USS McCandless

USS McCandless (FF-1084)
History
United States
Name	McCandless
Namesake	Commodore Byron McCandless and Admiral Bruce McCandless I
Ordered	25 August 1966
Builder	Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana
Laid down	4 June 1970
Launched	20 March 1971
Completed	1972
Commissioned	18 March 1972
Decommissioned	6 May 1994
In service	1972
Out of service	1994
Stricken	11 January 1995
Identification	FF-1084/FFT-1084
Motto	Illumino Marem
Nickname(s)	The Mac
Fate	Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) Section 516, Southern Region Amendment, to Turkey, 2 February 2002
Turkey
Name	Trakya
Acquired	February 2002
Commissioned	6 May 1994
Decommissioned	2003
Identification	F-254
Fate	Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Knox-class frigate
Type	Frigate
Displacement	3,195 tons (4,175 full load)
Length	438 ft (134 m)
Beam	46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Draft	24 ft 9 in (7.54 m)
Installed power	2 × CE 1200psi boilers 35,000  shp (26,000 kW)
Propulsion	1 Westinghouse geared turbine 1 shaft
Speed	over 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	18 officers, 267 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar AN/SQS-26CX Sonar AN/SQS-35 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 Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried	one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter
Aviation facilities	Helipad, Hangar Bay

USS McCandless (FF-1084) was a Knox-class frigate of the US Navy. Commissioned in 1972, she served for 22 years before being decommissioned as a training frigate, and sold to the Turkish Navy as TCG Trakya (F-254). She also participated in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

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 RUR-5 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

McCandless's first deployment was a cruise to the Middle East that began in August 1973, and lasted through January of the following year. Subsequent to this initial voyage overseas, McCandless adopted a regular schedule of deployments which took her to the waters of the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Persian Gulf. McCandless's last tactical missions were in support of Operation Desert Storm—a US-led coalition force of 34 nations against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait— from January through May 1990, and June through December 1991. McCandless was awarded the Kuwait Liberation Medal by Kuwait for her efforts during these deployments.

31 December 1991 marked McCandless's assignment to the Naval Reserve Force, Atlantic (Norfolk, Virginia) where she was reclassified as a training frigate (FFT-1084). McCandless was one of only eight ships of her class which received this redesignation. Simultaneously decommissioned and leased to Turkey under the new name of TCG Trakya (F-254) on 6 May 1994, McCandless was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 January. Turkey purchased the vessel in February 2002. She was decommissioned in 2003 and scrapped.

Ship Awards

• Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
• Humanitarian Service Ribbon
• CG Meritorious Unit Commendation
• National Defense Service Medal w/1 star
• Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ 1 star
• Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Notes

1. Friedman, pp. 357–60, 425
2. Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
3. Friedman, pp. 360–61; Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598

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 FFT1084
• USS McCandless Unofficial Home Page
• navsource.org