USS ''John Paul Jones'' (DDG-53) is the third
guided missile destroyer
A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and the first ship of the class homeported on the west coast. She is the fifth ship named after
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
naval captain
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
and the second to carry his first name. She was built at
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...
in Bath, Maine. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 9 of
Carrier Strike Group 11, which is headed by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
USS ''Nimitz'' (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. One of the largest warships in the world, she was laid down, launched, and commissioned as CVAN-68, "aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear ...
.
Description
''John Paul Jones'' is capable of operating independently, as an element of a coordinated force, or as the nucleus of a surface action group, and to direct and coordinate anti-air, surface, undersea, and strike warfare operations. The ship is named in honor of
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
and derives her motto from his words: "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way."
The ship is equipped with the
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin.
Initially used by the United States Navy, Aegis is now used also by ...
and is capable of conducting both offensive and defensive operations using
Tomahawk cruise missiles,
RGM-84 Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile
manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack ...
and
RIM-66 Standard
The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, originally developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the ...
missiles,
CIWS
A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of l ...
, and gun. The ''Arleigh Burke'' class is the first class of U.S. warships to be fitted with an integrated chemical, biological and radiological defense system.
Service history
Construction of ''John Paul Jones'' began on 8 August 1990, at
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...
in
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...
. The ship was christened and launched on 26 October 1991.
![USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) launches RIM-174 June 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/USS_John_Paul_Jones_%28DDG-53%29_launches_RIM-174_June_2014.JPG)
''John Paul Jones'' was selected as the Shock Trial platform for the DDG-51 class. The ship was subjected to a series of close range explosions in order for the Navy to obtain critical information concerning the survivability of the DDG-51 class in a shock environment. The crew prepared the ship for the most demanding and complex surface ship shock trial test in the history of the Navy. The ship has completed four deployments to the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
.
On 7 October 2001, ''John Paul Jones'' launched the first Tomahawk missiles into Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom.
In June 2010, she began a ten-month yard period during which her machinery control system and many HM&E systems were upgraded. This was a first in class effort, similar to the CG-47 mid life upgrade undertaken on the hull.
On 10 June 2011, she anchored off the coast of
Malibu, California
Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...
, at the beginning of a three-day celebration called Navy Days designed to thank the sailors and their families for their service to the country.
On 29 November 2011, ''John Paul Jones'' was the first ship to deploy after receiving the DDGMOD (HM&E) upgrade.
On 1 November 2015, ''John Paul Jones'' participated in ''Campaign Fierce Sentry'' Flight Test Operational-02 Event 2 (FTO-02 E2), a complex $230 million U.S. military missile defense system test event conducted at
Wake Island
Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...
and the surrounding ocean areas. During the test, the destroyer shot down a simulated anti-ship
cruise missile but failed to intercept a
medium-range ballistic missile that was launched from a
C-17 transport plane.
On 18 January 2016, ''John Paul Jones'' sank the
decommissioned guided-missile frigate in a test of a new anti-surface warfare variant of the Raytheon
Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), becoming the first ship to sink a ship with the new variant of the missile. ''John Paul Jones'' fired the missile on the U.S. Pacific Missile Range near
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
On 3 February 2017, ''John Paul Jones'' completed a ballistic missile intercept in a test off the west coast of Hawaii. The test marks the first time that a ballistic missile has been targeted using the
Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA interceptor.
Awards
*
Battle "E" -(1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2016)
*
Meritorious Unit Commendation - (1-Jan-1999 to 10-Sep-2001), as a part of ''Enterprise'' battle group; 15-Jun-1992 to 27-Jun-1994
*
Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award
The Captain Edward F. Ney Award for food-service excellence is given to the best US Navy galleys among those that earn a five-star rating from a Navy evaluation team.
The Secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Associ ...
for outstanding food service - (2014)
The ship was also the first to win SWO of the year award.
In popular culture
The ship was featured prominently in the 2012 film ''
Battleship''. After the sinking of two other destroyers, including
sister ship , she fought alone against the hostile alien fleet. She was later sunk in combat due to severe damage after being specifically targeted by the alien mothership because of the damage she had done to their fleet.
''John Paul Jones'' appeared in ''
2034: A Novel of the Next World War'' by
Elliot Ackerman and
James G. Stavridis. The ship is ambushed and nearly sunk by the Chinese
People's Liberation Army Navy in the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...
.
The ship also appeared in
Tom Clancy's ''
Executive Orders''.
References
*
External links
US Navy: ''USS John Paul Jones''Official Website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Paul Jones (Ddg-53)
Ships built in Bath, Maine
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers
Destroyers of the United States
1991 ships