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General Characteristics Crew List Memorabilia Cruise Books and Booklets About the Ship's Coat of Arms About the Ship's Name Patch Gallery History Image Gallery to end of page |  |  |
USS THOMAS S. GATES was the fifth ship in the TICONDEROGA - class and the last ship of that class equipped with the Mk-26 missile launchers. THOMAS S. GATES was also the only ship in her class to be named after a person and not after a famous American battle. Both decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on December 14, 2005, the ship spent the following years laid up at Philadelphia, Penn. On December 15, 2014, the THOMAS S. GATES was sold for scrapping to ESCO Marine of Brownsville, Tx. The ship, however, spent another 2 1/2 years at Philadelphia until she was towed to New Orleans, La., for scrapping in June 2017. THOMAS S. GATES arrived at her final destination on June 30, 2017.
| General Characteristics: | Awarded: May 20, 1982 |
| Keel laid: August 31, 1984 | |
| Launched: December 14, 1985 | |
| Commissioned: August 22, 1987 | |
| Decommissioned: December 14, 2005 | |
| Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine | |
| Propulsion system: four General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines | |
| Propellers: two | |
| Blades on each Propeller: five | |
| Length: 567 feet (173 meters) | |
| Beam: 55 feet (16.8 meters) | |
| Draft: 34 feet (10.2 meters) | |
| Displacement: approx. 9,600 tons full load | |
| Speed: 30+ knots | |
| Cost: about $1 billion | |
| Aircraft: two | |
| Armament: two | |
| Crew: 33 Officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers and approx. 340 Enlisted |
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageCrew List:
This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS THOMAS S. GATES. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.
back to top go to the end of the pageback to top go to the end of the pageUSS THOMAS S. GATES Cruise Books:
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The crest is built on the government service of the ship's namesake, the Honorable Thomas S. Gates, Jr. of Philadelphia. The upper section of the shield represents the World War II service of Thomas S. Gates, Jr. aboard various aircraft carriers. The deep blue represents the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the gold symbolizes the U.S. Navy tradition. The heraldic rayonne division of scarlet and gold, simulating fire and flames, is symbolic of the severity of the Japanese Kamikaze attacks concentrated upon U.S. aircraft carriers during the invasions of Lingayen, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, in which Gates participated. The anchor and stars, adapted from the flag of the Secretary of the Navy, refer to his tenure as Under Secretary and Secretary of that Department. His subsequent terms as Deputy Secretary and Secretary of Defense are indicated by the three arrows which appear on the flag of the Secretary of Defense.
On the crest, the eagle, symbolic of power and authority, along with the ship's wheel, allude to the strong leadership Mr. Gates provided while leading the Department of Defense during a period that heralded technological changes from guns to missiles, conventional power to nuclear, piston to jet aircraft engines, and the beginning of space exploration. This era of change is recognized by the alternating colors of the wheel.
Mr. Gates' last public service followed his appointment by President Ford to head the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China. He stated that his task would be "to work for the normalization of Chinese-American relations." This concept is indicated by the blue and red stars above the gold rays. The blue represents the USA; red is for China; and the gold rays from the President's Seal emphasize the significance of this appointment, and Mr. Gates' contributions to the United States in this role.
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back to top go to the end of the pageAbout the Ship’s Name, about Thomas Sovereign Gates, Jr.:
Thomas Sovereign Gates, Jr. was born in Philadelphia on 10 April 1906 to Thomas Sovereign and Marie Rogers Gates. His father was a lawyer and investment banker who served as President of the University of Pennsylvania from 1930 to 1944. His mother died when he was born. After graduating from Chestnut Hill Academy in 1924, Gates attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa member of the Class of 1928. On 29 September 1928, Gates married Millicent Anne Brengle of Philadelphia. Following graduation, Gates entered his father's investment banking business, Drexel and Co., and in 1940, became a partner. During those years he served in the Pennsylvania National Guard as a private.
A member of the U.S. Naval Reserve since 1935, Gates was called to World War II active duty in April 1942, and commissioned a Lieutenant. He graduated from the Quonset Point Air Intelligence School in Rhode Island and was assigned to the staff of the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Theater to help organize the Naval Air Intelligence Center under that Command. During this tour, he participated in the North African "Casablanca" landings as an observer in the aircraft carrier USS RANGER.
