View source for USS Robert H. McCard

{{Short description|Gearing-class destroyer}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:USS Robert H. McCard (DD-822) underway off Oahu in May 1968.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Robert H. McCard'' 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1980}}
|Ship name=''Robert H. McCard'' 
|Ship namesake=[[Robert H. McCard]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Consolidated Steel Corporation]], [[Orange, Texas]]
|Ship laid down=20 June 1945
|Ship launched=9 November 1945
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=23 October 1946
|Ship decommissioned=5 June 1980
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=6 August 1987
|Ship renamed=
|Ship identification=DD-822
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Turkey]], 5 June 1980
|Ship notes=
}}
<!-- Navsource.org disagrees with most of these dates slightly:
 Laid down by Consolidated Steel, Orange Texas 20 June 1945.
 Launched 9 November 1945 and commissioned 26 October 1946.
 Decommissioned 6 June 1980.
 Stricken 6 August 1987.
 To Turkey 6 June 1980, renamed Kilic Ali Pasa.
 Fate Removed from service in Turkish Navy in 1999 and scrapped in 2000 at Aliağa, Turkey.
-->
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country= Turkey
|Ship flag=[[File:Flag of Turkey.svg|100x35px|Turkish Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name= ''Kılıçalipaşa'' 
|Ship namesake= [[Uluç Ali Reis|Kılıç Ali Paşa]]
|Ship acquired=5 June 1980
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=1998
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship identification=D349
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate= Scrapped, 2000
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Gearing|destroyer}}
|Ship displacement= {{convert|3460|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length= {{convert|390|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|40|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|14|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=Geared turbines, 2 shafts, {{convert|60000|shp|MW|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|35|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|4500|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|20|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=336
|Ship armament=*6 × [[5-inch/38-caliber gun]]s
*12 × [[Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun|40 mm AA guns]]
*11 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm AA guns]]
*10 × [[American 21-inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
*6 × [[depth charge]] projectors
*2 × depth charge tracks
|Ship armor=
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|}
'''USS ''Robert H. McCard'' (DD-822)''' was a {{sclass|Gearing|destroyer}} of the [[United States Navy]], named for [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Gunnery Sergeant]] [[Robert H. McCard]] (1918–1944), who was posthumously awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for conspicuous gallantry during the [[Battle of Saipan]].

==Construction==
''Robert H. McCard'' was laid down by [[Consolidated Steel Corporation]], [[Orange, Texas]], on 20 June 1945; [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 9 November 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Robert H. McCard; and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 23 October 1946.

==Service history==

===1946&ndash;1958===
Following shakedown off [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]], Cuba, ''Robert H. McCard'' joined Destroyer Squadron 10 (Desron&nbsp;10) and was homeported in [[Naval Station Newport|Newport, Rhode Island]]. She operated out of Newport until 1955 on the standard employment schedule for destroyers in the [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]]. ''McCard'' was a unit of the [[United States Sixth Fleet|6th Fleet]] on eight tours of duty in the [[Mediterranean]] and also participated in two [[midshipman cruise]]s, visiting [[Caribbean]], Canadian, [[Belgium|Belgian]], and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] ports. Between deployments, the ship had four overhauls in the [[Boston Naval Shipyard]], each being followed by a refresher training period under the supervision of the Fleet Training Group, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In December 1955, ''Robert H. McCard'' became a unit of Destroyer Squadron 4, with her [[homeport]] in [[Naval Station Norfolk|Norfolk, Virginia]]. Making a ninth and tenth [[tour of duty]] with the 6th Fleet, she operated as a unit of the [[Middle East Force]] in the [[Persian Gulf]] for a month during the ninth tour. Following [[plane guard]] duties and type training exercises off the Atlantic Coast, ''McCard'' participated in a midshipman cruise in June and July 1958, calling at Portuguese, [[Denmark|Danish]] and Belgian ports.

===1959&ndash;1966===
Returning to type training exercises, an Atlantic Fleet exercise in the Caribbean, [[Fleet Sonar School]] duty, and an overhaul, ''Robert H. McCard''{{'}}s homeport was then changed to [[Naval Station Charleston]], South Carolina. She operated out of Charleston until departing on 6 September 1960 for a [[NATO]] exercise, followed by other exercises. From 29 January 1961 to 3 February, she participated in recovery operations for [[Project Mercury]], then departed Charleston on 8 March to join the 6th Fleet. In July she proceeded through the [[Suez Canal]] and reported to Commander, Middle East Force, for a six-week patrol of the [[Red Sea]] and Persian Gulf area. She returned to Charleston via the [[Mediterranean]] on 4 October.

Following plane guard duties and type training exercises, ''Robert H. McCard'' underwent [[Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization]] (FRAM&nbsp;I) overhaul at Boston. Under FRAM I, ''McCard'' was completely torn down and rebuilt from the hull up, including new engines, a much larger combat information center, and a new sonar and radar systems. The 21-inch torpedo tubes between the funnels were removed, and an 8-round [[ASROC]] launcher placed there instead. All 3-inch/50 cal gun mounts, 40mm and 20mm gun mounts were removed, and the after superstructure was used for a hangar and flight deck for the [[Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter|QH-50 Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter]] (DASH).  All depth charge systems were also removed and two new triple Mark 32 torpedo tubes for the 12.75-inch Mk44 torpedo were also placed just behind the rear funnel. This modernization was designed to extend the life of the destroyer by at least eight years.

