DD–981 · SPRUANCE-CLASS DESTROYER

USS John Hancock

United States Navy · 1979–2000

Explore the ship’s record ↓

THE SHIP

A record of service.

USS John Hancock · DD–981
Spruance-class destroyer

Commissioned: 10 Mar 1979
Decommissioned: 16 Oct 2000
Length · class baseline: 563 ft 4 in
Beam · class baseline: 55 ft
Propulsion: 4 × LM2500 turbines
Power / shafts: 80,000 shp / 2

THE NAMESAKE · DD–981

John Hancock

President of the Continental Congress and the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Namesake reference: USS John Hancock · DD-981

ORIGIN & DESIGN

Built at Pascagoula.

USS John Hancock (DD-981) was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi as part of the Spruance class. Designed around antisubmarine warfare, the ships combined gas-turbine propulsion with a flight deck and hangar for embarked helicopters.

Commissioned U.S. Navy service spanned 1979–2000. The record below describes the launcher configuration; the photographs preserve individual moments at sea and in port.

THE SHIP AT A GLANCE

The VLS generation

Later service included a 61-cell Mk 41 vertical launching system (VLS), replacing the original trainable ASROC launcher forward.

Equipment changed during each ship’s service. This is a later-service summary; photographs may show earlier configurations.

Shared design, individual service

Two 5-inch/54 Mk 45 guns; Harpoon; NATO Sea Sparrow; torpedo tubes; Phalanx close-in defense in later service.

Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, Mississippi. The class combined gas-turbine propulsion, helicopter facilities, and an emphasis on antisubmarine warfare.

Explore the class design

PHOTOGRAPHS & ARTIFACTS

From the John Hancock collection

USS John Hancock at Genoa, Italy, October 13, 1988.Carlo Martinelli / NavSource · Source record

Looking forward over Mount 51 (MT 51), John Hancock’s forward 5-inch gun.SPRUCAN collection

John Hancock’s distinctive stern lettering reproduces the namesake’s signature on the Declaration of Independence.SPRUCAN collection; historical context from U.S. Navy photograph DN-SN-82-07924 · Source record

THE RECORD · NHHC ARCHIVE

USS John Hancock in the archival record

SPRUCAN is preserving high-resolution source material documenting USS John Hancock and the people, machinery and operations surrounding her. The images below are publication derivatives from preservation files acquired from the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Archival record identifiers are shown while individual dates, locations and descriptions are being verified against source metadata. Preservation masters remain separate from these web copies.