USS Badger (FF-1071)
_underway_in_the_Pacific_Ocean_on_1_December_1985_(6418976).jpeg) USS Badger (DE / FF-1071) |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | frigate |
| Keel laying | 17th February 1968 |
| Launch | 7th December 1968 |
| 1. Period of service |
|
| period of service |
December 1, 1970 - |
| Whereabouts | sunk |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
4,100 tons l. |
| length |
133.5 meters |
| width |
14.25 meters |
| Draft |
7.6 meters |
| crew |
18 officers, 267 sailors |
| drive |
1 propeller, 1 gear turbine, 2 boilers; 35,000 wave horsepower |
| speed |
27+ knots |
| Range |
4,500 nautical miles at 20 knots |
The USS Badger (DE / FF-1071) was a frigate of the Knox-class frigate . She served from 1970 to 1991 in the Pacific Fleet of the US Navy and was the fifth ship that has been named after members of the family Badger, which had a long tradition in the US Navy. The frigate was sunk in 1998 as a target ship.
technology
More about the technology can be found in the article on the class under Knox class
Hull and drive
The Badger's hull was 133.5 meters long and 14.25 meters wide. The maximum draft was 7.6 meters, the displacement in the loaded state 4100 tons . It was driven by a geared turbine, the output was 35,000 hp. The steam for the drive was generated in two boilers. The maximum speed was officially 27 knots , at 20 knots the range was 4500 nautical miles.
Armament and Electronics
The main armament of the frigate, in addition to its 5-inch Mk. 42 gun, was the ASROC starter in front of the bridge. Furthermore, it had U-torpedo tubes in the superstructure. On the stern there was a landing deck, first for submarine drones and later for an SH-2 Seasprite helicopter . On the aft deck one was shortly after the commissioning Mk 25th - Sea Sparrow launcher of the mid-eighties by an installed Mk 15th Phalanx - Close-Weapon-system- has been replaced.
From the outset, the SQS-26 - Bugsonar equipped, she received the same time as their missiles starter also SQS-35 - towed array sonar , was housed in the rear. For aerial reconnaissance was on the Mack a PLC 40 - Radar , as a surface search radar was a PLC 10 of Raytheon used. The gun was fired by a Mk. 68 radar, the ASROC launcher by a Mk. 114 , and the Sea Sparrows was also equipped with a Mk. 115 fire control radar.
history
Construction and commissioning
The keel of the ship was laid on February 17, 1968 at Todd Pacific Shipyards in San Pedro , California . On December 7, 1968, the ship was to be christened USS Badger by Admiral Oscar C. Badger II's widow , Isabelle Austen Badger . When Mrs. Badger smashed the champagne bottle on the bow, she exclaimed in a loud voice: I christen thee Oscar Charles Badger II (I baptize you Oscar Charles Badger II). This name had previously been rejected by the Navy, as the 1919 USS Badger was named after the admiral's grandfather, who bore the same name. Despite all this, the ship was officially listed as the destroyer escort USS Badger with the identification DE-1071 from December 1, 1970 in the naval registers. In January 1971, the equipment work in the Long Beach Naval Shipyard was completed and the first test drives began.
period of service
1971-1975
After the test drives, the Badger returned to the shipyard in May 1971, where it was equipped with a Sea Sparrow starter and an IVDS towing sonar. On March 16, 1972, the frigate set out on its first mission. Via Hawaii , Midway and Guam she steamed to Subic Bay , where she arrived on April 7th. The next day she left again in the direction of Da Nang , where she arrived two days later. The Badger was assigned to the patrol area at the mouth of the Cua-Viet River, a few kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone , where live ammunition bombarded the coast for the first time on April 11. On April 15, she returned to Da Nang to repair her failed 5-inch gun. The work was completed a day later and the ship returned to its operational area for three days. From April 19, she was used as a “plane guard” (rescue ship for pilots who had an accident during take-off or landing) at the aircraft carrier Constellation in the Gulf of Tonkin . On May 17, she was replaced by the Albert David and set course for Sasebo , Japan . On May 29, the frigate returned to the Gulf, where it was used with the Sterett as a search and rescue ship. After four days, however, she was used again as a “plane guard”, this time in the association of the Ticonderoga .
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From June 26th to July 7th she was used again off the coast, then in the combat group of the Midway . The group left the Gulf of Tonkin and drove to the US base in the Philippines, where they were briefly overtaken. On July 17, the frigate returned to Vietnamese waters and again took part in operations off the northern coast. On August 12, she replaced the Worden as “plane guard” of the Midway and drove with it again towards Subic Bay. On August 15, both ships left the base for Hong Kong , where they stayed for a week. The crews of the Badger had shore leave until 23 August , after which the ship returned to Vietnam via Subic Bay. Once there, she was assigned to Long Beach in the SAR position. After the Long Beach was replaced by the homeline , the ships remained in their position until September 10, when the Badger was replaced by her sister ship Hepburn and transferred to the Hancock , which she accompanied back to the States via Subic Bay and Yokosuka . The frigate arrived in Long Beach on October 4th, stayed in port for the rest of the year, and docked with Todd in Los Angeles on January 8th, 1973.
