Ships Statistics and Facts

BUILT IN 1967, THE USS SAMUEL GOMPERS AD-37, WAS THE FIRST OF A NEW CLASS OF DESTROYER TENDERS THAT BECAME KNOWN AS "GOMPERS CLASS TENDERS" SHE WAS ALSO THE FIRST US NAVAL VESSEL TO BEAR THE NAME OF A LABOR UNION LEADER. HER PRIMARY MISSION WAS TO PROVIDE REPAIR SERVICES TO AFLOAT COMBATANT UNITS OF THE NAVY'S 7TH FLEET. IN ADDITION TO HER REPAIR MISSION, THE GOMPERS WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE LOGISTIC AND MATERIAL SUPPORT TO A VARIETY OF TENDED UNITS INCLUDING SUBMARINES.

Commanding Officers of AD-37
Here are the skippers and the dates of command onboard the Fat Sam...

15 Skippers and 17 Cruises.

 

Significant dates in the life of

USS SAMUEL GOMPERS AD-37

    01 Jul 67 - Commissioned Bremerton WA

    01 Jul 67 - CAPT Harry S Risch Jr. Commanding Officer # 1

    03 Oct 67 - Departed Bremerton

    10 Nov 67 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 1

    08 May 68 - Arrived San Diego

    08 Jun 68 - Departed San Diego

    11 Jun 68 - Arrived Bremerton WA

    27 Jul 68 - Departed Bremerton

    30 Jul 68 - Arrived San Diego

    15 Nov 68 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 2

    03 Jan 69 - CAPT Claiborne S Bradley Commanding Officer # 2

    05 Jun 69 - Arrived San Diego

    13 Mar 70 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 3

    01 Aug 70 - CAPT Daniel L Banks Jr. Commanding Officer # 3

    13 Sep 70 - Arrived San Diego

    02 Nov 71 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 4

    31 Jul 72 - Arrived San Diego

    08 Sep 72 - CAPT Aloysius J Pickert Jr. Commanding Officer # 4

    Jul 73 - Dec 73 - Overhaul in Portland OR - removed 5" gun mount

    29 Jan 74 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 5

    25 May 74 - CAPT Richard C Gardner Commanding Officer # 5

    29 Aug 74 - Arrived San Diego

    23 Jun 75 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 6

    24 Dec 75 - Arrived San Diego

    25 Jun 76 CAPT Robert B Hoffman Commanding Officer # 6

    16 Oct 76 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 7

    16 Apr 77 - Arrived San Diego

    18 Mar 78 CAPT Robert J O’Malia Commanding Officer # 7

    27 May 78 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 8

    12 Nov 78 - Arrived San Diego

    Jul 79 - Women joined the crew

    15 Nov 80 CAPT Fred W Bailey Commanding Officer # 8

    07 Mar 81 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 9

    17 Sep 81 - Arrived San Diego

    01 Sep 82 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 10

    15 Dec 82 CAPT George M Elliot Commanding Officer # 9

    11 Apr 83 - Arrived San Diego

    01 Jun 84 - Departed San Diego Cruise # 11

    22 Dec 84 - Arrived San Diego

    31 Mar 85 - Changed Homeport to NAS Alameda

    23 Aug 85 CAPT Robert E Amos Commanding Officer # 10

    17 Jul 86 - Departed Alameda Cruise # 12

    17 Jan 87 - Arrived Alameda

    23 Jul 87 CAPT Peter S Labyak Commanding Officer # 11

    11 Feb 88 - Departed Alameda Cruise # 13

    11 Aug 88 - Arrived Alameda

    06 Feb 89 - 27 Jul 89 Overhaul in San Francisco

    14 Jul 89 CAPT James F Amerault Commanding Officer # 12

    12 Jan 90 - Departed Alameda Cruise # 14

    12 Jul 90 - Arrived Alameda

    09 Apr 91 - Departed Alameda Cruise # 15

    25 Jul 91 CAPT Charles T Creekman Jr. Commanding Officer # 13

    09 Oct 91 - Arrived Alameda

    27 Mar 93 CAPT Charles R Girvin III Commanding Officer # 14

    07 Apr 93 - Departed Alameda Cruise # 16

    07 Oct 93 - Arrived Alameda

    27 Aug 94 CAPT Robert H Rankin Commanding Officer # 15

    22 Nov 94 - Departed Alameda Cruise # 17

    22 May 95 - Arrived Alameda

    Sep 95 - Departed Alameda (Last time)

