on 29 March 2003.
Admiral Kuznetsov in the waters south of
Italy.
Admiral Kuznetsov was en route to duty with the Soviet
Northern Fleet.
Deyo took part in operations in the
Atlantic and Eastern
Pacific Oceans,
Caribbean and
Mediterranean Seas, and the
Persian Gulf. The ship first deployed in May 1981, when it was ordered to the Persian Gulf in response to rising tensions in the
Middle East. In July 1987,
Deyo deployed to the Mediterranean, North
Arabian Sea and the
Indian Ocean as part of the
Iowa Battleship battle group. The ship returned to the Persian Gulf in July 1989 to support
tanker escort duties during
Operation Earnest Will. After completing counter-drug operations in the Caribbean Sea in August 1990,
Deyo deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in May 1991 as part of the
Forrestal Carrier Battle Group. The ship visited Liverpool, England in 1993, and represented the US during the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of "The Battle of the Atlantic." The destroyer returned to the Mediterranean Sea in 1994 as a member of the
George Washington Carrier Battle Group. In June 1996,
Deyo was struck by the
Military Sealift Command vehicle cargo ship USNS Gilliland (T-AKR-298) while moored in port at Newport News. A sudden windstorm caused
Gilliland to break free of her moorings and cross the harbor, colliding with
Deyo and the
submarine , moored ahead of
Deyo.
Deyo suffered the most damage, while
Tucson suffered only minor damage. In June 1998,
Deyo again deployed for the Mediterranean Sea, becoming the first American ship to serve as
flagship for
Standing Naval Force Mediterranean. During its final deployment in December 2002 with the
Harry S Truman Carrier Battle Group,
Deyo was one of the first ships to fire
Tomahawk cruise missiles on
Iraqi targets during
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Deyo is unique for being the only
Spruance-class destroyer armed with armored box launchers that were later upgraded to the Mk 41 VLS.
Fate Deyo was decommissioned on 6 November 2003 at
NS Norfolk,
Virginia. She was stricken from the
Navy list on 6 April 2004, and was sunk as a target in a fleet training exercise, 25 August 2005. == Gallery ==