The propulsion system was renewed during the four-month layover in the shipyard, and the ship was also prepared to accommodate a LAMPS I helicopter ( SH-2 Seasprite ). On May 18, the work was completed and the Badger began test drives off the California coast. On July 9th, the frigate left for her new home port of Pearl Harbor , where she arrived on July 14th. Your first deployment from there was the " RIMPAC '73" exercise, which began on September 11th. After a fault in the vaporizer system, she had to stop the exercise for a day for repairs, but was able to participate without further problems until it was completed on September 21. Three days later she left for California, where she made a 16-day stay in port in Long Beach. On October 17, the ship was assigned to the combat group around the Oriskany , with which it ran over Subic Bay, Singapore and Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf . The Cento exercise "MIDLINK '73" took place there and lasted until December 2nd. After completing the exercise, the Badger returned to Subic Bay, where she stayed until January 20, 1974. She then ran out to Guam and operated for some time in the Mariana Islands , from where she returned to the Philippines on February 17th. After some exercises in Filipino waters, the frigate set sail on March 18 for a series of port visits in Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan . At the end of April it shadowed some Soviet submarines in the South China Sea, and on April 27th it returned to Subic Bay. From there she left for Hawaii on May 5th, where she arrived on May 18th after a stopover in Guam.
1975-1988
_refueling_USS_Badger_(FF-1071)_1975.jpg)
On July 11, the frigate suffered serious engine damage during high-speed tests off Hawaii and had to be towed, the ship was subsequently overhauled by the end of October. After the test drives, the "RIMPAC '75" exercise, which began on March 11, 1975, was the first use after a long period in port. On April 17, the Badger set sail with her sister ship Harold E. Holt and the guided missile destroyer Schofield in the western Pacific to assist in the evacuation of American and South Vietnamese soldiers, government officials and civilians during Operation Frequent Wind . In May she was also involved in the rescue of the Mayaguez , which had been kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge and its crew. At the beginning of June the frigate Apra Harbor called at Guam, from there it operated with the Brewton , at the end of June the Badger returned to the Philippines.
On June 30, she left Subic Bay with TaskGroup 75.1 in the direction of the Indian Ocean. The following day she was reclassified as a frigate (FF) as part of the general reclassification. During the trip, various exercises were held and several neighboring harbors were visited. The frigate returned to Subic Bay on September 11th, after which it went into dry dock for a week for overhaul. She left again on October 1, this time to Hong Kong and Guam. From there, the ship returned to Pearl Harbor in late October, where it arrived on November 8th.
The ship remained in Hawaiian waters until late May 1976, when the Badger went to the dry dock of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for overhaul . The work lasted until January 11, 1977, after which the operational readiness of the ship was checked in extensive training missions off the coast of Hawaii. On August 22nd, the frigate ran out with Destroyer Squadron 23 in the direction of the US west coast, where it visited the port of San Diego and participated in the "Varsity Spirit" exercise. On October 1, she returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for her next mission. This began on November 2, when the Badger ran out with the destroyer squadron 25 and the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk in the western Pacific. The combat group arrived in Yokosuka three weeks later. From there, the frigate made several port visits and took part in exercises with the US 7th Fleet and ships of allied nations. She returned to Hawaii on May 8, 1978. In the summer, the frigate was the location for scenes in the Pearl miniseries , which themed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Several scenes were filmed inside the ship. The ship stayed near Hawaii until March 1979.
1979-1984
The next major mission began on March 17, 1979, together with the frigates Brewton , Rathburne , Ramsey and the guided missile destroyer Lynde McCormick , the Badger ran out for another mission with the 7th Fleet in Pacific waters. After a stopover in Guam, the ships arrived in Subic Bay on April 4, where they remained in port for some time. Together with her sister ships, the frigate made a port visit to Hong Kong in early May. She spent the second half of May and the first weeks of June with a task force in the Indian Ocean, and on June 11th she returned to Subic Bay. On July 1, the Badger ran again in the Indian Ocean with her sister ships Brewton and Rathburne as well as the utility Mispillion , after making a stopover in Singapore from July 4 to 8. The ships visited Colombo and Mombasa, operated in the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden and took part in the “Sea Siamex X” exercise with the Thai Navy at the end of August. After completing the exercise, they visited Pattaya Beach, then the four ships continued their voyage towards the Philippines. On the way, the Badger separated from the other ships and continued her way to Luzon alone, where she arrived on September 15. The three frigates started their way back to Hawaii on September 21st together. After stopping at Guam and Midway, they arrived in Pearl Harbor on October 4th.
