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USS Talbot (FFG-4)
Encyclopedia
The USS Talbot (FFG-4) was laid down on 4 May 1964 at Bath, Maine
, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.
; launched on 6 January 1966; sponsored by Miss Frances K. Talbot; and commissioned on 22 April 1967, Comdr. Edwin E. Woods, Jr., in command. The ship was named for US Navy Captain Silas Talbot
.
for shakedown and missile system trials. Talbot next headed north and arrived at her home port, Newport, Rhode Island
, on 16 September. The ship conducted special operations off the Virginia Capes from 16 October to 18 November and then spent most of her time until the spring of 1968 undergoing post-shakedown availability. Following firing exercises at the Atlantic Fleet weapons range and antisubmarine operations late in April, the destroyer escort participated in the search for missing nuclear submarine in May. She devoted the rest of the year to operations along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean
.
in the Bahamas and off the New England
coast. She stood out of Newport on 21 July and proceeded to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico
, accompanied by and . There, joined the group on the 26th, and they began combined operations with ships from seven South American navies while circumnavigating South America. Talbot made calls in Venezuela
, Brazil
, Uruguay
, Argentina
, Chile
, Peru
, the Panama Canal Zone
, and Colombia
before returning to Newport on 3 December 1972. She entered the Boston Naval Shipyard on 15 February 1973 for an overhaul that lasted until 14 December.
. From 13 February to 29 April, the ship was deployed on training exercises off Jacksonville, Florida
; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
; and Vieques, Puerto Rico
. After a cruise to Newport in May, she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
on 17 June for the installation of prototypes of the Oto Melara
Mk 75 rapid-fire 76 mm gun mount
and the Mk 92 fire-control system, intended for use in the new and classes. She stood out of Hampton Roads on 21 October and, from 12 November through 19 December 1974, tested the new systems at the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range, Culebra, Puerto Rico
.
Talbot continued her evaluation work into 1975, alternating three periods of test operations at Culebra with a tender availability alongside at Norfolk, local operations in the Virginia
capes area, and fleet tactical exercises in the western Atlantic. Her test mission completed, Talbot returned to Norfolk on 22 June. After local operations and inspections, she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 15 September for a three-month overhaul in which her experimental fire-control system and 76 mm gun were removed and replaced by her normal 5 inch, 38-caliber gun and fire-control system.
for overhaul on 9 June. Completing overhaul on 7 April 1978, Talbot spent the balance of the year in refresher training and participating in Fleet exercises off the east coast and in the Caribbean. On 6 December, she departed the United States for deployment with the Middle East Force in response to the crisis surrounding the deposition of the Shah of Iran
. The close of 1978 found Talbot en route to the Persian Gulf
.
During the 76 Med cruise Talbot was assigned a LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System) Helicopter Detachment (Det-6) from US Navy squadron HSL-34 (Helicopter Squadron Light-34), Naval Air Station Norfolk, VA. Det-6 Commanding Officer was LCDR Jon Cook. The helicopter utilized was the KAMAN SH-2F. This was the first LAMPS Det that Talbot had on-board. It was also the first time the US Navy assigned a LAMPS DET to an FFG to test operational readiness on a small flight deck. The entire operation was deemed a success, with over sixty day/ night time landings safely accomplished. Later, Talbot was assigned another LAMPS DET from HSL-32.
in April 1989 and renamed Hunain (D-164). The ship was returned to the United States at Singapore
and stricken 29 November 1993. Talbot was soon sold for scrap on 29 March 1994 to Trusha Investments Ltd. for $601,650.
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
, by the Bath Iron Works Corp.
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...
; launched on 6 January 1966; sponsored by Miss Frances K. Talbot; and commissioned on 22 April 1967, Comdr. Edwin E. Woods, Jr., in command. The ship was named for US Navy Captain Silas Talbot
Silas Talbot
Silas Talbot was an officer in the Continental Army and in the Continental Navy. Talbot is most famous for commanding the USS Constitution from 1798 to 1801.-Biography:...
.
