Garcia class

Garcia- class
USS Albert David (FF-1050)
Overview
Type	frigate
units	11
Namesake	Private Fernando Luis Garcia
period of service	1964 - 1990 (US Navy, still in use in other navies)
Technical specifications
displacement	3,400  ts
length	126.3 meters
width	13.5 meters
Draft	7.9 meters
crew	16 officers, 231 sailors
drive	1 propeller, 1 gear turbine, 2 boilers; 35,000  wave horsepower
speed	27+ knots
Range	4,000  nautical miles at 20 knots

The frigates of the Garcia class were from the United States Navy planned in the late 1950s as offshore support vessels and built from the 1962nd They were a further development of the Bronstein class , the ships of which turned out to be too small even during the planning phase. The frigates served in the US Navy from 1964 to the end of the 1980s, some were then handed over to friendly nations, where some of them are still in active service today.

history

Garcia 1972

Planning and construction

The Garcia class was the first class of larger ocean escorts designed and built after World War II . It was further developed at the end of the 1950s together with the guided missile frigates of the Brooke class from the Bronstein class , whose ships had proven to be far too small for modern weapon systems. The first three ships were approved in fiscal 1961, with the remaining eight following over the next two years. Three ships each were built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans and Defoe Shipbuilding in Bay City , two each by Bethlehem Steel in San Francisco and two by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company in Seattle . The Glover was laid down at Bath Iron Works in Bath . The keel of the first ship, the Garcia , was laid on October 16, 1962, and commissioned on December 21, 1964. The last ship, the O'Callahan , was laid down on February 19, 1964 and entered service with the US Navy on July 13, 1968. The total construction costs per ship were around 27 million US dollars , the pure shipyard costs were around 9 million US dollars.

The Garcias were replaced by the further developed frigates of the Knox class , which were approved from 1964.

designation

As is customary with US Navy frigates, all Garcia-class ships were named after deceased members of the Navy and the Marine Corps . The type ship was named after Private Fernando Luis Garcia (born October 14, 1929 - September 5, 1952), a Puerto Rican who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War and sacrificed his life for another soldier. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his commitment .

The USS Glover is out of the ordinary when it comes to the numbering of the ships, between her (FF-1098) and the predecessor ship USS O'Callahan (FF-1051) are all ships of the Knox class .

Ships

Ship name	Classification	shipyard	Commissioning– decommissioning	fate
Garcia	FF-1040	Bethlehem Steel , San Francisco	1964-1989	deleted from the register and handed over to the Maritime Administration on March 28, 1994
Bradley	FF-1041	Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco	1965-1988	Sold to Brazil and renamed Pernambuco (D 30)
Edward McDonnell	FF-1043	Avondale Shipyard , Louisiana	1965-1988	scrapped on August 21, 2002
Brumby	FF-1044	Avondale Shipyard, Louisiana	1965-1989	deleted from the register and handed over to the Maritime Administration on September 28, 1994
Davidson	FF-1045	Avondale Shipyard, Louisiana	1965-1988	Sold to Brazil and renamed Paraiba (D28)
Voge	FF-1047	Defoe Shipbuilding Company , Michigan	1966-1989	scrapped on January 19, 2001
sample	FF-1048	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company , Seattle	1968-1988	Sold to Brazil and renamed Paraná (D 29) (2001)
Koelsch	FF-1049	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan	1967-1989	deleted from the register and handed over to the Maritime Administration on September 28, 1994
Albert David	FF-1050	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Seattle	1968-1989	sold to Brazil after renovation work in 2005 and renamed Pará (D 27)
O'Callahan	FF-1051	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Michigan	1968-1988	deleted from the register and handed over to the Maritime Administration on March 28, 1994
Glover	FF-1098	Bath Iron Works	1965-1990	deleted from the register and sold to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for scrapping, April 15, 1994. Previously identification AGDE-1 from 1965–1975, from then 1975–1979 under AGFF-1

Modifications

Since the DASH drones did not prove their worth, eight Garcias were converted in the late 1960s and early 1970s to accommodate a manned SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I helicopter . For this purpose, the drone hangar was converted so that it could be telescoped out. The landing deck was reinforced to support the weight of the helicopter. Sample and Albert David received an SQR-15 towing sonic system instead of the landing deck; the two ships could not use a helicopter.

During construction, a reload magazine was developed for the ASROC missile torpedo system, which was also installed on the Garcia-class frigates from the seventh ship (FF-1047). The ships built previously were not retrofitted.

