USS Oliver Hazard Perry

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USS Oliver Hazard Perry FFG-7.jpg
USS Oliver Hazard Perry underway during a Great Lakes cruise, 24 August 1979.
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameOliver Hazard Perry
Namesake Oliver Hazard Perry
Ordered10 March 1973
Builder Bath Iron Works
Laid down12 June 1975
Launched25 September 1976
Commissioned17 December 1977
Decommissioned20 February 1997
Stricken3 May 1999
Homeport Mayport (former)
Identification
Motto"Don't Give Up the Ship"
Nickname(s)
  • Gallant Leader
  • Old Hockey Puck
Honors and
awards		 See Awards
Fate Scrapped, 9 September 2005
Badge USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) insignia, 1977.png
General characteristics
Class and type Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate
Displacement4,100 long tons (4,200 t), full load
Length445 feet (136 m), overall
Beam45 feet (14 m)
Draught22 feet (6.7 m)
Propulsion
Speedover 29 knots (54 km/h)
Range5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h)
Complement15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus SH-2 detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys		 AN/SLQ-32
Armament
Aircraft carried1; SH-2 Seasprite helicopter (ship was to have capability for two helicopters, but never carried more than one due to flight deck and hangar size limitations)
Aviation facilitiesHangar Bay, Helicopter Pad

USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) was the lead ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates. She was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, an American naval hero who was victorious at the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) was the first ship and, as of 2019, the only ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name (although there were five previous US Navy ships named for Oliver Hazard Perry – four named USS Perry and one named USS Commodore Perry). Oliver Hazard Perry was in service from 1977 to 1997 and was scrapped in 2005.

Contents

The class was originally intended as austere "low" category guided missile frigates (compared with the high capability Spruance class) for General Purpose and Anti-Air convoy escort. They were built under a cloud of controversy, with their very light gun armament and lack of redundancy and duplicated systems in event of ship being hit. They were regarded by the Reagan administration and Secretary John Lehman as not part of the 500 ship navy plan, but ultimately proved useful as anti-submarine ships if fitted to carry Seahawks and towed arrays and into the 21st Century as low grade patrol ships making up the numbers in a USN desperately short of escorts.

Construction and career

Oliver Hazard Perry was ordered from Bath Iron Works on 30 October 1973 as part of the FY73 program, and was laid down on 12 June 1975, launched on 25 September 1976, and commissioned on 17 December 1977. [1] She was ordered as PFG-109 but was redesignated as FFG-7 in the 1975 fleet designation realignment on 1 June 1975, before she was laid down.

Launch incident

During her launch ceremony on 25 September 1976, the ship found herself briefly stuck on the slip-way. Film star John Wayne appeared from the crowd of watching dignitaries, climbed the launch ceremony platform, and gave the bow of the frigate – which was by this time starting to move slightly – a shove with one hand, and so John Wayne famously appeared to have 'pushed' a US warship down her slip-way. [2]

Shock Trial Testing

Oliver Hazard Perry was one of the few lead ships to be subjected to shock trials. These series of trials conducted early in the life of the ship put this steel hull / aluminum superstructure to the test. The proximity of the tests (seen in associated pictures), caused many of the machine mounts and components to become warped or damaged. This damage created alignment problems for the engineering and combat systems teams in the years to come. The ship regularly required waivers on machine performance due to the warping of many mounting brackets. The shock tests also created cracks in the aluminum superstructure that required frequent repairs. However, this did not affect the overall readiness of the ship, nor did it prevent Oliver Hazard Perry from achieving the record for the most-ever hours put on the GE LM2500 Main Propulsion engine. [3]

Fate

After 19.2 years of active service, Oliver Hazard Perry was decommissioned on 20 February 1997, [1] in Mayport, FL. Though she was stricken on 3 May 1999, Oliver Hazard Perry was held in the museum donation category at the former Navy shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A group had hoped to bring her to Toledo, Ohio as a museum ship and a memorial for the Battle of Lake Erie. The group was unable submit a viable financial plan together in time so the Perry was sold for scrap in December 2005.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<i>Oliver Hazard Perry</i>-class frigate Class of guided-missile frigates

The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of guided-missile frigates named after U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a commander noted for his role in the Battle of Lake Erie. Also known as the Perry or FFG-7 class, the warships were designed in the United States in the mid-1970s as general-purpose escort vessels inexpensive enough to be bought in large numbers to replace World War II-era destroyers and complement 1960s-era Knox-class frigates.

USS <i>Samuel Eliot Morison</i>

USS Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG-13), was the seventh Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate in service with the United States Navy. She was named for Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison (1887–1976), one of America's most distinguished naval historians, who wrote more than 40 books on naval history including the official history of the US Navy in World War II.

USS <i>McInerney</i>

USS McInerney (FFG-8), is an Oliver Hazard Perry class guided-missile frigate, in service with the United States Navy from 1979 to 2010. She was then transferred to the Pakistan Navy and entered service as Alamgir (F260) in early 2011.

