USS Johnston ( DD - 821 ) USS " Johnston " ( DD - 821 ) was a of the United States Navy , the second Navy ship named for Lieutenant John V . Johnston , who served in the Navy during the American Civil War . " Johnston " was laid down on 26 March 1945 , by Consolidated Steel Corporation , Orange , Texas ; launched on 10 October 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . Marie S . Klinger ; grandniece of Lt . J . V . Johnston ; and commissioned on 23 August 1946 , Commander E . C . Long in command . 1947 – 1961 . After shakedown in the Caribbean , " Johnston " reported to Newport , Rhode Island , on 16 May 1947 , for duty with the Atlantic Fleet . Operating out of Newport , its home port , it sailed on 9 February 1948 , for Northern Europe where it visited ports in Great Britain , France , and Scandinavia before returning to Newport on 26 June . For fourteen months it operated along the Atlantic coast , then sailed on 23 August 1949 , for the Mediterranean . From then until 4 October 1961 , it deployed with the 6th Fleet on eight occasions and supported peace - keeping efforts in the Middle East . While on its first Mediterranean deployment , it helped to stabilize the Adriatic Sea during the Trieste crisis , and it patrolled the coast of Greece to bolster the country ' s freedom and national security against threatened Communist domination . " Johnston " returned to Newport on 26 January 1950 . It operated out of Newport from Canada to the Caribbean until 4 June 1951 , when it departed with Midshipman at sea training off Northern Europe . Following its return to Newport on 28 July , it cleared the East Coast for the Mediterranean on 3 September and joined the 6th Fleet in operations that carried it from French Morocco to Turkey ; it then returned to home port on 4 February 1952 . " Johnston " departed Newport on 7 January 1953 , for NATO operations in the North Atlantic . Before sailing for duty in the Mediterranean on 16 March " Johnston " aided the Dutch after storms in the North Sea had caused extensive flooding in the Netherlands ; its crew donated bundles of warm clothing and more than $ 1 , 200 for the storm victims . It operated in the Mediterranean until 8 May when it steamed for Newport , arriving on 18 May . After a four - month deployment in the Mediterranean during early 1954 , " Johnston " operated for more than seventeen months along the Atlantic coast from New England to Cuba . On 5 November 1955 , it steamed for maneuvers off Northern Europe , followed by another tour of duty in the Mediterranean . While operating in the eastern Mediterranean during February 1956 , it patrolled off Israel and Egypt as the Middle East rumbled over the developing Suez Canal crisis . Returning to Newport on 5 March , it embarked midshipmen on 5 June for two months of at - sea training off Northern Europe , after which it resumed operations out of Newport . " Johnston " sailed once again on 6 May 1957 , for peace - keeping operations with the 6th Fleet . Before returning to the United States on 1 August it ranged the Mediterranean from Spain to Sicily on anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) barrier patrols . While at Marseilles , France , on 3 July , it helped fight a destructive blaze on board . Steaming from Newport on 3 September , it joined the Atlantic Fleet for the NATO Exercise " Strike Back " in the North Atlantic . It returned to Newport on 22 October , then resumed operations that sent it into the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico . Returning to the North Atlantic on 6 June 1959 , for further NATO maneuvers , " Johnston " steamed to Charleston , South Carolina , on 25 July and joined Destroyer Squadron 4 ( DesRon 4 ) for deployment to the Mediterranean . Departing Charleston on 21 September , it conducted Fleet operations in the western Mediterranean ; on 18 December it joined naval units from France , Italy , and Spain along the French coast for a review in honor of President Dwight D . Eisenhower . Following patrols along the Greek coast , it departed Athens for the United States on 24 March 1960 , arriving at Charleston on 10 April . Before deploying again to the Mediterranean , " Johnston " joined in NATO Exercise " Sword Thrust " during the fall of 1960 ; then it departed Charleston on 8 March 1961 , to bolster the 6th Fleet ' s continuing efforts to maintain peace in the Middle East . After returning to the United States 4 October , it steamed on 19 November for patrol duty off the Dominican Republic . During this brief but important duty its presence did much to stabilize a situation " which had threatened to plunge the country into bitter fighting and