Oliver Hazard Perry-Class Frigate

The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie. Also known as the Perry or FFG-7 class, the warships were designed in the United States in the mid-1970s as general-purpose escort vessels inexpensive enough to be bought in large quantities to replace World War II-era destroyers and 1960s-era Knox class frigates. Intended to protect amphibious landing forces, supply and replenishment groups, and merchant convoys from submarines, they also later were part of battleship-centric surface action groups and aircraft carrier battle groups/strike groups. Fifty-five ships were built in the United States: 51 for the United States Navy and four for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In addition, eight were built in the Republic of China (Taiwan), six in Spain, and two in Australia for their navies. Former U.S. Navy warships of this class have been sold or donated to the navies of BahrainEgyptPolandPakistan, and Turkey.

Name: Oliver Hazard Perry
Builders: Bath Iron Works
Todd Pacific Shipyards San Pedro
Todd Pacific Shipyards Seattle
Australian Marine Engineering Consolidated
Bazan
China Shipbuilding
Operators:  United States Navy
 Royal Australian Navy
 Royal Bahrain Naval Force
 Republic of China Navy
 Egyptian Navy
Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Navy
 Polish Navy
 Spanish Navy
 Turkish Navy
Preceded by: Brooke-class frigate
Succeeded by: Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Independence-class littoral combat ship
Subclasses: Adelaide class (Australia)
Santa María class (Spain)
Cheng Kung class (Taiwan)
Built: 1975–2004
In commission: 1977–Present
Completed: 71
Active: 13 (US Navy)
General characteristics
Type: Frigate
Displacement: 4,100 long tons (4,200 t) full load
Length: 408 ft (124 m) waterline,
445 ft (136 m) overall,
453 ft (138 m) for "long-hull" frigates
Beam: 45 ft (14 m)
Draft: 22 ft (6.7 m)
Propulsion: 2 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (31 MW) through a single shaft and variable pitch propeller
2 × Auxiliary Propulsion Units, 350 hp (260 kW) retractable electric azimuth thrusters for maneuvering and docking.
Speed: over 29 knots (54 km/h)
Range: 4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement: 176
Sensors and
processing systems:
Radar: AN/SPS-49, AN/SPS-55, Mk 92 fire control system
Sonar: SQS-56, SQR-19 Towed Array
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
SLQ-32(V)2, Flight III with sidekick,
Mark 36 SRBOC
AN/SLQ-25 Nixie
Armament:

One single-arm Mk 13 Missile Launcher with a 40-missile magazine that contains SM-1MR anti-aircraftguided missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Removed from the U.S. Navy ships starting in 2003, due to the retirement of the SM-1 missile from American service
Mk 38 Mod 2 Naval Gun Systemsinstalled on platforms over the removed MK 13 launchers

Two triple Mark 32 Anti-submarine warfare torpedo tubes with Mark 46 or Mark 50 anti-submarine warfare torpedoes
One OTO Melara 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun
One 20 mm Phalanx CIWS rapid-fire cannon
Eight Hsiung Feng II SSM or four HF-2 and 4 HF-3 supersonic AShM, plus 2 Bofors 40mm/L70 guns (on Taiwanese vessels only)
Aircraft carried: Two LAMPS multi-purpose helicopters (the SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I on the short-hulled ships or the SH-60Seahawk LAMPS III on the long-hulled ships)

 

The ships were designed by the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine in partnership with the New York-based naval architects Gibbs & Cox.

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships were produced in 445-foot (136 meter) long "short-hull" (Flight I) and 453-foot (138 meter) long "long-hull" (Flight III) variants. The long-hull ships (FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, and 36-61) carry the larger SH-60 Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters, while the short-hulled warships carry the smaller and less-capable SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I. Aside from the lengths of their hulls, the principal difference between the versions is the location of the aft capstan: on long-hull ships, it sits a step below the level of the flight deck in order to provide clearance for the tail rotor of the longer Seahawk helicopters. The long-hull ships also carry the RAST (Recovery Assist Securing and Traversing) system for the Seahawk, a hook, cable, and winch system that can reel in a Seahawk from a hovering flight, expanding the ship's pitch-and-roll range in which flight operations are permitted. The FFG 8, 29, 32, and 33 were built as "short-hull" warships but were later modified into "long-hull" warships.

