USS Dale ( DLG - 19 ) USS " Dale " ( DLG - 19 / CG - 19 ) was a United States Navy 5670 - ton Leahy class cruiser . " Dale " was named in honor of Commodore Richard Dale ( 1756 – 1826 ) . History . " Dale " was built at New York Shipbuilding Corporation , Camden , New Jersey , USA and commissioned at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 23 November 1963 . Her sponsor was Mrs . Daniel Flood . Assigned to Commander Cruiser - Destroyer Force Pacific Fleet , she made five deployments to the Western Pacific over the next seven years . Between 1965 and 1970 , " Dale " ' s Seventh Fleet tours included participation in Vietnam War operations , during which she rescued several American aviators in the Gulf of Tonkin . 1970s . On 10 November 1970 " Dale " was decommissioned and began modernization at Bath , Maine to increase flexibility in combat systems . This work fitted her with the Naval Tactical Data System ( NTDS ) and other improvements that enhanced her anti - air and anti - submarine warfare capabilities . When recommissioned on 11 December 1971 , " Dale " was assigned to Commander Cruiser - Destroyer Force , Atlantic Fleet and homeported in Newport , Rhode Island . In " Dale " ' s first Mediterranean deployment in June 1973 , she participated in the multinational exercise " Swift Move " in northern European Waters , and helped augment the Sixth Fleet during in the eastern Mediterranean during the tense period of U . S . - Soviet relations that accompanied the October 1973 Yom Kippur War . In February 1974 , " Dale " moved to her new homeport in Mayport , Florida . During 1974 , " Dale " was selected as the operational platform for the newly deployed AN / SPS - 49 two dimensional air search radar , which took " Dale " to the Caribbean several times during 1974 and early 1975 . " Dale " was reclassified as a guided - missile cruiser ( CG - 19 ) at the beginning of July 1975 . In October 1975 , " Dale " deployed to the Mediterranean , participating successfully in several national and multinational exercises and earning praise from Commander , Sixth Fleet and Commander - in - Chief , U . S . Naval Forces , Europe on her departure for home . In July 1976 , she helped represent the U . S . Navy during the Bicentennial Naval Review in New York Harbor . Then , " Dale " began a regular 12 - month overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard which upgraded " Dale " ' s NTDS and missile fire control systems . Upon the completion of the overhaul , " Dale " returned to Mayport in February 1977 . In June 1977 , " Dale " deployed to the Mediterranean , participating successfully in several national and multinational exercises returning home March 1978 . In September 1979 , " Dale " deployed to the North Atlantic for two months to serve as the flagship for the Commander Striking Force Atlantic Fleet for the NATO exercise " Ocean Safari . " 1980s . In January and February 1980 , " Dale " participated in the Atlantic Fleet Readiness Exercise " READEX 1 - 80 . " " Dale " deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in March 1980 and , as a unit of the Sixth Fleet , served as flag ship for Commander - Destroyer Group Eight . A highlight of this deployment was entering the Black Sea to visit Constanța , Romania . " Dale " returned to Mayport in August 1980 . The remainder of the year included two trips to the Caribbean for carrier support operations and participations in " COMPUTEX / ASWEX 1 - 81 . " " Dale " entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard in March 1981 to begin a Baseline Overhaul to update the ship ' s combat weapons systems and overhaul major engineering equipment . During the overhaul , which " Dale " completed a month early in February 1982 , the 3 " / 50 caliber gun mounts were replaced with Harpoon surface - to - surface guided missiles and the Phalanx gun system to the port and starboard sides . " Dale " completed Refresher Training in June 1982 . " Dale " deployed December 1982 to the Mediterranean . After port visits in Villefranche - sur - Mer , France and Athens , Greece , " Dale " transited the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean . While in the Indian Ocean " Dale " made port visits to Karachi , Pakistan ; Trincomalee , Sri Lanka ; and , Mombasa , Kenya . " Dale " crossed the equator on 26 February 1983 and again on 12 April 1983 – 344 people became Shellbacks . On the morning of 27 April 1983 , " Dale " was conducting tactical maneuvers with other ships of the U . S . and British fleets . During the course of the exercise , the British frigate " " collided with " Dale " s port quarter . Damage to both ships was relatively minor . " Dale " re - transited the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea . " Dale " ' s last port call was Málaga , Spain before heading home in June 1983 . New Threat Upgrade combat systems enhancement at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard later in that decade . During the 1980s her Mediterranean tours were sometimes extended to take her into the increasingly important Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf regions . In 1986 she took part in the confrontation with Libya . 1990s . " Dale " spent much of her final years of service on counter - narcotics patrols in the Caribbean area , and the Gulf of Mexico , as well as on regular cruises with the Sixth Fleet . During 1991 she went to the Red Sea to help enforce sanctions against Iraq after Operation Desert Storm . She had similar duties in 1992 – 93 , in support of United Nations ' Resolutions concerning Bosnia and Yugoslavia . Fate . " Dale " was decommissioned in September 1994 at Naval Station Mayport , Florida . She was sunk as a target in January 2000 .