The 46 Knox-class frigates were the largest, last, and most numerous of the US Navy's second-generation anti-submarine warfare (ASW) escorts. Originally laid down as ocean escorts, they were all redesignated as frigates on 30 June 1975, in the 1975 ship reclassification plan and their hull designation changed from 'DE' to 'FF'. The Knox class was the Navy's last destroyer-type design with a steam turbine powerplant.
HMS Apollo was a batch 3B broadbeam Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. Apollo was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun. She was launched on 15 October 1970 and commissioned on 28 May 1972, making her the penultimate Leander.
The La Fayette class is a class of general purpose frigates built by DCNS in the 1980s and 1990s, operated by the French Navy and three other navies. Derivatives of the type are in service in the navies of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Taiwan.
The Floréal class is a type of light "surveillance frigates" designed for the needs of the French Navy in low-threat environments ordered in 1989. The ships are named after months of the Republican Calendar. They use construction standards of commercial ships. The frigates were built between 1990 and 1993 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France. The six French ships of the class, Floréal, Prairial, Nivôse, Ventôse, Vendémiaire and Germinal, remain in active service.
The Suffren class were two anti-air frigates of the French Navy, designed to protect a fleet against air threats, surface ships, and submarines. They were the first French ships to be built specifically as guided missile frigates. Ordered in 1960, the class was intended to be more numerous, but budget pressure from the French nuclear weapons program limited their number. The lead ship, Suffren, entered service in 1967 and the second ship, Duquesne, in 1970. They remained in service until the 2000s when they were replaced by ships of the Horizon class.
Suffren was a Suffren-class frigate of the French Navy, designed to protect a fleet against air threats, surface ships, submarines, and, to a lesser extent, provide firepower against land objectives. She is the sister ship of Duquesne, and was decommissioned in 2001. She was the seventh French vessel named after the 18th century admiral Pierre André de Suffren.
Floréal is the lead ship of the Floréal-class frigates of the French Navy. Floréal is the first French vessel named after the eighth month of the Republican Calendar. The ship was constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1992 and entered service in 1993. Floréal is stationed at Réunion in the Indian Ocean for patrol duties.
Nivôse is a Floréal-class frigate of the French Navy. The frigate is the third ship of the class and the fourth French vessel named after the fourth month of the Republican Calendar. Nivôse was constructed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire, France, in 1991 and entered service in 1992. The frigate is stationed at Réunion in the Indian Ocean for patrol duties.
The D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos, also known as the A69 type avisos, is a class of French Navy avisos, comparable in size to a light corvette, mainly designed for coastal anti-submarine defence, but are also available for high sea escort missions, notably in support missions with the Strategic Oceanic Force (FOST). Built on a simple and robust design, they have an economical and reliable propulsion system which allows them to be used for overseas presence missions. In addition to service in France, they have been ordered by the South African Navy, Argentinian Navy and Turkish Navy.
The Commandant Rivière class was a class of frigates built for the French Navy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Labeled "aviso-escorteur", they were designed to perform the role of overseas patrol in peacetime and anti-submarine escort in wartime. This vessel class is named after the French Navy officer Henri Rivière (1827–1883).
The T 47 class or Surcouf class were the first destroyers built for the French Navy after the Second World War. Twelve ships were built between 1955 and 1957. The ships were modernised in the 1960s and decommissioned in the 1980s, when they were replaced by the Cassard and Georges Leygues-class frigates. The class was authorised in 1949 and were designed as aircraft carrier escort vessels. Three were modified to become flagships, four became anti-air guided missile destroyers and five became anti-submarine destroyers. One member of the class survives, Maillé-Brézé as a museum ship at Nantes.
The Baleares class were a group of five frigates built for the Spanish Navy in the late 1960s and 1970s. The ships were a modified version of the American Knox-class frigates. The key differences are the replacement of helicopter facilities by a medium-range surface-to-air missile system and associated radars. Constructed between 1968 and 1976, the Baleares class began entering service in 1973 and formed the 31 Escort Squadron, based at Ferrol. The five ships were upgraded several times during their service lives. The ships were retired beginning in the mid-2000s and replaced by the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates on a one-to-one basis.