American shipyards constructed Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships for the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Early American-built Australian ships were originally built as the "short-hull" version, but they were modified during the 1980s to the "long-hull" design. Shipyards in Australia, Spain, and the Republic of China have produced several warships of the "long-hull" design for their navies.

Although the per-ship costs rose greatly over the period of production, all 51 ships planned for the U.S. Navy were built. Some Oliver Hazard Perry-class warships are planned to remain in American service for years, but some of the older ships have been decommissioned and some scrapped. Others of these decommissioned ships have been transferred to the navies of other countries, including BahrainEgyptPolandPakistan, and Turkey. Several of these have replaced old Second World War-built American destroyers that had been given to those countries.

During the design phase of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, R.J. Daniels, was invited by an old friend, US Chief of the Bureau of Ships, Adm Robert C Gooding, to advise upon the use of variable-pitch propellers in the class. During the course of this conversation, Daniels warned Gooding against the use of aluminium in the superstructure of the FFG-7 class as he believed it would lead to structural weaknesses. A number of ships subsequently developed structural cracks, including a 40 ft fissure in USS Duncan, before the problems were remedied.

The Oliver Hazard Perry frigates

Ship Name Hull No. Builder Commission–
Decommission
Fate
U.S.-built
Oliver Hazard Perry FFG-7 Bath Iron Works 1977–1997 Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling, 21 April 2006
McInerney FFG-8 Bath Iron Works 1979–2010 Transferred to Pakistan as PNS Alamgir (F-260)
Wadsworth FFG-9 Todd Pacific Shipyards (Todd), San Pedro 1978–2002 Transferred to Poland as ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko (273)
Duncan FFG-10 Todd, Seattle 1980–1994 Transferred to Turkey as a parts hulk
Clark FFG-11 Bath Iron Works 1980–2000 Transferred to Poland as ORP Gen. K. Pułaski (272)
George Philip FFG-12 Todd, San Pedro 1980–2003 Stricken, to be disposed of, 24 May 2004.
Samuel Eliot Morison FFG-13 Bath Iron Works 1980–2002 Transferred to Turkey as TCG Gokova (F 496)
Sides FFG-14 Todd, San Pedro 1981–2003 Stricken, to be disposed of, 24 May 2004.
Estocin FFG-15 Bath Iron Works 1981–2003 transferred to Turkey as TCG Goksu (F 497)
Clifton Sprague FFG-16 Bath Iron Works 1981–1995 transferred to Turkey as TCG Gaziantep (F 490)
built for Australia as HMAS Adelaide FFG-17 Todd, Seattle 1980–2008 Decommissioned, sunk as diving & fishing reef, April 2011
built for Australia as HMAS Canberra FFG-18 Todd, Seattle 1981–2005 Decommissioned, sunk as diving & fishing reef, October 2009
John A. Moore FFG-19 Todd, San Pedro 1981–2000 transferred to Turkey as TCG Gediz (F 495)
Antrim FFG-20 Todd, Seattle 1981–1996 transferred to Turkey as TCG Giresun (F 491)
Flatley FFG-21 Bath Iron Works 1981–1996 transferred to Turkey as TCG Gemlik (F 492))
Fahrion FFG-22 Todd, Seattle 1982–1998 transferred to Egypt as Sharm El-Sheik (F 901)
Lewis B. Puller FFG-23 Todd, San Pedro 1982–1998 transferred to Egypt as Toushka (F 906)
Jack Williams FFG-24 Bath Iron Works 1981–1996 transferred to Bahrain as RBNS Sabha (FFG-90)
Copeland FFG-25 Todd, San Pedro 1982–1996 transferred to Egypt as Mubarak (F 911), renamed Alexandria in 2011
