USS Dale CG 19 – History of the U.S. Navy's Guided Missile Cruiser & Navy Decals

USS Dale CG 19 – History, Service Record & Navy Decals

The USS Dale (CG-19) was the fourth ship of the Leahy class of guided missile cruisers — the U.S. Navy's first purpose-built guided missile cruiser class — serving the Atlantic Fleet through three decades of distinguished Cold War service. Named for Commodore Richard Dale, USN — one of the most storied officers of the early American Navy, the first lieutenant of John Paul Jones aboard the Bonhomme Richard during the most celebrated single-ship action in the history of the United States Navy.

On the night of September 23, 1779, Richard Dale stood at John Paul Jones's side aboard the aging and outgunned Bonhomme Richard as she engaged the powerful British frigate HMS Serapis off Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire coast of England. The battle that followed was one of the most ferocious and dramatic ship-to-ship engagements ever fought — a brutal, bloody, hours-long duel fought in the darkness, with both ships eventually lashed together, their gun muzzles practically touching, fires burning aboard both vessels, and the Bonhomme Richard slowly sinking beneath the feet of her own crew. It was during this battle that Jones delivered his immortal reply to the British demand for surrender: “I have not yet begun to fight!”

Richard Dale was at the center of that fight throughout — commanding the gun crews, managing the desperate battle below decks, boarding HMS Serapis when Jones finally forced her surrender, and helping to save as many of the crew as possible when the mortally wounded Bonhomme Richard finally sank two days later. Dale was subsequently captured by the British, escaped from a British prison, and returned to sea service, rising to command his own squadron and serving as one of the first commodores of the United States Navy in the Quasi-War with France and the First Barbary War. His career was a complete embodiment of the early American Navy's fighting spirit, and USS Dale honored that legacy throughout her Cold War career.

Keel, Launch & Commissioning

Dale's keel was laid down on September 6, 1960, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on July 28, 1962, and commissioned into the U.S. Navy on November 23, 1963 — the day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas — under hull designation CG-19 (originally designated DLG-19, reclassified as CG-19 in 1975).

Class & Design

USS Dale was one of nine Leahy-class guided missile cruisers — the Navy's first purpose-built guided missile cruiser class, designed to provide area air defense for carrier strike groups. At approximately 533 feet in length and displacing approximately 8,200 tons fully loaded, she carried the twin-arm Terrier surface-to-air missile systems fore and aft — giving her the “Double-End Terrier” capability for 360-degree missile engagement — along with the ASROC anti-submarine rocket system and torpedo tubes. As with her sisters, Dale was later upgraded with the Standard Missile system and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, maintaining her effectiveness as a multi-mission surface combatant throughout her Cold War career.

Cold War Atlantic Fleet Service

Commissioned on November 23, 1963 — the day after President Kennedy's assassination, a date that cast a somber shadow over her commissioning ceremony — USS Dale was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, where she served as an escort for carrier battle groups and conducted Cold War operations throughout the Atlantic and Mediterranean over three decades of service.

Over her long Cold War career, USS Dale participated in the full range of Atlantic Fleet operations — carrier battle group escorts through the Mediterranean during some of the Cold War's most tense periods, NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, and the constant forward presence operations that were the Navy's primary Cold War contribution to deterrence and alliance solidarity. Her twin Terrier missile systems and later Standard Missiles provided the air defense umbrella that protected carrier battle groups from the Soviet air and missile threat that was the primary tactical challenge facing the Atlantic Fleet throughout the Cold War.

USS Dale also participated in operations during the Vietnam War era, deploying to the Western Pacific with her carrier battle group and contributing to the naval operations that sustained American commitments in Southeast Asia through one of the most difficult periods in American military history.

Decommissioning

USS Dale was decommissioned on March 27, 1992, after more than 28 years of commissioned service — a career spanning from the day after Kennedy's assassination through the end of the Cold War, encompassing every major naval confrontation and crisis of that era.

Legacy

For the sailors who served aboard Dale — the missile technicians, sonar operators, electronics warfare specialists, and surface warfare professionals who kept this Atlantic Fleet guided missile cruiser operational and ready through nearly 29 years of Cold War service — she represents a career of exceptional dedication to American naval power. Named for the officer who stood at John Paul Jones's side during the most celebrated naval battle in American history — refusing to surrender, fighting on through fire and flooding and darkness until the enemy struck his colors — USS Dale embodied that same spirit of determined professionalism and unflinching readiness through every year of her distinguished Cold War service.

Shop USS Dale CG 19 Navy Gifts & Decals

Honor your service or give a meaningful gift to a USS Dale veteran with our full line of USS Dale CG 19 products:

• USS Dale CG 19 Aluminum License Plate — Show your Navy pride on the road.
• USS Dale CG 19 License Plate U.S. Flag — A patriotic twist on the classic plate.
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• USS Dale CG 19 License Plate Frame (Metal or Plastic) — Pair with your license plate for a complete look.
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• USS Dale CG 19 Motorcycle License Plate Frame — For the veteran who rides.
• USS Dale CG 19 Aluminum Street Sign Blue/White — A one-of-a-kind display piece for any veteran's home.
• USS Dale CG 19 Parking Sign Blue/White — Reserve your spot in style.
• USS Dale CG 19 Parking Sign Red/White — Another great option for the garage or driveway.

All products ship from the USA. Custom options available — contact us for details.