Service history USS Little Rock (CL-92)

1 service history

1.1 1945–1949
1.2 commanding officers of cl-92
1.3 converted guided missile cruiser
1.4 1961–1976
1.5 commanding officers of clg-4 / cg-4
1.6 museum ship

service history
1945–1949

after shakedown off cuba , training along atlantic coast, little rock departed newport, r.i., 21 october south america. following five-month cruise latin countries, cruiser returned norfolk 23 march 1946. next 2 months performed exercises off east coast , in caribbean, before sailing europe 4 june. after operating 6th fleet throughout summer. little rock returned norfolk 27 september 1946.

from november 21–27, 1946, uss missouri (bb-63) en route davis strait part of task group 20.2, included cruiser little rock , destroyer uss fechteler (dd-870). between november 27 , december 4, participated in cold weather exercises in davis strait, between greenland , east baffin island, part of task group 20.2. incident during cruise involving little rock. off port side firing 5-inch star shells illumination, spot icebergs, when there misfire. according standard procedure gunner began point barrel toward water wait out hangfire. however, round cooked off halfway down. round hit missouri on signal bridge, killing coxswain robert fountain , starting fire involving acetylene tank lashed railing. 1 or 2 officers cabins destroyed well. missouri did not norfolk until december 13, 1946.

from september 1946 1949, little rock performed east coast exercises; operated in caribbean on training maneuvers; , sailed mediterranean during 1947 , 1948. little rock decommissioned 24 june 1949 , joined atlantic reserve fleet @ new york.

commanding officers of cl-92

capt. william e. miller (14 jun 1945 – 7 jul 1946)
capt. henri h. smith-hutton (7 jul 1946 – 10 mar 1947)
capt. francis j. mee (10 mar 1947 – 4 jan 1948)
capt. william d. wright (4 jan 1948 – 24 may 1948)
capt. henry g. moran (24 may 1948 – 13 may 1949)
cdr. richard s. craighill (13 may 1949 – 24 jun 1949)

converted guided missile cruiser

reclassified clg-4 on 23 may 1957, little rock began major conversion guided missile light cruiser of galveston class. refit included replacing aft six-inch turrets talos missile battery. recommissioned @ philadelphia 3 june 1960, capt. j. o. phillips in command. cruiser performed shakedown training in caribbean, test-firing talos missiles prepare join navy s rapidly expanding fleet of ships armed guided missiles capable of delivering nuclear punch.

1961–1976

departing philadelphia 9 february 1961, little rock sailed first european cruise in new role. after 6 months operating 6th fleet , nato units, guided-missile cruiser returned norfolk during september.

while operating in caribbean, 18 november 1961, little rock ordered waters off santo domingo provide element of stability during uncertainty , unrest plagued country rival factions vied fill political vacuum created assassination of rafael trujillo.

for next 4 years little rock annually sailed mediterranean, joining 6th fleet. relieved uss springfield, sixth fleet flagship may december 1963 maintained peace in southern europe , middle east. during months between deployments mediterranean, operated off east coast, in caribbean, , off northern europe units of nato countries. remaining on east coast during 1966 overhaul , refresher training. in 1967 relieved uss springfield sixth fleet flagship @ rota spain , proceeded new home port @ gaeta, italy. while away gaeta, participated in exercises in mediterranean , carried admiral foreign ports. in 1967 6 day war broke out , steamed eastern mediterranean command ship nato vessels in area. when israeli forces attacked uss liberty, little rock went aid , second ship arrive. provided zone security , medical assistance injured crew members of liberty. during exercise in mid-1970, collided greek destroyer lonchi (d56), damaging bow. bow temporarily repaired @ malta. in september, returned united states , underwent major yard overall in boston naval shipyard november 1970 spring of 1971. after refresher training, returned duty flagship of sixth fleet.

between 1970 , 1972, raymond edwin ray mabus, jr. served aboard little rock surface warfare officer. in 2009, mabus appointed seventy-fifth secretary of navy, serving in obama administration.

on 5 june 1975 little rock participated in ceremonies marking reopening of suez canal. third in line in parade of ships transited northern part of canal port said ismaïlia. after transit, little rock made port visit alexandria, egypt. leaving alexandria crossed mediterranean , visited dubrovnik, yugoslavia, communist country.

in spring of 1976 talos sam system deactivated navy-wide, , little rock no exception. while plans , funding made extensive overhaul, modernization, , new weapons fit, boiler room casualty occurred during summer of 1976 while cruising in mediterranean. field survey revealed ship s propulsion system in dire material condition , require extensive , expensive overhauls , repairs. given ships age, minimal repairs made allow ship transit norfolk, va. further survey inspections made, decided ship decommissioned in fall of 1976. year later ship towed via saint lawrence seaway buffalo, ny, resides thru today museum ship.

commanding officers of clg-4 / cg-4

capt. jewett o. phillips (3 jun 1960 – 25 jan 1961)
capt. frederic a. chenault (25 jan 1961 – 7 feb 1962)
capt. james r. payne (7 feb 1962 – 26 aug 1963)
capt. c. edwin bell, jr. (26 aug 1963 – 26 sep 1964)
capt. roderick o. middleton. (26 sep 1964 – 27 sep 1965)
capt. oscar f. dreyer. (27 sep 1965 – 11 apr 1967)
capt. john j. mitchell. (11 apr 1967 – 24 apr 1968)
capt. walter f.v. bennett. (24 apr 1968 – 15 nov 1969)
capt. charles e. little. (15 nov 1969 – 11 jun 1971)
capt. gordon r. nagler. (11 jun 1971 – 27 jul 1972)
capt. robert e. morris. (27 jul 1972 – 24 jul 1973)
capt. peter k. cullins. (24 jul 1973 – 17 may 1975)
capt. william r. martin. (17 may 1975 – 20 oct 1976)
cdr. kent r. siegel. (20 oct 1976 – 22 nov 1976)

museum ship

after decommissioning, little rock taken buffalo, new york, open public touring @ buffalo naval & military park.