Subject: Re: Glover (FF-1098)
   Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997
   From: Ed Locker 
   To: Destroyers Online 

   Mark 

   Glad you enjoyed the info - it's hard to find anyone to listen to sea stories
   anymore. I do prefer to think of Glover as a DE (traditionalist, I guess) or as we
   used to call our 'cans, "torpedo catchers". As to VDS, sorry guy, I was a snipe
   (IC-man), I don't recognize the initials. I spent most of my fleet time sleeping with
   the gyrocompass and showing movies to the other squids. I'd be thrilled to see
   more info on Glover online and I think I've got some pictures somewhere. I took a
   shot of her when we were in drydock at Boston (very forbidden at the time) that
   gave a good view of her oversized sonar dome. We were always put in the carrier
   drydock at Southy because we were so over-sized below the waterline. I'll look for
   my pictures, although it's been 15 or 20 years since I've seen them. 

   Smooth seas, safe voyage, 

   Ed 





Subject: Re: Glover
   Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997
   From: Ed Locker 
   To: Destroyers Online 

   Mark 

   Thanks very much for your research work. The website you suggested lists Glover
   as being sold in '94 - I suspect that means she was broken up. Funny to think the
   old girl doesn't exist anymore. A couple of things you might find of interest;
   although Glover doesn't seem to be related to the Garcia class by documentation,
   we who served aboard always understood her to be Garcia class. She was built in
   Bath, and if you look at her profile you'll see the fantail has a "high hat"
   uncharacteristic of Garcia 'cans. This was added in the Boston yards in the '68-'69
   timeframe to accomidate a sonar "fish" that was extended through 2 doors on the
   fantail on tracks and dropped into the water - Russian trawlers used to follow and
   photogragh us everywhere we went because of our one of a kind profile and the 2
   doors. The addition of the high hat rendered the DASH helicopter pad inoperable
   and since the DASH system was one of Garcia class' main weapon systems
   (even though it never worked, to my knowledge), I suspect this is why Glover is
   not considered Garcia class. One of the more interesting features of Glover was
   her propulsion system, which she was built to test. I get a lot of strange looks from
   old salts when I tell them about this, but Glover didn't have any screws - she had a
   "pumpjet" that was more like a jet engine in that it sucked water in at the front and
   blew it out the back at an accelerated speed. There were glass portholes in
   Glover's hull in after steering spaced around the pumpjet so it's operation could be
   watched / monitored. The portholes were great for viewing marine life when we
   weren't underway, We also frequently carried civilian engineers who worked on
   the various systems we were testing so Glover's ASROC magazine was taken out
   and berthing for these civilians was installed there (plush, by Navy standards).
   Carrying civilians also meant we couldn't be deployed for very extended periods
   so we rarely spent more than about 3 weeks without pulling in somewhere. I guess
   I've pulled your ear long enough, thanks for allowing me to remember my life as a
   squid. 

   Ed 








Subject: Re: "fast frigates"
   Date: Sat, 16 Aug 1997
   From: Ed Locker 
   To: Destroyers Online 

   Mark 

   I'm wondering what happened to my ship, the USS(General John) Glover. She was
   a Garcia class 'can (I got your fast frigate, right here), built in Bath, I think the
   original hull number was 1042 but she was re-designated as AGDE-1 (Ocean
   Research Destroyer Escort) and her primary duties were testing new systems,
   particularly sonar, for the fleet. Glover doesn't seem to appear in any of these
   lists. I am under the impression that she reverted to her old hull number when the
   Navy changed to fast frigates and is now out of commission. Any info would be
   greatly appreciated. 

   Thanks, 

   Ed Locker
   IC3 






Home (Glover Correspondence)
Subject: Re: Glover
   Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997
   From: Ed Locker 
   To: Destroyers Online 

   Mark 

   Thanks very much for your research work. The website you suggested lists Glover
   as being sold in '94 - I suspect that means she was broken up. Funny to think the
   old girl doesn't exist anymore. A couple of things you might find of interest;
   although Glover doesn't seem to be related to the Garcia class by documentation,
   we who served aboard always understood her to be Garcia class. She was built in
   Bath, and if you look at her profile you'll see the fantail has a "high hat"
   uncharacteristic of Garcia 'cans. This was added in the Boston yards in the '68-'69
   timeframe to accomidate a sonar "fish" that was extended through 2 doors on the
   fantail on tracks and dropped into the water - Russian trawlers used to follow and
   photogragh us everywhere we went because of our one of a kind profile and the 2
   doors. The addition of the high hat rendered the DASH helicopter pad inoperable
   and since the DASH system was one of Garcia class' main weapon systems
   (even though it never worked, to my knowledge), I suspect this is why Glover is
   not considered Garcia class. One of the more interesting features of Glover was
   her propulsion system, which she was built to test. I get a lot of strange looks from
   old salts when I tell them about this, but Glover didn't have any screws - she had a
   "pumpjet" that was more like a jet engine in that it sucked water in at the front and
   blew it out the back at an accelerated speed. There were glass portholes in
   Glover's hull in after steering spaced around the pumpjet so it's operation could be
   watched / monitored. The portholes were great for viewing marine life when we
   weren't underway, We also frequently carried civilian engineers who worked on
   the various systems we were testing so Glover's ASROC magazine was taken out
   and berthing for these civilians was installed there (plush, by Navy standards).
   Carrying civilians also meant we couldn't be deployed for very extended periods
   so we rarely spent more than about 3 weeks without pulling in somewhere. I guess
   I've pulled your ear long enough, thanks for allowing me to remember my life as a
   squid. 

   Ed 



   Subject: Re: Glover (FF-1098)
   Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997
   From: Ed Locker 
   To: Destroyers Online 

   Mark 

   Glad you enjoyed the info - it's hard to find anyone to listen to sea stories
   anymore. I do prefer to think of Glover as a DE (traditionalist, I guess) or as we
   used to call our 'cans, "torpedo catchers". As to VDS, sorry guy, I was a snipe
   (IC-man), I don't recognize the initials. I spent most of my fleet time sleeping with
   the gyrocompass and showing movies to the other squids. I'd be thrilled to see
   more info on Glover online and I think I've got some pictures somewhere. I took a
   shot of her when we were in drydock at Boston (very forbidden at the time) that
   gave a good view of her oversized sonar dome. We were always put in the carrier
   drydock at Southy because we were so over-sized below the waterline. I'll look for
   my pictures, although it's been 15 or 20 years since I've seen them. 

   Smooth seas, safe voyage, 

   Ed 





Home (Glover Correspondence)
Subject: Glover Photo
   Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 09:17:21 -0400
   From: Ed Locker
   To: Destroyers OnLine

   Eric 

   I know you have probably given up (or forgotten) on me, but I finally have my
   scanner, software, etc. operating. Attached is a photo of USS Glover in drydock at
   south annex, Boston Naval Shipyard. I hope the TIFF format is acceptable to you
   (it's what my software recommends for attachments). Thanks for all the work
   you've done on the Glover site. 

   Ed Locker