USS Stormes (DD-780) - Korean War

Korean War

However, she was reactivated in September due to the Korean War. In December 1950, she began a three-month yard overhaul at Charleston which was followed by a six-week shakedown cruise. In May 1951, the destroyer sailed to the west coast and was routed onward to join the 7th Fleet off Korea.

Stormes operated with Task Force 77, shelling enemy lines, screening large fleet units, rescuing downed pilots, and performing antisubmarine duties until January 1952 when she returned to Norfolk.

Stormes made a midshipman cruise to England and France that summer and then operated along the Atlantic seaboard until June 1953 when she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for a four-month yard period and its subsequent shakedown. In February 1954, the destroyer embarked on a world cruise which took her to Naples, Suez, Port Said, Aden, Colombo, Singapore, Yokosuka, Sasebo, Midway, and Pearl Harbor. She reached San Francisco in July and returned to Norfolk in August.

Stormes sailed, on 4 January 1955, for the Caribbean to participate in Operation “Springboard 55.” She operated with Valley Forge (CVS-45) in Antisubmarine Group 3 from 4 January to August. The destroyer participated in a NATO exercise in early September and then continued local operations until February 1956 when she entered the Norfolk Navy-Yard. Stormes left the shipyard in May and sailed to Guantanamo Bay for refresher training which lasted until July. From then to November, the ship participated in local exercises to maintain her state of readiness in anticipation of an overseas tour.

On 7 November, Stormes sailed with Destroyer Division 261 and arrived at Naples, Italy, a month later where she was attached to the 6th Fleet. She served with the fast carriers in the Mediterranean until returning to Norfolk on 20 February 1957. The ship operated along the east coast until 3 September when she sailed as part of an attack carrier strike force for Operation “Seaspray.” After crossing the North Atlantic, the ships arrived at the River Clyde, Scotland, where a number of NATO ships were waiting to take part in Operation “Strikeback.” The operation ended in late September, and the destroyer sailed to Gibraltar to join the 6th Fleet for her second tour which ended at Norfolk on 22 December 1957.

Stormes remained in port until 27 January 1958 when she embarked on a two-week exercise with other ships of DesDiv 261. The remainder of the year and part of 1959 saw the destroyer taking part in local and fleet operations from New York to the Caribbean. On 7 August 1959, she sailed for her third tour with the 6th Fleet which terminated upon her return to Norfolk on 26 February 1960. The ship entered the Navy Yard on 3 June for a FRAM II conversion which lasted until 5 January 1961. On the 24th, she sailed for Guantanamo Bay where she held refresher training, gunnery practice, and participated in group exercises.

Stormes sailed for Norfolk, via Key West, and arrived there on 1 April. She operated with fleet units on the east coast and in the Caribbean for the remainder of the year. The highlight of the year's activities came in November when Stormes was designated to recover a spacecraft carrying a chimpanzee named Enos. The spacecraft landed approximately 30 miles from the destroyer. Stormes, aided by an aircraft which had the capsule in sight, recovered it and Enos who was in good health. She spent the next year operating with Task Group Alpha, a hunter-killer group developing the antisubmarine readiness of the Fleet.

On 9 November 1962, Stormes joined the Cuban Blockade and continued that duty until the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. She then resumed her regular operations. In August of the following year, “the 780” became the first United States ship to visit Santa Marta, Colombia, since 1880. In the latter part of 1963, she underwent an overhaul. She operated with Task Group Alpha in 1964 until October when she participated in Operation “Steel-pike.” Her task group acted as the hunter-killer group that preceded the main body of ships as they crossed the Atlantic.

Stormes continued operating with Task Group Alfa until May 1965 when she was ordered to patrol the coastal waters of the Dominican Republic during the revolution there. When relieved of patrol duty, she returned to Norfolk and prepared for a deployment period. She was with the 6th Fleet from June to August and returned to her homeport in early September. On 1 June 1966, Stormes stood out of Norfolk with DesRon 32 for a six and one-half month deployment to the western Pacific.

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