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99-629: USS Sarsfield (DD-837) , was a Gearing -class destroyer of the United States Navy . She then served in Taiwan 's navy as ROCS Te Yang (DD-925) for 27 years, and now is a ship museum . Eugene S. Sarsfield was born on 19 April 1902 in Brooklyn, New York . He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1922. Upon his graduation on 3 June 1926, he was commissioned ensign and served on

198-621: A Mediterranean cruise from 27 July 1975 to 27 January 1976, and enjoyed port visits in Gibraltar, BCC, Barcelona, Valencia, Rota and Algeciras, Spain, Siracusa and Taormina, Sicily, Naples, Italy, Palma, Mallorca, as well as Athens, and after transiting the Bosporus and Dardanelles, steamed in company with USS  Belknap in the Black Sea. The year 1976 saw gunnery practice in Chesapeake Bay , and

297-514: A U.S. businessman John W. Simonton, during a meeting in a Havana café on January 19, 1822, for the equivalent of $ 2,000 in pesos in 1821. Geddes tried in vain to secure his rights to the property before Simonton who, with the aid of some influential friends in Washington, was able to gain clear title to the island. Simonton had wide-ranging business interests in Mobile, Alabama . He bought the island because

396-505: A five-day tender and leave period. On 18 November, she was ordered to rejoin John F. Kennedy for the voyage back to the United States. She arrived at Mayport on 1 December and spent the rest of 1973 in a standdown and leave status. She remained in port at Mayport, Florida until May 1974 at which time she resumed Atlantic seaboard operations. On 14 June 1974, in protest of perceived racism on

495-523: A friend, John Whitehead, had drawn his attention to the opportunities presented by the island's strategic location. John Whitehead had been stranded in Key West after a shipwreck in 1819 and he had been impressed by the potential offered by the deep harbor of the island. The island was indeed considered the " Gibraltar of the West" because of its strategic location on the 90-mile (140 km)–wide deep shipping lane,

594-569: A landfill at Trumbo Point for his railyards. The 1919 Florida Keys hurricane caused catastrophic damage to the area. On December 25, 1921, Manuel Cabeza was lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan for living with a black woman. Pan American Airlines was founded in Key West, originally to fly visitors to Havana, in 1926. The airline contracted with the United States Postal Service in 1927 to deliver mail to and from Cuba and

693-566: A museum ship to this day. Sarsfield earned one battle star for service in the Vietnam War . Gearing-class destroyer The Gearing class was a series of 98 destroyers built for the U.S. Navy during and shortly after World War II . The Gearing design was a minor modification of the Allen M. Sumner class , whereby the hull was lengthened by 14 ft (4.3 m) at amidships, which resulted in more fuel storage space and increased

792-460: A new radar system, Mark 32 torpedo tubes, DASH ASW drone, and variable depth sonar (VDS). Importantly, it did not include ASROC. FRAM II ships included six DDRs and six DDEs that retained their specialized equipment (1960–1961), as well as four DDRs that were converted to DDs and were nearly identical to the Allen M. Sumner class FRAM IIs (1962–1963). The FRAM II ships retained all six 5-inch guns, except

891-582: A shark cage. The earliest Key West neighborhoods, on the western part of the island, are broadly known as Old Town . The Key West Historic District includes the major tourist destinations of the island, including Mallory Square , Duval Street, the Truman Annex , and Fort Zachary Taylor . Old Town is where the classic bungalows and guest mansions are found. Bahama Village , southwest of Whitehead Street, features houses, churches, and sites related to its Afro-Bahamian history. The Meadows , lying northeast of

990-598: A short shipyard period in Charleston, South Carolina. Winter of 1976-1977 was the ship's last deployment to the Mediterranean as part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt task force. Port visits included Rota , Spain; Naples , Italy; Trapani , Sicily (helping the city recover from a flood); Kalamata , Greece (American-style hamburger cookout at the local orphanage at Christmas); Sfax , Tunisia; Palma and Morocco . She anchored off

1089-550: A target 14 July 1999. After the Gearing -class ships were retired from USN service, many were sold abroad, including over a dozen to the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) in Taiwan . These ships, along with Fletcher -class destroyers and Allen M. Sumner -class destroyers also acquired then, were upgraded under the Wu ;Chin ( Chinese : 武進 ) I, II, and III programs and known throughout

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1188-458: A total land area of 4.2 square miles (11 km ). Within Florida, it is 130 miles (210 km) southwest of Miami by air, about 165 miles (266 km) by road. Key West is approximately 95 miles (153 km) north of Cuba at their closest points, and 106 miles (171 km) north-northeast of Havana . The city of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County , which includes a majority of

1287-800: Is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) in length in its 14-block-long crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Straits of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. Key West is the southern terminus of U.S. Route 1  – the longest north–south road in the United States, as well as State Road A1A , the East Coast Greenway and, before 1935, the Florida East Coast Railway . Key West is a port of call for passenger cruise ships . The Key West International Airport provides airline service. Naval Air Station Key West

