USS Hopper (DDG-70)

USS Hopper
Career (US)
Name:	USS Hopper (DDG-70)
Namesake:	Rear Admiral "Amazing Grace" Hopper
Ordered:	8 April 1992
Builder:	Bath Iron Works
Laid down:	23 February 1995
Launched:	6 January 1996
Commissioned:	6 September 1997
Homeport:	Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Status:	in active service, as of 2011[update]
General characteristics
Class and type:	Arleigh Burke class destroyer
Displacement:	Light: approx. 6,800 long tons (6,900 t) Full: approx. 8,900 long tons (9,000 t)
Length:	505 ft (154 m)
Beam:	66 ft (20 m)
Draft:	31 ft (9.4 m)
Propulsion:	4 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines, two shafts, 100,000 total shaft horsepower (75 MW)
Speed:	>30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:	4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots (8,100 km at 37 km/h)
Complement:	33 Officers 38 Chief Petty Officers 210 Enlisted Personnel
Sensors and processing systems:	• AN/SPY-1D 3D Radar • AN/SPS-67(V)2 Surface Search Radar • AN/SPS-73(V)12 Surface Search Radar • AN/SQS-53C Sonar Array • AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array Sonar • AN/SQQ-28 LAMPS III Shipboard System
Electronic warfare and decoys:	• AN/SLQ-32(V)2 Electronic Warfare System • AN/SLQ-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures • MK 36 MOD 12 Decoy Launching System • AN/SLQ-39 CHAFF Buoys
Armament:	1 × 29 cell, 1 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems with 90 × RIM-156 SM-2, BGM-109 Tomahawk or RUM-139 VL-Asroc missiles 1 × Mark 45 5/54 in (127/54 mm) 2 × 25 mm chain gun 4 × .50 caliber (12.7 mm) guns 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried:	1 SH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter can be embarked
Motto:	Aude Et Effice - "Dare And Do"

USS Hopper (DDG-70), an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, is a ship of the United States Navy named for the pioneering computer scientist, Rear Admiral "Amazing Grace" Hopper.

The contract to build her was awarded to Bath Iron Works Corporation in Bath, Maine on 8 April 1992 and her keel was laid down on 23 February 1995. She was launched on 6 January 1996 sponsored by Mrs. Mary Murray Westcote, sister of the ship's namesake, and commissioned on 6 September 1997 in San Francisco, with Commander Thomas D. Crowley in command.

Hopper is only the second U.S. Navy warship to be named for a woman from the Navy's own ranks. The other was the World War II destroyer USS Higbee named for the Superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps during World War I, Lenah Higbee.

Deployments

Hopper has participated in multiple deployments to East Asia and the Persian Gulf, including RIMPAC 98, three individual PACMEF deployments, an Expeditionary Strike Group deployment to the Persian Gulf in 2004, and a deployment to Southeast Asia in support of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2006. In addition, Hopper has been foremost in the field of Ballistic Missile Defense.^{[citation needed]}

On 12 November 2007, Hopper departed with the USS Tarawa Expeditionary Strike Group for a scheduled deployment to the Fifth Fleet and Seventh Fleet.^[1]

On 6 January 2008, Hopper was involved in an incident with five Iranian Revolutionary Guard gunboats. The Hopper, the cruiser USS Port Royal and the frigate USS Ingraham were entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz when five Iranian boats approached them at high speed and in a threatening manner. The U.S. ships had been in the Arabian Sea searching for a sailor who had been missing from the USS Hopper for one day. The US Navy says the Iranian boats made "threatening" moves toward the U.S. vessels, coming as close as 200 yards (180 m). The U.S. Navy received a radio transmission saying, "I am coming to you. You will explode after a few minutes." As the U.S. ships prepared to fire, the Iranians abruptly turned away, the U.S. officials said. Before leaving, the Iranians dropped white boxes into the water in front of the U.S. ships. The U.S. ships did not investigate the boxes.^[2]

Officials from the two nations differed on the severity of the incident. The Iranians claimed they were conducting normal maneuvers while American officials claimed that an imminent danger to American naval vessels existed.^[2]

On April 15, 2011 the Hopper launched on a deployment to Asia and the Middle East.^{[citation needed]}

Ship's Coat of Arms

Coat of arms of the USS Hopper (DDG-70)

Blazon

SHIELD: Azure, a lion rampant Or, armed and langued Gules.

Translation: On a background of blue, a gold lion rising with fore paws in the air as if attacking, claws and tongue of red.

CREST: From a wreath Or and Azure a lozenge Gules charged with a mullet Argent above a demi-trident of the first, between two lightning bolts pilewise of the like and all upon a wreath of laurel and oak Proper.

Translation: From a two-color roll of gold and blue, a red diamond bearing a white five-point star above a gold three-point spear head, between two wedge shaped lightning bolts also of gold, and all upon a wreath of laurel and oak in their natural colors.

MOTTO: A scroll Argent edged Gules inscribed "AUDE ET EFFICE" Azure.

Translation: A white scroll edged in red inscribed "DARE AND DO" (in Latin) in blue.

SEAL: The complete coat of arms in full color as in the blazon upon a white field enclosed by a blue oval border edged on the outside with gold rope and bearing the name USS HOPPER at top and DDG 70 in base all in gold.

Symbolism

SHIELD: Blue and gold are traditionally used by the Navy. The lion, a symbol of strength and courage, stands for the USS Hopper's characteristics of survivability and alludes to the ship's motto (DARE AND DO). The rampant lion has been adapted from the arms of Scotland and refers to RDML Hopper's heritage. Gold stands for excellence; blue is for devotion to duty.

CREST: The lozenge, traditionally used in the coats of arms of women, honors RDML Grace Hopper. Her distinction as the first woman to achieve the rank of rear admiral is represented by the single silver star. The trident symbolizes her love for the United States Navy and her Naval service, the focus of her life's work. The lightning bolts, framing the bottom of the shield, connote the image of ship's hull cutting through the sea. They also represent the sophistication and power of the Aegis warship, in large part made possible by Admiral Hopper's pioneering work in the computer field. The wreath consists of laurel and oak representing honor and strength. Red denotes courage and sacrifice; gold stands for excellence.

MOTTO: The Latin phrase "AUDE ET EFFICE" translates into the English phrase "DARE AND DO", in context of a command. RDML Hopper was frequently quoted using this phrase when issuing advice. The phrase captures the spirit of RDML Hopper in her quest for pushing the limits of conventional thinking and looking beyond the norm for innovative solutions and approaches to problem solving. The simple phrase, in Latin, exemplifies the essence of Admiral Hopper's spirit while paying tribute to her tremendous academic achievements.

References

• This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

1. ^ "Navy NewsStand - Eye on the Fleet". United States Navy. 2007-11-12. http://www.news.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=52682. Retrieved 2007-12-06. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Iranian boats 'harass' U.S. Navy, officials say". CNN. 2008-01-07. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/07/iran.us.navy/index.html. Retrieved 2008-01-07. 

External links

• Official website
• Video of January 2008 incident in the Strait of Hormuz