USS HOEL (DDG-13)

USS Hoel (DDG-13) 1987
Career	USN Jack
Ordered:
Laid down:	3 August 1959
Launched:	4 August 1960
Commissioned:	16 June 1962
Decommissioned:	1 October 1990
Fate:
Struck:	20 November 1992
General Characteristics
Displacement:	3,370 tons standard, 4,500 tons full load
Length:	437 feet (133.2 m)
Beam:	47 ft (14.3 m)
Draft:	22 ft (6.7 m)
Propulsion:	Geared steam turbines 70,000 shaft horsepower (52 MW) 2 propeller shafts
Speed:	33 knots (61 km/h)
Range:
Complement:	24 officers, 330 enlisted men
Armament:	1 x twin TARTAR surface-to-air missile launcher 2 x 5in/54 (127mm/) Mark 45 guns 6 x 12.75in MK 32 torpedo tubes (2x3) 1 eight-tube ASROC launcher
Aircraft:	None
Motto:

'USS ''Hoel'' (DDG-13)', named for Lieutenant Commander William R. Hoel USN (1824–1879), was a ''Charles F. Adams''-class guided-missile armed destroyer.
''Hoel'' was laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan, on 3 August 1959, launched on 4 August 1960 by Mrs. Harry H. Long, granddaughter of Lieutenant Commander Hoel and commissioned on 16 June 1962.
''Hoel'' served as plane guard for Aircraft carriers on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf, participated in Sea Dragon operations, patrolled on Search and rescue duties and carried out Naval Gunfire Support missions during the conflict in Vietnam.
''Hoel'' was decommissioned on 1 October 1990, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 20 November 1992 and sold on 20 June 1994.
The ''Hoel'' was one of seven decommissioned US naval vessels purchased by Charleston Shipbuilders Inc. (CSI) in 1994. The corporation planned to use the ships' power plants to generate electricity which they would then sell commercially. In theory, each ship would be able to generate approximately fifty megawatts of electricity, enough to supply approximately 150,000 households.
The city of Manaus, Brazil had rapidly expanded since it was declared a tax-free zone by the Brazilian government in 1967. Eletronorte, the local power utility service, had been unable to keep up with the increasing demand and Manaus experienced frequent blackouts. In 1997, CSI negotiated a thirty million dollar contract to supply power to Manaus.
The ''Hoel'' was chosen as the ship to be used. However, the plans of both companies were too optimistic. Eletronorte announced that ''Hoel'' would be delivering power within only a few days of its arrival in Manaus. CSI had failed to test the ship's equipment fully before departing for Brazil and failed to appreciate how many repairs the ship's 38-year-old power plant might require. The ship ended up needing weeks of work after its arrival in Brazil before it could begin generating power and numerous repairs after that. Repairs were much more difficult to accomplish in Brazil because the parts and technicians now had to be brought in from CSI's headquarters back in the United States. Meanwhile, many people in Manaus had become angry over the failed power delivery and there were violent protests. ''Hoel'' was never able to generate more than a quarter of the electricity that had been promised and that only periodically. After a year of failed attempts, Eletronorte cancelled its contract with CSI.

Contents

See also

References

External links

See also

See USS ''Hoel'' for other ships of the same name.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Hoel_barge.jpg

References

External links

★ history.navy.mil: USS ''Hoel''

★ navsource.org: USS ''Hoel''

★ hazegray.org: USS ''Hoel''

★ DDG-13 Personnel Roster at HullNumber.com