A good friend of mine was on a frigate (nee destroyer escort) in the mid-80s. It only had around 280 crew. They were near the end of their tour when the Stark was attacked and they had to turn around and head back in that direction. I wish I remembered how long the the total time they were at sea but they were bonkers at the end. I got to tour the ship once and it was pretty small. Nowhere to hide.
SOS was a regular breakfast when I was in the Army
Stark was during my time. So I can at least say your friend spent less than 121 days at sea between ports. That was the record we set that has now been broken a few rimes.
Long sea periods are terrible. What the Lincoln just went through is inexcusable as it was the result of idiocy and poor planning.
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As small as a Frigate is compared to a carrier there were still some places to hide, at least for the snipes. Be it load centers, uptakes or switchboard rooms, the engineering crew had a few places to be away from others.
I’m guessing the Laundry had areas. Supply had spaces. Gunnermates, etc. Even boatswain probably had a paint locker.
A ship’s tour won’t cover a lot of spots.
What was the ship?
Did we have any besides the Perry’s in the 1980s?
Those were over 450’ or maybe just under 450’.
ETA: Never mind, misread. Although I do think the Knox-class was still around?
ETA2: Yep, the Knox-class was still around.
I forgot about those, I wonder if we had any as escorts.
I checked, we did.
USS Brewton (FF-1086): A Knox-class frigate.
Did you end up eating albatross on those occasions?
No, we had a proper supply line. We ran out of fresh milk and eggs, but not food and coffee.
I think that was when I first had Parmalot. A lot better than that grey powdered milk.
What the f’ are you referencing?
You typoed “a few times” as “a few rimes”. As in, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Bra-vo.
Gotcha, dark, very dark.
USS Stein
Neither the deck log nor the command operational report from that time period seems available online, but this website (which is usually pretty accurate) looks like it must have cribbed from one or both of them:
https://www.navysite.de/ff/ff1065.htm
On January 3, 1987, USS STEIN departed San Diego with USS KITTY HAWK on a six-month world cruise. The battle group included USS HALSEY (CG 23), USS CALLAGHAN (DDG 994), USS VANDEGRIFT (FFG 48), USS BARBEY (FF 1088), USS MOUNT HOOD (AE 29), USS WILLAMETTE (AO 180) and USS MARS (AFS 1). The formation crossed the Pacific and staged through the western Pacific before proceeding into the Indian Ocean. USS STEIN operated as one of the group’s anti-submarine escorts during an extended period in the northern Arabian Sea. Her sonar systems and embarked SH-2 helicopter supported the surveillance and protection of the carrier formation, while the ship also performed surface-watch, communications and general escort duties. The deployment occurred during the expanding Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict. Both Iran and Iraq were attacking ships associated with their opponent’s oil trade, increasing the risk to neutral merchant traffic and naval forces operating near the Persian Gulf. The USS KITTY HAWK group remained in the Indian Ocean for more than three months.
USS STEIN and the battle group subsequently entered the Red Sea and transited the Suez Canal on May 17, 1987. On the same day, an Iraqi aircraft fired two Exocet missiles at USS STARK (FFG 31) in the Persian Gulf. The missiles struck the frigate, killing 37 sailors and causing extensive damage. Although the USS KITTY HAWK group had already passed west of the immediate operating area, it was placed at increased readiness for possible contingency or retaliatory operations. The formation continued through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic. USS KITTY HAWK proceeded to Philadelphia for a major Service Life Extension Program overhaul, while USS STEIN separated from the carrier’s route and returned to San Diego in July 1987, completing her circumnavigation
It’s not clear if they turned around at all.
The 10 Garcia, 6 Brooke and 2 Bronstein classes were also all around until decommissioning from 1988-90. 600 ship fleet and all of that. Oh, for the days when the Navy deciding that a class of ship wasn’t entirely up to snuff and only building two of them was the gross exception, not the norm.
Annnd… we’ve circled back around to looking at foreign designs for frigates. With the added proviso that unlike the Constellations which are being built in US shipyards (well, the two that weren’t cancelled anyway), we’re now looking to have the first vessels be built in foreign yards. Not that I have any more faith in this not ending up as a multibillion-dollar boondoggle than the Constellations. But hey, good thing we haven’t pissed off any of our allies lately!
The White House and U.S. Navy are considering frigate designs from South Korea, Japan and Turkey for a new class of warships, USNI News has learned.
An international warship competition could include building up to two of the ships in foreign shipyards before transitioning to domestic yards as part of the Trump administration’s push to rapidly expand the fleet, three industry sources familiar with the deliberations confirmed to USNI News this week. The move would break with more than a century of U.S. domestic naval construction.
Potentially buying frigates abroad follows an August White House memo that opened the door for the Pentagon to consider foreign designs by invoking a “national security interest” waiver to bypass a U.S. law prohibiting foreign-built warships from entering naval service.
When I was at Keflavik there were roughly 1,500 navy, 800 air force, 300 marines and two (count 'em) army officers. The joke was if we were invaded they’d point the direction the relief force should go.
Bismarck’s cat was rescued by sailors aboard HMS Cossack then had a couple more ships shot out from under him before being retired in Belfast.
Japan apparently isn’t particularly excited about the project.
The US only wants a few frigates built in the foreign country and then have the country build infrastructure in the US to build the remaining ships there.
Oh, and people are doubting if particular administrations can be trusted.
Some pics from the destruction of the base in Kuwait.