USS Brumby (DE/FF-1044)

USS Brumby (DE/FF-1044): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Brumby was the fourth member of the Garcia class of destroyer escorts (and later, frigates). The Brumby was named in honor of Admiral Frank Brumby, who served in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection and World War I before commanding the Navy’s Battle Fleet in 1934-35.

The Brumby was ordered on Jan. 3, 1962, from the Avondale Shipyards of Westwego, La. The Brumby’s keel was laid on Aug. 1, 1963; she was launched on June 6, 1964. She was commissioned on Aug. 5, 1965, and joined the ranks of the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet.

Underway

The Brumby’s primary mission was anti-submarine warfare. She was intended to monitor, follow and, should the need arise, sink Soviet submarines who might pose a risk to U.S. ships under her escort. For most of her career, the Brumby performed ASW duties in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Tensions between the United States and Soviet Union were very high in the wake of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war and nearly led to an armed clash between the two superpowers. The Brumby was deployed as part of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and spent several months in the region in the event of an armed confrontation.

In 1975, the Brumby circumnavigated South America as part of the UNITAS exercise. She took part in missions with ships from a number of South American navies and transited the Straits of Magellan to enter the Pacific Ocean before returning back to the Atlantic through the Panama Canal.

In 1980, the Brumby returned to the Middle East as part of a task force stationed near Iran in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the taking of American hostages. In 1983, the Brumby spent several months off the coast of Lebanon in support of the multi-national peacekeeping force operating in Beirut. During this time, the Brumby took part in several fire support missions against hostile forces in the city and the hills nearby.

Though the Brumby started her career as a destroyer escort, she would retire as a frigate. The Brumby, along with the rest of the Knox class, was re-classified as a frigate on June 30, 1975. She was re-designated as FF-1044.

Decommissioning

The Brumby was decommissioned on March 31, 1989. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 1, 1994 and was later scrapped.

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

Class and type: Garcia class frigate
(Formerly destroyer escort)
Displacement: 2,624 tons (light)
Length: 414 ft 6 in (126.3 m)
Beam: 44 ft 1 in (13.4 m)
Draught: 24 ft 6 in (7.5 m)
Propulsion: 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 Westinghouse turbine, 35,000 shp, single screw Speed: 27 knots
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: 1 x SH-2F Seasprite LAMPS I

Career:

Name: USS Brumby (DE-1044)
Namesake: Frank H. Brumby
Awarded: Jan. 3, 1962
Builder: Avondale Shipyards
Laid down: Aug. 1, 1963
Launched: June 6, 1964
Acquired: July 26, 1965
Commissioned: Aug. 5, 1965
Decommissioned: March 31, 1989
Reclassified: (FF-1044) June 30, 1975
Struck: July 1, 1994
Fate: Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 9/28/1994

Timeline:

January 1962: USS Brumby ordered
August 1963: USS Brumby’s keel laid
June 1964: USS Brumby launched
August 1965: USS Brumby commissioned
June 1975: USS Brumby re-classified as FF-1044
1983: USS Brumby serves off the coast of Lebanon
March 1989: USS Brumby decommissioned

Crewmembers of the USS Brumby:

An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Brumby 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=928

Wayne Kilgore (served February 1972—July 1975):”North Atlantic cruise, Scotland,Belgium and the Netherlands. Mid-East cruise.”

Tom Shay (served April 1972—November 1975): “North Atlantic (Scotland Skeleton Crew), Red Sea, & UnItas. First ship, still wear my belt buckle that bears the ship. Liked the Navy so much spent 25yrs in. Retired as a Master Chief BT”

David Fox (served September 1973—February 1976): “Mid-East Cruise and Unitas Cruise. Worked for HM1 John (Jack) Toohey and HMC Jones Kersey.”

Links:
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/destroyerspostwwii.htm
http://navysite.de/ff/ff1044.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Brumby_(FF-1044)
http://navysite.de/crewlist/commandlist.php?commandid=928

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