1386-404: Is an important year-round training site for naval aviation due to the tropical weather, which is also the reason Key West was chosen as the site of President Harry S. Truman 's Winter White House . The central business district is located along Duval Street and includes much of the northwestern corner of the island. At various times before the 19th century, people who were related or subject to

1485-402: Is said that the island was littered with the remains (bones) of prior native inhabitants, who used the isle as a communal graveyard. This island was the westernmost Key with a reliable supply of water. Between 1763, when Great Britain took control of Florida from Spain, and 1821, when the United States took possession of Florida from Spain, there were few or no permanent inhabitants anywhere in

1584-548: Is the main street in Key West and is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) in length in its 14-block-long crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Straits of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. Key West is closer to Havana (about 106 miles or 171 kilometers by air or sea) than it is to Miami (130 miles or 210 kilometers by air or 165 miles or 266 kilometers by road). Key West is the usual endpoint for marathon swims from Cuba, including Diana Nyad 's 2013 swim and Susie Maroney 's 1997 swim from within

1683-722: The Allen M. Sumner class's heavy torpedo armament of ten 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes in two quintuple mounts, firing the Mark 15 torpedo . As the threat from kamikaze aircraft mounted in 1945, and with few remaining Japanese warships to use torpedoes on, most of the class had the aft quintuple 21-inch tube mounts replaced by an additional 40 mm quadruple mount (prior to completion on later ships) for 16 total 40 mm guns. Twenty-four ships (DD-742, DD743, 805-808, 829, 831-835, and 874-883) were ordered without torpedo tubes to allow for radar picket equipment; these were redesignated as DDRs in 1948. Following World War II most of

1782-496: The Bath Iron Works Co., Bath, Maine , and launched on 27 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Eugene S. Sarsfield. The ship was commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard on 31 July 1945. After the ship's fitting-out was complete, she sailed on 24 August, for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba , and shakedown training. She returned to Boston on 30 September and, after post-shakedown alterations, got underway, on 25 October, for New York City and

1881-635: The Bay of Biscay and in the North Sea . On 10 October, she entered the Firth of Forth and, the next day, berthed at Edinburgh , Scotland . Two days later, at the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War , she departed Scotland to reenter the Mediterranean with the carrier John F. Kennedy and sped to the eastern end of that sea. After more than a month of uncertainty, Sarsfield put into Athens , Greece , on 14 November for

1980-512: The Calusa and the Tequesta inhabited Key West. The last Native American residents of Key West were Calusa refugees who were taken to Cuba when Florida was transferred from Spain to Great Britain in 1763. Cayo Hueso ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaʝo ˈweso] ) is the original Spanish name for the island of Key West. It literally means "bone cay", cay referring to a low island or reef. It

2079-521: The Dry Tortugas , served after the Civil War as the prison for Samuel A. Mudd , convicted of conspiracy for setting the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth , the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln . In the 19th century, major industries included wrecking , fishing , turtling , and salt manufacturing. From 1830 to 1861, Key West was a major center of U.S. salt production, harvesting the commodity from

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2178-612: The Gearing class were too small to accommodate. An upgraded version of DASH, QH-50D, remained in use by the United States Army until May 2006. FRAM I "A" Ships: (First 8 conversions) Removal of aft twin 5-inch gun mount (Mount 53). Group A ships also received two MK10/11 Hedgehogs fitted on each side of the bridge at the 01 level and had the MK-32 triple torpedo launchers aft of the second stack. FRAM I "B" Ships (remainder of conversions): Kept their forward 5-inch mount (Mount 51), lost

2277-678: The Gearing class's armament was identical to that on the Allen M. Sumner class. Three twin 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber Mark 38 dual purpose (DP) mounts constituted the main battery. The 5-inch guns were guided by a Mark 37 Gun Fire Control System with a Mark 25 fire control radar linked by a Mark 1A Fire Control Computer stabilized by a Mark 6 8,500 rpm gyro. This fire control system provided effective long-range anti-aircraft (AA) or anti-surface fire. Twelve 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors guns in two quad and two twin mounts and 11 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons in single mounts were also equipped. The initial design retained

2376-516: The Navy Day celebration. Following her stay at New York, she participated in training exercises in the Chesapeake Bay - Virginia Capes area until 13 December, when she entered the Brooklyn Navy Yard for installation of some experimental equipment. On 1 February 1946, Sarsfield sailed from New York bound for Key West , Florida . She arrived in Key West on 4 February to begin two decades with