In the summer of 1943, Gates joined the new light carrier USS MONTEREY as Air Combat Intelligence Officer. As part of the Fast Carrier Task Force, Pacific Fleet, MONTEREY supported amphibious landings at Tarawa and Kwajalein, and participated in strikes against New Britain, New Guinea, and the Island of Truk. Gates returned to the United States in the early summer of 1944 to join the staff of Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin as Flag Lieutenant and Air Intelligence Officer, and participated in Operation DRAGOON, the planned invasion of Southern France.
Upon the successful completion of DRAGOON, Durgin's American carriers redeployed to the Pacific, where on the USS MAKIN ISLAND, Gates participated in the invasions of Lingayen, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. For service in these operations, Gates received the Bronze Star Medal. After three additional months of combat operations in support of the Okinawa Invasion, Gates completed his service and arrived in San Francisco on V-J Day, where he reverted to the Naval Reserve with the rank of Commander.
Gates resumed civil life as a partner in Drexel and Co. in the fall of 1945, and shortly thereafter was elected a director of several corporations in the Philadelphia area. Continuing in the reserves, Gates was promoted to Captain and continued to take an interest in local reserve activities, being a founder of the "Reserve Officers of Naval Service." In addition to serving as National Vice President and Director of the Navy League of the United States, he served on the naval advisory council of the Bureau of Aeronautics, in Washington.
In October of 1953, he accepted an appointment as Under Secretary of the Navy from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Four years later, on 1 April 1957, Thomas S. Gates, Jr. assumed the Office of Secretary of the Navy. Admiral Arleigh Burke summed up Gates' time in the Navy Department when he told him "Your service was in an era marked by the most rapid technological changes in the history of the Navy." Missiles were replacing guns, nuclear power for conventional, jets replaced propellers, supersonic speeds, and even exploration into space, were part of the changing Navy. During that time, he participated in a re- organization of the Department, and delineated Navy-Marine Corps relationship to the satisfaction of both services.
In May of 1959, President Eisenhower asked Gates to become Deputy Secretary of Defense. He then succeeded Neil McElroy as Secretary of Defense in December of the same year. During his tenure as Secretary, Gates accomplished management innovations that facilitated the Pentagon's transition to modern weapons and tactics, including long- range ballistic missiles, supersonic jets and tactical atomic bombs. After 14 months as Secretary, Gates left the Pentagon. He was appointed President of Morgan Guaranty Trust, and in 1966 became Chairman of the Board and CEO.
In 1976, Gates was called back to government service when an old shipmate from the MONTEREY, President Gerald Ford, appointed him as head of the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China. He relieved Vice President Bush when he took over the post in May 1976. Mr. Gates retired from public life, at the age of 71, in May of 1977.
Thomas S. Gates' service as Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of Defense, and the post with the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China are represented by flags.
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USS THOMAS S. GATES Patch Gallery:
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back to top go to the end of the pageHistory of USS THOMAS S. GATES:
USS THOMAS S. GATES - the last TICONDEROGA - class cruiser fitted with the twin-arm Mk-26 launchers rather than vertical launch system - joined the fleet at Norfolk after commissioning on August 22, 1987, and spent the remainder of that year and early 1988 in AEGIS light-off, combat systems qualifications, and post-shakedown work. Through the summer and autumn of 1988 she cycled through the Atlantic and Caribbean ranges, running missile exercises on the VACAPES, integrating with carrier air traffic controllers, and completing a Selected Restricted Availability that tightened up early-life engineering squawks before her first full deployment.
Her maiden Mediterranean cruise began in the winter of 1988-1989 with USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71). From the Strait of Gibraltar eastward she took long air-defense stations on the flanks of cyclic flight operations, managed the high-density link picture for the air wing, and folded into NATO serials. Liberty was calibrated to tempo: short resets at Rota and Souda Bay, staff calls at Naples and Gaeta, and brief visits to Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona before a spring 1989 return to Norfolk and the usual post-deployment inspections. In 1990, she surged again, this time toward the Red Sea as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, triggered Operation Desert Shield. Working initially from the Eastern Med with USS SARATOGA (CV 60) and then in the Red Sea screen, she fused the air/surface picture for the carriers and maritime patrol aircraft, stood Tomahawk routing guard for shooters flowing east, and supported maritime interception operations. When Operation Desert Storm opened on January 17, 1991, THOMAS S. GATES kept the Red Sea airspace deconflicted while the strike carriers executed round-the-clock tasking; logistics pauses compressed to functional fuel and ordnance turns at Souda Bay and Jeddah before redeployment in the spring.
