USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79)
.jpg) The Oscar Austin left Naval Station Norfolk in April 2017 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Order | July 20, 1994 |
| Keel laying | October 9, 1997 |
| Launch | November 7, 1998 |
| 1. Period of service |
.svg){kind=small}
|
| Commissioning | August 19, 2000 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
9200 tons |
| length |
156 meters |
| width |
20 metres |
| Draft |
9.5 meters |
| crew |
32 officers, 350 men |
| drive |
2 propellers, driven by 4 gas turbines; 100,000 wave horsepower |
| speed |
31 knots |
| Armament |
96 VLS cells |
The USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer .
history
The Oscar Austin was commissioned in 1994 and laid down at Bath Iron Works in October 1997 . After a construction period of 13 months, the destroyer was launched and entered service with the United States Navy in 2000 . The ship is named after Oscar P. Austin, a Private First Class of the United States Marine Corps who died in the Vietnam War and who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .
Since the ship is the first of the heavily modified Flight IIA lot within the Arleigh Burke class , it is rarely referred to as the Oscar Austin class . The modification includes the addition of a hangar for two helicopters.
The Oscar Austin made its first mission in 2002/2003, where it was involved in the first attacks on Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom . In June 2004, the destroyer visited Kiel, where she anchored in Tirpitzhafen . From September 2005 to March 2006, the ship completed another voyage in the Persian Gulf. In 2007, the ship moved back to the waters of the Middle East to protect shipping there from pirate attacks, for example. The task force was led by the carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) .
In 2009, the destroyer took part in exercise UNITAS , during which the Oscar Austin was involved in the sinking of the target ship USS Connolly (DD-979) . Another relocation on the side of the Truman followed in 2010 .
In 2014 she and the USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) visited Kiel again for the Kiel Week, and most recently the Eckernförde naval base at the end of September 2017 .
Web links
- Entry in the Naval Vessel Register (Engl.)
- Official Homepage (Engl.)