    22 Sep 95 - Transited the Panama Canal

    02 Oct 95 - Arrived Norfolk

    27 Oct 95 - Decommissioned Norfolk VA

    22 Jul 03 - Sunk

    031 Degrees, 17 Minutes North and 073 Degrees, 51 Minutes West

    Depth: 2,780 Fathoms (16,680 Feet)

GOMPERS FACTS
  • USS SAMUEL GOMPERS was commissioned on 01 July 1967 in Bremerton Navy Yard. She was 645 feet in length and 85 feet wide. She had a draft of 26 feet and a displacement of over 20,260 Tons, loaded.
  • The crew complement of USS SAMUEL GOMPERS was 40 Officers and 1200 enlisted men and women. She was capable of operating as Flagship and did so on many occasions.
  • The sister ship to USS SAMUEL GOMPERS was USS Puget Sound, commissioned 27 April 1968 and decommissioned 27 January 1996.
  • There were no other AD-37 Class ships, although AD-39 and AD-40 were the in planning stages and unnamed at the time Vietnam ended.
  • The first of the next Destroyer Tender Class, AD-41, was not commissioned until 28 June 1980.
  • After twenty-eight years, three months of service, USS SAMUEL GOMPERS was decommissioned on the 27th of October 1995.
  • The GOMPERS was sunk in a SINKEX off the coast of North Carolina in July 2003.
    Despite their title, destroyer tenders serviced a variety of ships besides destroyers. The Gompers Class destroyer tenders could provide battle damage repair, maintenance and logistics support to ships at anchor or moored to a pier, in a wartime environment. The Gompers Class could accommodate ships up to and including the highly complex nuclear-powered missile cruisers, as well as submarines. The crews were formed mainly of technicians and repair crews. These Destroyer Tenders had a helicopter platform and hangar, and were equipped with two 30-ton and two 14-ton cranes. They could provide simultaneous services to as many as five ships moored along side.

    Because of the advent of nuclear power and the phenomenal advancement in electronics and weaponry, AD capabilities had to be vastly increased. The Gompers Class was the first of post-World War II design. More than 15 years elapsed between the launching of the second of the Samuel Gompers Class, USS Puget Sound (AD-38), and first of the subsequent class, the USS Yellowstone (AD-41).

STATISTICS        (For those that like them...)
  Builder:  NAV SY/PUGET SOUND Delivery Date:  09/30/1967
  Present Location: Bottom of the Sea Age (since delivery):  34.0 years
  Award Date: 10/31/1963 Commission Date:  07/01/1967
  Keel Date:  07/09/1964 Decommission Date:  10/27/1995
 

 

 Launch Date:  05/14/1966

SINKEX Date: 07/22/2003

 Years from Commission to Decommission:  28.3
  Age (since launch):  35.3 years Stricken Date:  04/07/1999
  Overall Length:  645 ft Waterline Length:  620 ft
  Extreme Beam:  85 ft Waterline Beam:  85 ft
  Maximum Navigational Draft:  28 ft Draft Limit:  30 ft
  Light Displacement:  13458 tons Full Displacement:  
  Dead Weight:  6674 tons 20132 tons
  Hull Material: Steel hull, steel superstructure.
  Number of Propellers: 1
  Propulsion Type: Steam Turbines
 

Accommodations:  Officers - 136 Enlisted - 1671


Tender Comparisons:  (Not that it really means anything...)
Ship Commissioned Decommissioned Age at Decom.
Samuel Gompers (AD 37) 01 July 1967 27 October 1995  28.3
Puget Sound (AD 38) 27 April 1968 27 January 1996 27.8
Yellowstone (AD 41) 28 June 1980  31 January 1996 15.6
Acadia (AD 42) 06 June 1981  16 December 1994  13.5 
Cape Cod (AD 43) 17 April 1982  29 September 1995  13.5 
Shenandoah (AD 44) 15 August 1983  13 September 1996 13.1