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Fiske II (DD-842)

(DD-842: dp. 2,425; l. 390'6"; b. 41'1"; dr. 18'6";s. 35 k.; cpl. 367; a. 6 5', 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.;cl. Gearing)

Bradley Allen Fiske, born 13 June 1854 in Lyons, New York, was a member of the Naval Academy class of 1874. In addition to serving with distinction at sea and ashore, Fiske advanced the Navy with electrical and ordnance inventions of great significance. One of the earliest to understand the revolutionary possibilities of naval aviation, he wrote a number of books of important effect in gaining a wider understanding of the modern Navy by the public. Rear Admiral Fiske died in Yew York City 6 April 1942.

II

The second Fiske (DD-842) was launched 8 September 1945 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; sponsored by Mrs. F. E. Ribbentrop; and commissioned 28 November 1945, Commander C. H. Smith in command. She was reclassified DDR-842 on 18 July 1952.

Joining the Atlantic Fleet, Fiske served as engineering school ship for Destroyer Force, Atlantic, out of Portland, Maine, and made three cruises to the Mediterranean for duty with the 6th Fleet from her home port at Newport prior to the outbreak of the Korean War. In addition, she took part in the regular schedule of training operations along the east coast and in the Caribbean where in 1948 she rescued 10 men from a small coastal freighter sinking in the Windward Passage.

On 3 January 1951, Fiske sailed from Newport for the Panama Canal and the Far East, reporting on 12 February to the 7th Fleet at Sasebo for duty in the Korean War. Along with screening carrier task forces, she patrolled off Korea, joined in bombarding shore targets, and escorted shipping from Japan to the action areas. Sailing westward for home, she arrived at Newport from her round-the-world cruise 8 August 1951. Fiske was decommissioned 1 April 1952 for conversion to a radar picket destroyer.

Recommissioned 25 November 1952, Fiske trained with her new equipment in preparation for her participation in the fall of 1953 in NATO Operation "Mariner," which took her north of the Arctic Circle. In 1954 she resumed her annual tours of duty in the Mediterranean, serving the carrier task forces of the 6th Fleet as radar picket. Her training operations when assigned to the 2d Fleet for duty in the western Atlantic and Caribbean included special work in development of antisubmarine warfare, and air defense. Homeported at Mayport, Fla., from August 1960, Fiske joined in NATO exercises north of the Arctic Circle in the fall of 1960, and at the close of the year, sailed for patrol duty in the Caribbean.

Fiske received two battle stars for Korean War service.

Published: Wed Jul 08 12:17:49 EDT 2015