Garcia class frigate
Encyclopedia
Garcia class frigates were United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
warships
Naval ship
A naval ship is a ship used for combat purposes, commonly by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose...
. These frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s were originally ocean escort
Ocean escort
Ocean Escort was a type of United States Navy warship.Ocean Escorts were an evolution of the World War II destroyer escort types. They were intended as convoy escorts and were designed for mobilization production in wartime or low-cost mass production in peacetime.Their hull classification symbol...
s bearing the hull classification
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
DE or DEG until 1975. The ships were commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
between 1964 to 1968 and decommissioned between 1988 and 1990.
Description
Frigates fulfill a Protection of Shipping (POS) mission as anti-submarine warfareAnti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
(ASW) combatants for amphibious expeditionary forces, underway replenishment groups and merchant convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s.
The Garcia class was a larger version of the Bronstein class
Bronstein class frigate
The Bronstein class frigates were United States Navy warships, originally laid down as ocean escorts , but were all redesignated as frigates on 30 June 1975 in the United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification and their hull designation changed from DE to FF.The lead ship of the class was the ,...
.
The Bronstein ocean escort was a response to the development of high speed nuclear submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s in the late 1950s. They were powered by steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s instead of diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s and incorporated a first class anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
(ASW) weapon system: the SQS-26BX sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
, MK 112 ASROC
ASROC
ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...
rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
launcher, and MK 32 torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
tubes. Gun (naval artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
) armament (MK 33 3 inch/50 caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
) was changed in the Garcia class to two MK 30 5 inch/38 caliber guns.
There were two distinct breeds of ships bearing the DE hull classification, the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
s (some of which were converted to DERs) and the postwar DE/DEG classes, which were known as ocean escort
Ocean escort
Ocean Escort was a type of United States Navy warship.Ocean Escorts were an evolution of the World War II destroyer escort types. They were intended as convoy escorts and were designed for mobilization production in wartime or low-cost mass production in peacetime.Their hull classification symbol...
s despite carrying the same type symbol as the WWII destroyer escorts. All DEs, DEGs, and DERs were reclassified as FFs, FFGs, or FFRs on June 30, 1975 by the United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification
United States Navy 1975 ship reclassification
The United States Navy reclassified many of its surface vessels in 1975, changing terminology and hull classification symbols for cruisers, frigates, and ocean escorts.- Classification prior to 1975 :...
.
After decommissioning, , , , and were transferred to the Brazilian Navy, as the Pernambuco (D 30), Paraíba (D 28), Paraná (D 29), and Pará (D 27), respectively. Only Pará (D 27) remains in active reserve as of 2009.
was a Garcia class modified for research use, commissioned as AGDE-1 in 1965, redesignated AGFF-1 in 1975, and redesignated FF-1098 in 1979.
