History of the USS Albert David (DE/FF-1050)

USS Albert David (DE/FF-1050): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Albert David, (DE/FF-1050: frigate), was named for Lieutenant Albert David, a Medal of Honor recipient. Albert David was part of the United States Navy’s Garcia class of frigates, the ninth boat in the class. Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington, earned the contract in March of 1963 and laid down her keel on April 29, 1964. Albert David launched on December 19, 1964. She was commissioned on October 19, 1968, carrying two hundred thirty-one enlisted men and sixteen officers under the command of CDR Roy S

. Reynolds.

Underway

From late October 1968 to February 1969, Albert David carried out readiness trials and tests before sailing for Hawaii in March. She conducted refresher training off the coast of San Diego, and then made for her new homeport of Long Beach, California on May 10th. Two days later, she went back to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard near Seattle for post-shakedown availability. In July, she left Washington and conducted operations near San Diego before returning to Long Beach on July 18th. That October, she started her first deployment to the western Pacific (WESTPAC) and began gunfire support duty near Danang, South Vietnam, in November as well as sea-air rescue operations in the Gulf of Tonkin in December.

After a few brief stops in Okinawa, the Philippines and Hong Kong, Albert David resumed her mission near Danang in February 1970. Once she completed her deployment, she returned to Long Beach in April, then continued with various training operations until her first scheduled overhaul in November.

With her overhaul work completed, Albert David ran sea trials and refresher training during July and August of 1971. She picked up her normal operations with the US First Fleet in September and left for a second WESTPAC deployment in November. She continued to provide gunfire support to shore troops near the coast of Vietnam through December and early January.

Albert David restocked on food, fuel and ammunition at Subic Bay, Philippines, in February of 1972 before returning to duty as offshore artillery support for ground troops. In late March, she carried out antisubmarine exercises in the Sea of Japan. She also conducted gunfire support missions and escort duties with the aircraft carrier USS Constellation and the guided missile cruiser USS Long Beach. She returned home on July 1, 1972 for a month of leave and upkeep, then restarted operations with the First Fleet in August as well as taking part in the exercise “RIMPAC-72”. Late that September, she put into port for three weeks, and then carried out operations along the coast of southern California as well as training for new sailors until the end of the year.

In early January 1973, Albert David started another WESTPAC deployment. She continued to serve as an escort for the aircraft carrier Constellation during their last tour at the end of the Vietnam War. She also carried out antisubmarine operations before sailing for Subic Bay in February for repairs and training exercises. In March, she took part in Operation End Sweep, the mission to remove mines from the Vietnamese coast. She returned to Long Beach in July, and then started a post-deployment standdown in San Pedro, which left her in port until November. After a quick trip to Long Beach, she moved to her new homeport in San Diego in early December.

From January to April of 1974, Albert David took part in operations around San Diego. In late April, she sailed out another WESTPAC deployment, this time on escort duty with the destroyers USS Leonard F. Mason and USS Waddell. These three ships rendezvoused with the aircraft carrier USS Midway for operations off the coast of the Japanese island of Honshu. Albert David returned to San Diego in October for post-deployment standdown and holiday leave.

She spent parts of March and April of 1975 taking part in Operation “RIMPAC-75” near Hawaii. At the end of June, as part of a Navy-wide program, she was reclassified from a destroyer escort (DE) to a frigate (FF). She made another visit to Hawaii in September, and then returned to San Diego in November to carry out operations near the California coast through the winter and spring.

Albert David visited her previous homeport in Long Beach in April 1976 to start a major overhaul that would last until St. Patrick’s Day 1977. She continued with post-overhaul trials and training exercises in San Diego until August then sailed to Hawaii for a month of additional training time before coming back in September. She continued a normal training schedule in San Diego until the following spring.

She took part in “RIMPAC-78” in April and arrived in the Philippines in May. That summer, she also participated in the exercise “Sharkhunt XXVII” with ships from the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy. She returned to San Diego in late October and stayed in port for the rest of the year.

Starting in January until October of 1979, Albert David underwent more trials, training and inspections. In mid-November, she sailed for Pearl Harbor and arrived in Subic Bay in early December, where she would stay for the rest of the year.

In mid-February of 1980, Albert David left Subic Bay with her classmate Bronsfera as well as the cruisers Long Beach and Workfett for a trip to Singapore. Due to a malfunction with the main engine, Albert David had to be towed back to Subic Bay and underwent two weeks of repairs. She was ready again on March 1 and carried out exercises for two weeks before conducting antisubmarine tests near Okinawa. In April, she spent a week in Sasebo, Japan, for repairs and upkeep. She returned to San Diego in May and carried out local operations until July. She sailed up the coast to Alaska in August, and then put in to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for another overhaul. She would remain there from mid-August of 1980 until early October of the following year.

Albert David continued with operations near San Diego from October 1981 to May 1982. She began another WESTPAC deployment that summer, arriving in Subic Bay in early July. Later that month, she moved to Sasebo, Japan. In August, she returned to Subic Bay to rendezvous with the destroyer USS John Young and the navy stores ship USS San Jose to sail for the Arabian Sea. For six weeks from early September until mid-October, she carried out surveillance work in the region. She made it back to San Diego in late November and stayed in port through the first three weeks of January.

Near the end of January 1983, Albert David started local operations near San Diego as well as numerous training exercises until October of that year. In October, she readied for another WESTPAC deployment. After stops in Pearl Harbor and the Mariana Islands, she arrived in Subic Bay in mid-November. She conducted exercises with the navies of Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea before finishing the year in Manila.

