USS Biddle ( CG - 34 ) USS " Biddle " ( CG - 34 ) , also DLG - 34 , named for Captain Nicholas Biddle of the Continental Navy , was a " Belknap " - class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy . Her Call Sign was " Hard Charger " " Biddle " was laid down by the Bath Iron Works Corporation at Bath , Maine on 9 December 1963 , launched on 2 July 1965 and commissioned on 21 January 1967 . She saw action in Vietnam , where she is believed to be the last ship to down an enemy aircraft with hand - loaded guns . She was involved in the Gulf of Sidra incident in 1981 . The cruiser was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 November 1993 and sold for scrap to Metro Marine Corporation of Philadelphia on 4 December 2000 . History . Five months after commissioning , " Biddle " completed preparations for her final acceptance trials , concluded those trials , and conducted shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . She completed shakedown on 29 May and headed , via Yorktown , Va . - - to Boston . The Destroyer Leader " guided - missile " arrived in Boston on 2 June and began post - shakedown availability at the Boston Naval Shipyard five days later . " Biddle " completed the availability on 30 October and got underway for her new home port — Norfolk , Va . - - the following day . The warship entered Hampton Roads early in November , but stayed only four days , putting to sea on the 7th for the first in a series of exercise and weapons - qualifications cruises to the West Indies . Those at - sea periods occupied her until mid - December when she began holiday standdown and preparations for overseas movement . On 22 January 1968 , " Biddle " put to sea bound ultimately for the combat zone off the coast of Vietnam . Along the way , she transited the Panama Canal and made stops at Pearl Harbor and Guam before reaching her base of operations at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 24 February . After an availability , the guided - missile frigate departed Subic Bay for Vietnamese waters on 3 March . She entered port at Danang , South Vietnam , on the 5th and , the following day , was on her way for a PIRAZ ( Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone ) station . For the next four months , " Biddle " alternated between periods at sea — either carrying out PIRAZ duty , serving as an antiair warfare ( AAW ) picket , or acting as a sea - air rescue ( SAR ) vessel — with time in port at Subic Bay or Yokosuka , Japan . On 14 July , the warship completed her final tour of duty off the coast of Vietnam . She returned to Subic Bay for the period 16 to 19 July and then got underway for the voyage home . During the voyage , she completed a circumnavigation of the world and visited such diverse places as Singapore , Lourenco Marques ( now Maputo ) in Mozambique , the Cape Verde Islands , Lisbon in Portugal , and Copenhagen in Denmark . The warship arrived back in Norfolk on 12 September and remained in port until mid - November . On the 15th , " Biddle " got underway for missile exercises in the West Indies . She returned to Norfolk on 25 November and remained there through the end of the year . On 13 January 1969 , she got underway from Norfolk bound for Philadelphia . The warship spent five days there for fire fighting and damage control training , returning to Norfolk on 20 January . " Biddle " s sojourn at Norfolk lasted until 28 March when she put to sea , bound for the West Indies . While there , the warship conducted tests on recent modifications to her radar and made six missile shoots . Returning to the Hampton Roads area , she loaded missiles , torpedoes , and ammunition at Yorktown , Va . , on 30 April before reentering Norfolk on 1 May . On 26 May , " Biddle " departed Norfolk on her way to the western Pacific . She transited the Panama Canal on 31 May and 1 June and then set a course for Hawaii . The guided - missile frigate stopped at Pearl Harbor from 10 to 12 June before resuming her voyage . She made a brief stop at Guam for fuel on the 20th and arrived in Subic Bay on 24 June . After a four - day stop , " Biddle " stood out of Subic Bay on her way to South Vietnam . The warship made a brief stop at Danang on 30 June before relieving on 1 July as strike - support and search - and - rescue ship . The guided - missile frigate kept watch off the Vietnamese coast for the next month . The only event of note occurred near the end of the month when she rescued several North Vietnamese fishermen adrift in their boat . Relieved by " Chicago " on 1 August , " Biddle " dropped the fishermen off at Danang and then headed for the Philippines . The warship spent a week at Subic Bay and three days at Manila before heading back to Vietnam on 13 August . On the 15th , she relieved Chicago on station in the Gulf of Tonkin . She served as strike - support and search - and - rescue ship until 22 August when she relieved " Chicago " as PIRAZ ship . The warship alternated between those two tasks until 10 September when she was relieved on PIRAZ station by . The guided - missile frigate entered Yokosuka , Japan on 14 September , after