USS Curtis Wilbur

	USS Curtis Wilbur in the Persian Gulf, 1999
History
US
Name	USS Curtis Wilbur
Namesake	Curtis D. Wilbur
Operator	United States Navy
Ordered	13 December 1988
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Laid down	12 March 1991
Launched	16 May 1992
Commissioned	19 March 1994
Homeport	Template:Ship Homeport YOK
Motto	list error: <br /> list (help); Prudens Potens Patria ; (Judicious Power for Country)
Nickname(s)	Steel Hammer
Status	in active service
Badge	File:USS Curtis Wilbur.jpg
General characteristics
Class and type	Arleigh Burke class destroyer
Displacement	Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t); Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t);
Length	505 ft (154 m)
Beam	59 ft (18 m)
Draft	31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion	2 × shafts
Speed	In excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	4,400 nmi (8,100 km; 5,100 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	33 commissioned officers; 38 chief petty officers; 210 enlisted personnel;
Sensors and ; processing systems	AN/SPY-1D PESA 3D radar (Flight I, II, IIA); AN/SPY-6(V)1 AESA 3D radar (Flight III); AN/SPS-67(V)3 or (V)5 surface search radar (DDG-51 – DDG-118); AN/SPQ-9B surface search radar (DDG-119 onwards); AN/SPS-73(V)12 surface search/navigation radar (DDG-51 – DDG-86); BridgeMaster E surface search/navigation radar (DDG-87 onwards); 3 × AN/SPG-62 fire-control radar; Mk 46 optical sight system (Flight I, II, IIA); Mk 20 electro-optical sight system (Flight III); AN/SQQ-89 ASW combat system:; AN/SQS-53C sonar array; AN/SQR-19 tactical towed array sonar (Flight I, II, IIA); TB-37U multi-function towed array sonar (DDG-113 onwards); AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III shipboard system;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite; AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo countermeasures; Mk 36 Mod 12 decoy launching systems; Mk 53 Nulka decoy launching systems; Mk 59 decoy launching systems;
Armament	Guns:; 1 × 5-inch (127 mm)/54 mk 45 mod 1/2 (lightweight gun); 2 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS; 2 × 25 mm (0.98 in) Mk 38 machine gun system; 4 × 0.50 inches (12.7 mm) caliber guns; Missiles:; 2 × Mk 141 Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher; 1 × 29-cell, 1 × 61-cell (90 total cells) Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS):; RIM-66M surface-to-air missile; RIM-156 surface-to-air missile; BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile; RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC; Torpedoes:; 2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes:; Mark 46 lightweight torpedo; Mark 50 lightweight torpedo; Mark 54 lightweight torpedo;
Aircraft carried	1 × Sikorsky MH-60R

USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) is the fourth Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer. Curtis Wilbur was named for Curtis D. Wilbur, the forty-third Secretary of the Navy under President Calvin Coolidge.

Built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, she was commissioned in Long Beach, California, on 19 March 1994. The keynote speaker for the ceremony was then-Secretary of the Navy, John H. Dalton.

Ship History

1990s

During the summer of 1994, Curtis Wilbur participated in RIMPAC '94, a major multi-national exercise involving more than thirty ships as well as numerous submarines and air assets, both carrier- and land-based. During this exercise, she performed duties as Force Air Defense Coordinator. Also that summer, the Board of Inspection and Survey conducted Final Contract Trials to assess the material status of the ship. Curtis Wilbur became the first ship of the class, and only the second ship ever to complete the examination with zero mission degrading deficiencies.

In October 1994, Curtis Wilbur became the first Aegis-equipped ship to integrate women into the crew.

Curtis Wilbur departed on her first Western Pacific Deployment on 31 July 1995, transiting the Pacific and heading to the Persian Gulf. While deployed with the United States Naval Forces Central Command, she supported Operations Southern Watch and Vigilant Sentinel. During her 100 days in theater, she served as Air Warfare Commander, Surface Warfare Commander, Undersea Warfare Commander, and Strike Warfare Commander. Curtis Wilbur also served as a member of the United States Fifth Fleet Expeditionary Task Force supporting United Nations sanctions against Iraq.

In September 1996, Curtis Wilbur became part of the United States Seventh Fleet, shifting homeports from San Diego to Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan.Upon arrival in Japan, she successfully completed Tailored Ship's Training Availability II and III and was the first ship ever to validate the Final Evaluation Period. On 15 February 1997, she deployed with the Independence Battle Group and participated in exercises Tandem Thrust '97 and Cobra Gold. Curtis Wilbur served as the Air Warfare Commander during this deployment.

Throughout the remainder of 1997, Curtis Wilbur participated in numerous Seventh Fleet Exercises, including Javelin Maker, Missilex 97-4, Aswex 97-6JA, Harmex 97-2, Annualex 09G, and Comptuex. For her "contributions to the fleet", Curtis Wilbur was selected as the Destroyer Squadron Fifteen Battle Efficiency Winner for 1997.

In January 1998, Curtis Wilbur participated in Sharem 108-1 before deploying again, on short notice, to the South Pacific. During this deployment, Curtis Wilbur visited ports in Singapore, Australia, Guam, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. She also participated in Merlion '98 and the Shimoda Black Ship Festival.

In June 1998 Curtis Wilbur commenced her second Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) in Yokosuka. This nine-week shipyard period brought with it many new upgrades, including JTIDS (Link 16), JMCIS 98, INMARSAT B, and numerous other Engineering and Combat System upgrades, making her the most capable destroyer in Seventh Fleet.

