Knox-class Frigate

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The Knox-class frigates USS Knox (FF-1052), USS Lockwood (FF-1064), USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067) and USS Kirk (FF-1087) sailing with the Charles F. Adams-class DDG USS Towers (DDG-09) in the Indian Ocean as part of the USS Midway (CV-41) battlegroup on October 1st, 1987

The Knox-class frigates were United States Navy warships, originally laid down as ocean escorts (formerly called destroyer escorts), but were all redesignated as frigates on June 30, 1975 in the USN 1975 ship reclassification and their hull designation changed from DE to FF.

A sub-class of the Knox-class was built, commonly referred to as the Hewes-class. The primary differences were slightly different arrangement of the "Officer's Country" staterooms with additional staterooms in the 01 level instead of the open deck between the boat decks. The stateroom on the port side under the bridge was designated as a "flag" stateroom, with the additional staterooms for flag staff when serving as a flagship.

Specifications[edit | edit source]

  • Type: Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate (Hull designation symbol FF)
  • Service Period: 1969-1994
  • Characteristics
    • Length: 438 feet (133.5 meters)
    • Beam: 46 feet 9 inches (14.25 meters)
    • Draft: 24 feet 9 inches (7.54 meters)
    • Displacement: 4,260 tons (Full Load)
  • Crew: 257 (17 officers and 240 enlisted)
  • Propulsion: 1 shaft, one Westinghouse steam turbine, 2 V2M boilers. total 35,000 shp (maximum)
  • Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,334 kilometers) at 20 knots (37.04 km/h)
  • Speed: 27 knots (50km/h)
  • Sensor Suite:
    • AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar
    • AN/SPS-10 Surface Search Radar
    • AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar
    • AN/SPG-53 Fire Control Radar
    • AN/SQS-26 Hull Sonar
    • AN/SQS-35 Towed Array Sonar - replaced by AN/SQR-18
  • Armament
    • 1 x Mark 42 5"/54-caliber naval gun
    • 1 x 8-cell Mk.25 Sea Sparrow Missile Launcher
    • 1 x 8-cell Mk.112 Box Launcher (fires RUR-5 ASROC and RGM-84 Harpoon)
    • 2 x Mk.32 triple fire torpedo tubes (fires Mk.44 and Mk.46 torpedoes)
    • 1 x 20mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS
  • Aircraft Carried: 1 x Kaman SH-2 Sea Sprite

History[edit | edit source]

The 46 ships of the Knox-class were the largest, last and most numerous of the US Navy’s second-generation ASW escorts. The lead ship of the class was the USS Knox (FF-1052), laid down 5 October 1965 and commissioned 12 April 1969, at Todd Shipyards in Seattle. Planned as the follow-on to the twin 5-inch gun armed Garcia-class frigates and the Tartar missile-equipped Brooke-class frigates, their initial design incorporated the prior classes’ pressure-fired boilers (the design later was changed to conventional 1,200 psi (8,300 kPa) boilers) in a similar-sized hull designed around the massive bow-mounted AN/SQS-26 sonar.

Ten ships were authorized in FY 1964, sixteen in 1965 and ten each for FYs 1966, ’67 and ’68; six were canceled in 1968 and four more in 1969. They were built in four different shipyards and were originally commissioned as destroyer escorts (DEs) 1052–1097 in 1969–1974, they were redesignated as frigates (FF) on 30 June 1975.

In February 1972, after encountering a severe Nor'Easter off Cape Hatteras, the USS Trippe (FF-1075) suffered major damage to its ASROC missile launcher, which was ripped off its mounts. The Bureau of Ships ordered all of the Knox-class to have a retrofit "hurricane bow" which heighted the bow section to prevent burrowing into on-coming seas and to protect the forecastle armament.

The Knox-class was the Navy’s last destroyer-type design with a steam power plant.

Due to their unequal comparison to destroyers then in service (large size with low speed and a single screw and 5 inch gun), they became known to a generation of destroyermen as “McNamara’s Folly.”

These ships were retired from the US Navy at the end of the Cold War due to a declining need for an advanced ASW capability. By 1994 all ships of this class had been retired from the US Navy, although some remain in service with foreign nations such as Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Unit Run[edit | edit source]