a brief stop at Subic Bay to disembark her helicopter detachment . " Biddle " completed a two - week tender availability on 27 September and departed Yokosuka for the combat zone . Steaming by way of Subic Bay , she arrived back on Yankee Station on 2 October . Between the 2d and the 6th , Commander , Destroyer Squadron ( ComDesRon ) 3 , rode in " Biddle " and served as antiair warfare coordinator for Task Force ( TF ) 77 . On the 6th , the warship resumed PIRAZ duty , relieving " Jouett " . For almost a month , she operated alternately as PIRAZ ship and as strike - support and search - and - rescue ship . Relieved by Long Beach ( CGN - 9 ) on 27 October , " Biddle " put into Hong Kong on the 29th for a six - day liberty call . The guided - missile frigate departed Hong Kong on 4 November , made a fuel stop at Subic Bay , and then headed back to Vietnam . She arrived back in the Gulf of Tonkin on 7 November and spent the next six days serving as plane guard for Coral Sea ( CVA - 43 ) . On 13 November , the warship cleared Vietnamese waters . She stopped at Subic Bay from 15 to 18 November and then embarked on the long voyage home . After a brief fuel stop at Guam and a three - day liberty call at San Francisco , Calif . , " Biddle " arrived in the Canal Zone on 16 December . She completed the canal transit on the 17th and shaped a course for Norfolk . Upon her arrival in Norfolk on 21 December , her crew began a combination post - deployment and holiday standdown . 1970 – 1971 . " Biddle " spent the first three months of 1970 in port at Norfolk . During that period , she underwent several inspections and received modifications to some of her equipment , notably to her radar . On 13 April , the guided - missile frigate stood out of Norfolk on a five - week cruise to the West Indies for training and for technical evaluation of her new and modified radar equipment . She returned to Norfolk on 5 June and remained in the area until the end of July getting ready for her first regular overhaul . She entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 31 July and spent the remainder of 1970 undergoing overhaul . The guided - missile frigate completed overhaul in mid - January 1971 . On 19 January , she got underway for post - repair trials in the Virginia capes operating area and returned to port the following day . For the next four months , " Biddle " spent most of her time in port at Norfolk , getting underway infrequently for brief drill sessions in the immediate vicinity . On 1 June , she departed Norfolk for two months of refresher training in the West Indies . The warship reentered Norfolk on 1 August . For the remainder of the year , " Biddle " operated out of Norfolk conducting training missions and technical evaluations on equipment . The most notable training mission came late in September when she joined several other Navy ships , a Canadian ship , and a Dutch ship in a NATO seapower review . 1972 – 1973 . The warship began 1972 with several more periods of technical evaluations at sea in January and February . In March , she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to be modified to carry a LAMPS ( Light Airborne Multi - Purpose System ) helicopter . That work came to a conclusion early in April ; and , on the 12th , " Biddle " departed Norfolk on her way back to southeast Asia . Along the way , she transited the Panama Canal and visited Pearl Harbor and Guam before arriving in Subic Bay on 11 May . On the 14th , the warship put to sea for the combat zone . She entered the zone on 15 May and , the following day , relieved on the northern SAR station . " Biddle " spent over a month on station operating as a SAR picket and directing antiair warfare before returning to Subic Bay on 26 June . On Independence Day , the warship got underway for her second tour of duty off Vietnam . After a week on the northern SAR station , she relieved " Sterett " again on 13 July , but this time as PIRAZ ship . On the night of the 19th , five MiG ' s attacked " Biddle " in two raids . In the first raid , the guided - missile frigate ' s Terrier missile s destroyed one of the intruders . She claimed a possible kill in the second raid and credited it to her gun batteries . The warship drove off the remaining attackers and suffered no damage herself . " Biddle " remained on station serving as either SAR picket or PIRAZ ship until early in August . She visited Hong Kong from 12 to 15 August and was in Subic Bay from the 17th to the 20th . The guided - missile frigate returned to duty on the northern SAR station on 22 August . Thereafter , she again alternated between SAR and PIRAZ assignments until mid - September . Long Beach relieved her for the last time on 17 September , and " Biddle " unloaded equipment at Subic Bay between 20 and 24 September . On the 24th , she began the long voyage back to Norfolk . Following stops at Guam , Pearl Harbor , and San Diego , she transited the Panama Canal on 22 October and arrived back at Norfolk on 26 October to close out the year in port . Throughout 1973 and the first five months of 1974 , " Biddle " operated out of Norfolk conducting training missions and technical evaluations . During those operations , she visited not only waters of the western Atlantic but also those of the West Indies and the Caribbean Sea . Late in the fall of 1973 , the warship participated in a joint exercise with other elements of the Atlantic Fleet and with ships of the Canadian Navy . 