a return of the Trujillo dictatorship . " 1962 – 1981 . " Johnston " returned to Charleston on 26 November ; and following coastal operations , she steamed to Boston , Massachusetts where she underwent Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization ( FRAM I ) overhaul from 4 January to 31 October 1962 . During this time she received the latest equipment , including ASROC system and QH - 50 DASH facilities , to prepare her for new assignment in the modern Navy . Departing Boston on 2 November , she arrived Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , via Charleston on 10 December for Caribbean operations . While steaming near Mona Island on 1 February 1963 , it rescued sinking Honduran freighter " Kirco " and towed her to Mayaguez , Puerto Rico . Continuing her Atlantic operations , she supported Polaris missile firing tests . As fired two underwater missiles off the Florida coast on 14 March , " Johnston " became the first destroyer to serve as " primary support ship for an underwater firing of a Polaris missile . " After more than four months of ASW tactical operations , " Johnston " departed Charleston on 6 August for her ninth deployment to the Mediterranean . While operating with the 6th Fleet , she steamed the length and breadth of the Mediterranean and entered the Black Sea on 27 September . During the cruise to Turkish Black Sea ports she served as a symbol of America ' s determination to safeguard peace on land through strength on the sea . Following two months of ASW operations , " Johnston " departed Cannes , France , for the United States on 7 December and arrived Charleston on 23 December for coastal operations through 1964 . The veteran destroyer departed Charleston on 6 January 1965 for the Mediterranean to resume peace - keeping operations with forces of other NATO countries . She returned to Charleston on 7 June , and devoted the rest of the year to operations with Polaris submarine s , amphibious exercises , and overhaul to prepare for future service . " Johnston " began New Year 1966 as sonar school training ship at Key West , Florida During this period of training she visited Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , for refresher training ; and in February while " Johnston " s crew was spending weekend liberty at Kingston , Jamaica , her sailors swiftly answered a call for help on the 27th . The famous Myrtle Bank Hotel had caught fire and threatened the whole waterfront . " Johnston " sailors rushed to the fire and averted disaster . " Johnston " operated off the East Coast until departing Charleston on 29 September for Mediterranean and Middle East deployment . After operating on the far side of the Suez Canal , she again transited the Suez Canal to rejoin the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . There her exercises with this powerful deterrent force helped to stabilize the area while bringing her to peak readiness for any emergency which might threaten the peace . She returned to Charleston on 9 February 1967 and operated on the East Coast through mid - year . ROCS " Chen Yang " ( DDG - 928 ) . On 27 February 1981 , " Johnston " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and transferred to the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) , serving with the Republic of China Navy as the Chen Yang . " Chen Yang " was subject to a major modification and complete rearmament to a guided missile destroyer with the pennant number DDG - 928 under the " Wu Chin III " program , with the upgrade completed by 1998 . All 5 inch guns were removed , with 10 box launchers for SM - 1 Standard surface to air missile s fitted , four ahead of the bridge and six right aft on the ship ' s fantail . A single Otobreda 76 mm gun was mounted forward , with two Bofors 40 mm / L70 guns amidships and a Phalanx 20 mm Close - in weapon system aft . The ships ASROC launcher was retained , although the reload capability was removed . The ship ' s sensors were also refurbished , with the radar suite changed to a HSA DA - 08 air search radar and an AN / SPS - 58 air / sea search radar , with HSA STIR - 18 and Westinghouse HW - 160 fire control radars . The sonar was upgraded to the Raytheon DE - 1191 , a digital upgrade of the SQS - 23 sonar installed as part of the FRAM upgrade . A quadruple mounting for the Hsiung Feng II anti - ship missile was added amidships by 1995 . " Chen Yang " served as part of the 146th Frigate squadron . She was decommissioned on 16 December 2003 . Note : All the " Jane ' s Fighting Ships " from the 1982 edition and the " Register of Ships of the US Navy " [ K . Jack Bauer and Stephen S . Roberts ] said she was DDG - 927 Yung Yang .