The USS Noa (DD-841) was a Gearing-class destroyer built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, with her keel laid on March 26, 1945. Launched on July 30, 1945, and commissioned on November 2, 1945, the vessel served the United States Navy until 1973, later becoming SPS Blas de Lezo (D65) in the Spanish Navy until 1991. The ship measured approximately 390 feet in length, with a beam of 40 feet, and was equipped with advanced ASW (antisubmarine warfare) gear following her Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) overhaul in 1961. Throughout her US naval career, Noa was actively engaged in Cold War operations across multiple theaters, including the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. Her service record includes numerous deployments, notably a around-the-world cruise in 1953, participation in NATO antisubmarine exercises, and Mediterranean duty with the Sixth Fleet. She also played a key role in space history by recovering astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. and the Friendship 7 spacecraft on February 20, 1962, after Glenn's historic first American orbital spaceflight. The ship participated in various notable events, including the Lebanon crisis of 1958, Gemini VI and VIII recovery operations, and service off South Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1969. She also served as a test ship for experimental sonar and radio equipment and operated drone antisubmarine helicopters after 1967. Her operational history included a significant seven-month deployment with the Sixth Fleet in 1962, multiple Mediterranean tours, and involvement in joint NATO exercises. She was decommissioned on October 31, 1973, struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1975, and transferred to Spain, where she served until her scrapping in 1991.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.