Crew of Norfolk-based ship Bainbridge aided in rescue of captain

Less than two months into its latest deployment, the Virginia-based USS Bainbridge found itself at the forefront of a tense overseas showdown.

Snipers from the guided-missile destroyer, whose home port is Naval Station Norfolk, needed just three shots to take out three Somali pirates holding an American cargo ship captain hostage Sunday in the Indian Ocean.

Naval Station Norfolk officials acknowledged yesterday that it was a proud day at the base after one of their ships engineered the safe return of Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama.

Beyond that, however, base officials declined to comment on the reaction in Norfolk or on the ship, which left Feb. 20 for its latest deployment.

The 510-foot Bainbridge, built at Bath Iron Works in Maine and commissioned in 2005, carries a crew of about 270.

The warship, the fifth given the Bainbridge name, is named in honor of Commodore William Bainbridge, who before he became a hero in the War of 1812 had his own encounter with pirates in the Indian Ocean. Bainbridge was taken captive while fighting the Barbary pirates of North Africa in the early 1800s.

Contact Joe Macenka at (804) 649-6804 or .