USS Connole

USS Connole (FF-1056) underway
History
United States
Name	Connole
Namesake	David R. Connole
Ordered	22 July 1964
Builder	Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana
Yard number	1070
Laid down	23 March 1967
Launched	20 July 1968
Acquired	22 August 1969
Commissioned	30 August 1969
Identification	DE-1056
Reclassified	FF-1056, 1 July 1975
Decommissioned	30 August 1992
Stricken	11 January 1995
Motto	Exempla Suorum Durant The Example of our Ancestors Endures
Fate	Transferred to Greece, 1992
Greece
Name	Ipiros
Acquired	1992
Decommissioned	2003
Identification	F456
Fate	Sunk as target, 2006
General characteristics
Class and type	Knox-class frigate
Displacement	3,278 tons (4,245 full load)
Length	438 ft (134 m)
Beam	46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Draft	24 ft 9 in (7.6 m)
Propulsion	2 × Babcock & Wilcox 1200psi boilers 1 Westinghouse geared turbine 1 shaft, 35,000 shp (26,000 kW)
Speed	over 27 knots (50 km/h)
Endurance	4,500 nautical miles @ 20 knots (8,300 km @ 37 km/h)
Complement	18 officers, 267 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar AN/SQS-26 Sonar AN/SQR-18 Towed array sonar system Mk68 Gun Fire Control System
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Electronics Warfare System
Armament	one Mk-16 8 cell missile launcher for RUR-5 ASROC and Harpoon missiles one Mk-42 5-inch/54 caliber gun Mark 46 torpedoes from four single tube launchers) one Mk-25 BPDMS launcher for Sea Sparrow missiles, later replaced by Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried	one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter

USS Connole (FF-1056) was a Knox-class frigate, named for Commander David R. Connole, Captain of USS Trigger when the submarine was lost in battle in March 1945.

Design and description

The Knox-class design was derived from the Brooke-class frigate modified to extend range and without a long-range missile system. The ships had an overall length of 438 feet (133.5 m), a beam of 47 feet (14.3 m) and a draft of 25 feet (7.6 m). They displaced 4,066 long tons (4,131 t) at full load. Their crew consisted of 13 officers and 211 enlisted men.

The ships were equipped with one Westinghouse geared steam turbine that drove the single propeller shaft. The turbine was designed to produce 35,000 shaft horsepower (26,000 kW), using steam provided by 2 C-E boilers, to reach the designed speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The Knox class had a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

The Knox-class ships were armed with a 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward and a single 3-inch/50-caliber gun aft. They mounted an eight-round ASROC launcher between the 5-inch (127 mm) gun and the bridge. Close-range anti-submarine defense was provided by two twin 12.75-inch (324 mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The ships were equipped with a torpedo-carrying DASH drone helicopter; its telescoping hangar and landing pad were positioned amidships aft of the mack. Beginning in the 1970s, the DASH was replaced by a SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I helicopter and the hangar and landing deck were accordingly enlarged. Most ships also had the 3-inch (76 mm) gun replaced by an eight-cell BPDMS missile launcher in the early 1970s.

Construction and career

Connole was constructed for the United States Navy by Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana, laid down 23 March 1967, launched 20 July 1968 and delivered 22 August 1969. She was commissioned 30 August 1969, served as a test bed for some of the Navy's most advanced sonars, decommissioned 30 August 1992 and struck 11 January 1995. Connole was transferred to Greece as Ipiros (F456), named after the region of Epirus. The ship was decommissioned by Greece in 2003.

References

• Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-733-X.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
• Navsource images
• Ipiros page

External links

• Navysite.de