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USS Morton (DD-948)
Encyclopedia
USS Morton (DD-948) was a Forrest Sherman-class
destroyer
of the United States Navy
, named for Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton
USN (1907–1943), commanding officer of during World War II
.
Morton was laid down 4 March 1957, by Ingalls Shipbuilding
Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
; launched
23 May 1958; sponsored by Miss Edwina R. Morton; and commissioned
26 May 1959 at North Charleston, SC
; Commander John M. DeLargy in command.
, she proceeded to the West Coast, arriving NS San Diego
, Calif.
, 20 October 1959. She deployed to the western Pacific in January 1960, participated in Operation Blue Star
, a joint Navy, Marine
, Air Force
amphibious operation in March, and made a special "People-to-People" visit to Bombay, India
, before returning to the West Coast 31 May. Departing San Diego 3 April, she reported for one month's duty in the Formosa
Patrol, during which time she participated in Operation Handclasp
, carrying food, medicine, and clothing to the less fortunate people of free China. She returned to San Diego 28 September 1961, and continued operations off the West Coast, until sailing 13 November 1962 for another WestPac deployment. Following duty with the Formosa Patrol, and operations off Japan
, she steamed home, arriving San Diego 15 June 1963.
Morton continued operations off the West Coast until August 1964, when she steamed to the South China Sea
and patrolled off South Vietnam
. She spent the next several months screening aircraft carrier
s after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident
before returning to the West Coast 6 February 1965.
Arriving off South Vietnam in April 1966 the destroyer shelled Vietcong supply points and encampments for the next 4 months. After a short break, Morton began Sea Dragon operations
off North Vietnam
in May 1967. During these raids, she targeted enemy coast defense sites and radar installations and interdicted barge traffic along the coast. Morton also provided gunfire support for the 12th Marine Regiment near the DMZ
before returning to San Diego 3 November.
Morton departed San Diego 31 October 1968, again joined the gun-line and bombarded North Vietnamese and Vietcong supply points and bunkers up and down the coast. The destroyer returned home in the late spring and began preparations for an anti-submarine weapons
system modernization at Long Beach Naval Shipyard
. The warship decommissioned at Long Beach on 26 September 1969.
Recommissioned 15 August 1970, Morton spent the next year testing her new SQS-23 sonar
, ASROC
launcher and new electronic systems. As part of this refresher training, Morton conducted numerous ASW exercises against friendly submarine
s off Hawaii
and California. Following a tender availability in Pearl Harbor
in early 1971, Morton sailed on her next WestPac deployment on 9 September. She conducted two gun-line tours before sailing for home on 1 March 1972 via Australia
. Later in the year, she participated in several ASW exercises before deploying again to WestPac on 13 October. More gunline tours followed, including an Linebacker
raid on North Vietnamese coastal targets in December 1972.
Following the ceasefire of 28 January 1973, Morton patrolled off South Vietnam until sailing for home on 19 February 1973. With the end of hostilities, Mortons ensuing deployments to WestPac centered around providing screen and escort services for carrier task forces. During these years, Morton also continued to participate in ASW exercises, owing to the threat from the growing Soviet
submarine fleet.
After enduring serious boiler problems in the Philippines in the spring of 1974 she underwent an overhaul in Pearl Harbor in 1975 and was active in mainly local operations in 1976. Morton deployed again to the Pacific on 17 February 1977. During this cruise, the warship participated in ASW exercises off Taiwan
and sailed into the Indian Ocean
to visit Kenya
and Iran
, before returning home on 28 September. She deployed again on 11 September 1978, operating off Japan, South Korea
and Taiwan, before sailing for home on 7 March 1979. On 3 May 1980, Morton began another overhaul, completing the yard work and refresher training by the summer of 1981.
Morton sailed on her last deployment in February 1982, during which she participated in five major ASW exercises with U.S. and allied naval forces. On two occasions, the warship aided Vietnamese refugees
—rescuing 18 men on 9 June and 52 men on 10 June—for which Morton received the Humanitarian Service Medal
. The warship returned home on 12 August.
on 7 February 1990 and the ship was sold to Southwest Recycling, Inc., Terminal Island, Calif., for scrapping on 17 March 1992. During the scrapping process, the commercial diving crew responsible for removing the struts, shafts and wheels of the Morton set the current (as of 2007) world record for the thickest piece of steel cut underwater by means of an ultra-thermic torch. While cutting the starboard shaft, it was discovered that the Morton's shafts deviated from the blueprints provided to Southwest Marine & Recycling. Specifically, the shafts were to have a wall thickness of two inches (2.0"); however, upon being cut, the shafts were found to be almost completely solid, consisting of a wall of 19.2" inches around a 2.0" hollow cylinder. It is believed the shafts deviated from specifications because of material shortages, requiring use of an inferior alloy, but this has not been confirmed.
Forrest Sherman class destroyer
The 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers were the first US post-war destroyers . and later ships were equipped with B&W Bailey Meter Company's new automatic boiler combustion control system, and a modified hurricane bow/anchor configuration...
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...
of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, named for Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton
Dudley W. Morton
Dudley Walker Morton was a submarine commander of the United States Navy during World War II. He was commander of during its third through seventh patrols. Wahoo was one of the most-celebrated submarines of World War II, sinking at least 19 Japanese ships, more than any other submarine of the time...