In January, Albert David participated in a bilateral exercise with the Thai navy as well as other exercises with the other elements of the US Seventh Fleet. After weeks of repairs in Yokosuka, Japan, she conducted anti-sub exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. She completed her deployment in April 1984 and arrived in San Diego at the end of the month. She spent the month of May in post-deployment standdown and continued with local operations until November. She sailed to Long Beach to carry out repairs that lasted until early 1985. She returned to San Diego in early January and carried out training exercises along the west coasts of the US and Canada until the autumn of 1986. In late September, she came back to San Diego for another overhaul.

Decommissioning

Albert David was decommissioned on September 28, 1988 and stricken from the Naval Register on January 24, 2001. After her decommissioning, she was leased to the Brazilian Navy and renamed PARA. When Brazil purchased the ship outright, the US Navy struck her from the register the same day.

Characteristics of the USS Albert David (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Class and type: Garcia-class frigate
Displacement:     2,624 tons (light)
3,400 tons full
Length: 414 ft 6 in (126.3 m)
Beam: 44 ft 1 in (13.4 m)
Draft: 24 ft 6 in (7.5 m)
Propulsion: 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 steam turbine, 35,000 shp, single screw
Speed:     27 knots
Range:     4,000 nautical miles (7,000 km) at 20 knots (40 km/h)
Complement: 16 officers, 231 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems: AN/SPS-40 air search radar
AN/SPS-10 surface search radar
AN/SQS-26 bow mounted sonar
Armament: 2 x 5"/38 Mk 30(2x1)
1 8-tube ASROC Mk16 launcher (16 missiles)
6 x 12.75 in (324mm) Mk 32 (2x3) torpedo tubes, Mk 46 torpedoes
2 x MK 37 torpedo tubes (fixed, stern) (removed later)
Aircraft carried:     Gyrodyne QH-50 (planned) / SH-2 LAMP

Career:

Namesake: Lieutenant Albert David
Ordered: 20 March 1963
Builder: Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company of Seattle, Washington
Laid down: 29 April 1964
Launched: 19 December 1964
Commissioned: 19 October 1968
Decommissioned: 28 September 1988
Struck: 24 January 2001
Fate: initially leased, then Sold to Brazil 24 January 2001

Timeline:

April 1964 – USS Albert David keel laid down
December 1964 – USS Albert David launched
October 1968 – USS Albert David commissioned
May 1969 – USS Albert David moved to new home port of Long Beach
October 1969 – USS Albert David sailed for first WESTPAC deployment
April 1970 – USS Albert David returned to Long Beach
November 1970 – USS Albert David underwent overhaul in Long Beach
January 1972 – USS Albert David collided with North Vietnamese junk
July 1972 – USS Albert David returned to Long Beach for leave
August 1972 – USS Albert David took part in exercise RIMPAC-72
January 1973 – USS Albert David sailed for WESTPAC deployment
March 1973 – USS Albert David took part in Operation End Sweep to remove mines from Vietnamese waters
December 1973 – USS Albert David moved to new home port of San Diego
April 1974 – USS Albert David sailed for WESTPAC deployment
April 1975 – USS Albert David took part in exercise RIMPAC-75
June 1975 – USS Albert David changed designation from destroyer escort (DE) to frigate (FF)
April 1976 – USS Albert David underwent overhaul in Long Beach
April 1978 – USS Albert David took part in exercise RIMPAC-78
February 1980 – USS Albert David underwent repairs on main engine in Subic Bay, Philippines
August 1980 – USS Albert David underwent overhaul in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
July 1982 – USS Albert David sailed for WESTPAC deployment
September 1982 – USS Albert David carried out surveillance missions in Arabian Sea
October 1983 – USS Albert David sailed for WESTPAC deployment
January 1984 – USS Albert David took part in exercise with Royal Thai Navy
September 1986 – USS Albert David underwent overhaul in San Diego
September 1988 – USS Albert David decommissioned
January 2001 – USS Albert David stricken from Naval Vessel Register

Crewmembers of the USS Albert David:

An unofficial list of crewmembers that served on the USS Albert David 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=933.

Tyron Jordan: (Served from September 1970 – July 1972) “Westpac Nov, 1971 to July 1972 on record to us as the best can in the theater at that time. Never missed a committment. Out shoot every other ship in the fleet. She was called the Dirty D back in day. Great ship and crew.”

Bill Steagall: (Served from December 1974 – June 1977) “I was commo and OC divo. Stood bridge watches, and dry dock watches when we went through overhaul in LBNSY. "No, Mr. Steagall, NMFQ does not mean No More Freaking Questions", It was a great crew and I was lucky to serve.”

Robert Schoepfer: (Served from March 1981 – June 1982) “Some of my best times were spent on the DEVO. Came onboard already hooked up with a girl friend in Bellvue, Wa. Mr. A was my division "O" Worked for IC1 Cooke (Cookie)”

Bob Crimmins: (Served from September 1983 – June 1986) “Didn't realize at the time just how much fun I was having, funny how with age comes wisdom. Anybody know the whereabouts of BM1 (later BMC) Becnel or HT1 (HTC) Maitland?”

Mark Trudeau: (Served from September 1985 – September 1987) “Enjoyed the smaller crew over the larger of the USS Ranger that I had previously served. Not to say didn't enjoy that as well. Sailed with her up and down the coast and within spitting distance of Hawaii but didn't go in. Great People!!!! “

Links:

http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/destroyerspostwwii.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Albert_David_(FF-1050)
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=933
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021050.htm

To receive a FREE Mesothelioma Web information packet** or to make a request, please fill out the following form :

**For a FREE information packet including treatments, clinical trials, and specialists, please complete the form above or call a Mesothelioma Web coordinator at 1-877-367-6376.

News

Resources

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here