2475-833: The Norfolk Navy Yard . On 6 February 1958, she joined units of Escort Squadron 14 at Charleston, South Carolina, for antisubmarine exercises. Following a cruise as plane guard to the aircraft carrier Leyte in early 1958, she returned to the Operational Development Force at Key West on 15 February. In the fall of 1958, Sarsfield entered Charleston Naval Shipyard for another overhaul. She departed Charleston on 5 January 1959 and conducted five weeks of refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after which she returned to Key West and further experimental work. This employment, testing antisubmarine detection and destruction devices, continued until January 1961, when she

2574-685: The Operational Development Force located there. Attached to the Surface Antisubmarine Development Detachment , Atlantic Fleet , she participated in the testing and evaluation of new weapons and equipment and made periodic training cruises in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Mexico . In 1950, the ship helped the new Eastern Test Range out of Cape Canaveral test two U.S. Army Bumpers , which were German V-2 rockets modified to carry an upper stage. Sarsfield

2673-607: The Panama Canal , she arrived in Subic Bay , Philippines , on 11 May. Throughout the summer, Sarsfield plied the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin , first as plane guard for the carrier Saratoga , then, patrolling off Hainan Island . She also participated in shore bombardment missions. She departed the gunline on 12 September; stopped at Hong Kong for six days of liberty (15 to 21 September) and at Yokosuka , Japan , for four days (25 to 29 September); and then, got underway to return to

2772-560: The Republic of China Navy as ROCS Te Yang (DD-925) . Arrived in Taiwan in January 1978, via the Panama Canal , Long Causeway Port , Pearl Harbor , Midway Island , Guam , etc about 13,000 nautical miles. In addition to serving as a Taiwan Strait escort and excellent performance in various exercises, she also participated in the Sino-US anti-submarine exercise and Dun Muyuan. In December 1989,

2871-599: The Southernmost House and the Fogarty Mansion , built by the children of William Curry—his daughter Florida and son Charles, respectively. In addition to architecture, Old Town includes the Key West Cemetery , founded in 1847, containing above-ground tombs, notable epitaphs, and a plot where some of the dead from the 1898 explosion of USS  Maine are buried. The Casa Marina area takes its name from

2970-644: The Spanish governor of Cuba in Havana deeded the island of Key West to Juan Pablo Salas, an officer of the Royal Spanish Navy Artillery posted in Saint Augustine, Florida . After Florida was transferred to the United States in 1821, Salas was so eager to sell the island that he sold it twice – first for a sloop valued at $ 575 to a General John Geddes , a former governor of South Carolina , and then to

3069-607: The Straits of Florida , between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico . On March 25, 1822, Lt. Commander Matthew C. Perry sailed the schooner USS  Shark to Key West and planted the U.S. flag, claiming the Keys as United States property. No protests were made over the American claim on Key West, so the Florida Keys became the de facto property of the United States. After claiming

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3168-410: The Straits of Florida . The island is about 4 miles (6 km) long and 1 mile (2 km) wide, with a total land area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km ; 2,688.0 acres). The average elevation above sea level is about 8 feet (2.4 m) and the maximum elevation is about 18 feet (5.5 m), within a 1-acre (0-hectare) area known as Solares Hill . The city of Key West is the southernmost city in

3267-593: The USS ; Nevada , USS  New York , and USS  Hannibal , before receiving submarine instruction in 1929 and torpedo training in 1930. During the next four years, he served successively on USS  Greer , USS  Argonne , and USS Constitution . Following duty with the 3d Naval District , he joined USS  Badger in July 1935, and returned to New York in September 1937. He instructed naval reservists in

3366-569: The Vinson–Trammell Act : 114 vessels were authorized on 19 July 1943 under the 70% Expansion Act: (Of the missing numbers in this sequence - 722 to 741, 744 to 762, 770 to 781, and 857 were allocated to orders for Allen M. Sumner -class destroyers ; 792 to 804 were awarded to orders for Fletcher -class destroyers .) In March 1945, the orders for 36 of the above vessels were cancelled, and 11 more orders were cancelled in August 1945. Following

3465-679: The White Street Gallery District , is exclusively residential. Many of the structures in Old Town date from 1886 to 1912. The basic features that distinguish the local architecture include wood-frame construction of one- to two-and-a-half-story structures set on foundation piers about three feet (one meter) above the ground. Exterior characteristics of the buildings are peaked metal roofs, horizontal wood siding, gingerbread trim , pastel shades of paint, side-hinged louvered shutters, covered porches (or balconies, galleries, or verandas) along

3564-495: The contiguous United States , and the island is the westernmost island connected by highway in the Florida Keys . The city boundaries include the island of Key West and several nearby islands, as well as the section of Stock Island north of U.S. Route 1 , on the adjacent key to the east. The total land area of the city is 5.6 square miles (15 km ), with an additional 1.6 square miles (4.1 km ) of surrounding water within

