USS Orleck
{{Short description|Gearing-class destroyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= USS Orleck (DD-886) underway off Point Loma, in 1964.jpg |Ship caption=USS Orleck in 1964 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag= {{USN flag|1982}} |Ship name= Orleck |Ship namesake=Joseph Orleck |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Consolidated Steel Corporation, Orange, Texas |Ship laid down=28 November 1944 |Ship launched=12 May 1945 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=15 September 1945 |Ship decommissioned=1 October 1982 |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship identification=*Callsign: NBIG
|Ship struck=6 August 1987 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honors=4 battle stars (Korea) |Ship fate=Transferred to Turkey 1 October 1982 |Ship status= |Ship notes= |Ship badge=150px }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country= Turkey |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Turkey|naval}} |Ship name= Yücetepe |Ship namesake=Yücetepe |Ship acquired=1 October 1982 |Ship commissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honors= |Ship identification=Hull number: D 345 |Ship fate=Returned to the USA 12 August 2000 |Ship status=Museum ship in Jacksonville, Florida |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= {{sclass|Gearing|destroyer}} |Ship displacement=*{{convert|2616|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length= {{convert|390|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|40|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= {{convert|14|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship propulsion=*General Electric geared turbines
|Ship speed= {{convert|36.8|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= {{convert|4500|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|20|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=336 |Ship armament=*(as built)
|Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} |
USS Orleck (DD-886), is a {{sclass|Gearing|destroyer}} that was in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1982. In October 1982 she was sold to Turkey and renamed Yücetepe (D 345). After her final decommissioning the Turkish government transferred Yücetepe to the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation at Orange, Texas, where she was berthed as a museum ship. The Orleck Foundation then decided to move the ship to the Calcasieu River in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On 26 March 2022, she arrived in Jacksonville, FL, where she served as a Naval Museum on the downtown riverfront until 3 April 2023, when she docked to its permanent home at the Shipyards West.
Namesake
Joseph Orleck was born on 22 January 1906 in Columbus, Ohio. He enlisted in the Navy on 23 June 1924. Rising through the enlisted ranks, he was warranted Boatswain on 14 December 1938, and appointed Ensign on 15 June 1942. He assumed command of {{USS|Nauset|AT–89|6}} on 28 May 1943 with the rank of Lieutenant. He went down with his ship after a Luftwaffe bomber attack in the Gulf of Salerno on 9 September 1943. A recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for rescue work during the Casablanca invasion, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his firefighting and flood control efforts to prevent total loss of his ship during the Salerno assault.
Construction and commissioning
Orleck was laid down by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Orange, Texas, on 28 November 1944, launched on 12 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Joseph Orleck, widow of Lieutenant Orleck, and commissioned on 15 September 1945. Her original cost was US$6,313,000.
Service history
=United States Navy (1945–1982)=
On 14 November 1947, Orleck collided with the submarine {{USS|Bugara|SS-331}} while Bugara was making a submerged practice attack against her in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California.{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/bugara0.html |title=Bugara (SS-331) 1943-1971 |publisher=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships | date=25 August 2017 |access-date=18 February 2023}}
File:USS Orleck (DD-886) underway in heavy seas, in the 1950s.jpg
Orleck operated with the United States Seventh Fleet in support of United Nations forces during the Korean War, then it underwent an extensive FRAM I overhaul in 1962. On 7 June 1965, Orleck assisted in the recovery of the Gemini IV space capsule.
During the Vietnam War, Orleck served as plane guard for aircraft carriers on "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin, participated in "Operation Sea Dragon", patrolled on search and rescue duties, and carried out naval gunfire support missions.
Orleck was decommissioned on 1 October 1982 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 6 August 1987.
=Turkish Navy (1982–2000)=
Orleck was transferred to Turkey for service in the Turkish Navy. She was renamed TCG Yücetepe (D 345) in Turkish service.
=Museum ship (since 2000)=
On 12 August 2000, the Turkish government transferred Yücetepe to the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation at Orange, Texas, for use as a memorial and museum under her old name, USS Orleck.
When Hurricane Rita struck the Texas coast in September 2005, Orleck was severely damaged. After repairs, Orleck was ready to return to her pier at Ochiltree-Inman Park; however, the City of Orange refused to allow her to return. Orleck was temporarily relocated to Levingston Island, then moored north of Orange Harbor Island.
On 6 May 2009, the Lake Charles, Louisiana, City Council voted in favor of an ordinance authorizing the city to enter into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with USS Orleck. On 20 May 2010 it moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The grand opening in Lake Charles occurred on 10 April 2011. In 2019, the ship was either going to be moved, sunk, or scrapped; however, the museum remained operational.
In 2019, following the failure of the USS Adams Association and the Jacksonville Naval Museum to acquire the {{USS|Charles F. Adams|DDG-2}} as a museum ship in Jacksonville, Florida, it was proposed to acquire Orleck and move her to the proposed berth that was obtained for the Charles F. Adams. The USS Adams Association studied Orleck and deemed that she would survive the tow from Lake Charles to Jacksonville.
File:USS Orleck (DD-886) aground at Orange, Texas (USA), on 5 October 2005.jpg in 2005.]]
