Dragon 7025 U.S.S. Conolly ABL Destroyer

USS Conolly (DD-979) was an American missile destroyer, the keel of which was laid in June 1978, launched in June 1977, and commissioned by the US Navy in 1978. The total length of the ship was 172 meters and a width of 16.8 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 8,000 tons, and maximum speed - up to 32-33 knots. The destroyer was armed with: two 127 mm Mark 45 cannons, two 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx sets, a single 8-rail ASROC missile launcher or a single 8-rail Sea Sparrow rocket launcher. The ship could also operate two SH-60 Seahawk (LAMPS III) helicopters.

USS Conolly (DD-979) was one of 31 Spruance-class ships. Ships of this type were designed and built as specialized ZOP (anti-submarine) units dedicated to the protection of aircraft carriers and being part of larger US Navy teams. They replaced the class destroyers Gearing and Allen M. Summer. Units of this class were built modularly, which facilitated their modernization during the service. One of the ships of this class was the USS Conolly. The vessel was built at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Shortly after entering service, she was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and directed to the Mediterranean Sea, where in 1982 it operated in the Lebanon region. Already in 1984, the ship underwent modernization and renovation works, as a result of which, among others, it received Tomahawk missile launchers and newer electronic equipment for short-range weapons. In 1994, he took an active part in the celebrations related to the 50th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy. The ship was decommissioned in 1998 and sank as a target ship in 2009.