1974 . On 14 June 1974 , " Biddle " stood out of Norfolk on her way to the Mediterranean Sea . She arrived in Rota , Spain , on 24 June and relieved . On 26 June , the warship departed Rota and entered the Mediterranean in company with Task Group ( TG ) 60 . 2 . After about a month of 6th Fleet operations and port visits , " Biddle " was dispatched to waters adjacent to Cyprus on 22 July to join in special operations . On 1 August , the warship received orders to the area north of Crete and later operated to the west of that island . On 19 August , the United States ambassador to Cyprus was assassinated ; and , soon thereafter , " Biddle " joined a special task group off the island to assist in the event of an evacuation of American citizens . That eventuality did not come to pass , and the special task group was dissolved on 23 August . The guided - missile frigate then headed for Naples , Italy , where she arrived on the 24th . " Biddle " remained at Naples until 5 September 1974 at which time she resumed operations the eastern Mediterranean . Between 8 and 10 September , the warship joined in the unsuccessful search for survivors from a TWA Boeing 707 that had crashed in the Ionian Sea . Following that mission , she resumed her schedule of 6th Fleet operations and port visits . After five days at Civitavecchia , Italy , for liberty in Rome , " Biddle " got underway for the eastern Mediterranean and a transit of the Straits of Bosporus and the Dardanelles . She operated in the Black Sea for five days and retransited the Straits on the 11th . Training exercises and port visits kept her busy until early December . She completed turnover procedures at Rota on 5 December and then put to sea to return to the United States . " Biddle " arrived back in Norfolk on 14 December and remained in port for the rest of the year . 1975 – 1976 . The warship spent the first three months of 1975 at various locations around Hampton Roads preparing for an extended overhaul . On 15 April , she got underway for Bath , Maine , arriving there on the 18th . The overhaul began immediately and lasted through the end of 1975 and into 1976 . On 30 June 1975 , " Biddle " was reclassified a guided - missile cruiser and redesignated CG - 34 . On 15 March 1976 , " Biddle " got underway for Bayonne , N . J . , where she arrived on the 17th . At Bayonne , she continued her overhaul in drydock . On 24 April , the guided - missile cruiser left the drydock and , after some tests , headed south to Norfolk . She arrived at Yorktown , Va . , on the 26th and began loading ordnance . Two days later , the warship reentered Norfolk . During the ensuing four months , " Biddle " conducted post - overhaul tests , drills , and refresher training along the east coast and in the West Indies . On 3 September , the guided - missile cruiser departed Norfolk and headed for the waters of northern Europe and the Baltic Sea . She arrived in Scapa Flow , the British naval base in the Orkney Islands located north of Scotland , on 14 September . After a series of amphibious exercises in Norwegian waters , the warship visited Copenhagen , Denmark , from the 25th to the 28th . On the latter day , she departed Copenhagen for a further series of multi - national exercises in the Baltic Sea . At the end of those maneuvers , " Biddle " made port visits at Hamburg in Germany , Antwerp in the Netherlands , and Cherbourg in France before getting underway for home on 29 October . She arrived back in Norfolk on 9 November and , except for a brief underway period on 18 and 19 November , remained in port for the rest of 1976 . 1977 – 1980 . During the first six months of 1977 , " Biddle " operated out of Norfolk along the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies . Those operations included various drills and exercises as well as evolutions with warships of NATO nations and South American countries . On 11 July , she stood out of Norfolk on her way to join the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea . That deployment brought visits to ports throughout the Mediterranean basin and a variety of training missions , often conducted in company with units of Allied and friendly navies . She completed the cruise on 22 December when she arrived back in Norfolk . Over the first nine months of 1978 , " Biddle " operated out of Norfolk . While in port , she underwent a series of inspections and examinations for the purpose of assessing various aspects of the ship ' s operation . At sea , the warship ranged from the New England coast south to the West Indies participating in multiship exercises , conducting independent ship ' s drills , and making missile and gun shoots . On 3 October , " Biddle " exited Chesapeake Bay and embarked upon the third Mediterranean deployment of her career . She arrived in Lisbon Portugal , on the 14th and relieved . On the 18th , the guided - missile cruiser left Lisbon with units of TG 60 . 