History of the USS Knox (DE/FF-1052)

USS Knox (DE/FF-1052): History, Patrols, Crews

Commissioning

The USS Knox was the first ship and namesake of a new class of destroyer escorts. It was also the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of Commodore Dudley Wright Knox.

The contract to build the Knox was awarded to the Todd Pacific Shipyards of Seattle on June 22, 1964. Her keel was laid on Oct. 5, 1965; she was launched on Nov. 19, 1966. The Knox was commissioned and officially became part of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet on April 12, 1969, with Commander William A. Lamm in command.

Underway

During her career, the Knox performed search and rescue operations and provided evacuation, blockade, and surveillance support missions. In late 1970, the Knox deployed to the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam to provide support for U.S. operations during the Vietnam War. The Knox returned to the region again in late 1971, staying on station for more than a month in November and December.

As the Vietnam War drew to a close, the Knox took part in two evacuation missions in April 1975. The first, Operation Eagle Pull, involved the evacuation of Americans, members of the Cambodian government and other foreign nationals from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on April 12. On April 29 and 30, the Knox assisted Operation Frequent Wind, the famed helicopter evacuation of American citizens and South Vietnamese from Saigon before the arrival of the North Vietnamese Army. She would receive the Meritorious Unit Commendation for her efforts during these operations.

On June 30, 1975 the Knox – which had been designated DE-1052 – was re-designated a frigate and became FF-1052. The Knox would avoid potential combat situations for more than a decade, until she entered the Gulf of Sidra off the coast of Libya in late 1987 for five days while attached to the Sixth Fleet.

Decommissioning

The Knox was decommissioned on Feb. 14, 1992 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on Jan. 11, 1995. The ship was sunk off the coast of Guam on Aug. 7, 2007, after being used as a gunnery target.

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

Class and type: Knox-class frigate
Displacement: 3020 tons standard, 4163 tons full
Length: 415′ (126m) waterline
438′ (134m) overall
Beam: 47′ (14m)
Draft: 24.75′ (7.5m)
Propulsion: 2 × CE 1200psi boilers
1 Westinghouse geared turbine
1 shaft, 35,000 SHP (26 MW) Speed: 27+ knots Range: 4,500 miles (7,242 km) Complement: 13 officers, 211 men Sensors and
processing systems: •AN/SPS-10 surface search
•AN/SPS-40 air search
•AN/SQS-26CX sonar
•AN/SQS-35 IVDS towed array sonar Electronic warfare
and decoys: AN/SLQ-32 Electronics Warfare System Armament: •1 × 5″/54 gun
•4 × 21″ torpedo tubes (4×1, fixed)
•1 × 8-tube ASROC + Harpoon launcher
•1 × 8-cell RIM-7 Sea Sparrow launcher Aircraft carried: 1 DASH drone helicopter, later 1 SH-2 LAMPS I helicopter

Career:

Ordered: July 22, 1964
Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington
Laid down: October 5, 1965
Launched: November 19, 1966
Acquired: March 28, 1969
Commissioned: April 12, 1969
Decommissioned: February 14, 1992
Reclassified: As FF, June 30, 1975
Struck: January 11, 1995
Fate: Sunk as a target, August 7, 2007

Timeline:

July 1964: USS Knox ordered
October 1965: Keel of USS Knox laid
November 1966: USS Knox launched
April 1969: USS Knox commissioned
1970-71: USS Knox makes two tours of duty in Gulf of Tonkin
April 1975: USS Knox takes part in rescue operations in Cambodia and South Vietnam
June 1975: USS Knox reclassified from DE-1052 to FF-1052
January 1995: USS Knox stricken from Naval Vessel Register

Crewmembers of the USS Knox:

An unofficial list of crew members that served on the USS Knox 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_1052

Mike Larson (served February 1979-January 1981): “First ship, what a beautiful start to 10 very fine years in the U.S.N.”
Stephen Depriest (served April 1979-March 1982): “Unique experience, I am still telling sea stories.”
Brian Kilpatrick (served October 1979-April 1981): “ It was one of the best times of my life. We saw Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Australia, India, Guam, Diego Garcia, And Japan was my home port. We also saw the launch of the USSR Minsk-12 miles off the coast of the Soviet Union.”
David Fabian (served 1979-81): “Seems like so long ago. It was kind of fun though when I think back on it now. Got out after 4 years.”

Links:

http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/destroyerspostwwii.htm
http://ussknox.org/knox_statistics.htm
http://ussknox.org/KnoxAwards.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Knox_(FF-1052)
http://www.navysite.de/crew.php?action=ship&ship=FF_1052

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