USS Parsons 949
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USS PARSONS(DDG-33)
USS PARSONS (DD-949 DDG-33)
Parsons (DD-949) was laid down 17 June 1957 by the Ingalls SB Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.; launched 17 August 1958; sponsored by Mrs. William S. Parsons; and commissioned 29 October 1959 at Charleston, S.C., Comdr. W. R. Loomis in command.
After shakedown, Parsons reported to her home port, San Diego, and commenced operations with the 1st Fleet in February 1960. In October she deployed to the Western Pacific with 7th Fleet units. She returned to resume West Coast operations in July 1961 and entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard 6 October for major improvements in her communications and ASW equipment. She then rejoined the 1st Fleet in extensive coastal training from January to November 1962, deployed for her second WestPac tour in November, and returned in July 1963 to the California coast.
During the summer and fall of 1963 she carried out AAW and ASW operations in the San Diego area. During November she escorted Midway (CVA-41) and Hancock (CVA-19) to the Western Pacific and returned to San Diego. Parsons continued her training and service operations alternately with the 1st and 7th fleets until selected for conversion to a Guided Missile Destroyer and decommissioned at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard 19 January 1966.
Parsons was reclassified (DDG-33) 15 March 1967 and recommissioned 3 November 1967, assigned to the CruiserDestroyer Force, Pacific Fleet. Following shakedown she carried out a rigorous testing program for her missile systems, and in September 1968 she assumed duties as flagship for DesRon 31 and immediately deployed to the Western Pacific for operations with the 7th Fleet off Vietnam. Interspersed with her carrier escort duties on Yankee Station, she conducted on-station training operations, assuming duties as ASW training coordinator ship with Commander Destroyer Squadron 31 embarked. Parsons also visited Kaohsiung, Yokosuka, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sasebo. She returned to San Diego 12 May 1969 to resume operations from there and train for her next deployment.
From December of 1971 through December of 1972, Parsons provided support to forces afloat and ashore involved in the Vietnam War.
Parsons was decommissioned on 19 November 1982. She was stricken from the Navy list on 1 December 1984, and finally disposed of as a target on 25 April 1989
Parsons (DD-949) was laid down 17 June 1957 by the Ingalls SB Corp., Pascagoula, Miss.; launched 17 August 1958; sponsored by Mrs. William S. Parsons; and commissioned 29 October 1959 at Charleston, S.C., Comdr. W. R. Loomis in command.
After shakedown, Parsons reported to her home port, San Diego, and commenced operations with the 1st Fleet in February 1960. In October she deployed to the Western Pacific with 7th Fleet units. She returned to resume West Coast operations in July 1961 and entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard 6 October for major improvements in her communications and ASW equipment. She then rejoined the 1st Fleet in extensive coastal training from January to November 1962, deployed for her second WestPac tour in November, and returned in July 1963 to the California coast.
During the summer and fall of 1963 she carried out AAW and ASW operations in the San Diego area. During November she escorted Midway (CVA-41) and Hancock (CVA-19) to the Western Pacific and returned to San Diego. Parsons continued her training and service operations alternately with the 1st and 7th fleets until selected for conversion to a Guided Missile Destroyer and decommissioned at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard 19 January 1966.
Parsons was reclassified (DDG-33) 15 March 1967 and recommissioned 3 November 1967, assigned to the CruiserDestroyer Force, Pacific Fleet. Following shakedown she carried out a rigorous testing program for her missile systems, and in September 1968 she assumed duties as flagship for DesRon 31 and immediately deployed to the Western Pacific for operations with the 7th Fleet off Vietnam. Interspersed with her carrier escort duties on Yankee Station, she conducted on-station training operations, assuming duties as ASW training coordinator ship with Commander Destroyer Squadron 31 embarked. Parsons also visited Kaohsiung, Yokosuka, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sasebo. She returned to San Diego 12 May 1969 to resume operations from there and train for her next deployment.
From December of 1971 through December of 1972, Parsons provided support to forces afloat and ashore involved in the Vietnam War.
Parsons was decommissioned on 19 November 1982. She was stricken from the Navy list on 1 December 1984, and finally disposed of as a target on 25 April 1989
- Namesake: R.Adm. William S. Parsons
- Builder: Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Laid down: 17 June 1957
- Launched: 17 August 1959
- Acquired: October 22, 1959
- Commissioned: 29 October 1959
- Decommissioned: 19 November 1982
- Struck: 1 December 1984
- Fate: Sunk as a target, 25 April 1989
- General characteristics
- Class and type: Forrest Sherman-class destroyer
- Displacement: 4,000 tons
- Length: 418 ft (127 m)
- Beam: 45 ft (14 m)
- Draft: 20 ft (6.1 m)
- Speed: 33 knots (61 km/h)
- Range: 4,500 nautical miles at 20 kt
- (8,300 km at 37 km/h)
- Complement: 256 officers and men
- 3 × 5 in (127 mm) guns
- 6 × 3 in (76 mm) guns
- ASROC
- One depth charge track
- Two hedgehog depth change projectors
- 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Rear Admiral William S. Parsons
Rear Admiral William Sterling "Deak" Parsons (26
November 1901 – 5 December 1953) was a naval officer who worked as an ordnance
expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II. He is best known for being
the weaponeer on the Enola Gay, the aircraft which dropped the Little Boy
atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.
