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USS Hoel (DDG-13)
Encyclopedia
USS Hoel (DDG-13), named for Lieutenant Commander William R. Hoel
USN (1824–1879), was a Charles F. Adams-class
guided-missile armed destroyer
.
Hoel was laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding Company
in Bay City, Michigan
, on 3 August 1959, launched on 4 August 1960 by Mrs. Harry H. Long, granddaughter of Lieutenant Commander Hoel and commissioned on 16 June 1962, Commander Allen W. Slifer, USN, in command.
Hoel served as plane guard for Aircraft carrier
s on Yankee Station
in the Tonkin Gulf, participated in Sea Dragon
operations, patrolled on Search and rescue
duties and carried out Naval Gunfire Support
missions during the Vietnam War
.
Hoel arrived San Diego 11 September 1962 and spent the ensuing months completing the various inspections, tests, and trials by the Board of Inspection and Survey
. When successful firing of ASROC and TARTAR missiles completed her qualification and acceptance trials, Hoel joined the ready 1st Fleet.
After a 3-week cruise to Esquimalt, Canada, Hoel spent April and May 1963 in Pearl Harbor conducting special exercises. She then returned to waters off San Diego to participate in the Presidential Demonstration held for President Kennedy.
The months of July, August, and part of September were spent at Long Beach Naval Shipyard for the post-shakedown availability assigned each new ship approximately 1 year after commissioning. At this time improved fire-control radars were installed and tested by successful missile firings. Hoel departed Long Beach 17 October 1963 for duty in the Western Pacific to serve as the flagship of Commander Destroyer Division 12.
In ensuing years she alternated deployments in the Far East with operations off the West Coast. Her 1966 deployment to the Western Pacific began when she departed San Diego 28 July. On September she was on search and rescue patrol off Da Nang, Vietnam. On 8 December the guided missile destroyer became naval gunfire support ship in the Corps I area. She fired 2,100 rounds destroying at least 20 enemy structures and two trench networks; damaging 61 buildings, three bunkers, eight trench networks, and five roads; and killing 24 Viet Cong while wounding seven. Hoel retired to Hong Kong 21 December but headed for Yankee Station
the day after Christmas to screen . On this patrol she helped to rescue a pilot after his A-4 Sky Hawk had crashed.
on 20 November 1992 and sold on 20 June 1994.
The Hoel was one of seven decommissioned US naval vessels purchased by Charleston Shipbuilders Inc. (CSI) in 1994. The corporation planned to use the ships' power plants to generate electricity which they would then sell commercially. In theory, each ship would be able to generate approximately fifty megawatts of electricity, enough to supply approximately 150,000 households.
ian government in 1967. Eletronorte
, the local power utility service, had been unable to keep up with the increasing demand and Manaus experienced frequent blackouts. In 1997, CSI negotiated a thirty million dollar contract to supply power to Manaus.
The ex-Hoel was chosen as the ship to be used. However, the plans of both companies were too optimistic. Eletronorte announced that Hoel would be delivering power within only a few days of its arrival in Manaus. CSI had failed to test the ship's equipment fully before departing for Brazil and failed to appreciate how many repairs the ship's 38-year-old power plant might require. The ship ended up needing weeks of work after its arrival in Brazil before it could begin generating power and numerous repairs after that. Repairs were much more difficult to accomplish in Brazil because the parts and technicians now had to be brought in from CSI's headquarters back in the United States. Meanwhile, many people in Manaus had become angry over the failed power delivery and there were violent protests. Hoel was never able to generate more than a quarter of the electricity that had been promised and that only periodically. After a year of failed attempts, Eletronorte cancelled its contract with CSI.
William R. Hoel
William R. Hoel was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. A native of Butler County, Ohio, Hoel was a Mississippi River steamboat pilot when he entered the United States Navy 19 October 1861....
USN (1824–1879), was a Charles F. Adams-class
Charles F. Adams class destroyer
The Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided missile destroyers built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty three ships were built for the United States Navy, 3 for the Royal Australian Navy, and 3 for the West German Bundesmarine. The ships were based on the existing Forrest Sherman class, but...
guided-missile armed destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
.
Hoel was laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding Company
Defoe Shipbuilding Company
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J...
in Bay City, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
, on 3 August 1959, launched on 4 August 1960 by Mrs. Harry H. Long, granddaughter of Lieutenant Commander Hoel and commissioned on 16 June 1962, Commander Allen W. Slifer, USN, in command.