USN (1907–1943), commanding officer of during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Morton was laid down 4 March 1957, by Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
; launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
23 May 1958; sponsored by Miss Edwina R. Morton; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
26 May 1959 at North Charleston, SC
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
; Commander John M. DeLargy in command.
History
After a training cruise in the CaribbeanCaribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, she proceeded to the West Coast, arriving NS San Diego
Naval Station San Diego
Naval Base San Diego is the largest base of the United States Navy on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of 54 ships and over 120 tenant commands. The base is composed of 13 piers stretched...
, Calif.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 20 October 1959. She deployed to the western Pacific in January 1960, participated in Operation Blue Star
Operation Blue Star
Operation Blue Star ) 3– 6 June 1984 was an Indian military operation, ordered by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, to remove Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar...
, a joint Navy, Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
amphibious operation in March, and made a special "People-to-People" visit to Bombay, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, before returning to the West Coast 31 May. Departing San Diego 3 April, she reported for one month's duty in the Formosa
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Patrol, during which time she participated in Operation Handclasp
Operation Handclasp
Operation Handclasp was a 1958 joint Air Force-Navy operation conducted with the U.S. Navy's U.S. 7th Fleet to demonstrate military weapons for Asian political and military leaders.- Example of use :...
, carrying food, medicine, and clothing to the less fortunate people of free China. She returned to San Diego 28 September 1961, and continued operations off the West Coast, until sailing 13 November 1962 for another WestPac deployment. Following duty with the Formosa Patrol, and operations off Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, she steamed home, arriving San Diego 15 June 1963.
Morton continued operations off the West Coast until August 1964, when she steamed to the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
and patrolled off South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. She spent the next several months screening 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 after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident, or the USS Maddox Incident, are the names given to two incidents, one fabricated, involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin...
before returning to the West Coast 6 February 1965.
Arriving off South Vietnam in April 1966 the destroyer shelled Vietcong supply points and encampments for the next 4 months. After a short break, Morton began Sea Dragon operations
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...
off North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
in May 1967. During these raids, she targeted enemy coast defense sites and radar installations and interdicted barge traffic along the coast. Morton also provided gunfire support for the 12th Marine Regiment near the DMZ
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indochina War.During the Second Indochina War , it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North Vietnamese territory from South Vietnamese territory.-...
before returning to San Diego 3 November.
Morton departed San Diego 31 October 1968, again joined the gun-line and bombarded North Vietnamese and Vietcong supply points and bunkers up and down the coast. The destroyer returned home in the late spring and began preparations for an anti-submarine weapons
system modernization at Long Beach Naval Shipyard
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
. The warship decommissioned at Long Beach on 26 September 1969.
Recommissioned 15 August 1970, Morton spent the next year testing her new SQS-23 sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
, ASROC
ASROC
ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...
launcher and new electronic systems. As part of this refresher training, Morton conducted numerous ASW exercises against friendly submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s off Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and California. Following a tender availability in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in early 1971, Morton sailed on her next WestPac deployment on 9 September. She conducted two gun-line tours before sailing for home on 1 March 1972 via Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Later in the year, she participated in several ASW exercises before deploying again to WestPac on 13 October. More gunline tours followed, including an Linebacker
Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker was the title of a U.S. Seventh Air Force and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 aerial interdiction campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972, during the Vietnam War....
raid on North Vietnamese coastal targets in December 1972.
Following the ceasefire of 28 January 1973, Morton patrolled off South Vietnam until sailing for home on 19 February 1973. With the end of hostilities, Mortons ensuing deployments to WestPac centered around providing screen and escort services for carrier task forces. During these years, Morton also continued to participate in ASW exercises, owing to the threat from the growing Soviet
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
submarine fleet.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and sailed into the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
to visit Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, before returning home on 28 September. She deployed again on 11 September 1978, operating off Japan, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and Taiwan, before sailing for home on 7 March 1979. On 3 May 1980, Morton began another overhaul, completing the yard work and refresher training by the summer of 1981.
Morton sailed on her last deployment in February 1982, during which she participated in five major ASW exercises with U.S. and allied naval forces. On two occasions, the warship aided Vietnamese refugees
Boat people
Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...
—rescuing 18 men on 9 June and 52 men on 10 June—for which Morton received the Humanitarian Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
The Humanitarian Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States armed forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under...
. The warship returned home on 12 August.
Fate
Morton decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 22 November 1982. Her name was struck from the Navy ListNavy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 7 February 1990 and the ship was sold to Southwest Recycling, Inc., Terminal Island, Calif., for scrapping on 17 March 1992. During the scrapping process, the commercial diving crew responsible for removing the struts, shafts and wheels of the Morton set the current (as of 2007) world record for the thickest piece of steel cut underwater by means of an ultra-thermic torch. While cutting the starboard shaft, it was discovered that the Morton's shafts deviated from the blueprints provided to Southwest Marine & Recycling. Specifically, the shafts were to have a wall thickness of two inches (2.0"); however, upon being cut, the shafts were found to be almost completely solid, consisting of a wall of 19.2" inches around a 2.0" hollow cylinder. It is believed the shafts deviated from specifications because of material shortages, requiring use of an inferior alloy, but this has not been confirmed.