Guided Missile Destroyer
DLG 15 / DDG 46 - USS Preble
Type, Class:		Guided Missile Destroyer; Farragut (Coontz) - class; planned as DL 15; built and commissioned as DLG 15; redesignated to DDG 46;
Builder:		Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, USA
STATUS:		Awarded: October 26, 1956 Laid down: December 16, 1957 (as DLG 15) Launched: May 23, 1959 Commissioned: May 9, 1960 redesignated to DDG 46: June 30, 1975 Decommissioned: November 15, 1991 Fate: stricken November 20, 1992; sold for scrap April 15, 1994 / repossessed October 1, 1996, scrapping 0% completed; Sold again for scrap to Metro Machine, Philadelphia - March 20, 2002; scrapping completed - February 10, 2003;
Homeport:		-
Namesake:		Named after and in honor of Commodore Edward Preble (1761 - 1807) > see history, below;
Ship’s Motto:		-
Technical Data: (Measures, Propulsion, Armament, Aviation, etc.)		see: INFO > Farragut (Coontz) - class Guided Missile Destroyer see also: USS Preble (DDG 88)
ship images
Edward Preble
Namesake & History:
Commodore Edward Preble (August 15, 1761 – August 25, 1807):
Edward Preble was born at Falmouth, Maine on August 15, 1761 and began his career at the age of sixteen when he ran away to sea on a privateer. Two years later, he was appointed a midshipman on the frigate Protector and fought two engagements before being captured in 1781. The following year, after his release, he became First Lieutenant on the cruiser Winthrop. While on this ship, Preble earned a reputation for undaunted courage and presence of mind. In one mission he led a boarding party in the capture of an anchored British brig at Castine, Maine, and escaped with her under hostile shore fire. After the Revolutionary War, Preble remained in the merchant service. He was appointed a First Lieutenant in the United States Navy in April of 1798, and ordered the following January to command the brig Pickering of the U.S. Revenue Marine. The Pickering sailed in the squadron of Commodore Barry, protecting American commerce against French privateers in the West Indies. Commissioned a Captain on 7 June 1799, he took command of the new frigate Essex in December, and sailed from New York in January 1800 to afford protection to American vessels engaged in China and Eastern trade. During this cruise Preble had the honor of being the first naval officer to fly the American flag east of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1803 on board his flagship, USS CONSTITUTION, Preble sailed against the Barbary pirates as Commodore of a seven-ship, thousand-man squadron. In October of that year he established a peace treaty with the Emperor of Morocco, and then effected a blockade of the harbor of Tripoli. Preble and his Tripolitan campaign became one of the focal points for the development of the fighting tradition of the U.S. Navy. Not satisfied with a passive blockade, Preble attacked the harbor, which was well-fortified and defended by 25,000 men. In a series of daring raids, Preble's men caused severe damage and inflicted heavy causalities, a direct result of strenuous training and bold thinking. Preble's influence extended not only to events of his time, but also to the later successes of Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Charles Stewart, Isaac Hull, and David Porter, all of whom served under his command at Tripoli. In 1804 Preble returned to the United States to supervise the construction of gunboats. He died a few years later on August 25, 1807.
USS Preble (DDG 46):
USS Preble (DLG-15/DDG-46) was the fifth ship named to honor after Commodore Edward Preble (1761-1807). Preble was laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 16 December 1957. She was launched 23 May 1959 and sponsored by Mrs. Ralph E. Wilson. Preble was commissioned in the Boston Naval Shipyard 9 May 1960, Commander Edward G. Fitz-Patrick in command. She was decommissioned 15 November 1991 and struck 20 November 1992 to be scrapped. History After shakedown off the East Coast, Preble transited the Panama Canal and arrived San Diego 2 September. After exercises along the coast of California, she got underway 27 February 1961 en route to the Far East for a six month tour with the 7th Fleet. She returned to San Diego 28 September to rejoin the 1st Fleet. She remained in the eastern Pacific through 1963 and on 26 February 1964 departed California for another tour of duty in the Far East, 13 March - 20 July. Rotated regularly to WestPac over the next five years she spent much of her deployed time with the 7th Fleet off the coast of Vietnam. During these tours she served as plane guard for carriers in the Tonkin Gulf, patrolled on SAR, and bombarded enemy positions along the coast. Returning from WestPac in July 1968, she operated briefly along the California coast and in December got underway for Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. There for an extensive overhaul, she decommissioned 31 January 1969, recommissioned 23 May 1970, and returned to the Pacific Fleet. On January 24, 1973, the United States Seventh Fleet reported that the Preble's torpedo tubes and three antennae were damaged by North Vietnamese artillery while the ship was operating off Quảng Trị Province just below the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. Decommissioned on 15 November 1991 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 November 1992, Preble was transferred to the James River Reserve Fleet on 30 June 1993. Preble was sold for scrap to J&L Metals of Wilmington, NC on 15 April 1994. Repossessed from the scrap yard and resold on 10 February 1999 to International Shipbreakers of Brownsville, Tx for $85,000, Preble was reposessed for a second time on 10 July 2000 after the scrap yard failed to take delivery of the ship in a timely manner. A contract to dismantle Preble was issued on 20 March 2002 to Metro Machine of Philadelphia, Pa for $3,400,000. Preble was completely dismantled on 10 February 2003. -- more DDG-46 history wanted --
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