USS Bainbridge (DDG-96)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Bainbridge.

USS Bainbridge (DDG-96)

History
United States
Namesake	William Bainbridge
Ordered	6 March 1998
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Laid down	7 May 2003
Christened	13 November 2004
Commissioned	12 November 2005
Homeport	Naval Station Norfolk
Motto	Competence, Dedication, Discipline
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	9,200 tons
Length	509 ft 6 in (155.3 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	270 officers and enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPY-1D radar AN/SPS-67(V)2 surface-search radar AN/SPS-64(V)9 surface-search radar AN/SQS-53C sonar array 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	; Missiles 1 × 32 cell and 1 × 64 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems 96 × RIM-66 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk, and/or RUM-139 VL-Asroc missiles Guns 1 × 5"/62 caliber (127/62 mm) 2 × 25 mm 4 × 12.7 mm 1 × 20mm Phalanx CIWS Torpedoes 2 × Mk 46 triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried	2 × SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters

USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) is an Template:Sclass- guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the fifth ship to carry that name, and the 46th destroyer of a planned 75-ship class. Bainbridge is named in honor of Commodore William Bainbridge, who as commander of the frigate USS Constitution distinguished himself in the War of 1812 when he and his crew captured HMS Java, a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

Since her commissioning in 2005, Bainbridge has been active in the Mediterranean Sea, but most of the attention she has garnered has been as a result of the failed hijacking attempt of the U.S.-flagged freighter MV Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in April, 2009, which ended with the release of the vessel's Master, Captain Richard Phillips, on 12 April 2009. After crewmen of the captured cargo vessel managed to retake the ship, the pirates retreated, taking the ship's Master hostage in a lifeboat. Bainbridge, Halyburton, and Boxer shadowed the pirates, and with FBI assistance attempted negotiations for the safe return of the captive captain until U.S. Navy SEAL snipers resolved the situation with deadly force. The story of this incident was turned into the 2013 motion picture titled Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks. Bainbridge was portrayed by sister ship Truxtun

Construction

Bainbridge is one of 75 authorized Arleigh Burke–class guided missile destroyers, and is classified as a member of the Flight IIA–class variation that incorporate the 5"/62 caliber gun mount, an improvement over the previous 5"/54 caliber gun mounts on the earlier Arleigh Burke–class destroyers. In addition to her guns, Bainbridge carries over 100 missiles of various types aboard two separate Mk 41 VLS magazines. Her superstructure features the AN/SPY-1 radar indicative of the Aegis combat system, which allows the destroyer to track over 100 targets simultaneously. (Owing to the presence of the Aegis system, Bainbridge and her sisters are sometimes incorrectly referred to as Aegis-class ships.) She is also equipped with the Remote Mine-hunting System (RMS), which includes the Remote Mine-hunting Vehicle (RMV), an unmanned craft that detects, classifies, and localizes underwater mines.

Bainbridge was floated from drydock and christened on 13 November 2004 at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, sponsored by Susan Bainbridge Hay, Commodore William Bainbridge's great-great-great-granddaughter. She was commissioned on 12 November 2005, with Commander John M. Dorey commanding.

History

As seen from a ScanEagle UAV, the Bainbridge and the Maersk Alabama lifeboat, 9 April 2009.

Bainbridge assumed flagship for Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG-1) from USS Normandy (SNMG-1 April 2007 – August 2007) and remained flagship from August 2007 until February 2008. While on deployment under SNMG-1, they visited various ports across the Mediterranean such as Valletta, Malta; A Coruña, Spain; Istanbul, Turkey; Crete, Athens, Greece; as well as Port-Louis, Mauritius; Port Victoria, Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.

On 8 April 2009, Bainbridge was dispatched in response to a hostage situation in which Somali pirates had seized control of an American-flagged cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama. The crew of the Alabama were able to get to safety, after their captain had been taken hostage by the pirates. He was taken to and held on a lifeboat, and refused release in an unsuccessful attempt to exchange him for a pirate the ship's crew had captured. The destroyer shadowed and later encircled the Somali pirates during the standoff, at which time the pirates and Bainbridge began negotiating for the safe release of the captive captain. On 12 April 2009 Captain Phillips was freed—reportedly in good condition—during a US Navy SEAL team assault. Three of the Somali pirates were killed by US Navy SEAL sharpshooters aboard Bainbridge, and one was captured.

In January 2014, Bainbridge completed a six-month deployment to Sixth Fleet and returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia.

Upon returning to Norfolk, Virginia, in December 2015 following another deployment with the United States 6th Fleet, an investigation was conducted that resulted in the three senior commanders being removed from duty. In a press release, a spokesperson says the Navy investigated Commander Sean Rongers for allegedly allowing gambling and storing fireworks on the ship, and for "poor program management and a poor command climate." The Navy also fired the ship's former Executive Officer, Commander Brandon Murray, and Command Master Chief Richard Holmes.

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

• Media related to USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official ship's site