3663-545: The 1830s, Key West was the richest city per capita in the United States. In 1846, the city suffered severely from the 1846 Havana hurricane . In 1852 the first Catholic Church, St. Mary's Star-Of-The-Sea, was built. The year 1864 became a landmark for the church in South Florida when five Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary arrived from Montreal, Canada, and established the first Catholic school in South Florida. At

3762-523: The 1860s and 1870s), many Cubans sought refuge in Key West. Several cigar factories relocated to the city from Cuba, and Key West quickly became a major producer of cigars. The Great Fire of Key West , on April 1, 1886, started at a coffee shop next to the San Carlos Institute and spread out of control, destroyed 18 cigar factories and 614 houses and government warehouses. Some factory owners chose not to rebuild and instead moved their operations to

3861-535: The 3d Naval District for two years before reporting to USS  Kearny on 10 June 1940 to serve as executive officer and navigator. He was commended by the Secretary of the Navy , Frank Knox , for "Leadership, personal courage and ingenuity in solving the many problems arising under adverse conditions" when Kearny was torpedoed off Iceland on 17 October 1941. Given command of USS  McCormick on 8 December 1941, he

3960-519: The British and Spanish periods no nation exercised de facto control. The Bahamians apparently set up camps in the Keys that were occupied for months at a time, and there were rumors of permanent settlements in the Keys by 1806 or 1807, but the locations are not known. Fishermen from New England started visiting the Keys after the end of the War of 1812 , and may have briefly settled on Key Vaca in 1818. In 1815,

4059-622: The Civil War. Another landmark built by the federal government is the Key West Lighthouse , now a museum. Two of the most notable buildings in Old Town , occupied by prominent 20th-century residents, are the Ernest Hemingway House , where the writer lived from 1931 to 1939, and the Harry S. Truman Little White House , where the president spent 175 days of his time in office. Additionally,

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4158-510: The Conch Republic Independence Celebration—including parades and parties—is celebrated annually, on April 23. In 1998, Hurricane Georges damaged the city. In 2017, Hurricane Irma caused substantial damage with wind and flooding, killing three people. Key West is an island located at 24°33′55″N 81°46′33″W  /  24.565176°N 81.775794°W  / 24.565176; -81.775794 in

4257-608: The DDEs retained four 5-inch guns and a trainable Hedgehog in the No. 2 position. All FRAM IIs retained two Hedgehogs alongside either the No. 2 5-inch mount or the trainable Hedgehog mount. The four DDRs converted to DDs were armed with two new 21-inch torpedo tubes for the Mk. 37 ASW homing torpedo. Photographs of the six retained DDRs show no markings on the DASH landing deck, as well as a much smaller deckhouse than

4356-579: The FRAM II ships were disposed of in 1969–1974. With ASROC continuing to provide a standoff ASW capability, the Gearing FRAM Is were retained in service for several years, with most being decommissioned and transferred to foreign navies 1973–1980. They were replaced as ASW ships by the Spruance -class destroyers , which were commissioned 1975–1983. These had the same ASW armament as a Gearing FRAM destroyer, with

4455-465: The Florida Keys and part of the Everglades . The total land area of the city is 5.6 square miles (14.5 km ). The population within the city limits was 26,444 at the 2020 census . The official city motto is "One Human Family". Key West is the southernmost city in the contiguous United States and the westernmost island connected by highway in the Florida Keys . Duval Street , its main street,

4554-715: The Florida Keys for the United States, Perry renamed Cayo Hueso (Key West) to Thompson's Island for Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson , and the harbor Port Rodgers in honor of War of 1812 hero and President of the Navy Supervisors Board John Rodgers . In 1823, Commodore David Porter of the United States Navy West Indies Anti- Pirate Squadron took charge of Key West, which he ruled as military dictator under martial law . The United States Navy gave Porter

4653-503: The Florida Keys. Cubans and Bahamians regularly visited the Keys, the Cubans primarily to fish, while the Bahamians fished, caught turtles, cut hardwood timber, and salvaged wrecks. Smugglers and privateers also used the Keys for concealment. In 1766 the British governor of East Florida recommended that a post be set up on Key West to improve control of the area, but nothing came of it. During both

4752-466: The Mk 32 torpedo tubes and ASROC launched Mk. 44 homing ASW torpedoes . ASROC could also launch a nuclear depth charge . On 11 May 1962, Agerholm tested a live nuclear ASROC in the " Swordfish " test. In Navy slang, the modified destroyers were called "FRAM cans", "can" being a contraction of "tin can", the slang term for a destroyer or destroyer escort. The Gyrodyne QH-50C DASH was an unmanned anti-submarine helicopter, controlled remotely from

4851-441: The Navy investigation into the blast occurred at the Key West Customs House. In October 1909, Key West was devastated by the 1909 Florida Keys hurricane . Further damage was suffered the following year in the 1910 Cuba hurricane . Key West was relatively isolated until 1912, when it was connected to the Florida mainland via the Overseas Railway extension of Henry M. Flagler 's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). Flagler created

