USS Reasoner (FF-1063)

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

USS Reasoner (FF-1063)
History
United States
Name: USS Reasoner
Namesake: Frank S. Reasoner
Ordered: 22 July 1964
Builder: Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington
Laid down: 6 January 1969
Launched: 1 August 1970
Acquired: 22 June 1971
Commissioned: 31 July 1971
Decommissioned: 28 August 1993
Identification: FF-1063
Motto: Fidelity
Fate: Sold to Turkey, renamed Kocatepe
Turkey
Name: Kocatepe
Acquired: 22 February 2002
Fate: Sunk as target 4 May 2005
General characteristics
Class and type: Knox-class frigate
Displacement: 3,011 tons (3,877 full load)
Length: 438 ft (134 m)
Beam: 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Draft: 24 ft 9 in (7.54 m)
Propulsion: 2 - 1200 psi boilers; 1 geared turbine, 1 shaft; 35,000 shp (26,000 kW)
Speed: over 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement: 18 officers, 267 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar
  • AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar
  • AN/SQS-26 Sonar
  • AN/SQR-18 Towed array sonar system
  • Mk68 Gun Fire Control System
Electronic warfare
& decoys:		 AN/SLQ-32 Electronics Warfare System
Armament:
Aircraft carried: one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter

USS Reasoner (FF-1063) was a Knox-class frigate of the United States Navy, named in honor of 1st Lt. Frank S. Reasoner, awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in the Vietnam War.

Design and description

The Knox-class design was derived from the Brooke-class frigate, modified to extend range and without a long-range missile system. The ships had an overall length of 438 feet (133.5 m), a beam of 47 feet (14.3 m) and a draft of 25 feet (7.6 m). They displaced 4,066 long tons (4,131 t) at full load. Their crew consisted of 13 officers and 211 enlisted men.[1]

The warships were equipped with one Westinghouse geared steam turbine that drove the single propeller shaft. The turbine was designed to produce 35,000 shaft horsepower (26,000 kW), using steam provided by 2 C-E boilers, to reach the designed speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The Knox class had a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[2]

The Knox-class ships were armed with a 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward and a single 3″/50 caliber gun aft. They mounted an eight-round ASROC launcher between the 5-inch (127 mm) gun and the bridge. Close-range anti-submarine defense was provided by two twin 12.75-inch (324 mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The ships were equipped with a torpedo-carrying DASH drone helicopter; its telescoping hangar and landing pad were positioned amidships aft of the mack. Beginning in the 1970s, the DASH was replaced by a SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I helicopter and the hangar and landing deck were accordingly enlarged. Most ships also had the 3-inch (76 mm) gun replaced by an eight-cell BPDMS missile launcher in the early 1970s.[3]

Construction and career

Reasoner was laid down 6 January 1969 by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington, and launched 1 August 1970, cosponsored by Mrs. James C. Curry and Mrs. Robert Svinger. Reasoner was commissioned 31 July 1971, Cmdr. Francisco Velazquez-Suarez, USN, commanding. Her hull number, originally DE-1063, was changed in 1975.

Reasoner was decommissioned on 28 August 1993, and subsequently leased to Turkey, where the ship was recommissioned as the Kocatepe. On 22 February 2002, she was finally purchased by Turkey. On 4 May 2005, the ship was used as a target and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea.[4]

The 1979 warship was featured in the music video for The Village People single "In the Navy".

Awards/Decorations

[5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Friedman, pp. 357–60, 425
  2. ↑ Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
  3. ↑ Friedman, pp. 360–61; Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
  4. ↑ http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?212093
  5. ↑ http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021063.htm

References

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