Commissioning
The USS Lockwood was the 14th member of the Knox class of escort destroyers (and later, frigates). The vessel was named in honor of Admiral Charles Lockwood, the commander of the Navy’s Submarine Force Pacific during World War II.
The order for the Lockwood was awarded to the Todd Pacific Shipyards of Seattle on June 22, 1964. Her keel was laid on Nov. 3, 1967; she was launched on Sept. 5, 1968. The Lockwood was commissioned on Dec. 5, 1970, and joined the ranks of the Pacific Fleet.
Underway
The Lockwood deployed numerous times to the Western Pacific, including to the waters off of Vietnam in 1972. During this deployment, the Lockwood received three combat ribbons and the Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In a span of just over five years—from February 1979 to May 1984—the Lockwood received five Meritorious Unit Commendations. The reasons for several of those awards remain classified, though there is speculation that they involved special operations missions near the coast of the Soviet Union. Before the Lockwood was decommissioned, she was honored a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy.
The Lockwood began its career as a destroyer escort (designated DE-1064), but retired a frigate. Along with all other members of the Knox class, it was re-classified as a frigate on June 30, 1975 and became FF-1064.
Decommissioning
The Lockwood was both decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on Sept. 27, 1993. She was scrapped on Aug. 4, 2000, in San Francisco.
Characteristics of the USS Lockwood (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: July 22, 1964
Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington
Laid down: Nov. 3, 1967
Launched: Sept. 5, 1968
Acquired: December 1, 1970
Commissioned: December 5, 1970
Decommissioned: Sept. 30, 1993
Struck: Sept. 30, 1993
Motto: Secure Against the Waves
Fate: Disposed of by Recycling, August 4, 2000
Timeline:
July 1964: USS Lockwood ordered
November 1967: Keel of USS Lockwood laid
September 1968: USS Lockwood launched
December 1970: USS Lockwood commissioned
April 1972: USS Lockwood receives three combat ribbons off the coast of Vietnam
1979-1984: USS Lockwood receives five Meritorious Unit Commendations
September 1993: USS Lockwood decommissioned
Crewmembers of the USS Lockwood:
An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Lockwood 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://www.navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=FF_1064
Jeff Harmon (served August 1980-August 1982): “Had a great time in Yokosuka on the First and Best in the west. Specops off Russia to several IO’s. Capt Mike McKearn was a great skipper. XO was CDR Wells who is now SECDEF/CIO.”
Tom Ponta (served 1980-82): “First place I learned that Thailand on the schedule was a code word for SpecOps, Sea of O. Tons of hours as an ASAC working with the LAMPS Det.”
Gus Maier (served December 1980-July 1984): “Lockwood was the best command in my career, and every crewmember was a friend, all true shipmates. Two SpecOps, one refugee rescue, chasing downed Midway pilots, chasing the Midway, IOs forever, and home!!”
Links:
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/mesothelioma/veterans/navy-destroyers-post-ww2/
http://www.navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=FF_1064
http://www.combatindex.com/mil_docs/pdf/opnav/1600/1650.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lockwood
