Produced by Sun Dial Films Inc. in the 1960s, Traditions Old, Traditions New (MN-10365e) is a U.S. Navy film that shows viewers how the Navy is adapting to the times with a new Guided Missile Destroyer, also referred to as a DDG ship. The film opens with a shot of a statue in the National Cemetery at Arlington, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and national monuments in Washington, D.C. Sailors get off a bus at Norfolk, VA and board the new DDG-23 USS Richard E. Byrd, a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer. Men perform their daily tasks in the radar room (03:30), and the film shows the ship at sea off the coast of Virginia. The DDG passes the Statue of Liberty and New York City. Rockets are moved into launch position on the ship’s deck. The film takes viewers back a few decades to World War II, with footage of Allied ships firing on Nazi submarines (07:08). The film then shows the new homing torpedoes and rocket-launched torpedoes on the DDG. A Polaris missile is fired from a U.S. naval submarine. Footage shows the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House, and an aerial view of the Pentagon. Back on the DDG, a sailor operates a computer (09:02). The film then shows footage of U.S. naval ships on fire after being attacked during WWII and an Allied invasion of Japanese-held islands in the Pacific. Back on the DDG, officers stand on the bridge of the new ship (12:22) and send orders for men to go to their battle stations. A shot from the point of view of the bow of the ship shows the ship going through rough waters (15:30). A man scuba dives underwater, passing by coral reefs (16:30). Illustrations show the future of military and industrial undersea operations, including an underwater oil drilling operation (17:10). The Navy’s deep-sea research submarine Star II is lowered into water (17:43); the vessel moves through the ocean’s depths recording sounds and video footage. Two men watch a machine sketch out what appears to be a topographical map of the ocean floor (19:19). Scientists conduct experiments in laboratories. The film then shows more illustrations of future undersea dwellings and industrial operations. A U.S. Navy vessel is lowered into the water. A returned astronaut is lifted in a sling from the sea by a helicopter. The film concludes with shots of a young sailor standing on the deck of a ship, shots of the bridge, and footage of the harbor and docks in Norfolk where sailors board the DDG.
A guided-missile destroyer is a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. Many are also equipped to carry out anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface operations. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG. Nations vary in their use of destroyer D designation in their hull pennant numbering, either prefixing or dropping it altogether. The U.S. Navy has adopted the classification DDG in the American hull classification system.
In addition to the guns, a guided-missile destroyer is usually equipped with two large missile magazines, usually in vertical-launch cells. Some guided-missile destroyers contain powerful radar systems, such as the United States’ Aegis Combat System, and may be adopted for use in an anti-missile or ballistic-missile defense role. This is especially true of navies that no longer operate cruisers, so other vessels must be adopted to fill in the gap.
USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG-23), a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, was named after noted polar explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd. The keel for Richard E. Byrd was laid down 12 April 1961 by Todd Shipbuilding Corp. Seattle, Washington. She was launched on 6 February 1962; sponsored by Mrs. Richard E. Byrd, whose daughter, Mrs. Robert G. Breyer, acted as proxy sponsor for the admiral's wife. The ship was commissioned on 7 March 1964, Comdr. Walter G. Lessman in command. She was decommissioned on 27 April 1990 and in 1992 was sold to Greece and used for spare parts. She was sunk as a target on 19 June 2003.
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