Ship Name Hull No. Builder Commission–
Decommission
Fate Link
USS Knox FF-1052 Todd Shipyards, Seattle 1969–1992 Museum ship in Vallejo, California [1]
USS Roark FF-1053 Todd, Seattle 1969–1991 Scrapped [2]
USS Gray FF-1054 Todd, Seattle 1970–1991 Scrapped [3]
USS Hepburn FF-1055 Todd, San Pedro 1969–1991 Sunk as target [4]
USS Connole FF-1056 Avondale Shipyard 1969–1992 To Greece, renamed HS Ipirus (F-456) [5]
USS Rathburne FF-1057 Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company 1970–1992 To Mexico, renamed ARM Gildardo Magaña (F-217) [6]
USS Meyerkord FF-1058 Todd, San Pedro 1969–1991 Scrapped [7]
USS W. S. Sims FF-1059 Avondale 1970–1991 Grant aid to Turkey as spare parts hulk [8]
USS Lang FF-1060 Todd, San Pedro 1970–1991 Scrapped [9]
USS Patterson FF-1061 Avondale 1970–1991 Scrapped [10]
USS Whipple FF-1062 Todd, Seattle 1970–1992 To Mexico, renamed ARM Almirante Francisco Javier Mina (F-214) [11]
USS Reasoner FF-1063 Lockheed 1971–1993 To Turkey, renamed TCG Kocatepe (F-252) [12]
USS Lockwood FF-1064 Todd, Seattle 1970–1993 To Mexico, renamed ARM Miguel Zugastegui (F-216) [13]
USS Stein FF-1065 Lockheed 1972–1992 To Mexico, renamed ARM Ignacio Allende (F-211) [14]
USS Marvin Shields FF-1066 Todd, Seattle 1971–1992 To Mexico, renamed ARM Mariano Abasolo (F-212) [15]
USS Francis Hammond FF-1067 Todd, San Pedro 1971–1992 Scrapped [16]
USS Vreeland FF-1068 Avondale 1970–1992 To Greece, renamed HS Makedonia (F-458) [17]
USS Bagley FF-1069 Lockheed 1972–1991 Scrapped [18]
USS Downes FF-1070 Todd, Seattle 1971–1992 To Mexico, renamed ARM Vicente Guerrero (F-215) [19]
USS Badger FF-1071 Todd, San Pedro 1970–1991 To Mexico, renamed ARM Rubén Jaramillo (F-218) [20]
USS Blakely FF-1072 Avondale 1970–1991 Scrapped [21]
USS Robert E. Peary FF-1073 Lockheed 1972–1992 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Chih Yang (FF-932) [22]
USS Harold E. Holt FF-1074 Todd, San Pedro 1971–1992 Sunk as target [23]
USS Trippe FF-1075 Avondale 1970–1992 To Greece, renamed HS Thraki (F-457) [24]
USS Fanning FF-1076 Todd, San Pedro 1971–1993 To Turkey, renamed TCG Adatepe (F-251) [25]
USS Ouellet FF-1077 Avondale 1970–1993 To Thailand, renamed HTMS Phutthaloetla Naphalai (FFG=462) [26]
USS Joseph Hewes FF-1078 Avondale 1971–1994 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Lan Yang (FF-935) [27]
USS Bowen FF-1079 Avondale 1971–1994 To Turkey, renamed TCG Akdeniz (F-257) [28]
USS Paul FF-1080 Avondale 1971–1992 To Turkey as spare parts hulk [29]
USS Aylwin FF-1081 Avondale 1971–1992 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Ning Yang (FF-938) [30]
USS Elmer Montgomery FF-1082 Avondale 1971–1993 To Turkey as spare parts hulk [31]
USS Cook FF-1083 Avondale 1971–1992 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Hae Yang (FF-936) [32]
USS McCandless FF-1084 Avondale 1972–1994 To Turkey, renamed TCG Trakya (F-257) [33]
USS Donald B. Beary FF-1085 Avondale 1972–1994 To Turkey, renamed TCG Karadeniz (F-255) [34]
USS Brewton FF-1086 Avondale 1972–1992 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Fong Yang (FF-933) [35]
USS Kirk FF-1087 Avondale 1972–1993 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Fen Yang (FF-934) [36]
USS Barbey FF-1088 Avondale 1972–1992 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Hwai Yang (FF-937) [37]
USS Jesse L. Brown FF-1089 Avondale 1973–1994 To Egypt, renamed Dumyat (F961) [38]
USS Ainsworth FF-1090 Avondale 1973–1994 To Turkey, renamed TCG Ege (F-256) [39]
USS Miller FF-1091 Avondale 1973–1991 To Turkey as spare parts hulk [40]
USS Thomas C. Hart FF-1092 Avondale 1973–1993 To Turkey, renamed TCG Zafer (F-253) [41]
USS Capodanno FF-1093 Avondale 1973–1993 To Turkey, renamed TCG Muavenet (F-250) [42]
USS Pharris FF-1094 Avondale 1974–1992 To Mexico, renamed ARM Guadalupe Victoria (F-213) [43]
USS Truett FF-1095 Avondale 1974–1994 To Thailand, renamed HTMS Phutthayotfa Chulalok (FFG-461)]] [44]
USS Valdez FF-1096 Avondale 1974–1991 To Taiwan, renamed ROCS Ki Yang (FF-939) [45]
USS Moinester FF-1097 Avondale 1974–1994 To Egypt, renamed Rasheed (F.962) [46]