USS Coontz

USS Coontz underway in the Atlantic, off the Virginia coast, October 1986.
History
United States
Name	Coontz
Namesake	Robert Coontz
Builder	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Laid down	1 March 1957
Launched	6 December 1958 as Guided Missile Frigate (DLG-9).
Commissioned	15 July 1960
Decommissioned	2 October 1989
Reclassified	1 July 1975 as Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG-40)
Fate	Sold for scrap, February 1999
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Farragut-class destroyer leader/frigate
Displacement	5,648 tons (full)
Length	512 ft 6 in (156.21 m) (oa)
Beam	52 ft 4 in (15.95 m)
Draft	17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) (max)
Propulsion	85,000 shp (63,000 kW); geared turbines, 2 screws
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h; 38 mph)
Range	5,000 nmi (9,300 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement	377
Armament	1 x RIM-2 Terrier surface-to-air missile system 1 x ASROC ASW system 6 x 12.75 in (324 mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes 8 x Harpoon SSM (After third update) 1 x 5 in (127 mm)/54 cal Mk 42 gun mount

USS Coontz (DLG-9/DDG-40) was a Farragut-class destroyer leader/frigate in the United States Navy. She was named after Admiral Robert Coontz, the US Navy's second chief of naval operations.

Commissioned in 1960, she spent the early part of her career in the Pacific Ocean, participating in four tours of duty during the Vietnam War. In the early 1970s she transferred to the east coast and spent the remainder of her service years in the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Persian Gulf. She assisted in saving USS Stark after that ship was hit by Iraqi missiles. In 1975, as part of the Navy's reclassification process, all ships of her class were reclassified as guided missile destroyers (DDG).

Coontz was decommissioned in 1989, and sold for scrap five years later. Her transom nameplate was salvaged and donated to the city of Hannibal, Missouri, birthplace of Admiral Coontz.