Units
| Ship Name | Hull No. | Builder | Commission– Decommission |
Fate | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garcia USS Garcia (FF-1040) USS Garcia was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escort ships, later reclassified as frigates, in the United States Navy. She was named for Private Fernando Luis Garcia.... |
FF-1040 | Bethlehem Steel Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S... , San Francisco |
1964–1989 | Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 28 March 1994 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1040.htm |
| Bradley USS Bradley (FF-1041) USS Bradley was the second of ten 2,620-ton Garcia-class destroyer escort ships, later reclassified as frigates, in the United States Navy. She was named for Captain Willis Winter Bradley, Jr.... |
FF-1041 | Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco | 1965–1988 | Sold to Brazil as Pernambuco (D 30) | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1041.htm |
| Edward McDonnell USS Edward McDonnell (FF-1043) USS Edward McDonnell was a frigate in the US Navy and the third in its class. Named for medal of honor recipient Vice Admiral Edward Orrick McDonnell.-External links:*** *... |
FF-1043 | Avondale Shipyard Avondale Shipyard Avondale Shipyard was an independent shipbuilding company, acquired by Litton Industries, in turn acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation. Now, along with the former Ingalls Shipbuilding, the yard is part of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding. The yard is located on the West Bank of the Mississippi... , Louisiana |
1965–1988 | Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling, 21 August 2002 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1043.htm |
| Brumby USS Brumby (FF-1044) USS Brumby was a Garcia-class destroyer escort in the US Navy. She was named after Admiral Frank H. Brumby.... |
FF-1044 | Avondale Shipyard, Louisiana | 1965–1989 | Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 28 September 1994 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1044.htm |
| Davidson USS Davidson (FF-1045) USS Davidson was a Garcia-class destroyer escort, and later a frigate, in the United States Navy. She was named for Vice Admiral Lyal A. Davidson.... |
FF-1045 | Avondale Shipyard, Louisiana | 1965–1988 | Sold to Brazil as Paraiba (D28) | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1045.htm |
| Voge USS Voge (DE-1047) The USS Voge , a of the US Navy named after Richard George Voge, was laid down on 21 November 1963 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan. She was launched on 4 February 1965, sponsored by Mrs. Alice Voge Oetting, widow of Rear Admiral Voge; and commissioned at the Boston Naval... |
FF-1047 | Defoe Shipbuilding Company Defoe Shipbuilding Company The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J... , Michigan |
1966–1989 | Disposed of by scrapping, dismantling, 19 January 2001 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1047.htm |
| Sample USS Sample (FF-1048) USS Sample was a frigate in the US Navy and the eighth in its class. It was laid down in 1963 and decommissioned in 1988, then transferred to Brazil in 1989.-History:... |
FF-1048 | Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company , was a shipyard in Seattle, Washington on Harbor Island at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Founded in 1898 as the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, the company that built Harbor Island, it was purchased by Lockheed in 1959... , Seattle |
1968–1988 | Sold to Brazil as Paraná (D 29), 2001 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1048.htm |
| Koelsch USS Koelsch (DE-1049) USS Koelsch was a Garcia-class destroyer escort, later reclassified as a frigate, in the United States Navy. She was named for Navy helicopter pilot Lt John Kelvin Koelsch, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Korean War. On 3 July 1951, Koelsch and his crewman attempted to... |
FF-1049 | Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan | 1967–1989 | Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 28 September 1994 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1049.htm |
| Albert David | FF-1050 | Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Seattle | 1968–1989 | Sold to Brazil as Pará (D 27), 2001 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1050.htm |
| O'Callahan | FF-1051 | Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan | 1968–1988 | Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 28 March 1994 | http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FF1051.htm |
| Glover USS Glover (FF-1098) USS Glover was a originally modified for research use and commissioned as on 3 November 1965, with Commander William W. Wilson in command. Glover was laid down 29 July 1963 by the Bath Iron Works, in Bath, Maine and launched on 17 April 1965 with sponsors Mrs. William S. Pederson, Sr., and Mrs.... |
FF-1098 | Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy... |
1965–1990 | Disposed of, sold by DRMS Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service DLA Disposition Services is part of the United States Defense Logistics Agency... for scrapping, 15 April 1994 |
http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/AGFF1.htm |
See also
- Destroyer escortDestroyer escortA destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
DE - FrigateFrigateA frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
FF - List of frigates of the United States Navy
- List of frigates by country and by frigate class
External links
- Garcia-class frigates at Destroyer History Foundation
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsDictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsThe Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy...
from Naval Historical CenterNaval Historical CenterThe Naval History & Heritage Command is the official history program of the United States Navy and is located at the historic Washington Navy Yard in the District of Columbia.-Mission :...
- information about person whom ship was named after plus early ship history- Garcia picture
- Voge
- Sample
- Koelsch
- Albert David picture
- O'Callahan
- Frigate from Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel RegisterThe Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
- all these ships have been decommissioned - see link for status - The Garcia class from Destroyers OnLine - pictures, history, crews
- Destroyer Escort Sailors Association more information and history about DEs
- USS Voge former crewmember's site with pictures (archiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
link, was dead)