USS Orleck to TCG Yücetepe

October 1, 1982

Around mid-September, an article in The Tacoma News Tribune announced that the USS Orleck, a WWII era battleship, was going to be decommissioned as a US Navy ship and recommissioned as a Turkish Navy ship.

(Click any of the pictures for larger versions.)

I’m not sure if we managed to wrangle an invitation or if the ceremony was open to the public. Either way, we were amongst the guests who were there to watch as the US flag was replaced by the Turkish flag.

From the decommissioning ceremony program:

The decommissioning ceremony marks the retirement of a ship as a unit of the operating forces of the US Navy. On 15 September 1945, when the order to commission this ship was given, a commissioning pennant was first hoisted to the forward truck. A pennant has flown there through 37 years of proud service. Today, when the commissioning pennant is hauled down for the final time, USS ORLECK (DD-886) will no longer be the responsibility of her commanding officer. Until this moment, he, along with the ship’s officers and men, had the responsibility of making and keeping her constantly ready for any service demanded by our country in peace or war.

The commissioning pennant is said to date from the 17th century, stemming from an incident between the warring Dutch and English navies. In one particular engagement, Maarten Harpertszoon Troomp, the Dutch Admiral, hoisted a broom at his masthead to indicate his intention to sweep the English from the sea. The English Admiral then hoisted a horsewhip, indicating his intention to chastise the insolent Dutchman. Ever since that time, the narrow “coachwhip” pennant, symbolizing the original horsewhip, has been the distinctive mark of a man-of-war. This tradition of so designating ships of war has been adopted by all nations.

The modern US Navy commissioning pennant is blue at the hoist with a horizontal red and white stripe at the fly and varies in length with the size of the ship. At one time, there were thirteen white stars in the blue field representing the original states, but in 1933 seven white stars became standard. It is a naval custom that when the commissioning pennant is hauled down for the last time, it is presented to the commanding officer.

Handing over the keys … so to speak

Ceremonial color guard.

The US Navy crew disembark the ship for the last time.

TCG Yücetepe (D-345)
The ship is named for the hill in Ankara, Turkey that
was chosen by Atatürk, the founder of the modern
Turkish Republic, as the location of the capital city.

The day after the ceremony, the following picture and article appeared in The Tacoma News Tribune …

… followed by this article a few weeks later …

After serving in the Turkish Navy for 18 years, TCG Yücetepe was decommissioned and transferred to the Southeast Texas War Memorial and Heritage Foundation in August 2000. The ship was berthed in Orange, Texas as a museum under its original name, USS Orleck. When Hurricane Rita struck the Texas coast in September 2005, the ship was severely damaged. Following repairs, the Orleck was moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana (May 2010) where it is now on display.