USS Thorn (DD-988), a Spruance-class destroyer, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Lieutenant Jonathan Thorn (1779 - 1811), who took part in Decatur's expedition to destroy the captured frigate Philadelphia in 1804.[1]
Thorn was laid down on 29 August 1977 by Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.; launched on 22 November 1978 (Thorn was christened on 3 February 1979 by Mrs. Patricia Ansley); and commissioned on 16 February 1980.[2]
Thorn was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on 25 August 2004.
Thorn was sunk as a test/target at 08:50 on 22 July 2006 off the United States East Coast.