Aconit was a unique frigate built for the French Navy during the Cold War, in commission from 1973 until 1997. She was named after the corvette Aconit which fought in the Free French Naval Forces during World War II.
The Ugra class was the NATO reporting name for a group of seven submarine tenders built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1960s. The Soviet designation was Project 1886. One further ship was built for the Indian Navy to a modified design. The ships were intended to provide afloat support for Soviet submarines, including supplies, water, torpedoes, fuel, and battery charging; minimal repair facilities, and were often employed as flagships/command ships for submarine squadrons. A subclass, the Borodino class, of two ships were constructed for use as training ships and lacked missiles and the ability to support submarines. Instead, the Borodino class had classrooms and training facilities.
The Masurca missile was a first-generation naval surface-to-air missile system developed and used by the French Navy. Planned as the primary air defence missile system of the first generation of French guided missile ships, it was used only aboard the two Suffren-class frigates and as a retrofit to the cruiser Colbert.
Retivyy was a Project 1135 Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or Krivak-class frigate. With an armament based around the URPK-4 Metel anti-submarine missile system, the vessel served with the Pacific Fleet of the Soviet and Russian Navies. The ship was launched on 14 August 1976 by A.A. Zhdanov in Leningrad, the second of the class built by the shipyard. After joining the fleet, the vessel took part in the search for the crew of the crashed Lockheed P-3 Orion AF 586. In 1981, the vessel sailed as part of a task force along the west coast of the United States to test and measure American defences. Decommissioned on 4 August 1995, the vessel was subsequently sold to a South Korean company to be broken up.
HNLMS Van Galen (F803) was a frigate of the Van Speijk class. The ship was in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy from 1967 to 1987. The ship's radio call sign was "PAVB". She was sold to the Indonesian Navy where the ship was renamed KRI Yos Sudarso (353).
HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes (F804) was a frigate of the Van Speijk class. The ship was in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy from 1967 to 1986. The ship's radio call sign was "PAVC". She was sold to the Indonesian Navy where the ship was renamed KRI Ahmad Yani (351).
Vladivostok was the second Soviet Navy Project 1134 Berkut Large Anti-submarine Ship also known as a Admiral Zozulya-class guided missile cruiser or by the NATO reporting name Kresta I. Launched in August 1966, the ship was reclassified a Large Rocket Ship in August 1978 to reflect the wide-ranging capability of the vessel. Serving primarily in the Pacific Fleet during the Cold War, Vladivostok took part in exercises and tours that demonstrated Soviet naval power in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The ship played a part at a number of points of potential escalation in the Cold War, including the Indo-Pakistani War of December 1971, the Mozambican Civil War in 1980 and the collision between the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and the submarine K-314 in March 1984. Vladivostok was taken out of service to be modernised and updated in September 1988 but there were insufficient funds to complete the work. Instead the ship was decommissioned in April 1990 and, the following January, sold to an Australian company to be broken up.
Svirepyy was a Project 1135 Burevestnik-class Large Anti-Submarine Ship or Krivak-class frigate that served with the Soviet Navy. Displacing 3,200 tonnes full load, the vessel was built around the Metel anti-submarine missile system. The ship was launched on 27 January 1971 in Kaliningrad and joined the Baltic Fleet. The ship's service was not restricted to the Baltic Sea and instead travelled widely, visiting a number of foreign friendly ports during the next two decades, including Gdynia, Poland and Havana, Cuba. Svirepyy was designated a Guard Ship from 1977 as Soviet strategy changed to one creating safe areas for friendly submarines close to the coast. However, the ship continued to travel widely, including trips to the capital cities of both Finland and Tunisia as well as Rostock in East Germany. Svirepyy was transferred to the Russian Navy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but did not last long before being decommissioned on 30 June 1993 and subsequently broken up.
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