4950-768: The ROCN as the Yang-class ( Chinese : 陽字號 ) destroyers as they were assigned names that all end with the word "Yang". The last batch of 7 WC-III program vessels, all of them Gearing class, were retired in the early 2000s. Under the most advanced Wu Chin III upgrade program, all World War II vintage weapons were removed and replaced with four Hsiung Feng II surface-to-surface missiles, ten SM-1 (box launchers), one 8-cell ASROC, one 76 mm (3 in) Otobreda gun , two Bofors 40 mm AA, one 20 mm Phalanx CIWS and two triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes . The DASH ASW drones were not acquired, but hangar facilities aboard those ships that had them were later used to accommodate of MD 500/ASW helicopters . After

5049-453: The United States. She entered San Diego on 13 October, transited the Panama Canal on 21 October, and reentered Mayport on 25 October. Upon her return, she resumed local operations out of Mayport. This employment continued until 29 May 1973, when she weighed anchor to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. She sailed with the 6th Fleet until 22 September, when she passed through the Straits of Gibraltar to join NATO units in exercises in

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5148-434: The United States. The mail route was known as the Key West, Florida – Havana Mail Route . The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed much of the Overseas Railway and killed hundreds of residents, including around 400 World War I veterans who were living in camps and working on federal road and mosquito-control projects in the Middle Keys. The FEC could not afford to restore the railroad. The U.S. government then rebuilt

5247-402: The Virginia Capes and in the Caribbean. In July 1968, she deployed to the Middle East . She called at many exotic ports on her voyage along the coasts of Africa and the Indian Ocean littoral. While on this tour of duty , Sarsfield also had the unique opportunity to participate in a spontaneous exercise with units of the Imperial Ethiopian Navy and the French Air Force . By 30 December, she

5346-440: The Wu-Chin III modification project was carried out, which was later changed from DD-925 to DDG-925, which means missile destroyer. In December 1994, the Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile was installed. In October 1997, she was incorporated into the 131 fleet. Te Yang was decommissioned on 1 April 2005 at Kaohsiung , Taiwan . On 22 January 2009, the ship was towed to the Anping Port in Tainan City to be preserved as

5445-439: The Yang-class destroyers were decommissioned, the SM-1 launch boxes were moved to Chi Yang -class frigates to improve their anti-air capability. DDR-878 Five Gearing -class destroyers are preserved as museum ships: two in the United States, one in South Korea, one in Taiwan, and one in Turkey. The ROKS Jeon Buk (DD-916) (formerly the USS  Everett F. Larson ) was scrapped in December 2021, leaving five survivors out of

5544-449: The addition of improved sonar and a piloted helicopter, initially the Kaman SH-2 Seasprite , and from 1984, the Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk . Some Gearing s served in the Naval Reserve Force (NRF) from 1973, remaining in commission with a partial active crew to provide training for Naval reservists. The last Gearing -class destroyer in US naval service was William C. Lawe , a FRAM I, decommissioned and struck 1 October 1983, and expended as

5643-429: The city limits. Sigsbee Park —originally known as Dredgers Key—and Fleming Key , both located to the north, and Sunset Key located to the west are all included in the city boundaries. Both Fleming Key and Sigsbee Park are part of Naval Air Station Key West and are inaccessible to the general public. In the late 1950s, many of the large salt ponds on the eastern side of the island were filled in. The new section on

5742-418: The class had their AA and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) armament upgraded. The 40 mm and 20 mm guns were replaced by two to six 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber guns in up to two twin and two single mountings. One depth charge rack was removed and two Hedgehog ASW mortar mounts added. The K-guns were retained. Nine additional (for a total of 35) ships were converted to radar picket destroyers (DDR) in

5841-431: The close of World War II , 7 further vessels were cancelled in 1946: The first ship was laid down in August 1944, while the last was launched in March 1946. In that time the United States produced 98 Gearing -class destroyers. The Gearing class was a seemingly minor improvement of the Allen M. Sumner class, built from 1943 until 1945. The main differences were that the Gearing s were 14 ft (4.3 m) longer in

5940-434: The coast of Egypt with dozens of Russian ships and monitored Russian submarine operations; as well as extensive operations as part of Roosevelt ' s group. On return to the United States, many Taiwanese sailors joined the crew to learn ship operations before Sarsfield was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1977. On the same day she was transferred to the Republic of China (Taiwan). The ship served in

6039-452: The coast of Africa. In August, she entered Boston Naval Shipyard for almost a year of Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization overhaul. Before leaving Boston, in June 1963, she received several new weapons systems, including ASROC , DASH , long-range, distant air search radar, and long-range sonar. From Boston, she sailed to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training, then, to Charleston for another six months of weapons and sonar modifications. At

