USS Joseph Strauss ( DDG - 16 ) The USS " Joseph Strauss " ( DDG - 16 ) , named for Admiral Joseph Strauss USN ( 1861 – 1948 ) , was a " Charles F . Adams " - class guided missile armed destroyer of the United States Navy . The " Joseph Strauss " was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden in New Jersey on 27 December 1960 , launched on 9 December 1961 by Mrs . Lawrence Haines Coburn , granddaughter of Admiral Joseph Strauss and commissioned on 20 April 1963 . The " Joseph Strauss " served as plane guard for 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 Vietnam War . 1960s . The " Joseph Strauss " departed Philadelphia 6 June 1963 for a brief cruise to Puerto Rico and Willemstad , Curaçao , and then transited the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet on the western seaboard . She arrived in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard 13 July 1963 for alterations , followed by tactics out of San Diego north to Seattle , Wash . As flagship of Destroyer Squadron 3 , " Joseph Strauss " sailed from Long Beach 30 June 1964 . After calling at Pearl Harbor and Midway Atoll , she arrived in Yokosuka , Japan , 18 July . While in port at Yokosuka , the crew of the " Strauss " learned that North Vietnamese PT boats had attacked the U . S . destroyer in the Tonkin Gulf , and the ship hurried out of port with other squadron ships to join carrier forces in the South China Sea . She departed 3 August 1964 to rendezvous off Okinawa 6 August with . During this time , U . S . Naval aircraft from Constellation conducted air strikes over North Vietnam . She then patrolled off the Vietnam coast and the South China Sea with task forces built around the " Constellation " , the and the . Brief sweeps were made to the Philippines and ports of Japan . She arrived in Yokosuka 15 December 1964 for upkeep , again sailing 21 January 1965 to support U . S . Forces in Vietnam until 1 March . During this period , she operated with , , , and . Following upkeep in Subic Bay ( 1 – 10 March ) , the " Joseph Strauss " sailed with ships of the Royal Thai Navy for exercises in the Gulf of Thailand . She was briefly flagship of the 7th Fleet ( 22 – 26 March ) during the official visit of Vice Admiral Paul B . Blackburn , Jr . , to Bangkok , Thailand . She departed Yokosuka , 19 April for operations that brought recognition and honor to both the ship and her crew . From 24 April 1965 , the " Joseph Strauss " , together with the , was part of the first advanced SAR / AAW picket team in the Gulf of Tonkin to support U . S . air strike operations against North Vietnam . From 16 through 21 May , she observed operations of a Russian task unit . She returned to Yokosuka ( 23 May - 4 June ) , then again sailed for the Gulf of Tonkin . Her ensuing 27 days as flagship of the AAW / SAR picket unit were highly successful , establishing operational procedures and capabilities which remain destroyer standards . On 17 June 1965 , two F4B Phantom ' s from the , under the " Joseph Strauss " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > advisory control , shot down two MIG - 17 ' s , accounting for the first two hostile aircraft downed by U . S . Forces in aerial combat since 1953 . Three days later , two propeller - driven Skyraiders , also from " Midway " and under the " Joseph Strauss " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > advisory air control shot down another MiG - 17 . As a result , members of the " Strauss " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > Combat Information Center team were decorated by the Secretary of the Navy . The " Joseph Strauss " arrived in Hong Kong 6 July 1965 , putting out to sea 14 to 16 July to avoid Typhoon Freda , and again 18 to 19 July to carry the 7th Fleet Salvage Officer to Pratus Reef to assist in refloating . She departed Hong Kong 21 July for Yokosuka . The following day she took a disabled Nationalist Chinese fishing boat in tow and delivered it safely to Keelung the 23d , thence sailed to Yokosuka , arriving 25 July for upkeep . On 3 September 1965 , she successfully fired two improved Tartar missiles off Okinawa . After a 1 - day stop at Sasebo , " Joseph Strauss " proceeded south in the screen of . Upon arrival in the South China Sea , she was detached for picket patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin during the last 3 weeks