Frigates - FFG

image of Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Ingraham (FFG 61) streaming through the ocean Description: Frigates fulfill a Protection of Shipping (POS) mission as Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups and merchant convoys.

Background: The guided missile frigates (FFG) bring an anti-air warfare (AAW) capability to the frigate mission, but they have some limitations. Designed as cost efficient surface combatants, they lack the multi-mission capability necessary for modern surface combatants faced with multiple, high-technology threats. They also offer limited capacity for growth. Despite this, the FFG 7 class is a robust platform, capable of withstanding considerable damage. This "toughness" was aptly demonstrated when USS Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine and USS Stark was hit by two Exocet cruise missiles. In both cases the ships survived, were repaired and returned to the fleet. USS Stark was decommissioned in May 1999.

The Surface Combatant Force Requirement Study does not define any need for a single mission ship such as the frigate and there are no frigates planned in the Navy's five-year shipbuilding plan.

General Characteristics, Oliver Hazard Perry Class

Builders: Bath Iron Works: FFG 8, 11, 13, 15, 29, 32, 36, 39, 42, 45, 47, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59.
Todd Shipyards, Seattle: FFG 28, 31, 37, 40, 48, 52.
Todd Shipyards, San Pedro, Calif.: FFG 9, 12, 14, 19, 23, 30, 33, 38, 41, 43, 46, 51, 54, 57, 60, 61.
Power Plant: Two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines; 1 shaft, 41,000 shaft horsepower total.
Length: 445 feet (133.5 meters); 453 feet (135.9 meters) with LAMPS III modification.
Beam: 45 feet (13.5 meters)
Displacement: 4,100 tons (4,165.80 metric tons) full load
Speed: 29 plus knots (33.4+ miles per hour)
Aircraft:
Two SH-60 (LAMPS III) in FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36-61
One SH-2 (Lamps Mk-I) in FFG 9-19, 30, 31.
Ships:
USS McInerney (FFG 8), Mayport, Fla.
USS Boone (FFG 28), Mayport, Fla.
USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29), Pascagoula, Miss.
USS John L. Hall (FFG 32), Pascagoula, Miss.
USS Jarrett (FFG 33), San Diego, Calif.
USS Underwood (FFG 36), Mayport, Fla.
USS Crommelin (FFG 37), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Curts (FFG 38), San Diego, Calif.
USS Doyle (FFG 39), Mayport, Fla.
USS Halyburton (FFG 40), Mayport, Fla.
USS McClusky (FFG 41), San Diego, Calif.
USS Klakring (FFG 42), Norfolk, Va.
USS Thach (FFG 43), San Diego, Calif.
USS De Wert (FFG 45), Mayport, Fla.
USS Rentz (FFG 46), San Diego, Calif.
USS Nicholas (FFG 47), Norfolk, Va.
USS Vandegrift (FFG 48), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), Mayport, Fla.
USS Taylor (FFG 50), Mayport, Fla.
USS Gary (FFG 51), Yokosuka, Japan
USS Carr (FFG 52), Norfolk, Va.
USS Hawes (FFG 53), Norfolk, Va.
USS Ford (FFG 54), Everett, Wash.
USS Elrod (FFG 55), Norfolk, Va.
USS Simpson (FFG 56), Norfolk, Va.
USS Reuben James (FFG 57), Pearl Harbor, HI
USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58), Mayport, Fla.
USS Kauffman (FFG 59), Norfolk, Va.
USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60), Everett, Wash.
USS Ingraham (FFG 61), Everett, Wash.
Crew: 17 Officers, 198 Enlisted
Armament: Standard Missile (MR); Harpoon (from Standard Missile Launcher); Six MK-46 torpedoes(from two triple mounts); One 76 mm (3-inch)/62 caliber MK 75 rapid fire gun; One Phalanx close-in-weapons system
Date Deployed: 17 December 1977 (Oliver Hazard Perry)