- USS Meredith (DD-890)
USS "Meredith" (DD-890), a Sclass|Gearing|destroyer, was the fourth ship of the
United States Navy to be named forJonathan Meredith USMC, asergeant who saved the life ofLieutenant John Trippe of "Vixen", during theBarbary Wars . She was laid down at theConsolidated Steel Corporation atOrange, Texas , on27 January 1945 ; launched on28 June 1945 , sponsored by Miss Juliette S. Kopper, great-great-great-grandniece of Sergeant Meredith; and commissioned on31 December 1945 withCommander W. B. Vindeman in command.1946-1952
Following sea trials and shakedown exercises in the spring of 1946, "Meredith" was employed, for a brief period, in training submarine officers at
New London, Connecticut , before steaming south to serve as plane guard for theaircraft carrier "Randolph" (CV-15) during the 1946midshipmen summer cruise. In the late fall, she pointed her bow northward for operations off Newfoundland andGreenland . Remaining in thewestern Atlantic the following year, she cruised fromMaine to theCaribbean , participating once again in a midshipmen training cruise. The first part of 1948 was spent in conducting experimental tests for theOperational Development Force , after which, in May, she sailed, with other ships of her squadron, DesRon 6, for her first overseas deployment. From that time, until 1953, she got underway in the spring of each year for theMediterranean and duty with the6th Fleet . Her Second Fleet employment for the same period includedArctic maneuvers (November 1949) and several Caribbean cruises, as well as training cruises with reservists and another midshipmen summer cruise (1952).1953-1979
On
7 January 1953 , "Meredith" entered theNorfolk Naval Shipyard for habitability conversion which lasted into November. She then resumed the alternation of duty tours with the 2nd and 6th Fleets. During her 1958 overseas deployment, she served briefly with theMiddle East Force as she and HMS "Loch Fyne" stood by in theEuphrates Delta area after theIraq i revolution of15 July .Toward the end of the following year, "Meredith", reassigned to DesRon 14, was slated for FRAM (Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization). Entering the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , on28 June 1960 , she remained for 1 year and 2 days during which time herbridge was enclosed, her torpedo deck was modified to allow the installation ofASROC , and her 7 year old 3 inch battery was replaced by ahelicopter hangar andflight deck to accommodate the DASH (Drone Antisubmarine Helicopter ) weapons system.On
1 July 1961 , the “new” "Meredith" sailed for her new home port,Mayport, Florida . After refresher training, she got underway for a good will tour of various ports in the Caribbean and along the west coast ofAfrica fromFreetown, Sierra Leone , toCape Town, Republic of South Africa . While en route she collected oceanographic data which included piscatoral and avian surveys as well as hydrologic information. "Meredity" returned to Mayport on18 February 1962 . She further tested and evaluated the ASROC system before heading north to embark midshipmen for the fourth time. In August 1958, the destroyer once again transited the Atlantic for oversea deployment. In November 1965, brought her into the space age with an assignment to theProject Gemini Recovery Operations.The "Meredith" was decommissioned on
29 June 1979 and transferred toTurkey on the same day. She was renamed "Savastepe", and stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on7 December 1979 .References
External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m9/meredith-iv.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Meredith"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/890.htm navsource.org: USS "Meredith"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/destroy/dd890txt.htm hazegray.org: USS "Meredith"]
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