USS <i>Duncan</i> (FFG-10) Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate

The USS Duncan (FFG-10) was the fourth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided-missile frigates, and was named for Vice Admiral Donald B. Duncan (1896–1975). Ordered from Todd Pacific, Seattle, Washington on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY75 program, Duncan was laid down on 29 April 1977, launched on 1 March 1978, and commissioned on 15 May 1980.

USS <i>Sides</i> Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate

USS Sides (FFG-14) was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate that served in the US Navy.

USS <i>Estocin</i>

USS Estocin (FFG-15), ninth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Captain Michael John Estocin (1931–1967). Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY76 program, Estocin was laid down on 2 April 1979, launched on 3 November 1979, and commissioned on 10 January 1981.

USS <i>Clifton Sprague</i>

USS Clifton Sprague (FFG-16) was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate of the United States Navy, the tenth ship of that class. She was named for Vice Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague (1896–1955), hero of the Battle off Samar action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, where he received the Navy Cross. Clifton Sprague (FFG-16) was the first ship of that name in the US Navy. She was transferred to the Turkish Naval Forces in 1997 as TCG Gaziantep and remains in active service.

USS <i>John A. Moore</i>

USS John A. Moore (FFG-19), eleventh ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Commander John Anderson Moore (1910–1944). Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California on 28 February 1977 as part of the FY77 program, John A. Moore was laid down on 19 September 1978, launched on 20 October 1979, and commissioned on 14 November 1981.

USS <i>Mahlon S. Tisdale</i>

USS Mahlon S. Tisdale (FFG-27), nineteenth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Vice Admiral Mahlon Street Tisdale (1890–1972). Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California, on 23 January 1978 as part of the FY78 program, Mahlon S. Tisdale was laid down on 19 March 1980, launched on 7 February 1981, and commissioned on 27 November 1982.

USS <i>Boone</i>

USS Boone (FFG-28) was the twentieth ship in the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided missile frigates.

USS <i>Doyle</i> (FFG-39)

USS Doyle (FFG-39) was the 30th ship to be constructed in the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates of the United States Navy. Doyle was named after Vice Admiral James Henry Doyle (1897–1982). Vice Admiral Doyle was most known for his contributions during the Korean War as Commander Amphibious Group One. The ship was in service from 21 May 1983 to 29 July 2011. During her 28 years of service, Doyle went on at least six deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and two deployments to the Persian Gulf, including participation in Operation Earnest Will. The ship also operated in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and deployed to operate with the Middle East Force. Doyle took part in UNITAS 39-98. Deployed to the Standing Naval Forces Atlantic, and conducted three Southern Command Deployments.

USS <i>Belknap</i> (CG-26) Guided missile cruiser (1964–1995)

USS Belknap (DLG-26/CG-26), named for Rear Admirals George E. Belknap (1832–1903) and his son Reginald Rowan Belknap (1871–1959), was the lead ship of her class of guided missile cruisers in the United States Navy. She was launched in 1963 as DLG-26, a guided missile frigate under the then-current designation system, and reclassified as CG-26 on 30 June 1975.

USS <i>Aubrey Fitch</i> US Navy guided missile frigate

USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34), the twenty-sixth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Vice-Admiral Aubrey Fitch (1883–1978), who was noted for his outstanding command work in the South Pacific during World War II.

USS <i>Simpson</i> (FFG-56) Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate

USS Simpson (FFG-56) is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Rodger W. Simpson.

USS <i>Halyburton</i> United States warship (FFG-40)

USS Halyburton (FFG-40), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, is a ship of the United States Navy named for Pharmacist's Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton, Jr. (1924–1945). Halyburton was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism while serving with the 5th Marines, during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

ORP <i>Gen. K. Pułaski</i>

ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski is one of two Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates of the Polish Navy. Formerly serving in the United States Navy as the USS Clark (FFG-11), after her transfer to Poland she was named for Kazimierz Pułaski, who fought in both the War of the Bar Confederation in Poland and later the American Revolutionary War. As the USS Clark, she was the US Navy's fifth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, and was named for Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark (1893–1971). The ship is propelled by two General Electric LM-2500 gas turbines and two 350 horsepower (261 kW) electric drive auxiliary propulsion units. The Gen K. Pułaski is currently homeported at Gdynia (Oksywie).

USS Perry may refer to the following United States Navy ships that are named for Oliver Hazard Perry:

<i>Adelaide</i>-class frigate Class of Australian guided missile frigates

The Adelaide class of six guided missile frigates was constructed in Australia and the United States for service in the Royal Australian Navy. Two were later sold to the Chilean Navy. The Adelaide class was based on the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, but modified for Australian requirements. The first four vessels were built in the United States, and the final two were constructed in Australia. The first ship entered service in November 1980.

USS <i>Richard L. Page</i>

USS Richard L. Page (FFG-5) was a Brooke class frigate in the United States Navy.

References

  1. 1 2 "Oliver Hazard Perry". nvr.navy.mil.
  2. ↑ All Star Party for John Wayne (1976)- Charles Bronson honors John Wayne!, YouTube (beginning 42 seconds into the clip)
  3. ↑ US Navy OPPE Results, 1984 to 1989, US Navy archives
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