CHRISTENING
                       OF  THE  FOURTH  U. S.  WARSHIP  TO BEAR THE  NAME
    FARRAGUT
JULY  18, 1958
BETHLEHEM  STEEL  WORKS  of  QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

Designated  DLG-6, the  Farragut  was the  first  of the
U. S. Navy  Destroyer Leader Guided Missle Frigates
that would become the "Farragut" class

512 feet long with a 52 foot beam and 25 foot draft,
the Farragut would have a complement of 21 officers
and 356 enlisted crew and could steam at 36 knots.
Armament consisted of one 5" gun forward, two
triple tube torpedoe tubes port and starboard
amidships,  an anti-submarine rocket launcher on
the 02 deck forward, twin 3" open gun mounts
on the port and starboard sides of the 02 deck aft
and Terrier surface-to-air missle launcher.

Joe  Townsend  was  a  15  year  old  when
Bethlehem Steel contacted his mother about
including  him in the  christening ceremony.
In the story below Joe  tells  in his own  words
why he was chosen for this honor.
* * * * * * *
     Why I was chosen to participate in the launch of the U. S. S. Farragut
in July 1958.  Here is what I know and remember....

     My father was also named Joseph Henry Townsend, as was his father and
his father.  He was born on December 31, 1907 in Paterson, New Jersey.  After
completing high school in Clifton, he went to the Newark College of Engineering.
Upon graduation in 1929 with a degree in civil engineering, he went to work for
the Paterson Bridge Company and then McClintic-Marshall Corporation.  
In 1931 they merged with Bethlehem Steel.  During the 1930's my father was
involved in bridge building, including the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was during this
time that he met and fell in love with my mother, Ruth Schneider.  They were
married in October, 1939 in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
     At the time of their marriage my father was working at the Bethlehem Steel
Fore River Shipyard.  In early  1942 he was named Hull Superintendent at the
Hingham Shipyard and in April 1944 he was appointed Assistant General Super-
intendent.  One year later he was promoted to the position of General Superin-
tendant of the Sparrows Point, Maryland Bethlehem Steel shipbuilding division.
While in Hingham my father was involved in the building of 225 warships for the
for the United States and British Navies.  The Hingham Yard received many
awards from the War Department for both production and efficiency.  
     Father continued to rise in responsibilities and was manager of the Sparrows
Point Shipyard at the time of his death in an automobile accident  on June 5,  
1956.    The  news of his death was covered on the front page of the Baltimore
Sun.     
     My father had developed many close
friends  in  work  at  Bethlehem   Steel
including  the  Fore  River  yard.   As  a
Tribute to him, I was asked to participate
in the launching of the USS Farragut on
July 18, 1958.  I  was 15  but  remember
little of that day.   My photograph shows
me under the hull of the ship, smiling and
wearing a suit and a hard hat.  My job was
to  remove  the  trigger  safety  pin  at the
same  time  the ship was Christened, then
push down a lever which would cause the
ship to go very slowly into the water, stern
first.  After the launching I was invited to
attend the reception luncheon.
    I am now 65 and still miss my father very
much.  My parents were married 16 years
and I have no memory of them ever having
an argument.  In addition to his remarkable
leadership and management skills, he
developed hobbies in both gardening and
painting.   Although  he  never  had  voice
lessons, he had a resonant baritone voice, and  he  was  frequently  asked  to        
sing at launching receptions.  I believe he was truly a renaissance man.  
                                                                              
                                                                                    Joe Townsend
                                                                                    December, 2008
     A fifteen year old Joe Townsend
prepares to move the lever to launch
Farragut in 1958.

At the time of the Christening and later the
Commissioning of the USS Farragut DLG-6 the
world was deep into the cold war.  I assume
that is the reason no cameras were allowed
(other than official photographers) at either
ceremony.  Unfortunately because of the
forced "secrecy" we have few photos of these
events.  What I have are on this web page and
appear below.
Joe Townsend also provided the photos below of the
safety pin that was used in the launching ceremony
       When Joe Townsend called me on July 18, 2008, I just sat and listened intently to his story
of  his  involvement  with  the  Christening of  DLG-6.  The day he called was exactly the fiftieth
anniversary  of  the  launching of  Farragut.  For all of us that served on the fourth Farragut, his
story  provides  us with another special part of this important event in the birth of our ship.
       Thank you Joe for providing us with a great story in the history of Farragut.
       Not to be overlooked is the day that  David Braddock  and  I  roamed the decks and some
compartments of the  ship  at  the  Brownsville  ship  channel where workers had already began
to dismantle her in March 2006.  All the memories that brought back were pretty overwhelming.
       Finally I think it is appropriate to note that my friend and mentor on the Farragut, Lloyd
Greer CMC,  U.S.N. (ret.) and a  plankowner from 1959 was without  doubt  the last shipmate
to walk the decks of the Farragut in the summer of  2006 as  she  was  being  turned  into scrap.

                                                                                           Tommy Anderson  SM3
                                                                                           ussfarragutshipmates.com    
                                                                                           U.S.S. Farragut (DLG-6)  1961-1963