Task Force 77, the Taiwan Patrol Force, and shore bombardment groups. Between 1950 and 1953, she was fired upon numerous times while fighting in Korea.- Since Korea, ROWANUS career has had the typical variety of experiences which characterizes the American destroyer. She has operated with units of the Pakistani and Peruvian navies, as well as with ships from most of the SEATO Nations. ROWAN has made no less than fourteen operational tours in Far Eastern Waters and during one of these tours in 1961, she participated in the momentous Coral Sea celebration in Australia. Like all destroyers, ROWAN7s by-word is Hversatilityw. She has participated in amphibious, anti-submarine and anti- aircraft warfare exercises, she has performed naval gunfire support operations, and has acted as an escort for attack carrier strike groups. To carry out these varied tasks, ROWAN Histor must be able to move swiftly from place to place. For this she has a power plant capable of supplying 60,000 horsepower. At optimum power she can travel at speeds in excess of 30 knots. To sustain these speeds over long distances, she has fuel tanks which hold the capacity of 21 railroad cars. From July 1963 until May 1964, ROWAN underwent extensive modernization at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. As a result, she emerged with the latest of design improve- ments, the most modern electronic equipment, sensors and anti-submarine weapons. Her major weapon is the anti- submarine rocket QASROCQ whose launcher is located amid- ships. That weapon is supported by two 5,738 twin gun mounts and anti-submarine torpedoes. The shipis magazines are filled with tons of ammunition to sustain her for long hours in battle. To increase her readiness, ROWAN is equipped with a multitude of electronic equipment and several coin- puters. When the GOIN, ROWAN's crew has manned the shipis battle stations, each man is an integral, essential part of a team. The men of ROWAN typify destroyermen infthat they meet face to face, more than their share of challenges- difficult challenges which constantly test their ingenuity, skill and courage. Their performance is essential to making ROWAN a fighting destroyer. ROWAN completed her fourth tour of duty with the U.S. SEVENTH Fleet since modernization on 18 September 1969. During this most recent tour of Vietnam connected oper- ations, ROWAN and her crew performed brilliantly as a single, unified unit to make her the finest ship in the U.S. Navy with a record envied by all.

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1 CRUISE BOOK STAFF EDITORXLA YO UT: PHOTOGRAPHERS.- TYPISTS: LTJG DALY LTJG DALY SFC CLARK RM3 SHAW YN3 CA WTHON RM3 COLLINS WESTERN PEEIEIE DEPEUYMENT 18 MIME-18 SEPTEMBER 1969

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1 ...W 1 J We, t W 7, ft. W , ff.:f, xfg,f 5 ftff. RWM, w .' 1. XA, . 2 . +2 . V, 4 its .inn ,, ming,- R 5 ali fx , ,? v , I .14 Change of Command Ceremony The purpose of a Change of Command Ceremony, as practiced in the US. Navy, is almost unique in the world today. It is a formal ceremony conducted before the assembled officers and men of the command. The ceremony is a time-honored Navy tradi- tion which formally restates to the officers and men of the command the continuing authority of that command. The change of command itself is a transfer of total respon- sibility and authority from one individual to another. Normally, the change of command cere- mony is held in port and, hopefully, with numerous interested guests present. However, on 8 June 1969, even though ROWAN's change of command took place at sea in a combat environment, the entire ceremony with all of its ritual was carried out modified only to suit the inclement weather conditions. .J f 7' f X fl- X 3 1 f 1 f 1 ---sU'xOF