2 and entered the Mediterranean . After about a month of 6th Fleet operations and port visits , " Biddle " transited the Straits of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles and entered the Black Sea once again . On 22 November , she entered port at Constanta , Romania , to begin what was characterized as a highly successful goodwill visit . The guided - missile cruiser departed Constanta on 27 November and completed her retransit of the Straits on the 28th . She resumed normal 6th Fleet operations , conducting multiship drills and exercises and making goodwill visits to ports in the Mediterranean . That employment carried her into March 1979 . She completed turnover procedures between 23 and 25 March and then began the voyage home . The warship arrived in Norfolk on 5 April and spent the rest of the month in post - deployment standdown . " Biddle " resumed 2d Fleet operations in May . Over the next three months , she put to sea a number of times to train Naval Academy and NROTC midshipmen . Early in August , she participated in a joint Navy / Air Force electronics warfare exercise . The latter part of the month , she spent at sea taking part in simulated war exercises . Upon her return to Norfolk , " Biddle " began preparations for her regular overhaul . On 24 September , the guided - missile cruiser departed Norfolk and shaped a course for Philadelphia . She arrived at her destination on the 25th and , three days later , entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to commence her extended repair period . The overhaul lasted more than a year , taking up the remainder of 1979 and apparently all of 1980 . 1981 – 1983 . January 1981 found " Biddle " conducting post - overhaul shakedown . On 4 February , she stood out of Chesapeake Bay on her way to refresher training in the West Indies . The guided - missile cruiser completed refresher training on 6 April and reentered Hampton Roads on the 14th . During the following three months , " Biddle " operated out of her home port both in the Virginia capes operating area and in the West Indies . On 4 August , the warship put to sea for another tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . She passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on 11 August . Between 17 and 20 August , she was part of the task group that conducted freedom - of - navigation operations in the Gulf of Sidra off the Libyan coast in defiance of the Libyan leader , Col . Muamar Qaddafi , who claimed sovereignty over the area . During that operation , Soviet - built Libyan Sukhoi Su - 7 interceptors fired on American naval aircraft . In response F - 14 ' s from shot down two of the attackers . Later that month , " Biddle " entered the Black Sea for the third time . Back in the Mediterranean on 4 September , she resumed normal 6th Fleet operations — multiship exercises and port visits . In mid - October she joined a contingency force off the northern coast of Egypt in the wake of the assassination of President Anwar Sadat . relieved her on 23 October and , after a stop at Rota from 27 to 29 October , " Biddle " headed home . She arrived back in Norfolk on 8 November and , except for two brief periods at sea early in December , remained in port for the rest of the year . The first five months of 1982 brought a return to normal operations along the east coast and in the West Indies . On 8 June , the warship embarked upon another deployment to the 6th Fleet . " Biddle " changed operational control to the 6th Fleet on 18 June . By mid - July , she was on PIRAZ station in the eastern Mediterranean with the contingency force supporting Marine Corps troops ashore in Lebanon . The guided - missile cruiser departed the area in company with . After crossing the Aegean Sea and transiting the Straits of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles , the two warships entered the Black Sea on 1 August . They completed their Black Sea operations on 5 August and anchored at Istanbul for a four - day port visit . On 9 August 1982 , " Biddle " and her colleagues headed back to the contingency force off Lebanon . Between 21 and 28 August , she served as escort for Palestinian Liberation Organization refugees leaving Beirut for Tunisia on board the Cypriot merchantman SS " Sol Phryue " . Port visits and exercises occupied her time until mid - September when the situation in Lebanon began to break down again . " Biddle " returned to PIRAZ station on 18 September and remained there until 23 November . After a visit to Athens , she moved west to rendezvous with Nimitz for another freedom of navigation operation in the Gulf of Sidra . " Biddle " then set out for home early in December and reached Norfolk on the 22nd . The guided - missile cruiser completed post - deployment standdown in mid - January 1983 and resumed operations out of her home port . During the first five months of the year , " Biddle " operated along the east coast and in the West Indies . On 26 May , the warship put to sea for NATO Exercise " United Effort / Ocean Safari 83 . " At the conclusion of that exercise , she commenced a series of port visits alternated with operations in the Baltic Sea . After leaving the Baltic on 7 July , " Biddle " visited Leith , Scotland , and participated in a joint British - American exercise . Following another four - day visit to Leith , she got underway for home on 26 July . The guided - missile cruiser arrived back in Norfolk on 5 August and resumed normal east coast operations . That employment lasted until 14 October when she began a selected restricted availability at the Norfolk Shipbuilding Co . Those repairs occupied her time for the remainder of 1983 . 