Name USS Eugene A. Greene Commissioned 8 June 1945 Struck 2 June 1975 Launched 18 March 1945 | Laid down 17 August 1944 Decommissioned 31 August 1972 Construction started 17 August 1944 Length 119 m | |
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Namesake Ensign Eugene A. Greene (1921-1942), a United States Navy officer and Navy Cross recipient Builders Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny | ||
USS Eugene A. Greene (DD/DDR-711) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Ensign Eugene A. Greene (1921–1942), was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism in the Battle of Midway.
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Eugene A. Greene was launched on 18 March 1945 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.; sponsored by Mrs. Anita M. Greene, widow of Ensign Greene; and commissioned on 8 June 1945, Commander W. V. Pratt, III, in command.
US Navy, 1945–1972
Eugene A. Greene operated along the east coast and in the Caribbean on shakedown training, acting as plane guard during the qualification of pilots in carrier operations, and training men for the crews of new destroyers. From her home port in Norfolk, Virginia, she sailed to Guantanamo Bay for training early in 1947, and on 13 February sailed in a task group bound for Montevideo, Uruguay, to participate in the festivities accompanying the inauguration of Uruguay's President Berres. The group also paid a good will visit to Rio de Janeiro before returning to Norfolk on 31 March.
On 10 November 1947 Eugene A. Greene sailed on the first of nine Mediterranean cruises made over the next thirteen years. Voyages to northern Europe and the Arctic varied the routine of overseas deployment.
Eugene A. Greene was placed out of commission from 1 April 1952 to 1 December 1952, during which period she was being converted to a radar picket destroyer. She was redesignated DDR-711 on 18 July 1952.
Greene reverted to DD-711 on 15 March 1963.
On 18 June 1970 the Greene and the oiler Waccamaw (AO-109) were in a minor collision in the eastern Mediterranean during refueling operations.
Eugene A. Greene was decommissioned on 31 August 1972 at Norfolk, and, along with four other destroyers, was loaned to Spain.
Spanish Navy, 1972–1991
The ship was commissioned in the Spanish Navy as Churruca (D61), named after Lieutenant General Cosme Damián de Churruca y Elorza (1761–1805), who died during the Battle of Trafalgar.
Churruca was decommissioned on 15 September 1989; she was sunk as a target on 12 December 1991.