Tag Archives: maritime

U.S. Navy decommissions Pearl Harbor’s last frigate

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USS Reuben James (FFG-57)

It was the end of an era yesterday at Pearl Harbor.

The USS Reuben James, FFG-57, the last frigate based at Pearl Harbor, was decommissioned.

I’m not sure when the last time was that Pearl Harbor was not home to a frigate, and an answer to this question is complicated by the complicated and often contradictory vessel classification schemes that the U.S. navy has employed since World War II. My best guess is that Pearl Harbor was probably home to frigates pretty consistently since the 1960s. (Before the 1960s, the types of vessels that the Navy now refers to as frigates were called destroyer escorts.)

The exact definition of what a “frigate” is differs depending on where in the world you are, but modern frigates were products of the Cold War. They were designed to be submarine hunters and escort ships–they are smaller than their cruiser/destroyer siblings but also cheaper (both in construction and in operating expenses). While ships designated as frigates are still being built throughout the world, the distinction between a “frigate,” “corvette, and “destroyer” is blurring, and the United States has not built any new “frigates” since 1989. In its place, the Navy is building a new type of warships called the littoral combat ship–a ship that is extremely fast and flexible, though it has had more than its share of controversy.

Before moving on, let me just note a few interesting things about the USS Reuben James. Officially, she is a “guided missile frigate,” this is a bit of a misnomer since the fact is that no U.S. Navy frigates have actually been equipped to fire guided missiles for many years, since the primary surface missile the ship was designed to fire has become obsolete.

Second, she is the third ship to bear the name Reuben James. The first was a four-stacked naval destroyer built immediately after World War I. The first USS Reuben James was one of the first casualties of the Second World War–having been sunk by a German submarine in October 1941 with a loss of 115 lives, several months before the two countries officially went to war with each other. The second Reuben James was a destroyer escort built in 1943 and serving throughout World War II. The current Reuben James was commissioned in 1986, and is one of the few ships remaining in the Navy that are older than me. (Hey, this is sad for me–I used to tell people that I would consider myself old as soon as the Navy started retiring ships that were younger than me, something that has already started). All three ships were named after a boatswain’s mate who distinguished himself fighting the Barbary pirates.

The frigate has been one of the backbones of the Navy for decades, and although almost 20 of these ships still remain in service, it appears likely that all ships of this type will be retired before the end of the decade. This isn’t surprising–the ship type is old, outdated, and tired. However, it is sad to see them go. Although much attention in the U.S. Navy goes to its larger, AEGIS equipped sibling destroyers and cruisers (as well as the monstrous aircraft carriers), I have always appreciated the simplicity and brute effectiveness of the smaller frigates.

On a more personal level, I will really miss watching the U.S. Navy’s frigates drive through the waters of Pearl Harbor as they leave and return from deployments. The frigates have a very distinctive hull type that I could identify even from afar. Of course, these ships are beautiful up close too–and I was lucky enough to see the USS Reuben James up close during a RIMPAC boat tour in 2012.

It’ll be interesting to see where this ship will go next. Her sister ship, the USS Crommelin (FFG-37) was moored in the Navy’s Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Middle Loch for a while (and she may still be there) while on hold for a possible sale to a foreign navy. A U.S. Navy memo states that the USS Reuben James is also to be held for a possible sale to a foreign navy. Perhaps both ships will see a second life abroad, then (it’s also possible, given their advanced ages, that the ships will become a hulk for spare parts after they are sold, since a number of countries have active Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates in service that are themselves aging).

Thank you for your service, USS Reuben James. Enjoy your retirement!

USS Reuben James (FFG-57)
USS Reuben James (FFG-57) in Pearl Harbor during RIMPAC 2012. Photo by me.

USS Olympia in trouble

Boat Days, History, ,

The cruiser USS Olympia is the oldest steel warship afloat in the world. She was built in San Francisco and commissioned in 1895–making her almost 120 years old. Her career with the U.S. Navy was a long and storied one; she fought in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and saw action during and after World War I before being decommissioned in 1922.

USS Olympia off Mare IslandShe is the last surviving naval ship afloat from the U.S. Navy’s fleet from the Spanish-American War, and the last floating example of a U.S. “Pre-Dreadnought” warship. She was built during an era of transition for the U.S. Navy, as it began to move away from being a coastal defense, commerce raiding navy to an ocean-going, front-line fighting navy. As such, some of her characteristics were contradictory, as the ship somewhat straddled these two roles. For example, she was built with a new type of vertical triple-expansion steam engines, among the most powerful mounted on a U.S. Naval ship at the time.  She was also one of the first ships to have electricity and power-steering gear. Yet, at the same time she still had a set of sails she could mount on her masts in case her powerful engines failed. She was also unique in another respect: USS Olympia was built as an effective commerce raiding cruiser, and at the time of her design it was expected that a number of ships would be built based on Olympia‘s design. However, no further Olympia-class ships were ever built, because the Navy was moving away from commerce cruisers toward larger, more powerful battleships and armored cruisers.

"You may fire when ready, Gridley."

Despite this, Olympia was an effective ship. Upon her commissioning in 1895, she was assigned to the Asiatic Squadron, which was at the time was one of the fleets the U.S. Navy operated in the Pacific Ocean. When the U.S. declared war on Spain in 1898, the three-year-old ship was serving as flagship of the squadron. Her most significant action during the war her participation in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, during which the Asiatic Squadron. Leading the line of battle of the Asiatic Fleet into Manila Bay, it was on her decks that the squadron’s leader, Commodore Dewey, opened the battle by giving his now immortalized order, “You may fire when ready, Gridley.” (This scene is depicted in the painting at left.) With that, Captain Charles “Steve” Gridley, commanding officer of the USS Olympia, opened fire from her 8″ inch main battery and led in the destruction of seven of the thirteen ships of the Spanish fleet. After winning the battle, the squadron assisted in the capture of Manila itself.

She served her country for more than two decades after the Spanish-American War. During World War I, she escorted convoys and helped back an ill-fated Allied invasion of Russia in May 1918 in an ill-fated attempt to stop the Russian bolsheviks from taking over the country.

One of her last and most solemn official acts occurred in 1921, when she was sent to Le Havre, France to retrieve the remains of the Unknown Soldier. On the trip back to the U.S., she encountered a large storm and almost sank; however, she delivered the remains of the soldier to Washington D.C. in November 1921. The remains are now interred at the Arlington National Cemetary. Olympia decommissioned for the last time the following year.

She was laid up in reserve until 1957, when the government transferred the ship to the Cruiser Olympia Association; the association restored the ship to her appearance during the Spanish-American War and opened her as a museum in Philidelphia. However, maintaining a century-old ship is a very expensive business, and the current owner of the ship, the Independence Seaport Museum, announced earlier this year that they can no longer afford to maintain the ship, which is in need of at least $10 million in repairs to prevent her hull from deteriorating. If this money cannot be raised, the Olympia likely will be sunk as an artificial reef.

Olympia is a unique relic of her era and should not be sunk as a reef! To learn how you can help save her, visit the Friends of the Cruise Olympia and donate a small amount to make sure future generations will be able to walk her decks and experience a living piece of American history.