1985 – 1986 . In October 1985 , the Biddle deployed for the Mediterranean with the USS Coral Sea ( CV - 43 ) battle group . In November as planned , she detached from the Coral Sea battle group and attached with the USS Saratoga ( CV - 60 ) and transited the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean for bulk of operations in the North Arabian Sea . The battle group crossed the equator on 10 December 1985 and participating crewmembers became " Shellbacks . " During a port visit in early January 1986 at Diego Garcia , British Indian Ocean Territory , the battle group was informed that they needed to get underway on very short notice . Included with replenishment supplies was a videotape of President Reagan ' s address to the nation blaming Libyan President Mohammar Qaddafy for connections with Christmas Day airport bombings in Europe . The Saratoga and Coral Sea were integrated into one carrier battle group . Three patrols near the " Line of Death " marked in the Gulf of Sidra were largely unremarkable . The fourth patrol resulted in three Libyan patrol boats being attacked and sunk . Just prior , the USS America ( CV - 66 ) joined the now 3 carrier battle group , with RADM Jeremy " Mike " Boorda commanding the group . The Biddle had an opportunity to fire a Harpoon missile , but due to the proximity of other American ships , no attempt was made . For this action against Libya , the battle group was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation . For the most part , Biddle was far from action , instead being primary picket ship for the Coral Sea . The Saratoga detached and was replaced by the USS Eisenhower ( CVN - 69 ) . The Coral Sea and her escorts were enjoying what was to be her last port visit prior to leaving the Mediterranean . As the ships left port , it was quickly noticed that the ships were heading in the wrong direction . The 5th patrol off Libya now included Operation El Dorado Canyon , the aerial attacks on Tripoli and terrorist camps near Benghazi . Participating units were awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal . There was an uneventful 6th patrol . Biddle arrived home to much fanfare at Norfolk , Virginia on Armed Forces Day , May 1986 . For the entire period , the Biddle and other participating units were awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal . Since most crewmembers earned two different expeditionary medals , they were forced to choose which one to accept . 1986 – 1988 . In July , Biddle made her way to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for overhaul . In addition , she would be the first ship to be converted to the New Threat Upgrade , a package to add new weapons technology to older guided missile destroyers and guided missile cruisers . The centerpiece would be the added capability of the Standard Missile 2 – Extended Range system , which added a solid rocket booster to the Medium Range missile and extending maximum range from about 60 miles to over 100 miles . Other radar , sonar and electronics upgrades were installed . Most notably , the forward superstructure was changed to accommodate many of the improvements , also changing the look of the ship . During the 2nd half of 1987 and the first half of 1988 , Biddle made numerous trips off Wallops Island , Virginia and the Caribbean to test the new technology , accomplishing many firsts along the way . Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm . USS " Biddle " was deployed to the Middle East on September 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield , where she joined the " Saratoga " battle group at the Red Sea . On 12 September she diverted the first merchant ship of the operation . By 4 December she had made a total of 27 boardings and four diversions . After spending Christmas at Toulon , France , " Biddle " rejoined the operations , this time to provide antiaircraft support for the two USA battle groups on station in the northern Red Sea . By the beginning of Desert Storm the cruiser had boarded 30 freighters . At the end of hostilities , USS " Biddle " made another six boardings , and was the only warship to seize a merchant in the war . She left the Red Sea with the highest percentage of boardings of any coalition vessel , 22 . 2 percent . Fate . The cruiser was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 November 1993 and sold for scrap to Metro Marine Corporation of Philadelphia on 4 December 2000 .