USS Cone

	USS Cone (DD-866)
History
US
Name	Cone
Namesake	Rear Admiral Hutch Ingham Cone
Builder	Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Staten Island
Laid down	30 November 1944
Launched	10 May 1945
Acquired	18 August 1945
Commissioned	18 August 1945
Stricken	1 October 1982
Fate	Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP) to Pakistan
History
Pakistan
Name	Alamgir
Namesake	Alamgir
Acquired	1 October 1982
Decommissioned	4 December 1998
Status	scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Gearing class destroyer
Displacement	2,425
Length	390 ft 6 in (119.02 m)
Beam	41 ft 1 in (12.52 m)
Draft	18 ft 6 in (5.64 m)
Speed	35 knots
Complement	367
Armament	6x 5" gun, 5x 21" torpedo tubes, 6x depth charge projector, 2x depth charge track

USS Cone (DD-866), was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Hutch Ingham Cone USN (1871–1941).

Cone was laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at Staten Island in New York on 30 November 1944, launched on 10 May 1945 by Mrs. H. I. Cone and commissioned on 18 August 1945.

Cone alternated operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean with the 2nd Fleet with deployments with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, and participated in Sea Dragon and Market Time operations, patrolled on search and rescue duties and carried out Naval Gunfire Support missions during the conflict in Vietnam.

History

Cone's first cruise, between 12 February and 9 April 1946, was a visit to Portsmouth, England. After a week at Newport, R.I., she sailed again on an extensive goodwill tour to ports of both northern and southern Europe, welcoming visitors at each city, returning to Newport 24 October. She operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean from her home port, Norfolk, until the summer of 1947, when she carried midshipmen on a training cruise to northern Europe.

Continuing training and service activities along the east coast and in the Caribbean when not deployed, Cone served her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean in 1948, joining the United Nations Palestine Patrol for a time. She returned to the Mediterranean in 1949, and later that year crossed the Arctic Circle on maneuvers. East coast and Caribbean operations and another 6th Fleet tour occupied Cone in 1950. Her 1951 Mediterranean cruise was highlighted by a visit by Winston Churchill at Venice on 9 September, and. by Cone's transportation of the United States and British Ambassadors to Greece on a diplomatic call on the monasteries of Mount Athos. She served again in the Mediterranean in 1952, and on 28 August 1953, cleared Newport for a cruise around the world, sailing by way of Panama, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Yokosuka to join TF 77 on patrol off Korea, and continuing home with calls at Hong Kong, Bahrein, Port Said, Naples, Villefranche, and Lisbon, returning to Norfolk 9 April 1954.

From September to November 1954, Cone sailed to join other NATO navies in antisubmarine training off Ireland and in Operation "Blackjack," then called briefly at Mediterranean ports. Nineteen fifty-five found her concentrating on air defense exercises and acting as planeguard for carriers, and in 1956, cruising in the Mediterranean, she joined in NATO exercies, returning home in June. Alerted during the Suez Crisis, she joined a task force which sailed to the eastern Atlantic to stand by, then called at Lisbon and returned home when its services were not needed. In 1958 and 1959-60 Cone served with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean; through the remainder of 1960, she conducted exercises in the Caribbean, operated locally from her new home port, Charleston, S.C., and visited northern European waters during NATO maneuvers.

[1960-1982]

Decommissioning and transfer

Cone was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1982, transferred to Pakistan and renamed Alamgir. Alamgir's first crew included Cdr A U Khan (CO), Lcdr Aqeel Farooqi (XO), Cdr Ubaid (LO), Lt M Bashir Chaudhry (EO) and Lcdr Shahid Latif (SO). She was commissioned at Charleston, USA on 1st Oct 1982. She was decommissioned on 4 December 1998 and scrapped.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links