Commissioning
The USS Badger was a member of the Knox class of escort destroyers (and later, frigates). She was named in honor of four men — Commodore Oscar C. Badger, Rear Admiral Charles J. Badger, Secretary of the Navy George Edmund Badger and Admiral Oscar C. Badger.
The order to build the Badger was awarded to the Todd Pacific Shipyards’ Los Angeles division, located at San Pedro, Calif., on July 22, 1964. Her keel was laid down on Feb. 17, 1968; she was launched on Dec. 7, 1968. She was commissioned on Dec. 1, 1970, with Commander William L. Britton in command. .
Underway
The Badger joined the Pacific Fleet and was based at Long Beach, Calif. In March 1972, she deployed to the Western Pacific for the first time. On April 11, she began gunfire support missions in the Gulf of Tonkin near the mouth of the Cua Viet River. On April 15, she was hit by a North Vietnamese shore battery and suffered an overheated five-inch gun barrel. After quick repairs, the Badger was back on the gunline the next day. On April 19, the Badger was switched to plane guard duty for the USS Constellation until May 17.
After a week of liberty at Saesbo, Japan, the Badger returned to the Gulf of Tonkin on June 2. She performed plane guard duty for the USS Ticonderoga until June 26, when she returned to gunfire support missions on June 26, where it remained for most of the next two months.
After a brief liberty, the Badger returned to the combat zone in late August. She remained in the Gulf of Tonkin until Sept. 15, when began her return trip to the United States.
In 1973, the Badger deployed to the Persian Gulf, arriving at Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Nov. 23. After a brief exercise with the Iranian Navy, the Badger returned to the Philippines, arriving on Dec. 21. She remained in the Western Pacific until May 1974, when it arrived at Pearl Harbor. On June 11, the ship’s low pressure turbine failed and the Badger was towed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
In April and May, 1975, the Badger supported the evacuation of American personnel from Saigon. Later in May, she was diverted back to the region after the SS Mayaguez was seized by Cambodia. The Mayaguez, however, was released before the Badger arrived.
The Badger was deployed to the Indian Ocean in late October, 1980, to join a task force of U.S. Navy ships responding to the seizure of American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Thought the hostages were released on Jan. 19, 1981, the Badger remained in the region until March. In September 1983, the Badger took part in search and recovery operations in the Sea of Japan after the Soviet Union shot down Korean Airlines Flight 007 on Sept. 1.
Decommissioning
The Badger was decommissioned on Dec. 20, 1991. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on Jan. 11, 1995 and was sunk as part of a naval exercise on July 22, 1998.
Characteristics of the USS Badger (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Class and type: Knox-class frigate
Displacement: 3,305 tons (4,295 full load)
Length: 438 ft (134 m)
Beam: 46 ft 9 in (14.2 m)
Draught: 24 ft 9 in (7.5 m)
Propulsion: 2 × CE 1200psi boilers
1 Westinghouse geared turbine
1 shaft, 35,000 SHP (26 MW)
Speed: over 27 knots
Range: 4,500 nautical miles @ 20 knots
Complement: 18 officers, 267 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems: AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar
AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar
AN/SQS-26 Sonar
AN/SQR-18 Towed array sonar system
Mk68 Gun Fire Control System
Electronic warfare and decoys: AN/SLQ-32 Electronics Warfare System
Armament: one Mk-16 8 cell missile launcher for ASROC and Harpoon missiles
one Mk-42 5-inch/54 caliber gun
Mark 46 torpedoes from four single tube launchers)
one Mk-25 BPDMS launcher for Sea Sparrow missiles, later replaced by Phalanx CIWS Aircraft carried: one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter
Career:
July 22, 1964: USS Badger ordered
Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards – Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California
Laid down: Feb. 17, 1968
Launched: Dec. 7, 1968
Acquired: Nov. 20, 1970
Commissioned: Dec. 1, 1970
Decommissioned: Dec. 20, 1991
Struck: Jan. 11, 1995
Motto: Honor Duty Valor
Fate: sunk as a target, July 22, 1998
Timeline:
July 1964: USS Badger ordered
February 1968: Keel of USS Badger laid
December 1968: USS Badger launched
December 1970: USS Badger commissioned
1972: USS Badger supports American operations off the coast of Vietnam
September 1983: USS Badger supports search and recovery activities after downing of KAL 007
December 1991: USS Badger decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Badger:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Badger can be found on the unofficial navy website at: http://navysite.de. This list is compiled by former crewmembers that voluntarily register. Some quoted comments from former crewmembers are listed below; many more are available on the source website at the following Web address:
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=552
Kevin Meyers (served October 1977—October 1979): “My First Fleet Experience, A time of growing Up. Russell Stewart was the duty IC man that met me on the quarterdeck. Fun Westpac- Would like to see more hands on this list.”
Mike Berg (served November 1977—January 1980): “Made two Westpacs on the Bucky (77 & 79). Funny how 3 yrs can mean so much in a lifetime. Not a day goes by I don’t think of her.”
David Mason (served November 1977—November 1982): “Only the best frigate in the Navy…..The “Bucky B” Good Memories, Good Liberties, Great Crew. Talked to Capt. Ansley(Hawaii), Capt. Joe Herger( Ca.) BTCS Fuxa (Colorado), MMC Tiny Brahman (KS) Saw Smoky Joe Swaykos at Joe Hergers retirement.”
David MacCormack (served July 1977—May 1978): “Many years have passed, but the memories are still strong, “God Bless all who rode on her.”.”
Links
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/mesothelioma/veterans/navy-destroyers-post-ww2/
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=552
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Badger_(FF-1071)
http://navysite.de/ff/ff1071.htm
