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fighting ships of the world

UNITED STATES NAVY (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

ESCORTS

KNOX destroyer escorts (1969 - 1974)

Knox 1979

Bagley 1980

Robert E. Peary 1990

Knox 1990

Project history: These large specialized ASW ships were the subject of considerable controversy, with their single screws and single 127mm guns. They were direct descendants of the Brooke class, initially modified by 'work study' to reduce their complements and, without increase in hull size, to increase endurance by 500nm. In addition, it was hoped that electronic installations could be consolidated by the use of a series of 'bill-board' antennae spread around the crown of a tall 'Mack'. In practice, the Navy was moved to reject the new pressure-fired boilers, so that hull size had to grow to accommodate a more conventional installation, without loss of speed or endurance. In addition, with the rejection of further missile escort construction, the designers were left with a half-designed escort with only a single gun and with space aft which might be filled by a missile system or by more DASH drones. In the end, the original single 127mm/38 gun was replaced by a 127mm/54 (in theory more than equivalent to the two 127mm/38s of the Garcia) and space and weight was reserved aft for a short-range defensive missile, initially to have been Sea Mauler, but later Sea Sparrow. The generous hangar space originally provided aft made substitution of LAMPS for DASH relatively easy. SQS-35 VPS sonars were fitted to most units (DE, later FF, 1052, 1056, 1063-1071, 1073-1076 and 1078-1097), and their 'fish' later used to tow SQS-18 sonars.

    From DE1078 onwards, all were built by a single yard, Avondale, for economy. The last ten units, DE1098-1107, authorised in the FY68 programme, were not built. One had been planned as a gas turbine test ship (DE1101).

Modernizations: 1971-1975, Knox, Roark, Gray, Hepburn, Connole, Rathburne, Meyerkord, William S. Sims, Lang, Patterson, Whipple, Reasoner, Lockwood, Stein, Marvin Shields, Francis Hammond, Vreeland, Bagley, Badger, Blakely, Robert E. Peary, Harold E. Holt, Trippe, Fanning, Ouellet, Joseph Hewes, Bowen, Paul, Aylwin, Elmer Montgomery, Cook: + 1 x 8 Sea Sparrow SAM (8 RIM-7, Mk 25 launcher), 2x Mk 95 radars

1972-1975, all: - QH-50 DASH drone ASW helicopter; + 1 SH-2D Sea Sprite ASW helicopter (LAMPS), hangar and helicopter deck were enlarged

1972-1975, Knox, Connole, Reasoner, Lockwood, Stein, Marvin Shields, Francis Hammond, Vreeland, Bagley, Downes, Badger, Robert E. Peary, Harold E. Holt, Trippe, Fanning, Joseph Hewes, Bowen, Paul, Aylwin, Elmer Montgomery, Cook, McCandless, Donald B. Beary, Brewton, Kirk, Barbey, Jesse L. Brown, Ainsworth, Miller, Thomas C. Hart, Capodanno, Pharris, Truett, Valdez, Moinester: + SQS-35 sonar

1975, DE1070: + 1 x 8 Sea Sparrow Mk 29 SAM (8 RIM-7), Mk 23 TAS, 2x Mk 95 radars

late 1970s, Gray, Hepburn, Connole, Rathburne, Meyerkord, William S. Sims, Lang, Patterson, Whipple, Marvin Shields, Francis Hammond, Bagley, Downes, Badger, Robert E. Peary, Harold E. Holt, Ouellet, Paul, Aylwin, Elmer Montgomery, Cook, McCandless, Donald B. Beary, Brewton, Barbey, Jesse L. Brown, Ainsworth, Miller, Thomas C. Hart, Capodanno, Pharris, Truett, Valdez; early 1980s, Knox, Roark, Reasoner, Lockwood, Stein, Vreeland, Blakeley, Trippe, Fanning, Joseph Hewes, Bowen, Kirk, Moinester: + Harpoon SSM (up to 4 RGM-84 instead of ASROC rockets)

1982-1984, Knox, Connole, Reasoner, Lockwood, Stein, Marvin Shields, Francis Hammond, Vreeland, Bagley, Badger, Robert E. Peary, Harold E. Holt, Trippe, Fanning, Joseph Hewes, Bowen, Paul, Aylwin, Elmer Montgomery, McCandless, Brewton, Kirk, Barbey, Thomas C. Hart, Capodanno, Pharris, Truett, Valdez; 1985-1987, Downes, Cook, Donald B. Beary, Jesse L. Brown, Ainsworth, Miller, Moinester: - SQS-35 sonar; + SQR-18A sonar

1982-1984, Blakely, Ouellet; 1985-1987, Roark, Gray, Hepburn, Rathburne, Meyerkord, William S. Sims, Lang, Patterson, Whipple: + SQR-18A sonar

1983, Downes: - 1 x 8 Sea Sparrow Mk 29 SAM (8 RIM-7), Mk 23 TAS, 2x Mk 95 radars; + 1 x 6 - 20/76 Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS, Mk 90 radar

1983-1987, Knox, Roark, Gray, Hepburn, Connole, Rathburne, Meyerkord, William S. Sims, Lang, Patterson, Whipple, Reasoner, Lockwood, Stein, Marvin Shields, Francis Hammond, Vreeland, Bagley, Badger, Blakely, Robert E. Peary, Harold E. Holt, Trippe, Fanning, Ouellet, Joseph Hewes, Bowen, Paul, Aylwin, Elmer Montgomery, Cook: - 1 x 8 Sea Sparrow SAM (8 RIM-7), 2x Mk 95 radars; + 1 x 6 - 20/76 Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS, Mk 90 radar

1983-1987, McCandless, Donald B. Beary, Brewton, Kirk, Barbey, Jesse L. Brown, Ainsworth, Miller, Thomas C. Hart, Capodanno, Pharris, Truett, Valdez, Moinester: + 1 x 6 - 20/76 Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS, Mk 90 radar

early 1980s, mostly: - LN-66 radar, WLR-1C ECM suite, 2x Mk 33 RBOC decoy RL; + SPS-67 radar, SLQ-32(v)1 ECM suite, 2x Mk 36 SRBOC decoy RL

early 1980s, some (including FF1064, 1067, 1070, 1087): - LN-66 radar, 2x Mk 33 RBOC decoy RL; + SPS-67 radar, SLQ-32(v)1 ECM suite, 2x Mk 36 SRBOC decoy RL

late 1980s, partly: - SLQ-32(v)1 ECM suite; + SLQ-32(v)2 ECM suite

Naval service: No significant events.

Kirk 1980

Francis Hammond 1980

© Ivan Gogin, 2015