USS Francis Hammond

USS Francis Hammond (FF-1067)
History
United States
Name	Francis Hammond
Namesake	Francis Hammond
Ordered	22 July 1964
Builder	Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California
Laid down	15 July 1967
Launched	11 May 1968
Acquired	17 July 1970
Commissioned	25 July 1970
Decommissioned	2 July 1992
Stricken	11 January 1995
Motto	Valor Honor
Fate	Scrapped, 31 March 2003
General characteristics
Class and type	Knox-class frigate
Displacement	3,243 tons (4,244 full load)
Length	438 ft (133.5 m)
Beam	46 ft 9 in (14.2 m)
Draft	24 ft 9 in (7.5 m)
Propulsion	2 × CE 1,200  psi (8,274 kPa) boilers 1 Westinghouse geared turbine 1 shaft, 35,000  shp (26,099 kW)
Speed	over 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h)
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h)
Complement	18 officers, 267 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar AN/SQS-26 Sonar AN/SQR-18 Towed array sonar system Mk68 Gun Fire Control System
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Electronics Warfare System
Armament	one Mk-16 8 cell missile launcher for RUR-5 ASROC and Harpoon missiles one Mk-42 5-inch/54 caliber gun Mark 46 torpedoes from four single tube launchers) one Mk-25 BPDMS launcher for Sea Sparrow missiles later replaced by one Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried	one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter

USS Francis Hammond (DE/FF-1067) is the sixteenth Knox-class frigate, named in honor of Hospitalman Francis Colton Hammond, a Medal of Honor recipient.

Construction

She was originally designed as a Knox-class ocean escort (DE-1067), and was built by Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California. The ship's keel was laid on 15 July 1967. She was launched on 11 May 1968; sponsored by Mrs. Phyllis Hammond Smith (widow of Hospitalman Hammond). The ship was commissioned at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Long Beach, California on 25 July 1970.

Design and description

The Knox-class design was derived from the Brooke-class frigate modified to extend range and without a long-range missile system. The ships had an overall length of 438 feet (133.5 m), a beam of 47 feet (14.3 m) and a draft of 25 feet (7.6 m). They displaced 4,066 long tons (4,131 t) at full load. Their crew consisted of 13 officers and 211 enlisted men. ^[1]

The ships were equipped with one Westinghouse geared steam turbine that drove the single propeller shaft. The turbine was designed to produce 35,000 shaft horsepower (26,000 kW), using steam provided by 2 C-E boilers, to reach the designed speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The Knox class had a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). ^[2]

The Knox-class ships were armed with a 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward and a single 3-inch/50-caliber gun aft. They mounted an eight-round ASROC launcher between the 5-inch (127 mm) gun and the bridge. Close-range anti-submarine defense was provided by two twin 12.75-inch (324 mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The ships were equipped with a torpedo-carrying DASH drone helicopter; its telescoping hangar and landing pad were positioned amidships aft of the mack. Beginning in the 1970s, the DASH was replaced by a SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I helicopter and the hangar and landing deck were accordingly enlarged. Most ships also had the 3-inch (76 mm) gun replaced by an eight-cell BPDMS missile launcher in the early 1970s. ^[3]

Service history

As part of the Navy's 1975 ship reclassification, Francis Hammond was reclassified as a frigate (FF-1067) on 30 June 1975.

Francis Hammond's repainted hull number of "$10,670"

In December 1986, after the ship's company of Francis Hammond raised over $11,000 for Navy Relief (beating their goal of ten times the ship's hull number), permission was granted to temporarily add a dollar sign, a thousands separator, and an extra zero to the hull number painted on the side of the ship. ^[4]

Decommissioned 2 July 1992 in Long Beach, California after twenty-one years and nine months in active commission and struck from the Navy Register on 11 January 1995. Francis Hammond was disposed of by scrapping 31 March 2003.

Awards, citations and campaign ribbons

	Combat Action Ribbon
	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
	Navy Unit Commendation
	Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
	Navy "E" Ribbon (4)
	Navy Expeditionary Medal
	National Defense Service Medal (with one bronze service star)
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
	Vietnam Service Medal (with two bronze service stars)
	Southwest Asia Service Medal (with two bronze service stars)
	Humanitarian Service Ribbon
	Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
	Vietnam Campaign Medal
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

References : USS Francis Hammond on NavSource.org

Notes

1. Friedman, pp. 357–60, 425
2. Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
3. Friedman, pp. 360–61; Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
4. "Hammond adds a zero for Navy Relief" (PDF). All Hands (837). United States Navy: 36. December 1986. Retrieved 12 September 2015.

References

• Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-87021-733-X.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-132-7.

External links

• Naval Vessel Register FF1067
• http://ussfrancishammond.org/
• http://ussfrancishammond.com/