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6138-406: The completion of these latest alterations, she cruised the Caribbean and then returned to Key West and the Operational Test and Evaluation Detachment. This employment continued until 1966. On 15 July, she again commenced overhaul, including still more sonar and radar changes. The overhaul was completed on 30 January 1967, and by 7 February, she was back in Key West. Sarsfield spent the remainder of

6237-401: The completion of this exercise, during which she visited ports in all the countries named, Sarsfield returned to Mayport to prepare for overhaul. From January to June 1970, she was at Charleston, South Carolina, undergoing overhaul. In June, she commenced eight weeks of refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay, and upon completing it, returned to local operations out of Mayport for the rest of

6336-434: The destroyer made contact with the submerged enemy submarine and delivered two accurate depth charge attacks. The submarine was damaged by the first attack, and after the second attack, appeared briefly on the surface upside down. On 10 July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily , Maddox was steaming alone in support of the assault at Gela , and was attacked by a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bomber of KG 54 . The ship

6435-443: The early 1950s; these typically received only one 3-inch twin mount to save weight for radar equipment, as did the wartime radar pickets. Nine ships were converted to escort destroyers (DDE), emphasizing ASW. Carpenter was the most thorough DDE conversion, with 4 3-inch/70 caliber guns in twin enclosed mounts, two Weapon Alpha launchers, four new 21-inch torpedo tubes for the Mark 37 ASW torpedo , and one depth charge rack. In

6534-493: The eastern side is called New Town, which contains shopping centers, retail malls, residential areas, schools, ball parks , and Key West International Airport . Key West and most of the rest of the Florida Keys are on the dividing line between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico . The two bodies have different currents, with the calmer and warmer Gulf of Mexico being characterized by great clumps of seagrass . The shallow passage known as Hawk Channel lies directly south of

6633-478: The fronts of the structures, and wood lattice screens covering the area elevated by the piers. Some antebellum structures survive, including the Oldest (or Cussans-Watlington) House (1829–1836) and the John Huling Geiger House (1846–1849), now preserved as the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens . Fortifications such as Fort Zachary Taylor , the East Martello Tower, and the West Martello Tower , helped ensure that Key West would remain in Union control throughout

6732-424: The island and is conducive to the exchange of Gulf waters to the Atlantic via tidal currents. The area where the two bodies merge between Key West and Cuba is called the Straits of Florida. The warmest ocean waters anywhere on the United States mainland are found in the Florida Keys in winter, with sea surface temperatures averaging in the 75–77 °F (24–25 °C) range in December through February. Duval Street

6831-485: The larger fort. When completed, they were connected to Fort Taylor by railroad tracks for movement of munitions. Early in 1864, 900 men from the 2nd United States Colored Troops (USCT) arrived in Key West as replacements for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Many of these men would see action in southern Florida and the 2nd USCT would become "one of the most active" black regiments in Florida. Fort Jefferson , located about 68 miles (109 km) from Key West on Garden Key in

6930-497: The late 1950s and early 1960s, 79 of the Gearing -class destroyers underwent extensive modernization overhauls, known as FRAM I , which were designed under project SCB 206 to convert them from an anti-aircraft destroyer to an anti-submarine warfare platform. FRAM I removed all of the DDR and DDE equipment, and these ships were redesignated as DDs. FRAM I and FRAM II conversions were completed 1960–1965. Eventually all but three Gearing s received FRAM conversions. The FRAM I program

7029-404: The longest-serving governor in Florida's U.S. history. William Whitehead became chief editorial writer for the Enquirer , a local newspaper, in 1834. He preserved copies of his newspaper as well as copies from the Key West Gazette , its predecessor. He later sent those copies to the Monroe County clerk for preservation, which gives us a view of life in Key West in the early days (1820–1840). In

7128-548: The mainland at Florida City . A traffic jam of 17 miles (27 km) ensued while the Border Patrol stopped every car leaving the Keys, supposedly searching for illegal immigrants attempting to enter the mainland United States. This paralyzed the Florida Keys, which rely heavily on the tourism industry. Flags, T-shirts and other merchandise representing the Conch Republic are still popular souvenirs for visitors to Key West, and

7227-596: The midship section, allowing for increased fuel tankage for greater range, an important consideration in Pacific War . More importantly in the long run, the increased size of the Gearing s made them much more suitable for upgrades than the Allen M. Sumner s, as seen in the wartime radar picket subclass, the 1950s radar picket destroyer (DDR) and escort destroyer (DDE) conversions, and the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) conversions 1960-1965. As designed,

7326-458: The mission of countering piracy and the slave trade in the Key West area. Soon after his purchase, John Simonton subdivided the island into plots and sold three undivided quarters of each plot to: Simonton spent the winter in Key West and the summer in Washington, where he lobbied hard for the development of the island and to establish a naval base on the island, both to take advantage of the island's strategic location and to bring law and order to

