| USS Knox (FF-1052) | |
|---|---|
|
USS Knox (FF-1052) USS Knox (FF-1052) | |
| Career (US) |  |
| Ordered: | 22 July 1964 |
| Builder: | Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington |
| Laid down: | 5 October 1965 |
| Launched: | 19 November 1966 |
| Acquired: | 28 March 1969 |
| Commissioned: | 12 April 1969 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 February 1992 |
| Reclassified: | As frigate (FF) 30 June 1975 |
| Struck: | 11 January 1995 |
| Fate: | Sunk as target 7 August 2007 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & 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 & 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 |
USS Knox (DE-1052/FF-1052) was the prototype and lead ship in a new class of destroyer escorts in the United States Navy. She was the second ship to be named for Commodore Dudley Wright Knox.
Knox was laid down 5 October 1965, by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington; launched 19 November 1966; sponsored by Mrs. Peter A. Sturtevant, granddaughter of Commodore Knox; and was commissioned on 12 April 1969 with Commander William A. Lamm in command.
USS Chicago (CG-11) passes tow line to Knox after Knox was disabled by a JP-5 fire in engineering spaces on 4 March 1971 while en route from Guam to Hawaii.
Knox performed search and rescue operations and provided evacuation, blockade, and surveillance support, when necessary, for the Pacific Fleet. In April 1975 Knox participated in Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.[1] Knox was redesignated a frigate on 30 June 1975 as FF-1052.
Brian Victoria alleges that the Knox was equipped with nuclear depth bombs during its time assigned to Yokosuka, Japan in violation of the security agreement between Japan and the US.[2]
Mark Rau, who was an EM3 stationed on board the Knox when it changed home port to Yokosuka in 1977, reports that no such weapons were on board the Knox at anytime during his tour of duty on board the USS Knox from Nov 1976-Dec 1978.
Decommissioned on 14 February 1992, Knox was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 January 1995. NAVSEA temporarily placed the Knox on the donation hold list but removed her from the list around 2003.
Knox was sunk as a target off Guam during an exercise on 7 August 2007.
Awards, citations and campaign ribbons[]
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Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (with two bronze service stars) |
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Navy Expeditionary Medal |
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National Defense Service Medal (with one bronze service star) |
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Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (with one bronze service star) |
 |
Vietnam Service Medal (with one bronze service star) |
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Humanitarian Service Ribbon |
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Sea Service Deployment Ribbon |
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Vietnam Campaign Medal |
Reference : USS Knox on NavSource.org
References[]
- ↑ By Sea, Air and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the war in Southeast Asia Chapter 5: The Final Curtain, 1973-1975
- ↑ Victoria, Brian A., "U.S. nuclear arms in Japan: a firsthand account", Japan Times, 17 November 2009, p. 12.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- 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.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Knox (FF-1052). |
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_prepares_to_tow_USS_Knox_(DE-1052)_on_4_March_1971.png){kind=link}
The original article can be found at USS Knox (FF-1052) and the edit history here.