Surface Forces: November 29, 2003

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The U.S. Navy destroyer Cole (DDG 67), severely damaged by a suicide boat bomb in October, 2000, has been repaired and is heading out on its first cruise since it was damaged. The 8,400 ton ships is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. It is 505 feet long and is armed with one 5 inch gun, two 20mm Close-In Weapons Systems, a 90 cell Vertical Launch System for cruise and anti-aircraft missiles, plus eight Harpoon anti-ship missiles in quadruple canisters. There are six 12.75 inch anti-submarine torpedoes in triple tube launchers.

Only ten of the original 340 sailor crew is still with the Cole. The bombing killed 17 and wounded 39 of the old crew. Down near the galley, where most of the damage was done, seventeen brass stars are embedded in the deck, in memory of the lost sailors. The USS Cole entered service in 1995 and cost a billion dollars to build. The repairs cost $240 million. The damage was extensive, putting 40 by 40 foot hole in the side. 

 

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