USS Leftwich

22°48′47″N 160°34′00″W / 22.8130560°N 160.5666670°W / 22.8130560; -160.5666670

USS Leftwich in Seattle on 1 August 1986
History
United States
Name	Leftwich
Namesake	William G. Leftwich, Jr.
Ordered	15 January 1974
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	12 November 1976
Launched	8 April 1978
Acquired	6 August 1979
Commissioned	25 August 1979
Decommissioned	27 March 1998
Stricken	27 March 1998
Identification	Callsign: NPFD Hull number: DD-984
Motto	Superiority Through Teamwork
Fate	Sunk as target, 1 August 2003[citation needed]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Spruance-class destroyer
Displacement	8,040 (long) tons full load
Length	529 ft (161 m) waterline; 563 ft (172 m) overall
Beam	55 ft (16.8 m)
Draft	29 ft (8.8 m)
Propulsion	4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 2 shafts, 80,000 shp (60 MW)
Speed	32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) 3,300 nautical miles (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement	19 officers, 315 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-40 air search radar AN/SPG-60 fire control radar AN/SPS-55 surface search radar AN/SPQ-9 gun fire control radar Mark 23 TAS automatic detection and tracking radar AN/SPS-65 Missile fire control radar AN/SQS-53 bow mounted Active sonar AN/SQR-19 TACTAS towed array Passive sonar Naval Tactical Data System
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures Mark 36 SRBOC Decoy Launching System AN/SLQ-49 Inflatable Decoys
Armament	2 × 5 in (127 mm) 54 calibre Mark 45 dual purpose guns 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns 1 × 8 cell ASROC launcher (removed) 1 × 8 cell NATO Sea Sparrow Mark 29 missile launcher 2 × quadruple Harpoon missile canisters 2 × Mark 32 triple 12.75 in (324 mm) torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes) 2 × quadruple Armored Box Launcher (ABL) Mark 43 Tomahawk missile launchers (6 Ships)
Aircraft carried	2 × Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
Aviation facilities	Flight deck and enclosed hangar for up to two medium-lift helicopters

USS Leftwich (DD-984) was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was named for Lieutenant Colonel William G. Leftwich, Jr.,^[1] USMC (1931–1970), commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion who was killed in action during Operation Imperial Lake in Quảng Nam Province South Vietnam on 18 November 1970 in a helicopter crash during the extraction of one of his reconnaissance teams. For this action, Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich received the Silver Star. Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich's medals and awards include: the Navy Cross, the Silver Star (posthumous), the Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and two gold stars, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with one gold star, the Purple Heart with two gold stars, and various personal awards from the Republic of Vietnam.

Leftwich was laid down on 12 November 1976; and launched 8 April 1978; and commissioned 25 August 1979. The Commissioning speaker was the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, USN, who was a classmate of Bill Leftwich at the United States Naval Academy. Also in attendance at the Commissioning was H. Ross Perot, also a classmate of Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich. Both of Colonel Leftwich's sons and his widow attended the commissioning as well.