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USS Thach (FFG-43)

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USS Thach (FFG-43)
Thach in the Persian Gulf, 2003
USS Thach in the Persian Gulf, 2003
Career (US) Flag of the United States
Namesake: Admiral John Thach
Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards, San Pedro
Laid down: 6 March 1981
Launched: 18 December 1982
Commissioned: 17 March 1983
Homeport: Naval Base San Diego
Motto: Ready and Able
Status: in active service, as of 2025
Badge: USS Thatch FFG-43 Crest
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:
  • 2 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (31 MW) through a single shaft and variable pitch propeller
  • 2 × Auxiliary Propulsion Units, 350 hp (260 kW) retractable electric azimuth thrusters for maneuvering and docking.
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:

AN/SQR-19 Towed Array Sonar System
[1]

AN/SQQ-89 ASW Integration System
[1]
Electronic warfare
& decoys:

AN/SLQ-32

Mk36 SRBOC Decoy System[1]
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 × SH-60 LAMPS III helicopters

USS Thach (FFG-43), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, is a ship of the United States Navy named for Admiral John Thach (1905–1981), a Naval Aviator during World War II, who invented the Thach Weave dogfighting tactic.

Thach was laid down on 6 March 1981 by the Todd Pacific Shipyards Co., Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, Ca.; launched on 18 December 1982; and commissioned on 17 March 1984.

In 1986, the ship, part of Destroyer Squadron 21, deployed to the Western Pacific as part of a battleship battle group led by USS New Jersey (BB-62).[2]

Thach's mission is to provide anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine protection for carrier battle groups, naval expeditionary forces, replenishment groups, convoys, and other military and merchant shipping. The new direction for the naval service remains focused on the ability to project power from the sea in the critical littoral regions for the world.

Success in the warfare environment of the 1990s and beyond will require thorough evaluation, rapid decision-making and almost instantaneous response to any postulated threat. The systems aboard Thach have been designed to meet these demanding and dynamic prerequisites, and to do so with minimum human interface. The Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk's video data link system brings state-of-the-art computer technology to the warfare arena, as well as integrating sensors and weapons to provide a total offensive and defensive weapons system.

In addition, computers control and monitor the gas turbine engines (the same engines installed on DC-10 aircraft) and electrical generators. Digital electronic logic circuits and remotely-operated valves are monitored in Central Control Station which initiate engine start and result in a "ready to go" status in less than ten minutes.

The heart of the ship, though, is the crew. High technology systems demand skilled technicians and professional leadership to be effective. The concept of "minimum manning" means, simply, that with professional sailors, Thach can meet the challenges of modern naval warfare with approximately half the crew found on other ships comparable size and capability.

In late 2006 while deployed to the Southern Pacific, Thach caught fire as she attempted to put out a fire on a drug smuggling ship.

Cmdr. Steven R. Rasmussen, a 1988 graduate of the Naval Academy who took command of the ship Oct. 6, 2006, was relieved of command on 28 FEbruary 2008 by the commander of Destroyer Squadron 7.[3]

As of 2012, Thach is captained by Commander Hans E. Lynch, homeported at San Diego, California; and is part of Destroyer Squadron 23.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 [1], FAS .
  2. ↑ 1986
  3. ↑ Navy Times Article 4 Mar 2008 re: incident during drug interdiction

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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