USS Cole (DDG-67)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 US | |
| Name | USS Cole |
| Namesake | Sgt Darrell S. Cole, USMC |
| Ordered | 16 January 1991 |
| Builder | Ingalls Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 28 February 1994 |
| Launched | 10 February 1995 |
| Commissioned | 8 June 1996 |
| Status | in active service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Arleigh Burke class destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| 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 | |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1 × Sikorsky MH-60R |
The second USS Cole (DDG-67) is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis-equipped guided missile destroyer homeported in NS Norfolk, Virginia. The Cole is named in honor of Marine Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, a machine-gunner killed in action on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, during World War II. The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and was delivered to the Navy on 11 March 1996.
On 12 October 2000, the Cole was the target of attack carried out by Al-Qaeda in the Yemeni port of Aden; 17 sailors were killed, 39 were injured, and the ship was heavily damaged.[4] On 29 November 2003, Cole deployed for her first overseas deployment after the bombing and subsequently returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia on 27 May 2004 without incident.
Construction
Cole is one of 62 authorized Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, and one of 21 members of the Flight I-class that utilized the 5"/54 caliber gun mounts found on the earliest of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. In addition to her guns, Cole carries nearly 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.[5] She also has two Phalanx CIWS gun mounts, located immediately fore and aft of the superstructure (as shown in the image[6] of her on the MV Blue Marlin), which are intended to protect Cole against enemy missiles that manage to evade the ship's anti-missile missiles. Cole was launched on 10 February 1995 and commissioned on 8 June 1996.[7]
Service history
The USS Cole would be in continual service for the United States Navy for several years after being commissioned. However, an al-Qaeda terrorist attack in 2000, allegedly plotted by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would heavily damage the ship, requiring extensive repairs, although still capable of eventually returning to service.
Al-Qaeda attack
On 12 October 2000, while at anchor in Aden, the Cole was attacked by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers, who sailed a small boat near the destroyer and detonated explosive charges.[4] The blast created a hole in the port side of the ship about 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, killing 17 crewmembers and injuring 39.[8] The ship was under the command of Commander Kirk Lippold.
Eleven Sailors, 2 women and 9 men, seriously injured, were evacuated to various hospitals in Aden by Transall (C-160), French Force of Djibouti (FFDJ). French forces were mobilized to treat the wounded. They were evacuated by a USAF C-9 Nightengale thereafter.
Cole was returned to the United States aboard the Norwegian heavy-lift vessel MV Blue Marlin owned by Offshore Heavy Transport of Oslo, Norway. The ship was off-loaded 13 December 2000 from Blue Marlin in a pre-dredged deep-water facility at the Pascagoula, Mississippi, shipyard of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations. After 14 months of repair, Cole departed on 19 April 2002, and returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia.
The U.S. government offered a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to the arrest of people who committed or aided in the attack on Cole. Al-Qaeda was suspected of targeting Cole because of the failure of a 3 January 2000 attack on USS The Sullivans, one of the 2000 millennium attack plots. On 4 November 2002, Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi, a suspected al-Qaeda operative, who is believed to have planned the Cole attack, was killed by the CIA using an AGM-114 Hellfire missile launched from an MQ-1 Predator drone.
Redeployment
On 29 November 2003 Cole deployed for her first overseas deployment after the bombing and subsequently returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia on 27 May 2004, without incident. In 2005 Cole participated in BALTOPS 05 with the Baltic Nations. Cole returned to the US in early July and was able to attend Fourth of July Celebrations in Philadelphia.
The Cole deployed to the Middle East on 8 June 2006, for the first time since the bombing. While passing the port city of Aden the crew manned the rails to honor the crewmembers killed in the bombing. She returned to her homeport of Norfolk on 6 December 2006, again without incident.
On 21 August 2006, the Associated Press reported that the Cole's commanding officer at the time of the bombing, Commander Kirk Lippold, was denied promotion to the rank of Captain.[9]
On 28 February 2008, the Cole was sent to take station off Lebanon's coast, the first of an anticipated three-ship flotilla.[10]
Upgrade
On 12 November 2009, the Missile Defense Agency announced that the Cole would be upgraded during fiscal year 2013 to RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.[11]
Notable officers and crew
- Commander Peter K. Nilsen, commanding officer
See also
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b Yemeni pair charged in USS Cole bombing
- ^ Owing to the presence of the Aegis system, Cole and her sisters are sometimes incorrectly referred to as Aegis class ships.
- ^ File:MV Blue Marlin carrying USS Cole.jpg, Wikimedia Commons
- ^ Destroyer Photo Index DDG-67 USS COLE NavSource Naval History
- ^ Attack on the USS Cole al-bab.com
- ^ "Cole Skipper Off Promotion List" Military.com, 22 August 2006
- ^ USS Cole off Lebanon Coast; Show of Support to Whom? 29 February 2008
- ^ "MDA announces next 6 BMD ships", Navy Times, 12 November 2009.
External links
- Rewards for Justice Site
- Official website of USS Cole
- navsource.org: USS Cole
- USS Cole Association
- Official Department of Defense FOIA files on the USS Cole [1] [2] [3]
- USS Cole Redeploys
- Maritimequest USS Cole DDG-67 Photo Gallery