USS Semmes (DDG 18)

- decommissioned -

USS SEMMES - the second ship in the Navy to bear the name - was the 17th ship in the CHARLES F. ADAMS - class of guided missile destroyers and was homeported in Charleston, SC.

USS SEMMES was stricken from the navy list on September 13, 1991, and was given to Greece the same day. There, SEMMES was renamed KIMON and is still in service.

General Characteristics:	Awarded: July 21, 1959
	Keel laid: August 15, 1960
	Launched: May 20, 1961
	Commissioned: December 10, 1962
	Decommissioned: September 12, 1991
	Builder: Avondale Shipyards, Inc., New Orleans, La
	Propulsion system:4 - 1200 psi boilers; 2 geared turbines
	Propellers: two
	Length: 437 feet (133.2 meters)
	Beam: 47 feet (14.3 meters)
	Draft: 20 feet (6.1 meters)
	Displacement: approx. 4,500 tons
	Speed: 31+ knots
	Aircraft:none
	Armament: two Mk 42 5-inch/54 caliber guns, Mk 46 torpedoes from two Mk-32 triple mounts, one Mk 16 ASROC Missile Launcher, one Mk 13 Mod.0 Missile Launcher for Standard (MR) and Harpoon Missiles
	Crew: 24 officers and 330 enlisted

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS SEMMES. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

Click here to view the list.

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Click here to see which USS SEMMES memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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Accidents aboard USS SEMMES:

Date	Where	Events
February 10, 1970	Naples Harbor, Italy	USS SEMMES is heavily damaged and USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DD 823), USS CHARLES F. ADAMS (DDG 2) and USS YELLOWSTONE (AD 27) are slightly damaged when a Greek freighter sideswipes the four ships in Naples Harbor, Italy.

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About the Ship's Name:

A naval hero for all the South, Raphael Semmes (1809-1877) sailed two famous Confederate raiders. He outfitted CSS SUMTER in 1861 and captured 18 Union merchant ships in six months before the raider was blockaded at Gibraltar. Next he took command of CSS ALABAMA, an English-built raider, and terrorized U.S. merchant vessels on the high seas from August 1862 until the raider was sunk by USS KEARSARGE in a sea battle off Cherbourg in June 1864. During that two-year period, Semmes captured more enemy merchant ships than had any other cruiser captain in maritime history. He is considered one of the greatest ship's commanders that America has produced.

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USS SEMMES Image Gallery:

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