of September She spent the first 2 weeks of October supporting operations off Vietnam in the screen of " Bon Homme Richard " and . She then returned to Subic Bay for naval gunfire support training which continued off Da - nang , South Vietnam . On 28 October 1965 , she fired her first shots in anger , expending 217 5 - inch shells in support of a combined ARVN - Marine Corps search - and - destroy operation against the Viet Cong . The " Joseph Strauss " thus became the first U . S . Navy DDG to fire her guns at enemy targets . As a result of this action , the ship ' s crew received a commendation from the Commanding General , 2nd U . S . Marine Division . Throughout November she formed an advanced SAR / AAW picket team with USS in the Gulf of Tonkin . She returned to Yokosuka 7 December 1965 for upkeep and preparations to resume operations off South Vietnam . The " Joseph Strauss " returned to the Gulf of Tonkin 10 February 1966 and remained active in the war zone until heading for Hong Kong exactly one month later . Back in the fighting 26 April , she remained in the war zone until returning to Yokosuka 15 June . That day her home port was changed to Pearl Harbor which she reached 26 July . The " Joseph Strauss " operated in the Hawaiian area until heading back for the Western Pacific 14 January 1967 . She remained in the Far East supporting the struggle against Communist aggression until returning to Pearl Harbor 17 June . Operation Praying Mantis . On 14 April 1988 , sighted three mines floating approximately one - half mile from the ship . Twenty minutes after the first sighting , as the " Samuel B . Roberts " was backing clear of the minefield , she struck a submerged mine nearly ripping the warship in half . The crew stabilized the ship . The " Samuel B . Roberts " was sent back to the United States for repair . On 18 April 1988 , Operation Praying Mantis took place which was an attack by U . S . Naval Forces in retaliation for the Iranian Mining of the Persian Gulf and damage to an American ship ( the " Samuel B . Roberts " ) . The battle , the largest for American surface forces since World War II , sank two Iranian warships and it also marked the first surface - to - surface missile engagement in U . S . Navy History . The Americans attacked with several groups of surface warships , plus aircraft . In the middle of the action , the " Joshan " , an Iranian Combattante II Kaman - class fast attack craft , challenged and Surface Action Group Charlie , firing a Harpoon missile at them . The responded to the challenge by firing four Standard missiles , while the " Wainwright " followed with two Standard missiles . The attacks destroyed the Iranian ship ' s superstructure but did not immediately sink it , but The three ships of SAG Charlie ( the " Wainwright " , the " Simpson " , and the ) closed on the " Joshan " , destroying it with naval gunfire . Fighting continued when the Iranian frigate " Sahand " departed Bandar Abbas and challenged elements of an American surface group . The frigate was spotted by two VA - 95 A - 6Es while they were flying surface combat air patrol for the " Joseph Strauss " . The " Sahand " fired missiles at the A - 6Es , and the Intruders replied with two Harpoons and four laser - guided Skipper bombs . The " Joseph Strauss " added a Harpoon . Most , if not all , of the U . S . weapons hit the Iranian ship . Fires blazing on the " Sahand " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s decks eventually reached her magazines , causing an explosion that helped sink the ship . Despite the loss of the " Sahand " , one of Iran ' s most modern ships , the Iranian navy continued to fight . Late in the day , a sister ship , the " Sabalan " , departed from its berth and fired a surface - to - air missile at several A - 6Es from VA - 95 . Intruder pilot Engler dropped a laser - guided bomb on the " Sabalan " , leaving the ship dead in the water . The Iranian frigate , stern partially submerged , was taken in tow by an Iranian tug . Decommissioning . The " Joseph Strauss " was decommissioned on 1 February 1990 , transferred to Greece on 1 October 1992 and renamed the " Formion " , for the Athenian Admiral Formion , and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 January 1995 . Greece decommissioned the " Formion " on 29 July 2002 and the ship was sold as scrap 19 February 2004 .