 USS Hawes (FFG-53) | |
| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hawes |
| Namesake: | Rear admiral Richard E. Hawes |
| Awarded: | 22 May 1981 |
| Builder: | Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine |
| Laid down: | 26 August 1983 |
| Launched: | 18 February 1984 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Ruth Hawes Watson |
| Commissioned: | 9 February 1985 |
| Decommissioned: | 10 December 2010 |
| Homeport: | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Identification: |
|
| Motto: | "Ever Ready, Ever Fearless" |
| Fate: | Scrapped in Brownsville 2021 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate |
| Displacement: | 4,100 long tons (4,200 t), full load |
| Length: | 453 feet (138 m), overall |
| Beam: | 45 feet (14 m) |
| Draught: | 22 feet (6.7 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | over 29 knots (54 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus SH-60 LAMPS detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Electronic warfare & decoys: | AN/SLQ-32 |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × SH-60 LAMPS III helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: |
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USS Hawes (FFG-53) is a later model Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate. She is named for Rear admiral Richard E. Hawes (1894–1968) who was twice decorated with the Navy Cross for submarine salvage operations.
Construction[]
The contract to build Hawes was awarded to Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 22 May 1981, and her keel was laid 26 August 1983. She was launched 18 February 1984; sponsored by Mrs. Ruth H. Watson, widow of the late Rear Adm. Hawes; delivered 1 February 1985, and commissioned 9 February 1985.[1]
Service history[]
In the summer of 1987, Hawes deployed from a regular Sixth Fleet assignment in the Mediterranean to the Fifth Fleet in Persian Gulf to support Operation Earnest Will. Operation Earnest Will escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil and natural gas tankers through the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. Hawes led or participated in numerous convoy escort operations between September and November, 1987. In addition to its regular complement of crew, officers and an air detatchment of 2 SH-60B Seahawk helicopters, Hawes also embarked a detachment of 3 Task Force 160 (Delta Force) MH-6 helicopters, referred to as Sea Bats, as well as Stinger Missile crews for additional anti-air defense in the wake of the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark in May 1987.
In late September 1987 a small Iranian Revolutionary Guard ship, the Iran Ajr, was discovered sowing mines in shipping lanes northeast of Bahrain and was subsequently attacked by elements of Task Force 160 embarked on the USS Jarrett and captured by a US Navy SEAL team. Subsequently, the Hawes took the Ajr under tow to an undisclosed location where US Navy EOD sailors scuttled the ship.
Hawes also participated as an anti-air picket in support of Operation Nimble Archer, where US Navy destroyers and cruisers destroyed several Iranian natural gas platforms in response to a missile attack on the reflagged tanker Sea Isle City as she awaited the unloading of cargo at the Kuwait City terminal.
On 12 October 2000, Hawes was involved, along with Donald Cook, in providing repair and logistics support to Cole, shortly after she was attacked in Aden, Yemen. Two al-Qaeda terrorists brought an inflatable Zodiac-type speedboat that carried a bomb alongside guided missile destroyer Cole, while the ship refueled, and detonated their lethal cargo, killing 17 sailors and wounding 42 more. The crewmember's heroic damage control efforts saved Cole. Hawes, Cmdr. J. Scott Jones in command, joined (13 October – October) other ships that took part in Operation Determined Response to assist Cole including: amphibious assault ship Tarawa; dock landing ship Anchorage; amphibious transport dock Duluth; guided missile destroyer Donald Cook; and the Military Sealift Command-operated tug Catawba; along with British frigates Cumberland and Marlborough. The Navy subsequently enhanced global force protection training during crucial transits, and sailors qualified to fire M60 and Browning .50 caliber M2 machine guns to defend against assaults by low-slow flying aircraft and small boats.[1]
Hawes, with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) HSL-48 Detachment 10 embarked, returned from a counter-narcotics deployment to the Caribbean and Western Atlantic to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 October 2009. The ship's operations resulted in the seizure of 200 barrels of cocaine.[1]
In July 2010, Hawes docked for five days at Pier 4 of the Charlestown Navy Yard, participating in a Navy Week coordinated alongside Boston's Harborfest.[2]
Hawes, operating with Destroyer Squadron 26 out of Norfolk, was decommissioned on 10 December 2010. Fate
In late 2020, Hawes was announced to be recycled by 2021, alongside USS Charles F. Adams, USS Stephen Groves, USS Barry, and USS Ticonderoga.[3][4]
Awards[]
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
 
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Evans, Mark L. (14 July 2015). "Hawes (FFG-53)". Naval History and Heritage Command. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/h/Hawes.html.
- ↑ The 2010 Boston Navy Week Schedule of Events
- ↑ "USS Hawes (FFG 53) set to be recycled after 25 years of service | EMR Metal Recycling Reimagined". https://us.emrgroup.com/find-out-more/latest-news/uss-hawes-set-to-recycled-after-25-years-of-service.
- ↑ "DLA to scrap five warships" (in en-US). Defense Logistics Agency. https://www.dla.mil/About-DLA/News/News-Article-View/Article/2372056/dla-to-scrap-five-warships/.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links[]
- USS Hawes official website
- Photo gallery of USS Hawes (FFG-53) at NavSource Naval History
- navysite.de: USS Hawes
- Boothbay Register story, 24 June 1999
- MaritimeQuest USS Hawes FFG-53 pages
- USS Hawes Decommissioning story 12/11/2010 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
The original article can be found at USS Hawes and the edit history here.