Page 12: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 15, 1983)

The Oliver Hazard Perry Class (FFG-7) frigate program reached a milestone recently with the deliv- ery of the USS De Wert (FFG-45) at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine.

She is the 36th ship of the cur- rently approved program of 54

FFGs. Of this total, 50 are for the

U.S. Navy and four are for the

Royal Australian Navy.

The Guided Missile Frigate Ship

Acquisition Program of the Naval

Sea Systems Command is proud of its achievements with the FFG

Class, and this most recent deliv- ery is one of the reasons why. The

DeWert's delivery is a new high in early deliveries for the FFG-7

Class. To this point, Bath Iron

Works has delivered follow-on ships an average 13 weeks in advance of the original contract delivery dates.

The De Wert was delivered 25 weeks ahead of the original con- tract date.

The FFG program was initiated in 1971 to provide a new class of ocean escorts to replace World

War II destroyers as they were re- tired from the active fleet. The large number of ships being re- tired created the need for a large number of ships (50) to meet the projected requirements of the 1980s. As a result, the FFG-7

Class is the largest class of surface combatant ships to be acquired since WW II.

FFGs are designed to provide protection for military and mer- chant ship convoys. To do this, they are capable of detecting and attacking submarines; destroying anti-ship missiles launched from enemy submarines, aircraft, or surface ships; and destroying hos- tile surface ships.

To accomplish her mission and at the same time to remain cost-ef- fective, FFGs were constructed us-

Delivered 13 weeks early by Bath Iron Works, guided-missile frigate De Wert (FFG-45) passed her acceptance trials recently with flying colors. ing innovative design concepts.

These include modular construc- tion techniques and the utilization of labor-saving devices to keep crew size to a minimum. Improve- ments in habitability—lounge

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Todays Tugs -our contribution to modern, safe shipping areas, berthing and mess facili- ties—also have been incorporated in these ships.

The Perry Class has been de- signed to respond to threats as rapidly as possible. The propulsion system is a computer-controlled, 40,000-shp GE gas turbine power plant that can be brought on-line and made ready to operate in less than an eighth the time required for either conventional steam- or nuclear-powered ships. The com- bat system integrates a computer- ized command and decision system with the ship's sensors and weap- ons. To meet potential threats,

FFGs are armed with surface-to- air and surface-to-surface missiles, a rapid-fire gun, ASW torpedoes, and the embarked LAMPS helicopters.

At the recent launching of USS

Taylor (FFG-50) at BIW, Vice Adm.

E.B. Fowler, Commander, Naval

Sea Systems Command, addressed the success of the FFG Class when he said, ". . . in firepower and anti- submarine warfare, FFGs are greatly advanced from their World

War II predecessors—and with a smaller crew."

Frigate De Wert (FFG-45) Delivered

Early By Bath Iron Works

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