A North Atlantic and Northern Europe phase followed in 1992. After refresher training she crossed to the U.K. and Norwegian Sea lanes for large allied exercises that stressed replenishment under threat and link management in cold-water environments, with port visits to Portsmouth, Bergen, and Kiel. For March-September 1993, she was back under Sixth Fleet in the Adriatic during Operation Deny Flight with USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71), controlling parts of the joint airspace over Bosnia, coordinating tanker tracks, and helping police U.N. no-fly orders. Between patrols she used Trieste, Split, Taranto, and Naples for liaison and logistics, then rotated home to a maintenance availability that bundled topside preservation, SPY and illuminator reliability work, and crew rest.
Through 1994-1995 she alternated Atlantic workups with Mediterranean patrols while sanctions and embargo enforcement matured around the former Yugoslavia. In late 1995-early 1996 she deployed with USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69), splitting time between the Central Med and Red Sea as Sixth Fleet balanced Balkan air policing with Gulf presence. Port calls in this period were functional - Augusta Bay, Souda Bay, Haifa, and Gaeta - each a short reset between extended periods on the line. After return, THOMAS S. GATES entered a Depot Modernization Period at Norfolk that pushed hull preservation, main machinery reliability projects, and AEGIS baseline updates so a non-VLS cruiser could carry a heavier air-control load into the next cycle.
By 1998-1999 she was back in the Adriatic alongside USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) during Operation Allied Force, providing the disciplined air-picture and identification control that let strike packages flow safely into Kosovo targets from the carrier. Liberty windows were brief - Trieste, Catania, Valletta - as the force kept a high operational cadence. In 2000, she returned stateside for inspections and a short availability that focused on combat-system health and corrosion control, then pivoted into counter-drug patrols in the Caribbean with an embarked Coast Guard law-enforcement detachment. These evolutions mixed blue-water AAW proficiency drills with interdiction alert along known trafficking routes, with short calls at Roosevelt Roads, Mayport, and Guantanamo Bay.
After September 11, 2001, THOMAS S. GATES re-entered a high-tempo pattern of deployments tied to Operation Enduring Freedom. Through late 2001-mid-2002 she rotated to Fifth and Sixth Fleet waters - at times operating with USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) or USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) - to provide area air defense and layered surveillance for carriers cycling between the Eastern Med and the North Arabian Sea. Logistics remained tightly scheduled: Souda Bay and Augusta Bay in the Med, Bahrain and Jebel Ali when the group pressed east. Back in Norfolk, she completed another Selected Restricted Availability and AEGIS maintenance period to stabilize SPY reliability after heavy use in warm, high-clutter environments.
The run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 saw THOMAS S. GATES again in the Eastern Med as the Navy massed forces. Though her twin-arm launchers left the Tomahawk strike role to VLS-equipped ships, she remained integral to battle-group defense and airspace control for USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) and other transiting formations, helped manage maritime interception lanes, and maintained a visible deterrent along choke points. She returned home that summer to a maintenance and inspection cycle that bundled underwater-hull work, sonar dome preservation, and command-and-control upgrades - small but important steps that kept a late-1980s cruiser viable in an early-2000s threat environment.
In 2004-2005, THOMAS S. GATES split time between Atlantic readiness, multinational exercises, and short deployments. She worked up with USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65) off the East Coast, participated in combined air-defense and anti-submarine drills with NATO partners (including a Dynamic Mix-style serial in the Central Med), and executed another Caribbean counter-drug period with a Coast Guard team embarked. Port visits across those two years included Lisbon, Rota, Naples, Palma, Ponta Delgada, and, closer to home, Boston and Port Canaveral for community outreach and logistics. Final preparations for retirement began in the autumn of 2005: ammunition offload at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, equipment redistribution and preservation pierside at Norfolk, closeout sea trials to document machinery condition, and decommissioning rehearsals. USS THOMAS S. GATES decommissioned at Norfolk on December 15, 2005.
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back to top go to the end of the pageUSS THOMAS S. GATES Image Gallery:
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The photo below was taken by Karl-Heinz Ahles and shows the USS THOMAS S. GATES at Naval Station Pascagoula, Miss., on May 17, 1999.
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The photos below were taken by me on November 7, 2008, and show the THOMAS S. GATES laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
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The photos below were taken by me on October 26, 2010, and show the THOMAS S. GATES still laid up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
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The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning on October 3, 2012, and show the THOMAS S. GATES laid up alongside her sistership YORKTOWN (CG 48) at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Note the holes cut into the hull above the waterline.
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The photos below were taken by Harley Bodden and show the THOMAS S. GATES being scrapped near New Orleans, La. The photos were taken between July and November 2017.
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