For 13 days, beginning on 14 October 1962, she was part of the Cuban Missile blockade.  Returning to Charleston on 3 January 1963, for refresher training during which she searched for the [[Piracy|hijacked]] [[Venezuela]]n ship ''Anzoategui'', the destroyer then served for two weeks as school ship for the Fleet Sonar School. She next participated in a joint Canadian-United States exercise. ''McCard'' was deployed with the 6th Fleet from 13 October 1963 to 5 March 1964 and deployed again on 5 January 1965. In February and March she operated under the Middle East Force, returning to Charleston via the Mediterranean on 7 June.

Following further operations off the Atlantic Coast and an overhaul period, ''Robert H. McCard'' underwent refresher training off Guantanamo Bay then conducted two midshipman cruises, the latter taking her to [[Wilhelmshaven]], Germany. From 29 September 1966 to 31 January 1967, ''McCard'' was deployed to the 6th Fleet.

===1967&ndash;1972===
Operating in the western Atlantic, the [[Gulf of Mexico]], and the Caribbean until 5 November, ''Robert H. McCard'' then transited the [[Panama Canal]] and joined the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]. At the end of 1967, she was serving on "[[Yankee Station]]" in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]]. In January and February 1968, she was on plane guard duty for {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|3}} in the Tonkin Gulf, participating in an emergency search and rescue mission on the east coast of [[Hainan Island]]. In March she served as plane guard for {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CVA-63|3}} and {{USS|Bon Homme Richard|CVA-31|3}} in the Tonkin Gulf. In April she provided [[naval gunfire support]] off [[South Vietnam]], and on 10 May she departed Japan for return to the east coast of the United States and reassignment back to the Atlantic Fleet with a homeport at [[Naval Station Charleston]], South Carolina.

Operating in NATO exercise "Silvertower" in the North Atlantic in September and October 1968, ''Robert H. McCard'' then put into port at [[Southampton]]. Following overhaul at Charleston from December to April 1969, she operated off the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean until deploying to the Mediterranean in September. She returned to Charleston from her six months with the 6th Fleet on 28 March 1970, and remained with the Atlantic Fleet for the duration of 1970 and four months of 1971. On 15 April 1971, she sailed eastward from Charleston for another six months' service in the Mediterranean, returning on 16 October. She stayed in Charleston for the remainder of 1971 and spent the first eight months of 1972 engaged in Atlantic and Caribbean operations.

[[File:USS Robert H. McCard (DD-822) underway c1978.jpg|thumb|''Robert H. McCard'' underway, circa 1978.]]

''Robert H. McCard'' entered NAVSTA Charleston on 6 September 1972 for a six-month overhaul, at the completion of which she returned to normal operations in the western Atlantic and Caribbean.

===1973&ndash;1980===
Transferred to '''Naval Surface Reserve Force''' (NAVSURFRESFOR), ''Robert H. McCard'' shifted its homeport to [[Tampa, Florida]], where it served as a [[United States Navy Reserve|Naval Reserve]] training ship berthed adjacent to '''Naval Reserve Center Tampa'''.  In this capacity, ''McCard'' had a crew of approximately 2/3 active duty Regular Navy and full-time active duty Training and Administration of the Reserve (TAR) officers, chiefs and enlisted sailors, and 1/3 part-time Selected Reserve (SELRES) personnel.  For the next seven years, ''McCard'' would conduct weekday training and upkeep pierside, followed by weekend underway periods in the Gulf of Mexico and annual extended duration training and operational support cruises in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the Western Atlantic.

==TCG ''Kılıçalipaşa'' (D349)==
[[File:TCG KILIC ALI PASA (D 349).jpeg|thumb|''TCG Kılıç Ali Paşa (D-349)'' underway, circa 1986.]]
''Robert H. McCard'' was decommissioned on 5 June 1980 at Tampa, Florida<ref>{{Cite web |title=Images: McCard |url=http://www.roberthmccarddd822.com/Images/McCard%20Decom.pdf%5B%5D |website=www.roberthmccarddd822.com}}</ref> and transferred to the [[Republic of Turkey]] through the Security Assistance Program (SAP) that same day. She served with the [[Turkish Navy]] as '''TCG ''Kılıçalipaşa'' (D349)''', named after [[Uluç Ali Reis|Kılıç Ali Paşa]], an Italian-born [[grand admiral]] of the [[Ottoman Navy]] (1571–87). Removed from service in 1998, the ship was scrapped in 2000 at [[Aliağa]], Turkey.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/r/robert-h-mccard.html|http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd822txt.htm}}

== External links ==
* {{navsource|05/822|USS Robert H. McCard}}
 
{{Gearing class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert H. Mccard (Dd-822)}}
[[Category:Gearing-class destroyers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Orange, Texas]]
[[Category:1945 ships]]
[[Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Vietnam War destroyers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Turkish Navy]]
[[Category:Gearing-class destroyers of the Turkish Navy]]