Commissioning
The USS Capodanno was a member of the Knox class of escort destroyers (and later, frigates). She was named in honor of Navy Chaplain Fr. Vincent R. Capodanno, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for refusing to stop comforting the wounded and dying in spite of several injuries during an attack by the North Vietnamese on the village Don Song in April 1966. The cause for canonization, the first step for Roman Catholic Sainthood, for Capodanno was started in 2002.
The Capodanno was ordered on Aug. 25, 1966. The contract to build her was awarded to the Avondale Shipyards of Westwego, La. Her keel was laid on Oct. 12, 1971; she was launched on Oct. 21, 1972. She was commissioned on Nov. 17, 1973.
Underway
During her first deployment to Mediterranean Sea in 1974, the Capodanno was, considering her namesake, appropriately assigned to search and rescue operations on four different occasions. During these missions, the Capodanno helped save 22 lives. In 1976, she was deployed the Persian Gulf region; in 1977, she circumnavigated the continent of South America as part of a UNITAS exercise with several South American navies.
After an overhaul in 1978, the Capodanno was assigned to homeport in Newport R.I. In 1979, she deployed once more to the Mediterranean Sea and won her first Battle Efficiency “E” for outstanding combat preparedness. In 1980, the Capodanno was deployed to the North Atlantic to take part in NATO exercise TEAMWORK ’80 and received her second Battle “E”.
In 1981, the Capodanno took part in her second UNTIAS deployment to South America and was later deployed to the Mediterranean. During a port call to Naples, Italy on July 4, 1981, the Capodanno was blessed by Pope John Paul II. She is the only U.S. Navy vessel in history to receive a blessing from the pope.
In 1982, the Capodanno took part in another Mediterranean deployment and took part in the multi-national peacekeeping force deployed off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon in 1983. She took part in several gunfire support missions against enemy targets and received the Navy Expeditionary Medal. Another Mediterranean deployment in 1985-86 led to the Capodanno’s taking part in Operation El Dorado Canyon, the joint Air Force/Navy airstrike against Libya in April 1986.
The Capodanno returned to the Middle East in 1992, taking part in ongoing embargo operations against Iraq after Operation Desert Storm. She would receive the Joint Navy Unit Citation for her efforts during this deployment.
Though the Capodanno started her career as a destroyer escort, she would retire as a frigate. The Capodanno, along with the rest of the Knox class, was re-classified as a frigate on June 30, 1975. She was re-designated as FF-1093.
Decommissioning
The Capodanno was decommissioned on Aug. 30, 1993 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on Jan. 11, 1995. She was leased and later sold to Turkey, where she served into the 21st Century.
Characteristics of the USS Capodanno (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:
Ordered: Aug. 25, 1966
Builder: Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana
Laid down: Oct. 12, 1971
Launched: Oct. 21, 1972
Acquired: Oct. 18, 1973
Commissioned: Nov.17, 1973
Decommissioned: July 30, 1993
Struck: Jan. 11, 1995
Motto: Duty with Honor
Nickname: Happy Cappy
Fate: Leased and then sold to Turkey
Timeline:
August 1966: USS Capodanno ordered
October 1971; Keel of USS Capodanno laid down
October 1972: USS Capodanno launched
November 1973: USS Capodanno commissioned
July 1981: USS Capodanno blessed by Pope John Paul II
1983: USS Capodanno takes part in multinational force off coast of Lebanon
April 1986: USS Capodanno takes part in Operation El Dorado Canyon
1992: USS Capodanno takes part in United Nations embargo operations against Iraq
July 1993: USS Capodanno decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Capodanno:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Capodanno 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=572
Eric Corn (served December 1987—July 1991): “My first ship. A very good learning experience. I was on 2 Med Cruises. I was in the USO when it was blown up Apr 14 1988.”
Cary Glenny (served April 1987—June 1990): “Had some good times and bad on the Happy Cappy. Hated chipping the flight Deck, loved the port visits and ASW ops. I really hated replacing the towed array cable.”
Darrell Snell (served September 1987—March 1988): “MY FIRST SHIP. I REALLY ENJOYED THE EXPERIENCE THAT I GAINED ONBOARD.”
Links:
http://navysite.de/ff/ff1093.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Capodanno_(FF-1093)
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=572