A 1922 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Parsons served on a variety of warships beginning with the battleship USS Idaho. He was trained in ordnance and studied ballistics under L.T.E. Thompson at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia. In July 1933, Parsons became liaison officer between the Bureau of Ordnance and the Naval Research Laboratory. He became interested in radar and was one of the first to recognize its potential to locate ships and aircraft, and perhaps even track shells in flight. In September 1940, Parsons and Merle Tuve of the National Defense Research Committee began work on the development of the proximity fuze, a radar-trigged fuze that would explode a shell in the proximity of the target. The fuze, eventually known as the VT (variable time) fuze, Mark 32, went into production in 1942. Parsons was on hand to watch the USS Helena shoot down the first enemy aircraft with a VT fuze in the Solomon Islands in January 1943.
In June 1943, Parsons joined the Manhattan Project as Associate Director at the research laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico under J. Robert Oppenheimer. Parsons became responsible for the ordnance aspects of the project, including the design and testing of the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. In a reorganization in 1944, he lost responsibility for the implosion-type fission weapon, but retained that for the design and development of the gun-type fission weapon, which eventually became Little Boy. He was also responsible for the delivery program, codenamed Project Alberta. In August 1945 he participated in the bombing of Hiroshima as weaponeer on the B-29 Enola Gay. Parsons climbed into the bomb bay to load the powder charge, so as to avoid the possibility of a nuclear explosion if the aircraft crashed and burned on takeoff. He was awarded the Silver Star for his part in the mission.
After the war, Parsons was promoted to the rank of rear admiral without ever having commanded a ship. He participated in Operation Crossroads, the nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, and later the Operation Sandstone tests at Enewetak Atoll in 1948. In 1947, he became deputy commander of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. He died of a heart attack on 5 December 1953
Nickname "Deak"
Born 26 November 1901 Chicago, Illinois
Died 5 December 1953 (aged 52) Bethesda, Maryland
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1922–1953
Rank Rear Admiral
Battles/wars World War II:
• Guadalcanal Campaign
• Manhattan Project
• Bombing of Hiroshima
Cold War:
• Operation Crossroads
• Operation Sandstone
Awards
• Navy Distinguished Service Medal
• Silver Star
• Legion of Merit
A 1922 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Parsons served on a variety of warships beginning with the battleship USS Idaho. He was trained in ordnance and studied ballistics under L.T.E. Thompson at the Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Virginia. In July 1933, Parsons became liaison officer between the Bureau of Ordnance and the Naval Research Laboratory. He became interested in radar and was one of the first to recognize its potential to locate ships and aircraft, and perhaps even track shells in flight. In September 1940, Parsons and Merle Tuve of the National Defense Research Committee began work on the development of the proximity fuze, a radar-trigged fuze that would explode a shell in the proximity of the target. The fuze, eventually known as the VT (variable time) fuze, Mark 32, went into production in 1942. Parsons was on hand to watch the USS Helena shoot down the first enemy aircraft with a VT fuze in the Solomon Islands in January 1943.
In June 1943, Parsons joined the Manhattan Project as Associate Director at the research laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico under J. Robert Oppenheimer. Parsons became responsible for the ordnance aspects of the project, including the design and testing of the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. In a reorganization in 1944, he lost responsibility for the implosion-type fission weapon, but retained that for the design and development of the gun-type fission weapon, which eventually became Little Boy. He was also responsible for the delivery program, codenamed Project Alberta. In August 1945 he participated in the bombing of Hiroshima as weaponeer on the B-29 Enola Gay. Parsons climbed into the bomb bay to load the powder charge, so as to avoid the possibility of a nuclear explosion if the aircraft crashed and burned on takeoff. He was awarded the Silver Star for his part in the mission.
After the war, Parsons was promoted to the rank of rear admiral without ever having commanded a ship. He participated in Operation Crossroads, the nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, and later the Operation Sandstone tests at Enewetak Atoll in 1948. In 1947, he became deputy commander of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. He died of a heart attack on 5 December 1953
Nickname "Deak"
Born 26 November 1901 Chicago, Illinois
Died 5 December 1953 (aged 52) Bethesda, Maryland
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1922–1953
Rank Rear Admiral
Battles/wars World War II:
• Guadalcanal Campaign
• Manhattan Project
• Bombing of Hiroshima
Cold War:
• Operation Crossroads
• Operation Sandstone
Awards
• Navy Distinguished Service Medal
• Silver Star
• Legion of Merit
