| The ship remained in "mothballs" for the
next nine years, before she was towed to the Mare Island
Naval Shipyard in November 1955 for conversion to a radar
picket destroyer escort. The extensive alterations
involved the addition of: improved air-search radar,
extensive communications equipment, and complete
facilities for fighter-direction operations. It also
entailed the enclosing of the entire main deck areas
amidships to provide accommodations for officers and men.
Designated DER-387, Vance was recommissioned on 5 October
1956 at Mare Island, Lt. Comdr. Albert M. Brouner in
command. Between
March of 1957 and the end of the year, Vance was
homeported at Seattle, Wash., as a unit of CortDiv 5 and
completed eight patrols on various stations of the Radar
Early Warning System in the northern Pacific. Each tour
lasted approximately 17 days, end the ship maintained a
round-the-clock vigil with air-search radars, tracking
and reporting every aircraft entering or approaching the
air space of the northwestern United States. On Labor Day
1957 Vance drew emergency duty--an engineering casualty
prevented the assigned ship from going out-and got
underway in a fast 75 minutes. Although she was only
manned at 60 percent of her complement (because many of
her officers and men were ashore on leave or liberty and
could not be notified in time to return to the ship
before she weighed anchor) Vance was deployed for 12 days
and completed a successful mission.
|
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