Hoel served as plane guard for Aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s on Yankee Station
Yankee Station
Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station...
in the Tonkin Gulf, participated in Sea Dragon
Operation Sea Dragon (Vietnam War)
Operation Sea Dragon occurred during the Vietnam War and was a series of American led naval operations beginning in 1966 to interdict sea lines of communications and supply going south from North Vietnam to South Vietnam, and to destroy land targets with naval gunfire, as well give CIA agents in...
operations, patrolled on Search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
duties and carried out Naval Gunfire Support
Naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the term Naval Fires...
missions during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
1960s
After fitting out at Boston, Hoel got underway for her first homeport, San Diego, putting in at Norfolk; May-port and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Guantanamo Bay; Cartagena, Colombia; Canal Zone; and Acapuloo, Mexico, during the voyage. During the passage from Cartagena to the Canal Zone she came upon sailing yacht Stardrift becalmed and adrift en route to Sidney, Australia, from London. Hoel towed the 36-foot craft 100 miles (161 km) to safety in Panama.Hoel arrived San Diego 11 September 1962 and spent the ensuing months completing the various inspections, tests, and trials by the Board of Inspection and Survey
Board of Inspection and Survey
The Board of Inspection and Survey is a U.S. Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess material condition of Naval vessels.The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.- INSURV teams :...
. When successful firing of ASROC and TARTAR missiles completed her qualification and acceptance trials, Hoel joined the ready 1st Fleet.
After a 3-week cruise to Esquimalt, Canada, Hoel spent April and May 1963 in Pearl Harbor conducting special exercises. She then returned to waters off San Diego to participate in the Presidential Demonstration held for President Kennedy.
The months of July, August, and part of September were spent at Long Beach Naval Shipyard for the post-shakedown availability assigned each new ship approximately 1 year after commissioning. At this time improved fire-control radars were installed and tested by successful missile firings. Hoel departed Long Beach 17 October 1963 for duty in the Western Pacific to serve as the flagship of Commander Destroyer Division 12.
In ensuing years she alternated deployments in the Far East with operations off the West Coast. Her 1966 deployment to the Western Pacific began when she departed San Diego 28 July. On September she was on search and rescue patrol off Da Nang, Vietnam. On 8 December the guided missile destroyer became naval gunfire support ship in the Corps I area. She fired 2,100 rounds destroying at least 20 enemy structures and two trench networks; damaging 61 buildings, three bunkers, eight trench networks, and five roads; and killing 24 Viet Cong while wounding seven. Hoel retired to Hong Kong 21 December but headed for Yankee Station
Yankee Station
Yankee Station was a point in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam used by the U.S. Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 77 to launch strikes in the Vietnam War. While its official designation was "Point Yankee," it was universally referred to as Yankee Station...
the day after Christmas to screen . On this patrol she helped to rescue a pilot after his A-4 Sky Hawk had crashed.
Decommissioning
Hoel was decommissioned on 1 October 1990, stricken from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 20 November 1992 and sold on 20 June 1994.
The Hoel was one of seven decommissioned US naval vessels purchased by Charleston Shipbuilders Inc. (CSI) in 1994. The corporation planned to use the ships' power plants to generate electricity which they would then sell commercially. In theory, each ship would be able to generate approximately fifty megawatts of electricity, enough to supply approximately 150,000 households.
Power Barge
The city of Manaus, Brazil had rapidly expanded since it was declared a tax-free zone by the BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian government in 1967. Eletronorte
Eletronorte
Eletronorte is a subsidiary of the Brazilian power utility Eletrobrás. It is responsible for the power generation, transmission and distribution in the states of Amazonas, Pará, Acre, Rondônia, Roraima, Amapá, Tocantins and Mato Grosso....
, the local power utility service, had been unable to keep up with the increasing demand and Manaus experienced frequent blackouts. In 1997, CSI negotiated a thirty million dollar contract to supply power to Manaus.
The ex-Hoel was chosen as the ship to be used. However, the plans of both companies were too optimistic. Eletronorte announced that Hoel would be delivering power within only a few days of its arrival in Manaus. CSI had failed to test the ship's equipment fully before departing for Brazil and failed to appreciate how many repairs the ship's 38-year-old power plant might require. The ship ended up needing weeks of work after its arrival in Brazil before it could begin generating power and numerous repairs after that. Repairs were much more difficult to accomplish in Brazil because the parts and technicians now had to be brought in from CSI's headquarters back in the United States. Meanwhile, many people in Manaus had become angry over the failed power delivery and there were violent protests. Hoel was never able to generate more than a quarter of the electricity that had been promised and that only periodically. After a year of failed attempts, Eletronorte cancelled its contract with CSI.