USS Simpson (FFG-56)

The Simpson
Overview
Order	March 22, 1982
Keel laying	February 27, 1984
Launch	August 31, 1984
1. Period of service
Commissioning	November 9, 1985
Decommissioning	29th September 2015
Technical specifications
displacement	4100 tons
length	138.1 meters
width	13.5 meters
Draft	7.5 meters
crew	17 officers, 198 sailors
drive	1 propeller, driven by 2 gas turbines; 41,000  wave horsepower
speed	29+ knots
Armament	1 gun 76 mm, 2 torpedo launchers. Disarmed: 1 rocket launcher

The USS Simpson (FFG-56) was an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate and the only active frigate in the US Navy at the time of its decommissioning.

history

The keel laying of the frigate named after Rear Admiral Rodger W. Simpson took place on February 27, 1984 at Bath Iron Works , the ship was launched on August 31, 1984. The commissioning took place on November 9, 1985.

In 1988 the Simpson was involved in Operation Praying Mantis , in which the United States Navy hit the Iranian Navy hard. The frigate Sahand and the missile speedboat Joshan were sunk and the frigate Sabalan was badly damaged. During the battle, the Simpson was attacked with an AGM-84 Harpoon and then sank the attacker, the Joshan .

During Operation Desert Storm , the Simpson served as an escort for the aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66) , as well as in 1993 during Operation Deny Flight .

In 1994 the Simpson sailed off Haiti during Operation Support Democracy and Operation Able Manner , and in 1998 the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) carried out exercises off Puerto Rico .

In 2002 the Simpson was assigned to the active reserve fleet. In this, in addition to the greatly reduced active crew, reserve personnel serve primarily on the frigate.

In 2010, the Simpson was opened to public transport for the first time in 20 years at Kieler Woche and was decommissioned in September 2015 as the last ship in its class in service with the US Navy.

Web links

Commons : USS Simpson  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official Homepage (Engl.)