7425-566: The month engaged in refresher training out of Guantanamo Bay. In April, she joined the aircraft carrier Forrestal for antisubmarine warfare exercises, then returned to Key West on 1 May to operate with the Fleet Sonar School . June and July were occupied by fleet exercises and NATO exercise Lashout . On 21 September, Sarsfield departed Key West for the Mediterranean , and on 17 December, returned home. In early 1968, she operated off

7524-571: The new community of Ybor City in Tampa , leading to a slow decline in the cigar industry in Key West. Still, Key West remained the largest and wealthiest city in Florida at the end of the 1880s. USS  Maine sailed from Key West on her fateful visit to Havana, where she blew up and sank in Havana Harbor , igniting the Spanish–American War . Crewmen from the ship are buried in Key West, and

7623-460: The ninety eight ships built. Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida , within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key , Fleming Key , Sunset Key , and the northern part of Stock Island , it constitutes the City of Key West . The island of Key West is about 4 miles (6 kilometers) long and 1 mile (2 km) wide, with

7722-469: The operating range. The first Gearings were not ready for service until mid-1945 and saw little service in World War II. They continued serving, with a series of upgrades, until the 1970s. At that time many were sold to other nations, where they served many more years. 31 vessels were authorized on 9 July 1942: 4 vessels were authorized on 13 May 1942: 3 vessels were authorized on 27 March 1943 under

7821-578: The part of the command, nearly all of the ship's minority sailors occupied the fantail and refused orders to handle lines while Sarsfield was attempting a difficult mooring in an off-setting wind at the Charleston Naval Station. After being surrounded by the ship's Master-at-Arms force and being individually ordered by the Executive Officer, most of the demonstrating sailors returned to their quarters. Seven of them, however, refused to leave

7920-676: The quarterdeck despite direct orders to do so, and eventually left the ship without authority to do so. The seven sailors were eventually apprehended and originally charged with, among other things, mutiny. They were all eventually convicted of lesser charges in a joint General Courts Martial at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. In the fall of 1974, Sarsfield departed Mayport, Florida to participate in Northern Merger with NATO units, and enjoyed port visits in Plymouth, England and Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as Lubeck, West Germany. Sarsfield deployed on

8019-595: The rail route as an automobile highway, completed in 1938, built atop many of the footings of the railroad. It became an extension of U.S. Route 1 . The portion of U.S. 1 through the Keys is called the Overseas Highway . Franklin Roosevelt toured the road in 1939. During World War II , more than 14,000 ships came through the island's harbor. The population, because of an influx of soldiers, sailors, laborers, and tourists, sometimes doubled or even tripled at times during

8118-711: The residences of some historical Key West families are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places as important landmarks of history and culture, including the Porter House on Caroline Street and the Gato House on Virginia Street. Several historical residences of the Curry family remain extant, including the Benjamin Curry House, built by the brother of Florida's first millionaire, William Curry, as well as

8217-561: The sea (via receding tidal pools) rather than from salt mines. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Union troops shut down the salt industry after Confederate sympathizers smuggled the product into the South. Salt production resumed at the end of the war, but the industry was destroyed by an 1876 hurricane and never recovered, in part because of new salt mines on the mainland. During the Ten Years' War (an unsuccessful Cuban war for independence in

8316-508: The second mount (Mount 52) and kept their aft 5-inch mount (Mount 53). In place of mount 52, a practice 5-inch reloading machine was installed with the MK-32 triple torpedo launchers aft of the loader. Group B ships also received greater ASROC and torpedo storage areas next to the port side of the DASH hangar. The FRAM II program was designed primarily for the Allen M. Sumner class destroyer, but sixteen Gearing s were upgraded as well. This upgrade program included life-extension refurbishment,

8415-510: The ship. The drone could carry two Mark 44 homing ASW torpedoes. During this era the ASROC system had an effective range of only 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi), but the DASH drone allowed the ship to deploy ASW attack to sonar contacts as far as 22 nmi (41 km; 25 mi) away. However, DASH proved unreliable in shipboard service, with over half of the USN's 746 drones lost at sea. This

8514-670: The time it was called Convent of Mary Immaculate. The school is still operating today and is now known as Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea School. During the American Civil War , while Florida seceded and joined the Confederate States of America , Key West remained in U.S. Union hands because of the naval base. Most locals were sympathetic to the Confederacy, however, and many flew Confederate flags over their homes. However, Key West

8613-465: The town. He died in 1854. The names of the four "founding fathers" of modern Key West were given to main arteries of the island when it was first platted in 1829 by William Adee Whitehead , John Whitehead's younger brother. That first plat and the names used remained mostly intact and are still in use today. Duval Street, the island's main street, is named after Florida's first territorial governor, William Pope Duval , who served between 1822 and 1834 as

