FFG 7 Oliver Hazard Perry Class Missile Frigate

FFG Oliver Hazard Perry Class Guided Missile Frigate

Builder: Bath Iron Works: FFG 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 21, 24, 26, 29, 32, 34, 36, 39, 42, 45, 47, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59

Todd Shipyards, Seattle: FFG 10, 17, 18, 20, 22, 28, 31, 35, 37, 40, 44, 48, 52, 61 Todd Shipyards, San Pedro, Calif.: FFG 9, 12, 14, 19, 23, 30, 33, 38, 41, 43, 46, 51, 54, 57, 60. Date Deployed: 17 December 1977 (Oliver Hazard Perry) Propulsion: Two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbine engines; 1 shaft, 41,000 shaft horsepower total. Length: 445 feet (133.5 meters); 453 feet (135.9 meters) with LAMPS III modification. Beam: 45 feet (13.5 meters). Displacement: FFGs 36, 38, 40, 41, 43, 47, 52, 56, 59, 60 displace 4,300 long tons full load (4,369 metric tons) , all other FFGs displace 4,100 long tons (4,165.80 metric tons) full load. Speed: 29 plus knots (33.4+ miles per hour). Crew: 17 Officers, 198 Enlisted. Armament: Six MK-46 torpedoes(from two triple mounts); One 76 mm (3-inch)/62 caliber MK 75 rapid fire gun; One Phalanx close-in-weapons system. Aircraft: Two SH-60 (LAMPS III) in FFG 8, 28, 29, 32, 33, 36-61 One SH-2 (Lamps Mk-I) in FFG 9-19, 30, 31. Ships: USS Halyburton (FFG 40), Mayport, FL USS McClusky (FFG 41), San Diego, CA USS Thach (FFG 43), San Diego, CA USS De Wert (FFG 45), Mayport, FL USS Rentz (FFG 46), San Diego, CA USS Nicholas (FFG 47), Norfolk, VA USS Vandegrift (FFG 48), San Diego, CA USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), Mayport, FL USS Taylor (FFG 50), Mayport, FL USS Gary (FFG 51), San Diego, CA USS Ford (FFG 54), Everett, WA USS Elrod (FFG 55), Norfolk, VA USS Simpson (FFG 56), Mayport, FL USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58), Mayport, FL USS Kauffman (FFG 59), Norfolk, VA USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60), Everett, WA USS Ingraham (FFG 61), Everett, WA

Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigates fulfill a Protection of Shipping mission as Anti-Submarine Warfare combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups and merchant convoys.

The guided missile frigates (FFG) bring a short range anti-air warfare capability (provided by their Phalanx Close-In Weapon System) to the frigate mission, but they have some limitations. Designed as cost efficient surface combatants, they lack the multi-mission capability necessary for modern surface combatants faced with multiple, high-technology threats. They also offer limited capacity for growth. Despite this, the FFG 7 class is a robust platform, capable of withstanding considerable damage. This "toughness" was aptly demonstrated when USS Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine and USS Stark was hit by two Exocet cruise missiles. In both cases the ships survived, were repaired and returned to the fleet. USS Stark was decommissioned in May 1999.

The Surface Combatant Force Requirement Study does not define any need for a single mission ship such as the frigate and there are no frigates planned in the Navy's five-year shipbuilding plan.

The lead ship of the class, USS OLIVER HAZARD PERRY (FFG 7), and the following ships have been decommissioned: FFG 8 through 16, 19-34, 36-39, 42, 52, 53 and 57.

The former USS McInerney (FFG 8) was decommissioned and transferred to Pakistan Aug. 31, 2010. FFG 33, 39 and 53 were decommissioned in 2011 and all are designated for Foreign Military Sales (FMS).

FFG 17, 18, 35, & 44 were built for Australia.