USS Preble (DDG 46)

- formerly DLG 15 -
- decommissioned -

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USS PREBLE was the tenth and last ship in the FARRAGUT - class of guided missile destroyers and the fifth ship in the Navy to bear the name. Commissioned as a guided missile frigate (DLG), the USS PREBLE was reclassified as guided missile destroyer (DDG) on June 30, 1975, changing its hullnumber from DLG 15 to DDG 46.

Decommissioned on November 15, 1991, and stricken from the Navy list on November 20, 1992, the USS PREBLE was sold for scrapping on February 10, 1999.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: October 26, 1956
	Keel laid: December 16, 1957
	Launched: May 23, 1959
	Commissioned: May 9, 1960
	Decommissioned: November 15, 1991
	Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
	Propulsion system:4 - 1200 psi boilers; 2 geared turbines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 512.5 feet (156.2 meters)
	Beam: 52 feet (15.9 meters)
	Draft: 25 feet (7.6 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 5,800 tons
	Speed: 33 knots
	Aircraft:none
	Armament: one Mk 42 5-inch/54 caliber gun, Mk 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts, one Mk 16 ASROC Missile Launcher, one Mk 10 Mod.0 Missile Launcher for Standard (MR) Missiles, two Mk 141 Harpoon missile launchers
	Crew: 21 officers and 356 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS PREBLE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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Click here to see which USS PREBLE memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS PREBLE Cruise Books:

Standing Naval Force Atlantic Cruise 1989

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Accidents aboard USS PREBLE:

Date	Where	Events
February 27, 1965	off southern California	A plane from the USS MIDWAY (CV 41) is inadvertently shot down by USS PREBLE when it overflies the missile range during southern California maneuvers for the "Silver Lance" exercise. The pilot is killed.
November 4, 1985	off Cape Hatteras, NC	USS PREBLE loses a crewman in the Cape Hatteras area. USS PREBLE is assisted by the USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD (DD 968) in the search.

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About the Ship's Name:

Edward Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761. In 1779 he was appointed to the Massachusetts State Marine, becoming an officer in the 26 gun ship PROTECTOR. Becoming a British prisoner, when that ship was captured in 1781, he was held for a time in prison ship NEW JERSEY. On his release, he served in WINTHROP and led a boarding party to capture a British brig at Castine and worked it out to sea despite heavy shore fire. Fifteen years of merchant service followed his Revolutionary War service and in April 1798 he was appointed 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. In January 1799 he assumed command of the 14 gun brig PICKERING and took her to the West Indies to Protect American commerce. Commissioned Captain 7 June 1799, he took command of ESSEX in December and sailed in January 1800 for the Pacific to provide similar protective services for Americans engaged in the East Indies trade. Given command of the 3rd Squadron, with CONSTITUTION as his flagship, in 1803 he sailed for the Barbary coast and by October had promoted a treaty with Morocco and established a blockade off Tripoli. Relieved in September 1804, Commodore Preble returned to the United States in February 1805 and became engaged in shipbuilding activities at Portland, Maine, where he died 25 August 1807.

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Ship's History:

USS PREBLE was commissioned on May 9, 1960, as DLG 15 as one of ten ships of a class that were the first ships built from the keel up as Terrier guided missile ships.

PREBLE deployed to the Western Pacific in February through September 1961, the first DLG in the Pacific Fleet. PREBLE conducted the first Navy missile transfer at sea during this deployment. In 1962 and 1963, PREBLE operated as a member of the FIRST Fleet before becoming a test and evaluation ship for the AN/ SPS-48 radar.

PREBLE again deployed to the Far East from February through July 1964, experiencing her first operations in the South China Sea. Her third WESTPAC deployment occurred from June through December 1965, the entire deployment being spent in the South China Sea. PREBLE was the first DLG called on for shore bombardment missions against the enemy in Vietnam.

PREBLE was again deployed to the Far East from October 1966 until April 1967 and from January through July 1968. PREBLE's helo detachment made the first overland rescue of a downed pilot and RIO in North Vietnam in the face of enemy opposition.

PREBLE was modernized for enhanced Anti-Air Warfare in 1969 and 1970 and, after recommissioning in May 1970, proceeded to her new homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She deployed to WESTPAC in 1971 and again in 1973, the latter deployment included the rescue of two pilots at sea that had been downed by enemy fire. PREBLE also conducted shore bombardment and sustained minor damage from enemy fire during these missions.

PREBLE was the last ship struck by an enemy coastal gun during the Vietnam War. Additionally, she was part of the initial force to enter the Indian Ocean during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli "Yom Kippur War." This force was the first aircraft carrier group to operate in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden. PREBLE was awarded the DESRON 25 Battle Efficiency "E" for competition that completed in June 1974.

After being redesignated as DDG 46 and completing regular overhaul in 1975, PREBLE deployed to WESTPAC and the Indian Ocean in 1976.

After her 1980 overhaul, PREBLE changed homeport to Norfolk and deployed to the Indian Ocean in 1981, to South America for UNITAS XXIII in 1982 and a deployment to the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

From June 1985 through June 1986 PREBLE underwent a major overhaul at Ingall's Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. PREBLE was the first ship to operate in a fixed-price contract at Ingall's and also the first to have a SM-2 missile conversion at a private shipyard.

In June 1987, PREBLE deployed with the SARATOGA (CV 60) Battle Group to the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, returning in November 1987. PREBLE was awarded DESRON TWO's Battle Efficency "E" for competition that ended in March 1988. "E's" were awarded in Engineering, Damage Control, ASW, Electronic Warfare, Seamanship, Navigation, and Communications.

On January 14, 1989, PREBLE left Norfolk, Va., on a deployment with the Standing Naval Force Atlantic and for the next months operated in the Northern Atlantic before returning home on July 14, 1989.

In late December 1990, PREBLE deployed on her final deployment to the Mediterranean and Red Sea supporting Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

During her history, PREBLE has deployed eight times to the Western Pacific/South China Sea, once to South America and twice to the Indian Ocean. She has transited the Panama Canal five times.

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USS PREBLE Image Gallery:

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