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1976-Rescues at Sea


NH 107300: USS Robert A. Owens (DD-827), March 3, 1976. Crew members man the rails while arriving at Nassau, Bahama Islands. Her visit commemorated the two-hundredth anniversary of the Continental Navy’s March 3, 1776 raid on the islands. Photographed by JO2 Robert G. Leonard. NHHC Photograph Collection.
Caption: NH 107300: USS Robert A. Owens (DD-827), March 3, 1976. Crew members man the rails while arriving at Nassau, Bahama Islands. Her visit commemorated the two-hundredth anniversary of the Continental Navy’s March 3, 1776 raid on the islands. Photographed by JO2 Robert G. Leonard. NHHC Photograph Collection.

USS Robert A. Owens (DD-827) helped the British merchant ship Lapland extinguish an engine-room fire as both were moored in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 4, 1976.  A ten-man team fought the fire for three hours and saved the merchant ship. 


USN 1172014: USS Dahlgren (DDG-43) underway in the Atlantic, February 3, 1978. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
Caption: USN 1172014: USS Dahlgren (DDG-43) underway in the Atlantic, February 3, 1978. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

On March 22, 1976, USS Dahlgren (DDG-43) rescued a Saudi Arabian tugboat and its British crew 80 miles south of Crete.  Suffering an engine-room explosion and fire, Dahlgren took the tug in tow, whilst in heavy seas, brought the crew aboard and provided medical assistance.  The ship arrived three days later in Alexandria, Egypt.   Dahlgren was originally classified as (DLG-12) and was reclassified as DDG-43 in July 1975. 


NH 97497: USS Lexington (CVT/AVT-16), flight deck activity during the 1970s or 1980s). A TA-4J Skyhawk is parked in the center as another passes overhead. NHHC Photograph Collection.
Caption: NH 97497: USS Lexington (CVT/AVT-16), flight deck activity during the 1970s or 1980s). A TA-4J Skyhawk is parked in the center as another passes overhead. NHHC Photograph Collection.

An offshore drilling platform, Ocean Express, tipped over and sank on April 15, 1976, in a severly windy Gulf of Mexico, east of Corpus Christi, as it moved through 15-foot seas   USS Lexington (CVT-16) was dispatched to coordinate rescue efforts with the U.S. Coast Guard.   The auxiliary landing training ship went alongside a collapsed survival capsule and recovered the bodies of thirteen crewmembers.  


330-CFD-DN-ST-86-01855: USS Leahy (CG-16), an aerial port beam while underway, January 17, 1983. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
Caption: 330-CFD-DN-ST-86-01855: USS Leahy (CG-16), an aerial port beam while underway, January 17, 1983. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

On June 6, 1976, USS Leahy (CG-16) assisted the U.S. Coast Guard off southern California   The 120-foot research ship Aquisition was on fire and sinking.   Nineteen crewmembers on board were evacuated.  Fires were fought until the ship was abandonded and eventually sank.  

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Published: Tue Apr 28 12:45:30 EDT 2020