Gallery FFG-26 Bath Iron Works 1981–1996 transferred to Egypt as Taba (F 916)
Mahlon S. Tisdale FFG-27 Todd, San Pedro 1982–1996 transferred to Turkey as TCG Gokceada (F 494)
Boone FFG-28 Todd, Seattle 1982–2012 Decommissioned 23 February 2012
Stephen W. Groves FFG-29 Bath Iron Works 1982–2012 Decommissioned 24 February 2012
Reid FFG-30 Todd, San Pedro 1983–1998 transferred to Turkey as TCG Gelibolu (F 493)
Stark FFG-31 Todd, Seattle 1982–1999 Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling, 21 June 2006
John L. Hall FFG-32 Bath Iron Works 1982–2012 Decommissioned 9 March 2012
Jarrett FFG-33 Todd, San Pedro 1983–2011 Decommissioned, held for future foreign military sale
Aubrey Fitch FFG-34 Bath Iron Works 1982–1997 Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling, 19 May 2005
built for Australia as HMAS Sydney FFG-35 Todd, Seattle 1983- in active service, as of 2013
Underwood FFG-36 Bath Iron Works 1983-2013 Decommissioned Mar 8, 2013
Crommelin FFG-37 Todd, Seattle 1983-2012 Decommissioned October 26, 2012
Curts FFG-38 Todd, San Pedro 1983-2013 Decommissioned January 25, 2013. Granted to Mexico in 2013 but transfer pending.
Doyle FFG-39 Bath Iron Works 1983-2011 Decommissioned July 29, 2011
Halyburton FFG-40 Todd, Seattle 1983- To be decommissioned Sep 8, 2014
McClusky FFG-41 Todd, San Pedro 1983- Ship in active service. Set to be decommissioned in 2014. Granted to Mexico for 2014 but transfer pending.
Klakring FFG-42 Bath Iron Works 1983–2013 Decommissioned Mar 22, 2013
Thach FFG-43 Todd, San Pedro 1984- To be decommissioned Nov 15, 2013
built for Australia as HMAS Darwin FFG-44 Todd, Seattle 1984- in active service, as of 2013
De Wert FFG-45 Bath Iron Works 1983- To be decommissioned Apr 4, 2014
Rentz FFG-46 Todd, San Pedro 1984- To be decommissioned May 23, 2014
Nicholas FFG-47 Bath Iron Works 1984- To be decommissioned Mar 17, 2014
Vandegrift FFG-48 Todd, Seattle 1984- in active service, as of 2013
Robert G. Bradley FFG-49 Bath Iron Works 1984- To be decommissioned Mar 28, 2014
Taylor FFG-50 Bath Iron Works 1984- in active service, as of 2013
Gary FFG-51 Todd, San Pedro 1984- in active service, as of 2013
Carr FFG-52 Todd, Seattle 1985-2013 Decommissioned Mar 13, 2013
Hawes FFG-53 Bath Iron Works 1985–2010 Decommissioned, to be cannibalised in Philadelphia
Ford FFG-54 Todd, San Pedro 1985- To be decommissioned Oct 31, 2013
Elrod FFG-55 Bath Iron Works 1985- in active service, as of 2013
Simpson FFG-56 Bath Iron Works 1985- in active service, as of 2013
Reuben James FFG-57 Todd, San Pedro 1986-2013 Decommissioned Aug 30, 2013
Samuel B. Roberts FFG-58 Bath Iron Works 1986- in active service, as of 2013
Kauffman FFG-59 Bath Iron Works 1987- in active service, as of 2013
Rodney M. Davis FFG-60 Todd, San Pedro 1987- in active service, as of 2013
Ingraham FFG-61 Todd, San Pedro 1989- in active service, as of 2013
Australian-built
HMAS Melbourne FFG 05 Australian Marine Engineering Consolidated(AMECON), Williamstown, Victoria 1992- in active service, as of 2013
HMAS Newcastle FFG 06 AMECON, Williamstown 1993- in active service, as of 2013
Spanish-built
SPS Santa María F81 Bazan, Ferrol 1986- in active service, as of 2013
SPS Victoria F82 Bazan, Ferrol 1987- in active service, as of 2013
SPS Numancia F83 Bazan, Ferrol 1989- in active service, as of 2013
SPS Reina Sofía F84 Bazan, Ferrol 1990- in active service, as of 2013
SPS Navarra F85 Bazan, Ferrol 1994- in active service, as of 2013
SPS Canarias F86 Bazan, Ferrol 1994- in active service, as of 2013

Source

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