Upon completion of SRA and Sea Trials in August 1998, in addition to beginning the training cycle, Curtis Wilbur deployed for the joint and combined Exercise FOAL Eagle ‘98 with the Republic of Korea Navy and completed a successful Cruise Missile Tactical Qualification and Naval Surface Fire Support qualification. During the training cycle the ship certified the Main Space Fire Drill for ECERT at TSTA II and had a near flawless performance during ECERT. After completing her second complete training cycle while forward deployed, Curtis Wilbur participated in Sharem 127 with the Korean Navy and deployed in March 1999 with the Kitty Hawk Battle Group.

After completing Tandem Thrust ’99, an annual multi-national training exercise, Curtis Wilbur received immediate tasking to proceed at best speed en route the Persian Gulf. Steaming in company with Kitty Hawk and Chancellorsville (CG-62), Curtis Wilbur conducted a no-notice high speed transit and arrived in the Persian Gulf on 18 April 1999. Proceeding directly to the Northern Persian Gulf, Curtis Wilbur commenced operations in support of Operation Southern Watch; enforcing the Southern No-Fly Zone over Iraq and supporting United Nations Sanctions against Iraq by conducting Maritime Interception Operations (MIO) as a member of Fifth Fleet. Curtis Wilbur also participated in two major exercises while on her second Persian Gulf deployment: Nautical Swimmer ’99, a combined exercise with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, and Sharem 128, an Undersea Warfare exercise in the North Arabian Sea. Following port visits to Bunbury, Australia and Pattaya, Thailand, Curtis Wilbur returned to Yokosuka, Japan on 25 August 1999.

2000s

On 1 October 2001, Curtis Wilbur again departed Yokosuka on another deployment. Assigned to the Kitty Hawk Strike Group, she conducted operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Persian Gulf. After a port visit to Phuket, Thailand, Curtis Wilbur's first port visit in ten months, from 13–15 December, the ship returned to Yokosuka on 23 December 2001.

In early February 2002, Curtis Wilbur, along with the Yokosuka-based ships O'Brien (DD-975), Cowpens (CG-63), John S. McCain (DDG-56), Chancellorsville, Cushing (DD-985), Vandegrift (FFG-48), Gary (FFG-51), Sasebo-based Essex (LHD-2), and John Ericsson (T-AO-194) and Japan Defense Ship Sagami (AOE-421) participated in Missilex '02, an anti-ship missile defense training evolution. The Missilex took place on February 7 and 8, in a training area off the island of Okinawa, with all the ships participating except Ericsson and Sagami, which had conducted replenishments at sea with several ships earlier in the exercise.

Furthermore Curtis Wilbur was the first ship to enter the port of Da Nang, Vietnam, since 1976 in a relationship building port stay in August 2004.

In 2005, after a period of repair, Curtis Wilbur visited several ports including Hong Kong, Sendai, and Niigata. She participated in JASEX05, SHAREM, and nation-level tasking throughout the year.

Curtis Wilbur executed VALIANT SHIELD in 2006, and played a key role in a torpedo exercise involving all of Destroyer Squadron Fifteen. She was the lead ship in the Japanese midshipman exchange program, and so was responsible for the training of allied officer candidates and further strengthening the Japanese-American alliance. After a full year of training and operational execution, Curtis Wilbur completed INSURV on December 6th with an outstanding score.

In 2007, after a long period of operation, Curtis Wilbur entered Drydocks for repair and upkeep.

The Steel Hammer saw a few port visits in 2008 to include Hong Kong, Palau, and a few others. Afterward, Curtis Wilbur executed several exercises and evolutions to qualify as a Ballistic Missile Defense ship, and upon qualifying she was designated as BMD Capable, one of the first forward-deployed ships to do so. Shortly thereafter, Curtis Wilbur passed her Cruise Missile Tactical Qualification, proving her capability to employ Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles effectively in a tactical environment. Curtis Wilbur finished out the year with Multisail and Annualex, exercises involving several international allied navies.

The 2009 Spokane Trophy was awarded to Curtis Wilbur by Commander United States Pacific Fleet as the most proficient surface combatant ship in overall combat systems readiness and warfare operations. Curtis Wilbur also won the Surface Navy Association Photo Contest for a picture taken during her participation in a missile exercise. Curtis Wilbur was the guest ship at the Shimoda Black Ship Festival in May. This event commemorates the day Commodore Matthew Perry returned to Japan and signed the Japan-America Treaty of Amity and Friendship.

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

External links

Gallery

Curtis Wilbur in the Western Pacific, 2003
Curtis Wilbur undergoing replenishment in the Pacific Ocean, 2004

Curtis Wilbur undergoing replenishment in the Pacific Ocean, 2004
Curtis Wilbur in Hong Kong Harbor, 2007
Curtis Wilbur backgrounded by Mount Fuji, 2009
Curtis Wilbur in Yokosuka, 2009

^ "Mk46 MOD 1 Optical Sight System". Kollmorgen. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
^ Rockwell, David (12 July 2017). "The Kollmorgen/L-3 KEO Legacy". Teal Group. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
^ Hart, Jackie (17 December 2023). "Decoy Launch System Installed Aboard USS Ramage". navy.mil. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2023.

[1] "Mk46 MOD 1 Optical Sight System". Kollmorgen. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.

[2] Rockwell, David (12 July 2017). "The Kollmorgen/L-3 KEO Legacy". Teal Group. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.

[3] Hart, Jackie (17 December 2023). "Decoy Launch System Installed Aboard USS Ramage". navy.mil. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2023.

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