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U.S.S. GURKE

(DD-783)

AD MARE PARATIS

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USS GURKE (DD-783) - a Gearing-class destroyer

In Commission 1945 to 1976

DD-783 Deployments - Major Events

Add a DD-783 Shellback Initiation Add a DD-783 Deployment - Major Event
Month Year to Month Year Deployment / Event
JUL1944-Keel Date: 1 JUL 1944
at Todd-Pacific Shipyards Tacoma Washington
FEB1945-Launch Date: 15 FEB 1945
MAY1945-Commissioned: 12 MAY 1945
JAN1951-JAN1952West Pac
JUL1953-Shellback Initiation - 17 JUL 1953 - Atlantic Ocean
JUN1956-DEC1956West Pac
JUL1956-Shellback Initiation - 17 JUL 1956 - Pacific Ocean
JUN1958-AUG1958South America
JUL1958-Shellback Initiation - 20 JUL 1958 - Pacific Ocean
JAN1959-JUN1959West Pac
MAY1960-Shellback Initiation - 16 MAY 1960 - Pacific Ocean
APR1962- Shellback Initiation - 11 APR 1962 - Pacific Ocean
MAY1962-NOV1962Navy Task Group Joint Task Force Eight Nuclear Tests in Pacific
JUL1963-MAY1964FRAM modernization - Puget Sound Shipyard
OCT1964-MAY1965West Pac-Viet Nam
JAN1966-JAN1966West Pac-Viet Nam
MAY1966-NOV1966West Pac-Viet Nam
NOV1967-JUN1968West Pac-Viet Nam
JAN1968-JAN1968Went to North Korea when the USS Pueblo was hijacked
JAN1969-JAN1970wespaccruises1969to1970
FEB1969-SEP1969West Pac-Viet Nam
MAR1969-SEP1969West Pac-Viet Nam
APR1969-OCT1969West Pac-Viet Nam
APR1970-DEC1970West Pac-Viet Nam
JAN1971-JUN1972West Pac-Viet Nam
FEB1973-Shellback Initiation - 17 FEB 1973 - Pacific Ocean
JUN1974-Shellback Initiation - 4 JUN 1974 - Pacific Ocean
JUN1974-JUL1974West Pac
APR1975-MAY1975Operation Frequent Wind
APR1975-MAY1975Operation Frequent Wind
JAN1976-Decommissioned: 30 JAN 1976

DD-783 General Specifications

Class: Gearing-class destroyer

Named for: Henry Gurke

Complement: 336 Officers and Enlisted

Displacement: 3460 tons

Length: 390 feet 6 inches

Beam: 40 feet 10 inches

Flank Speed: 35 knots

Range: 4 500 Nautical Miles

Final Disposition:Transferred to Greece 17 March 1977



USS GURKE (DD-783)



Gurke (DD-783) was launched 15 February 1945 by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards Inc. Tacoma Wash. sponsored by Mrs. Julius Gurke mother of Private Gurke; and commissioned 12 May 1945 Cmdr. Kenneth Loveland in command.


After shakedown along the West Coast Gurke sailed for the Western Pacific 27 August 1945 reaching Pearl Harbor 2 September. From there she continued west to participate in the occupation of Japan and former Japanese possessions. Returning to her home port San Diego in February 1946 Gurke participated in training operations until 4 September 1947 when she sailed for another WesPac cruise. Two further WesPac cruises alternating with operations out of San Diego and a cruise to Alaska in 1948 to aid in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Yukon gold rush filled Gurke's- schedule until the outbreak of the Korean War.