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On January 7, 1980, the frigate went into dock for seven weeks for overhaul, after completing the work it operated off the Hawaiian coast for the next six months. In mid-August, preparations began for the deployment with the Ranger , which began on September 26th. The combat group left Hawaii for the Philippines. At the end of October, the group left the American naval base there and crossed the Malakka Strait into the Indian Ocean. After the end of the hostage-taking in Tehran on January 19, 1981, the association remained in the region until March 11, when it returned to Subic Bay, where the ships arrived on March 23. The Badger went to the dock for overhaul for twelve days, on April 16 the entire association set course for Hawaii, where he arrived on April 28. The frigate left the task force and took part in several exercises off the coast of the islands until it went into dock for several months for a thorough overhaul in September. The dock stay lasted until March of the next year, the ship spent two more months in port for tests. She did not run out again until May 1982 for standby exercises, but these continued until February 1983.
On February 8, the Badger ran with the destroyer squadron 25, which consisted of the frigates Gray and Lang and the destroyer Cochrane , for exercises off the US west coast, which lasted until March 21. On April 24th, preparations began for the next Pacific mission, together with the Elliot and the Brooke , the frigate ran out on April 26th in the direction of Guam and Manila.
After the shooting down of Korean Airlines flight 007 by Soviet interceptors, the frigate was involved in searches in the Sea of Japan. She returned to Hawaii on November 11th, where she stayed in port until the end of the year. The frigate spent most of 1984 on exercises off the Hawaiian coast, followed by a dock stay of several weeks in September. At the end of October, the Badger set sail for a major exercise with the aircraft carriers Constellation and Carl Vinson in the South China Sea. After a stopover in Yokosuka, she returned to Pearl Harbor on December 22nd, along with the destroyer Joseph Strauss , where she remained for the rest of the year.
1985-1990
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On January 10, 1985, the frigate left its home port to participate in submarine hunt exercises in the high seas between Hawaii and California for two weeks . After further exercises off Midway and Hawaii, the Badger met the Kitty Hawk combat group on August 2 , which accompanied them to Subic Bay. From there the ship's formation ran into the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. On the way the frigate, together with the cruiser Horne , took part in the "MERLION 85" exercise of the Singaporean Navy. After extensive exercises in the sea area and several port visits in the neighboring countries, the association returned to Hawaii on December 12th.
From February 1, 1986, the frigate took part in readiness exercises off Kauai which lasted until April. Following the exercises, the Badger embarked on a “good will” cruise through the South Pacific, which lasted until May 12th. In June she took part in the multinational "RIMPAC 86" exercise, after which the frigate set out for the west coast of the USA, where it visited Vancouver, San Francisco and San Diego, and also took part in the "EASTPAC 86" exercise. After returning to the home port, the ship remained in port for the rest of the year, with the exception of minor exercises. A three-month stay in the dry dock of the Navy Shipyard began on December 8, and after the overhaul was over, the ship remained in port for two more months. Afterwards it mostly operated in the waters off Oahu.
It was not until June 9, 1988 that the frigate began again with more extensive exercises, and on June 22, it sailed with the Carl Vinson towards Japan. On the way she left the combat group and continued on her own way to Yokosuka, where she arrived on July 16. After a few minor repairs, she sailed towards the Philippines, from where she steamed again to Singapore after a three-day stay. After rescuing 57 Vietnamese refugees off the Spratly Islands , she returned to Subic Bay. On August 10, the Badger headed for Yokosuka again, from where she made several voyages, including with the carrier Midway , in Japanese waters. On November 11th she returned to Subic Bay, from where she left for her home port on November 22nd. She spent the remainder of 1988 and all of 1989 in the waters of Hawaii doing exercises and operations.
1990 and 1991, decommissioned
In March 1990, Badger was placed under the US Coast Guard and participated in several anti-drug controls off the west coast of the US. In September the helicopter division of the frigate was transferred to the sister ship Ouellet , on September 11th it returned to Oahu, where it went to the dock again for overhaul. Until June 1991, the ship was busy with training missions off Hawaii, then it embarked on a final voyage along the US Pacific coast and made several port visits from Alaska to California. After returning to Pearl Harbor, the ship never left its berth. The frigate was decommissioned on December 20, 1991 in its home port. Until January 1995 she remained in the register of ships in the US Navy. After the cancellation, the Badger was badly damaged on July 22, 1998 during the "RIMPAC '98" exercise in the Pacific by fire with various anti-ship guided weapons and sank the following night.
The frigate was awarded a Battle Star for its service during the Vietnam War.
Trivia
- In the movie 50 First Dates , the leading actress' father, Marlin Whitmore (played by Blake Clark ), wears a baseball cap with the ship's name and coat of arms on it, as is customary on former crew members.
Web links
- USS Badger Association (Engl.)
- Photos of Badger in navsource.org (Engl.)
- Badger in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ USS Badger Association ( Memento of December 24, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), as of July 11, 2007
- ↑ a b USS Badger Association , as of July 11, 2007
- ↑ navysite.de , as of July 11, 2007