The Glover was first put into service as a test ship, in 1979 she was reclassified as a normal frigate after completion of the tests and incorporated into the Garcia class , but in contrast to the other frigates she only had a 5-inch gun, and she was not intended for use by helicopters.

Whereabouts

Most of the ships remained in service with the US Navy until 1990, the Glover until 1992 as a test ship. Four ships were handed over to the Pakistani Navy at the end of the 1980s , but where they were only in service for a short time. Pakistan returned the ships to the United States at the beginning of 1994, where they were then scrapped, like most sister ships. Four frigates were sold to the Brazilian Navy , where three ships were in service until 2004. Currently only the former Albert David , listed in the Brazilian Navy as Pará (D 27), is kept in reserve, the other three ships have been scrapped.

technology

Bow view of the Albert David

Hull and superstructure

The hull of a Garcia was 126.3 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. The depth at the sonar bulge was 7.9 meters, the displacement in the empty state is 2,624 ts , the operational displacement was 3,400 ts.

The deckhouse extended about half the length of the ship, the forecastle was about a third of the length of the ship. The end of the superstructure was formed by the drone / helicopter hangar, behind which the landing deck is located at the level of the main deck. Behind the bridge, which spanned the entire width of the hull, the superstructure became narrower. The Mack (combination of mast and chimney), which carries the ships' radar and radio antennas, was located directly behind the navigation bridge. Amidships were davits for the frigates' tenders on each side .

drive

The ships were propelled by a high-pressure steam turbine from Westinghouse Electric Corporation (FF-1040, 1041, 1043-45) or General Electric (other ships), which delivered their output of 35,000 shaft horsepower to a shaft with a propeller . The Glover had a single pump jet drive and the screw was encapsulated to reduce noise.

The Garcias had high-pressure heating steam boilers, the steam was generated at 83.4 bar pressure in two boilers from Foster-Wheeler , which delivered 10% more output than their predecessors with 50% weight savings. The maximum speed was 27 knots , the range was 4000 nautical miles (about 7200 kilometers) at 20 knots .

Foredeck of the Davidson with ASROC starter and 5-inch gun

Armament

The main armament of the frigates was the ASROC starter with eight cells in front of the bridge, which from the Voge also had a reloading magazine under the bridge. With the ASROC launcher, a submarine torpedo could be fired over a distance of about 10 kilometers by means of a rocket.

In addition, the Garcias had two Mark 30 -5-inch turrets, one was in front of the ASROC starter on the forecastle, and one on the superstructure in front of the hangar. The guns date from the Second World War, for example they were used there on the destroyers of the Fletcher class . They could against land and sea targets, be limited used against air targets and had a cadence 15-20 rounds per minute. The maximum range was about 8 nautical miles.

On both sides of the superstructure there were Mark 32 - triple torpedo tubes for U-hunting torpedoes, the first ships also had two Mark 25 -U-hunting torpedo tubes in the stern, but these were removed very quickly or not installed at all in the ships that were completed later.

The Bradley had a Mk 25 - Sea Sparrow starter on the superstructure between 1967 and 1968 , but this was removed again and attached to the Forrestal .

electronics

The Garcia-class ships had a SPS-10 surface search radar with an antenna on top of the Mack. The maximum detection range of the radar was about 36 nautical miles. For air reconnaissance, the frigates had a SPS-40B radar with a detection range of up to 200 nautical miles, the antenna was located directly above the smoke outlets. The guns were controlled by a Mk. 56 fire control system, while the anti-submarine weapons were controlled by a Mk. 114 target light. For the detection of submarines ships possessed a SQS-26 -Bugsonar that by SQR-15 - towed array sonar has been added.

Mission profile

The main task of the Garcias was to track down and hunt enemy submarines and protect allied ships from their attacks. The frigates were also used as escort ships for military task forces, especially for aircraft carrier combat groups. Because of their strong artillery armament, they could also serve as artillery support for landing companies.

Additional information

literature

• Stefan Terzibaschitsch : Sea power USA . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-576-2 .

Web links

Commons : Garcia class  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Garcia class at globalsecurity.org (English)

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{a b} Terzibaschitsch: Seemacht USA, p. 476
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Terzibaschitsch: Seemacht USA, p. 474
3. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1040 ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1041 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1043 ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1044 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1045 ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1047 ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1048 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1049 ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1050 ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: FF1051 ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ nvr.navy.mil: AGFF1 ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ Marinha do Brasil: Active Ships ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of March 11, 2009  
15. ↑ Terzibaschitsch: Combat systems of the US Navy . Koehler Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg, 2001, ISBN 3-7822-0806-4 . P. 16ff