USSNitze

USSNitzeon 23 April 2011
History
United States
Name	Nitze
Namesake	Paul Nitze
Ordered	6 March 1998
Builder	Bath Iron Works
Laid down	20 September 2002
Launched	3 April 2004
Commissioned	5 March 2005
Identification	MMSI number:369974000 Callsign:NCWR Hull number:DDG-94
Motto	Vision, Courage, Determination
Honours and awards	SeeAwards
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Arleigh Burke-classguided missile destroyer
Displacement	6,600 tons light, 9,200 tons full, 2,600 tons dead
Length	509 feet 6 inches (155.30 m)length overall 471 feet (144 m)waterline length
Beam	66 feet (20 m) extreme 59 feet (18 m) at waterline
Draft	31 feet (9.4 m) maximum 22 feet (6.7 m) limit
Propulsion	FourGeneral Electric LM2500-30gas turbines,two shafts, 100,000 shp (75 MW)
Speed	Over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	30 officers, 350 sailors
Armament	Guns: 1 ×5-inch (127 mm)/62 Mk 45 Mod 4 (lightweight gun) 1 ×20 mm (0.8 in) Phalanx CIWS 2 ×25 mm (0.98 in)Mk 38 machine gun system 4 ×0.50 inches (12.7 mm) caliberguns Missiles: 1 × 32-cell, 1 × 64-cell (96 total cells)Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS): RIM-66M surface-to-air missile RIM-156 surface-to-air missile RIM-174A standard ERAM RIM-161 anti-ballistic missile RIM-162 ESSM(quad-packed) BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile RUM-139 vertical launch ASROC Torpedoes: 2 ×Mark 32tripletorpedo tubes: Mark 46 lightweight torpedo Mark 50 lightweight torpedo Mark 54 lightweight torpedo
Aircraft carried	2 ×MH-60R Seahawkhelicopters

USSNitze(DDG-94)is anArleigh Burke-classdestroyer.She is named forPaul Nitze,who served asSecretary of the Navyunder presidentLyndon B. Johnsonand as chief arms control adviser in the administration of presidentRonald Reagan.

Service history

Nitzeduring her commissioning ceremony.USSNassauandUSSBataancan be seen in the background, March 2005.

The contract to build her was awarded toBath Iron WorksCorporation inBath, Maine,on 6 March 1998, and herkeelwas laid down on 20 September 2002. She waslaunchedon 3 April 2004, sponsored by Elisabeth Porter, Nitze's wife. Nitze, who was 97 years old at the time, was present at the christening, thus adding the destroyer to thelist of U.S. military vessels named after living Americans.Nitzewascommissionedon 5 March 2005 inNorfolk, Virginia.Nitze,homeported inNorfolk, Virginia,went on her maiden deployment in January 2007 as part of theUSSBataanExpeditionary Strike Group, returning home on 3 July 2007.

On 12 September 2008,Nitzedeparted Norfolk for a seven-month deployment withCarrier Strike Group Two,led byUSSTheodore Roosevelt,returning on 18 April 2009. In October 2009,Nitzewas open to the public for tours in downtown Norfolk as part of the NavyFleet Weekcelebration. She was moored at theNauticusMuseum and Half Moone Cruise terminal. During 1–5 July 2011,Nitzewas docked inEastport, Maine,for4th of Julycelebrations.

USSNitzeseen from her port side, withsignal flagsdisplayed on the railing of her helideck, March 2009

From 12 March to 4 November 2012,Nitzecompleted her third deployment to theFifth FleetArea of Responsibility with theUSSEnterpriseBattlegroup (CCSG 12).Nitzewas deployed a fourth time, from 29 November 2013, to 15 July 2014, spending most of their time off theHorn of Africaconducting maritime security operations.

On 24 August 2016,Nitzewas conducting a routine transit near theStrait of Hormuz,accompanied byUSSMason,when the ship was approached by four small patrol craft of theIranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.The US Navy called the maneuver a "high speed intercept". After multiple attempts to contact the vessels, and then to warn them away,Nitzechanged course to avoid closer contact. Two of the Iranian craft closed to 300 yards (270 m) before finally slowing and moving off.

On 13 October 2016, following two missile attacks onMasonfromHouthi-held territory inwar-torn Yemen,Nitzeattacked three radar sites which had been involved in the earlier attacks withTomahawk cruise missiles;the Pentagon assessed that all three sites were destroyed.

Nitzewas underway for First East Coast Carrier Strike Group SWATT November 2018.

In July 2022,Nitzedeployed as part ofDestroyer Squadron 26along withUSSDelbert D. Black,USSTruxtun,andUSSFarragutembarked withCarrier Strike Group 10led byUSSGeorge H.W. Bush.As part of the deployment, the ship sailed in theSea of Marmarain February 2023 making it the first U.S. warship to enter the Sea of Marmara since the beginning of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.She returned toNorfolkon 5 April 2023 completing a nine-month long deployment.

Awards

• Combat Action Ribbon- (9-15 Oct 2016)
• Navy Unit Commendation- (Sep 2008-Apr 2009)
• Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation- (Jan 2011-Nov 2012)
• Navy E Ribbon- (2007, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Secretary of the Navy(SECNAV)Energy ConservationAward (combatant medium/large category) - (2016)

References

This article includes information collected from theNaval Vessel Register,which, as a U.S. government publication, is in thepublic domain.

External links

• USSNitze’s Web siteArchived24 September 2015 at theWayback Machine
• USS Nitze fires Tomahawk missiles at Houthi radar sites (2016)