8712-592: The war. Starting in 1946, US President Harry S. Truman established a working vacation home in Key West, the Harry S. Truman Little White House , where he would spend 175 days of his presidency. In 1948, Key West suffered damage from two hurricanes within as many months, from the September 1948 Florida hurricane then the 1948 Miami hurricane . Prior to the Cuban revolution of 1959, there were regular ferry and airplane services between Key West and Havana. John F. Kennedy

8811-809: The year. In January 1971, Sarsfield again deployed to the Middle East, entering the Indian Ocean in February. Tensions were rising in the region; the Bangladesh Liberation War broke out in March and led to the war between India and Pakistan in December. By 29 June, she was back at Mayport and resumed normal operations for the rest of 1971 and for the first three months of 1972. On 13 April 1972, she got underway for an entirely different deployment. Proceeding via

8910-486: Was also home to a large free black population. This population grew during the war as more enslaved black people fled from their masters and came under the relative safety of the Union garrison there. Fort Zachary Taylor , constructed from 1845 to 1866, was an important Key West outpost during the Civil War. Construction began in 1861 on two other forts, East and West Martello Towers, which served as side armories and batteries for

9009-607: Was an extensive conversion for the Gearing -class destroyers. This upgrade included rebuilding the ship's superstructure, electronic systems, radar, sonar, and weapons. The second twin 5-inch gun mount and all previous AA guns and ASW equipment were removed. On several ships the two forward 5-inch mounts remained and the aft 5-inch mount was removed. Upgraded systems included SQS-23 sonar, SPS-10 surface search radar, two triple Mark 32 torpedo tubes , an 8-cell Anti-Submarine Rocket ( ASROC ) box launcher, and one QH-50C DASH ASW drone helicopter, with its own landing pad and hangar . Both

9108-524: Was deployed, with shore bombardment responsibilities, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Later that year, in June, Caribbean unrest again required the Navy to deploy ships. Sarsfield cruised off the coast of Hispaniola . In September 1961, Sarsfield took station in the Atlantic as a recovery ship for Project Mercury , the manned space flight program. In January 1962, she again took station for Project Mercury, this time off

9207-447: Was detached on 3 October 1942 to supervise the outfitting of the USS  Maddox and he assumed command of that destroyer at its commissioning on 3 October 1942. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct as commanding officer of Maddox when she attacked and probably sank an enemy submarine on 6 May 1943. While acting as an escort for an Atlantic convoy ,

9306-466: Was gravely damaged by one direct hit and two near misses. Lieutenant Commander Sarsfield remained on board supervising the abandonment of the rapidly sinking ship and helped greatly to save the lives of 9 officers and 65 men of the 284 on board. He was reported missing and officially presumed dead on the next day. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross . Sarsfield was laid down on 15 January 1945 by

9405-534: Was possibly due to inadequate maintenance support, as other services had few difficulties with DASH. By 1970, DASH had been withdrawn from FRAM I ships, though it was retained into the early 1970s on FRAM II ships, which lacked ASROC. A limitation of drones in ASW was the need to re-acquire the target at ranges beyond the effectiveness of the controlling ship's sonar. This led to shift to the LAMPS program of manned helicopters, which

9504-839: Was stationed a mile or two from shore for the first, 48-mile Bumper launch, and tracked it with its Mk.25 fire director, which provided radar and optical tracking. In addition to the work she did for the Operational Development Force, Sarsfield also served the Naval Mine Countermeasures Station at Panama City, Florida , from 9 to 14 February 1947; conducted operations for the Underwater Sound Laboratory at New London, Connecticut , from 3 September 1953 until 18 October 1954; and operated out of Newport, Rhode Island , between 8 July and 4 August 1955. In 1956, she embarked VIPs for antisubmarine warfare demonstrations out of Key West, and in 1957, underwent overhaul at

9603-590: Was to use "90 miles from Cuba" extensively in his speeches against Fidel Castro . Kennedy himself visited Key West a month after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis . In 1982, the city of Key West briefly asserted independence as the Conch Republic as a protest over a United States Border Patrol blockade . This blockade was set up on US 1 , where the northern end of the Overseas Highway meets

9702-587: Was underway for the Western Hemisphere, and on 10 January 1969, arrived in Mayport, Florida . Sarsfield remained in the Western Hemisphere for all of 1969 and 1970. During the first seven months of 1969, she resumed Caribbean and Atlantic operations. On 28 July, she commenced UNITAS X, an exercise involving elements of the United States, Brazilian , Argentine, Colombian , Chilean , Ecuadorian , Peruvian , Venezuelan , and Uruguayan navies. In December, upon

9801-412: Was usually provided for DASH, so they may not have been equipped with DASH. Many of the Gearing s provided significant gunfire support in the Vietnam War . They also served as escorts for Carrier Battle Groups ( carrier strike groups from 2004) and Amphibious Ready Groups ( Expeditionary Strike Groups from 2006). DASH was withdrawn from ASW service in 1969, due to poor reliability. Lacking ASROC,

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