A destroyer named after Britain's great wartime leader is charged with protecting the super-aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, which is expected in Palma on Friday. It is unclear whether the destroyer Winston S. Churchill will also dock in Palma. If she doesn't, she won't be far away.
Winston S. Churchill is the only U.S. Navy vessel to have a Royal Navy exchange officer permanently assigned to the ship's company (usually a Navigation Officer). The Royal Navy's White Ensign is honorarily flown on special occasions from the ship's mast, on the port side, whereas the U.S. flag is flown from the starboard side.
On 29 November 1995, on a visit to the United Kingdom, President Bill Clinton announced to the British Parliament that a new warship would be named after Sir Winston Churchill.
She was the first destroyer and fourth American warship named after a British citizen, and the first since 1976 named after a non-U.S. citizen , though Churchill was an honorary U.S. citizen and his mother Lady Randolph Churchill was American-born.
The Winston S. Churchill is part of the Ford strike group and her main duty is to protect the carrier from attack using a variety of advanced missile systems.