Operational history
On 8 July, the new guided-missile escort ship departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, for Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
for shakedown and missile system trials. Talbot next headed north and arrived at her home port, Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, on 16 September. The ship conducted special operations off the Virginia Capes from 16 October to 18 November and then spent most of her time until the spring of 1968 undergoing post-shakedown availability. Following firing exercises at the Atlantic Fleet weapons range and antisubmarine operations late in April, the destroyer escort participated in the search for missing nuclear submarine in May. She devoted the rest of the year to operations along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Mediterranean Sea
On 31 January 1969, Talbot departed Newport for the Mediterranean and was deployed with the 6th Fleet until she returned on 11 July. After overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard was completed on 1 April 1970, Talbot conducted local operations before returning to the missile range off Puerto Rico in May for weapons tests, followed by refresher training and four months at Newport. On 28 October 1970, she headed for the Mediterranean and her second tour with the 6th Fleet. The deployment ended at Newport on 2 May 1971, and she devoted the remainder of the year to east coast operations.South American tour
Talbot spent the first part of 1972 conducting tests of the MK-48 torpedoMark 48 torpedo
The Mark 48 and its improved ADCAP variant are heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.-History:...
in the Bahamas and off the New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
coast. She stood out of Newport on 21 July and proceeded to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, accompanied by and . There, joined the group on the 26th, and they began combined operations with ships from seven South American navies while circumnavigating South America. Talbot made calls in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
before returning to Newport on 3 December 1972. She entered the Boston Naval Shipyard on 15 February 1973 for an overhaul that lasted until 14 December.
Western Atlantic
On 5 January 1974, Talbot departed Newport and proceeded to her new home port, Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. From 13 February to 29 April, the ship was deployed on training exercises off Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
; and Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands...
. After a cruise to Newport in May, she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
on 17 June for the installation of prototypes of the Oto Melara
Oto Melara
Oto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as a joint venture of Vickers and Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the...
Mk 75 rapid-fire 76 mm gun mount
Otobreda 76 mm
The Otobreda 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defence conglomerate Otobreda. It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier...
and the Mk 92 fire-control system, intended for use in the new and classes. She stood out of Hampton Roads on 21 October and, from 12 November through 19 December 1974, tested the new systems at the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range, Culebra, Puerto Rico
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
.
Talbot continued her evaluation work into 1975, alternating three periods of test operations at Culebra with a tender availability alongside at Norfolk, local operations in the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
capes area, and fleet tactical exercises in the western Atlantic. Her test mission completed, Talbot returned to Norfolk on 22 June. After local operations and inspections, she entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on 15 September for a three-month overhaul in which her experimental fire-control system and 76 mm gun were removed and replaced by her normal 5 inch, 38-caliber gun and fire-control system.
Mediterranean and Persian Gulf
Upon completing overhaul and refresher training in the spring of 1976, Talbot departed Norfolk on 22 June for a Mediterranean deployment. En-route to the Azores, the Talbot experienced a ruptured fuel tank while refueling under-way and was forced to repair, in the Azores port, before continuing on to Rota, Spain.The six-month operation included participation in NATO exercises interspersed with port visits and concluded with the ship's return to Norfolk on 10 January 1977. Following post-deployment leave and upkeep, Talbot conducted exercises off the east coast until she entered the Philadelphia Naval ShipyardPhiladelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
for overhaul on 9 June. Completing overhaul on 7 April 1978, Talbot spent the balance of the year in refresher training and participating in Fleet exercises off the east coast and in the Caribbean. On 6 December, she departed the United States for deployment with the Middle East Force in response to the crisis surrounding the deposition of the Shah of Iran
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
. The close of 1978 found Talbot en route to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
During the 76 Med cruise Talbot was assigned a LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System) Helicopter Detachment (Det-6) from US Navy squadron HSL-34 (Helicopter Squadron Light-34), Naval Air Station Norfolk, VA. Det-6 Commanding Officer was LCDR Jon Cook. The helicopter utilized was the KAMAN SH-2F. This was the first LAMPS Det that Talbot had on-board. It was also the first time the US Navy assigned a LAMPS DET to an FFG to test operational readiness on a small flight deck. The entire operation was deemed a success, with over sixty day/ night time landings safely accomplished. Later, Talbot was assigned another LAMPS DET from HSL-32.
Fate
Talbot was sold to PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in April 1989 and renamed Hunain (D-164). The ship was returned to the United States at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and stricken 29 November 1993. Talbot was soon sold for scrap on 29 March 1994 to Trusha Investments Ltd. for $601,650.