USS ''Ingersoll'' (DD-990), a ''Spruance''-class destroyer, was the second

U.S. 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 o ...

ship to be named USS ''Ingersoll''; in this case, in honor of Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll (1883–1976), who served as CINC, Atlantic Fleet during most of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Construction and career

''Ingersoll'' was laid down on 5 December 1977 by

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 employees, the second largest ...

, Pascagoula, Miss.; launched on 10 March 1979; and commissioned on 12 April 1980. USS Ingersoll (DD-990) at sea c1981

''Ingersoll'' was first homeported in San Diego, CA, then Long Beach, CA (for overhaul) and then

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. ''Ingersoll'' was one of the first US Navy ships to receive the

Armored Box Launcher The Mark 143 Armored Box Launcher (ABL) is a four-round protected launch container for the BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile. Fitted to the following their 1980s recommissioning upgrade, each ABL contains four ready-to-fire Tomahawks. The use of ...

version of the

Tomahawk cruise missile The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract fr ...

system in 1985. This early variant of the missile system held up to four missiles in each of two canisters located directly forward of the pilothouse on the fore deck. However, this system proved to be very heavy and affected the ship's seakeeping. The much more capable Vertical Launch missile system quickly made the Armored Box Launcher obsolete.

Collision

On 20 June 1992 while transiting the Straights of Malacca, ''Ingersoll'' collided with M/V ''Matsumi Maru No. 7'', a Pakistani oil tanker. Flooding was minimal and ''Ingersoll'' was able to reach port in Singapore. After temporary repairs, ''Ingersoll'' returned to Pearl Harbor where it completed repairs and began overhaul.

Fate

Though ''Ingersoll'' was one of the newest ships of the ''Spruance'' class, it was one of the earliest to be decommissioned. The cost to remove the Armored Box Launcher system and retrofit the Vertical Launching System likely contributed to the ship's early decommissioning. ''Ingersoll'' was decommissioned and stricken from the

Navy Directory A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 24 July 1998. She was sunk as a target on 29 July 2003.

Gallery

File:A high-angle starboard bow view of the Spruance class destroyer USS INGERSOLL (DD-990) underway off the coast of Southern California - DPLA - b4eed9f31bdbe281260616ef64ad3cac.jpeg, USS ''Ingersoll'' on 13 May 1982 File:330-CFD-DN-SC-83-00730 (22005864670).jpg, USS ''Ingersoll'' on 1 September 1982 File:USS Ingersoll (DD-990) and USS Leftwich (DD-984) at Pearl Harbor on 1 April 1983.jpeg, USS ''Ingersoll'' and USS Leftwich at

on 1 April 1983 File:USS Ingersol, 1990.jpg, USS ''Ingersoll'' in 1989

Awards

* Navy Unit Commendation – (Ocy 1997 – Apr 1998) *

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

– (Nov 1984 – May 1985, May–Sep 1992) * Southwest Asia Service Medal – (Apr–Jul 1991) *

Humanitarian Service Medal The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includ ...

– (11 October 1981)

References

External links

navsource.org: USS ''Ingersoll'' ''Ingersoll'' veterans website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingersoll (DD-990) Spruance-class destroyers Cold War destroyers of the United States Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1979 ships Maritime incidents in 1992 Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 2003