On 30 August 2019, the Jacksonville Naval Museum announced that the transfer of Orleck to Jacksonville has been approved and are waiting on finalizing plans with the Jacksonville city council.{{cite web | url-access=limited |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/832027273830427/938084926557994 |archive-date = 2022-04-30| url = https://www.facebook.com/jaxnavalmuseum/photos/a.909881426045011/938084926557994/?type=3&theater |title = Jacksonville Naval Museum on Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}
In February 2020, the move to Jacksonville was confirmed. She would remain open in Lake Charles until 1 March 2020, before closing in preparation for an inspection by the US Coast Guard for towing to dry dock in Texas for repairs before making the tow to Jacksonville.{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanpress.com/news/local/historic-ship-to-be-part-of-naval-museum/article_0e8abbf6-731f-53f7-b064-b6b8efeb07c0.html|title=Historic ship to be part of naval museum|access-date=20 February 2020|archive-date=19 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219162514/https://www.americanpress.com/news/local/historic-ship-to-be-part-of-naval-museum/article_0e8abbf6-731f-53f7-b064-b6b8efeb07c0.html|url-status=dead}}
The tow to Jacksonville was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. She broke loose from her mooring in the Calcasieu River during Hurricane Laura, drifting a mile down stream before drifting aground with some damage.{{cite news|last=Joseph|first=Ashley|date=2 October 2020|title=USS Orleck battered but not broken by Hurricane Laura, director explains future plans for the ship|publisher=KALB-TV|url=https://www.kalb.com/2020/10/02/uss-orleck-battered-but-not-broken-by-hurricane-laura-director-explains-future-plans-for-the-ship/|url-status=live|access-date=14 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613083632/https://www.kalb.com/2020/10/02/uss-orleck-battered-but-not-broken-by-hurricane-laura-director-explains-future-plans-for-the-ship/|archive-date=13 June 2021}}
In August 2021, the Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved the ship to be moored in downtown Jacksonville.{{Cite news|last=Mendenhall|first=Mike|date=10 August 2021|title=City Council approves agreement for USS Orleck museum|work=Jacksonville Daily Record|url=https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/city-council-approves-agreement-for-uss-orleck-museum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812024221/https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/city-council-approves-agreement-for-uss-orleck-museum|archive-date=12 August 2021}}
In December 2021, she was towed from Lake Charles, Louisiana to Port Arthur, Texas to be drydocked.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kplctv.com/2021/12/21/uss-orleck-enters-dry-dock-port-arthur/|title = USS Orleck enters dry dock at Port Arthur| date=21 December 2021 }} Over the next few weeks she was deemed to be in much better shape than expected and restoration work was done which extended the ship's life by 15 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2022/03/04/uss-orleck-closer-making-trip-new-home-jacksonville/6982414001/|title=Hope floats: USS Orleck passes test, nearly ready for trip to Jacksonville to become museum ship|first=Tom|last=Szaroleta|website=The Florida Times-Union}}
On 11 January 2022, ownership was officially transferred to the museum association in preparation for its tow and set-up in Jacksonville.
With restoration work completed, she passed all inspections by the US Coast Guard, on 17 March 2022, she left Port Arthur, Texas under tow to Jacksonville.{{Cite web|url=https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2022/03/18/uss-orleck-departs-texas-begins-voyage-to-jacksonville/|title = USS Orleck departs Texas, begins voyage to Jacksonville|date = 18 March 2022}}
She arrived in Jacksonville on 26 March 2022{{cite web | url=https://www.jacksonville.com/picture-gallery/news/2022/03/26/uss-orleck-arrives-jacksonville-become-floating-museum/7179386001/ | title=Photos: Scenes from the arrival of the Navy Destroyer USS Orleck in Jacksonville }} and officially opened on 5 October 2022.{{cite web |last1=Farrar |first1=Aaron |title=USS Orleck opens in Jacksonville |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q23vW_OQXZA |website=News4JAX |date=5 October 2022 |publisher=WJXT Television 4 |access-date=31 January 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/orleck.html}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline|USS Orleck (DD-886)}}
- [http://www.cityoflakecharles.com/council/ City Council]
- [http://www.ussorleck.org/ USS ORLECK NAVAL MUSEUM]
- [http://www.hnsa.org/hnsa-ships/uss-orleck-dd-886/ Historic Naval Ships Association (HNSA): USS Orleck] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119112724/https://www.hnsa.org/hnsa-ships/uss-orleck-dd-886/ |date=19 January 2021 }}
- [http://aimmatnlr.blogspot.com/2008/03/article-about-aimm-and-uss-orleck-in.html Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum at North Little Rock]
{{Gearing class destroyer}}
{{1947 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orleck (DD-886)}}
Category:Gearing-class destroyers of the United States Navy
Category:Ships built in Orange, Texas
Category:Maritime incidents in 1947
Category:Cold War destroyers of the United States
Category:Korean War destroyers of the United States
Category:Vietnam War destroyers of the United States
Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Turkish Navy
Category:Gearing-class destroyers of the Turkish Navy
Category:Museum ships in Louisiana
Category:Museums in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana