USS Ingersoll (DD-990)

The USS Ingersoll was the second U.S. naval vessel to bear the name and one of the last Spruance-class destroyers to be built. Her keel was laid down at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The vessel was launched on 10 March 1979 and she was commissioned on 12 April 1980 under the command of Cmdr. E. R. Fickenscher III.

About the Spruance Class

The Spruance-type vessel was the first of the fifth-generation steel destroyers of the U.S. Navy. The fourth generation, which began with the Fletcher-class and ended with the Charles Adams-class, was designed primarily for surface combat during the Second World War. The Cold War, however, shifted naval tactics. The main role for destroyers involved anti-submarine (ASW) and surface-to-air combat. The Spruance design was a reflection of this shift. While many of the older destroyers underwent costly conversions during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Spruance was the first designed to be primarily an ASW vessel.

The Ingersoll

Initially, the Ingersoll was based out of San Diego. The Ingersoll was first deployed to the Far East on 20 August 1981. During this tour, she also carried out operations in the Gulf of Oman and around the Arabian Peninsula, returning home the following March.

She continued her pattern of six-month deployments to the Far East and Indian Ocean followed by year-long periods of operations out of her home port for the next several years. She went into the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for her first overhaul in mid-March 1986. The work was completed in February of 1987 and she was transferred to Pearl Harbor in April of that year.

The following year was marked by her fourth Far East deployment, which included visits to Inchon, Korea for the Olympic Games and Australia for the occasion of that country's bicentennial. In April 1989, the Ingersoll hosted the first official visit of a naval ship of the People's Republic of China to a U.S. port when the Zheng dropped anchor at Pearl.

The 1990s

During Ingersoll's fifth overseas deployment, she escorted merchant ships through the Straits of Hormuz, then visited Oman for the sesquicentennial of the first Arabian diplomatic visit to the U.S. in 1840. In the summer of 1991, she took part in Operation Top Spin, during which she captured the vessel of a drug runner, seizing over 100 tons of hashish.

During the summer of 1992, the Ingersoll was involved in a collision with a Japanese merchantman, the MV Matsumi Maru. Between 15 January 1993 and 29 March 1994, the Ingersoll underwent a "restricted" overhaul. Ingersoll would make three more trips to western Asia over the next six years, participating in joint operations with the Indian Navy (Operation Malarak) and conducting routine patrols in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula. Between 3 and 8 December 1995, she was the host of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition.

The Ingersoll's last mission was Operation Iron Siren 98 during the spring of 1998. Ingersoll was decommissioned on 24 July 1998 and berthed with the Inactive Ship Fleet at Pearl Harbor for five years before being scuttled in a target exercise on 30 July 2003.

Asbestos Risks

The fibrous mineral asbestos was routinely employed for compartment insulation and as fire control in every U.S. Navy ship through the 1960s. Although the Ingersoll was launched in 1979, there still remains a risk for asbestos exposure as the mineral was still being used. If you were exposed to asbestos and have contracted mesothelioma as a result of serving on the Ingersoll or any other vessel, you may have legal options for compensation. For more information, please fill out the request form at the top, right corner of this page to receive a free informational packet.

Sources

Destroyers Index