Commissioning
The USS Barbey was a member of the Knox class of destroyer escorts (later, frigates). She was named after Vice Admiral Daniel Edward Barbey, who led the first large-scale operations involving both army and navy forces.
The Barbey’s contract was awarded to Avondale Shipyards of New Orleans, La. on Aug. 25, 1966. Her keel was laid on Feb. 5, 1971; she was launched on Dec. 4, 1971. The Barbey was commissioned with Commander Theodore B. Schultz in command on Nov. 11, 1972.
Underway
In March 1974, the Barbey began her first major deployment, for the joint U.S.-Canadian Navy exercise COMPTUEX 2B-74. During the deployment, the Barbey was tasked rescuing pilots from the carrier USS Ranger should the encounter mechanical problems. After running operations in San Diego, the Barbey was towed back to Long Beach Naval Shipyard after suffering major damage to her propeller system.
On June 30, 1975, the Barbey and all other destroy escort class vessels were re-classified as frigates, and was re-designated FF-1088. On January 6, 1976, the faulty propeller system, the CPP, was permanently removed and replace with a standard, fixed-blade propeller.
After months of tests and inspections, the Barbey was deployed to the Pacific in September of 1976 to participate in a number of exercises, including exercise Multiplex 1-77 and Sharkhunt XX. She returned to San Diego in March of 1977.
In June of 1977, the Barbey was deployed to the Pacific Northwest to participate in tactical exercises. After these exercises, she returned to San Diego where she would rest until the following year. In January 1978, the Barbey was commissioned for an eleven month overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard. While she was overhauled, the Barbey was equipped with the new Harpoon anti-ship missile system, along with other improvements to her other combat systems and engineering plant.
In the spring of 1980, the Barbey was ordered to the Persian Gulf to join the 7th Fleet. For two months, the Barbey took part in a task force off the coast of Iran, which had taken American citizens at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran hostage. In 1987, the Barbey returned to the Persian Gulf to take part in operations escorting American-flagged vessels through the waterway and preventing Iranian attacks. She would win the Meritorious Unit Commendation as a result of this deployment.
The Barbey was one of the first U.S. Navy vessels to arrive in the Persian Gulf after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. She would help enforce the United Nations embargo against Iraq until November of that year, but left the region before the start of Operation Desert Storm in January 1991.
Decommissioning
The Barbey was decommissioned on March 20, 1992, and was struck from the Navy list on Jan. 11, 1995. She was then sold to Taiwan through the Security Assistance Program on Sept. 29, 1999. She served as the ROCS Hwai Yang (FFG-937).
Characteristics of the USS Barbey (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Class and type: Knox-class frigate
Displacement: 3,214 tons (4,195 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
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 Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried: one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter
Career:
Awarded: August 25, 1966
Builder: Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, La.
Keel laid: February 5, 1971
Launched: December 4, 1971
Commissioned: November 11, 1972
Decommissioned: March 20, 1992
Struck: January 11, 1995
Fate: Sold to Taiwan
Timeline:
August 1966: USS Barbey awarded
February 1971: Keel of USS Barbey laid
December 1971: USS Barbey launched
November 1972: USS Barbey commissioned
March 1974: USS Barbey embarks for joint US-Canada Navy exercise
June 1975: USS Barbey redesignated FF-1088
September 1976: USS Barbey deployed to the Pacific
March 1992: USS Barbey decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Barbey:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Barbey 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/crew.php?action=ship&ship=ff_1088
Keith Simons (Served July 1987 – July 1991): “Best crew I ever served with. Had some outstanding chiefs to work for. The Barbey was a true family, could count on anyone in the crew for support.”
Scott Bacon (Served May 1990 – December 1991): “Reported aboard just before deploying to the AG for what became Desert Shield. This was by far the best crew I served with. Hit the beach with Beck, King, Bink & Hutch.”
Links:
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/mesothelioma/veterans/navy-destroyers-post-ww2/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Barbey_(FF-1088)
http://navysite.de/ff/ff1088.htm
http://navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=ff_1088
