USS Reeves (CG 24)

- formerly DLG 24 -
- decommissioned -
- sunk as a target -

USS REEVES was the last ship in the LEAHY-class of guided missile cruisers. She was the second ship in the Navy to bear the name, but the first ship named after Vice Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves. Commissioned as a guided missile frigate, REEVES was reclassified as guided missile cruiser on June 30, 1975.

REEVES was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy Register on November 12, 1993, at Pearl Harbor. The ship was then berthed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF), Pearl Harbor, HI. On May 31, 2001, the REEVES was finally sunk as a target.

General Characteristics:	Keel laid: July 1, 1960
	Launched: May 12, 1962
	Commissioned: May 15, 1964
	Decommissioned: November 12, 1993
	Builder: Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash.
	Propulsion system:4 - 1200 psi boilers; 2 General Electric geared turbines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 535 feet (163 meters)
	Beam: 53 feet (16.1 meters)
	Draft: 26 feet (7.9 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 7,800 tons
	Speed: 30+ knots
	Aircraft: none
	Armament: two Mk 141 Harpoon missile launchers, two 20mm Phalanx CIWS, two Mk-10 missile launchers for Standard missiles (ER), Mk 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts, one Mk 16 ASROC missile launcher
	Crew: 27 officers and 413 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS REEVES. 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 REEVES memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS REEVES Cruise Books:

WestPac Cruise Book 1966-68

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Accidents aboard USS REEVES:

Date	Where	Events
October 30, 1989	32 miles south of Diego Garcia	An F/A-18 aircraft from USS MIDWAY (CV 41) mistakenly drops a 500-pound bomb on the deck of the USS REEVES during traing exercises in the Indian Ocean, creating a five-foot hole in the bow, sparking small fires, and injuring five sailors.

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About the Ship's Name:

Joseph Mason Reeves, born in Tampico, III., on 20 November 1872, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1894. Initially assigned to SAN FRANCISCO (Cruiser No. 5), he served in OREGON (BB 3) during the Spanish-American War, participating in the action against Admiral Cervera's fleet at Santiago in June and July 1898.

After the turn of the century, he served in SAN FRANCISCO, WISCONSIN (BB 9), and OHIO (BB 12) in addition to tours ashore at Newport and the Naval Academy, where he was an instructor in the Department of Physics and Chemistry (1906-08). Following duties as ordnance officer on board NEW HAMPSHIRE (BB 25), he served as ordnance officer in the staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Assignment to the Board of Inspection and Survey and a tour as Commanding Officer, Naval Coal Depot, Tiburon, Calif., followed.

In April 1913 he assumed command of JUPITER (Collier No. 3), the Navy's first electrically propelled vessel. Detached in April 1914, he commanded ST. LOUIS (Cruiser No. 20) and various other ships until assigned to OREGON, June 1915, as Commanding Officer. Detached for shore duty at the Mare Island Navy Yard, in June 1916, he commanded MAINE (BB 10) during World War I, earning the Navy Cross for "exceptionally meritorious service" during that tour.

After the war, he served as Naval Attache at Rome and in April 1921 assumed command of the armored cruiser PITTSBURGH (CA 4). Captain of the Mare Island Navy Yard at the end of that year, he commanded NORTH DAKOTA (BB 29), 1922-23, then attended and afterward served on the staff of the War College at Newport. After October 1925, he twice served as Commander, Aircraft Squadrons, Battle Fleet, interspersed with duty on the General Board, June 1929-June 1930. Fifteen months later he became Senior Member of the Board of Inspection and Survey, Pacific Coast Section. Another tour at Mare Island followed and in June 1933 he became Commander, Battleships, Battle Force, with the rank of vice admiral. Assigned Commander, Battle Force, U.S. Fleet, with the rank of admiral, the following month, he was designated Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet, on 26 February 1934. In June 1936 he was ordered to Washington, D.C., where he served on the General Board until 23 November. Retired seven days later he was recalled to active duty on 13 May 1940. Advanced to vice admiral on the retired list, he served in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy from 21 May 1940 until 23 December 1946. He died at Bethesda, Md., on 25 March 1948.

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USS REEVES Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by Scott R. Fansler and shows the REEVES at anchor at Shimoda, Japan, on May 17, 1989.

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