Gurke departed San Diego 5 August 1950 and arrived at Yokosuka 19 August to screen fast carrier task forces off the west coast of Korea 25 August 6 September. She shared with five other destroyers the award of the Navy Unit Commendation to Task Element 90.62 for extraordinary heroism in support of the landing at Inchon 13 15 September 1950. Steaming up Flying Fish (So Sudo) Channel at flood tide the first day Gurke bombarded Wolmi Do and the Inchon waterfront. Communist fire concentrated on three of the "sitting duck" destroyers Gurke taking three hits that caused no casualties and only minor damage. The destroyer's 5 inch batteries opened in a prelanding shore bombardment 15 September 1900 until the first assault wave of Marines crossed the line of departure for Wolmi Do which was secured by high noon. Wolmi Do was no longer a dominating threat over approaches into Inchon by landing assault craft that would be borne in on the incoming afternoon tide. After this initial landing General of the Army Douglas MacArthur made visual signal: "The Navy and Marines have never shone more brightly than this morning."


After the Inchon landings Gurke screened fast attack carriers launching powerful strikes against enemy positions and supply lines. She also patrolled the narrow Formosa Straits to prevent Chinese Communist invasion of Formosa and to insure that Formosa was not used as a base for military operations against the Chinese mainland. During the first year of war Gurke frequently served as flagship of Vice Admiral Struble and the 7th Fleet's Carrier Task Force 77.


Two interludes in the States for repairs and training interrupted Gurke's Korean conflict service. But she continued when deployed with the Seventh Fleet to screen attack carriers and bombard enemy coastal supply routes and installations once destroying a Communist train through accurate gunnery. She again drew fire from Communist shore batteries 25 June 1953 but escaped without serious damage from two direct hits and the shrapnel of five air bursts.


When the shooting stopped in Korea in August 1963 Gurke continued patrols in the Far East to help keep the peace. Six to eight month deployments to the Western Pacific were alternated with stateside overhauls and training in a full peacetime routine. During 17-18 June 1960 she was a unit of the escort for cruiser St. Paul carrying President Eisenhower on a fast Manila-Taiwan cruise. She also participated in nose-cone recovery work as America's space effort rolled into high gear facilitated by seapower.


In June 1962 Gurke participated in a series of nuclear tests off Christmas Island. She entered the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 11 July 1963 for modernization overhaul emerging 1 May 1964 with new equipment ranging from antisubmarine rocket launchers to the latest in air search radar and electronic detection devices. She arrived in her new home port of San Diego 15 May for fleet operations along the western seaboard until 21 October When she again sailed for the Far East. She arrived in Yokosuka and Joined the 7th Fleet 16 November 1964 to begin her duties as a unit of Fast Carrier Task Force 77.


The first day of 1965 found Gurke with Task Group 77.7 in the South China Sea. Long hours were spent on station plane-guarding for attack carriers Ranger (CVA 61) and Hancock (CVA-19). As the Vietnam conflict became "hot" in late January she served as one of the escorts for an amphibious task group in the vicinity of Da Nang South Vietnam. Long stretches at sea with fast carriers were punctuated by liberty calls at Subic Bay and Hong Kong. On 20 April 1966 the destroyer sailed in company with Ranger (CVA-61) for return to San Diego 7 May 1966. The remainder of the year was filled with a rapid succession of coastwise training exercises ranging north to Seattle which continued until she sailed for the western Pacific 12 May 1966. After visiting Hawaii Japan and the Philippines Gurke was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin late in June for search and rescue duty. On 1 July three North Vietnamese PT boats were detected 11 miles away from Gurke and three sister destroyers and closing at high speed. Fighter aircraft from Constellation intercepted the raiders and sank all three within minutes. The destroyers picked up 19 survivors for questioning.


While in the Gulf of Tonkin Gulf refueled helicopters by a new in-flight refueling process enabling them to rescue American pilots downed in hostile territory.


After a brief respite in Hong Kong Formosa and the Philippines in August Gurke resumed duty in the Gulf of Tonkin in September and set a record in completing 113 in-flight refuelings. On this assignment she bombarded Viet Cong positions in the Mekong and Saigon River delta. After being relieved early in the fall the destroyer returned home via Okinawa and Japan arriving San Diego 16 November. In 1967 she operated along the West Coast and prepared for future action.


Gurke received seven battle stars for service in the Korean conflict.

[Note: The above USS GURKE (DD-783) history may or may not contain text provided by crew members of the USS GURKE (DD-783) or by other non-crew members and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]