USS ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' (FFG-7) was the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the of guided-missile frigates. She was named for

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

, an American naval hero who was victorious at the 1813

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

. ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' (FFG-7) was the first ship and, as of 2019, the only ship of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

to bear the name (although there were five previous US Navy ships named for Oliver Hazard Perry – four named

USS Perry USS ''Perry'' may refer to the following United States Navy ships that are named for Oliver Hazard Perry: * , a sailing brig 1843–1865. * , an armed side wheel ferry built in 1859 and purchased by the US Navy 2 October 1861 * , 1900–1919. * ...

and one named

USS Commodore Perry USS ''Commodore Perry'' was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the first year of the American Civil War. ''Commodore Perry'' was outfitted as a gunboat with heavy guns and a large crew of 125 officers and enlisted personnel. Her pow ...

). ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' was in service from 1977 to 1997 and was scrapped in 2005. The class was originally intended as austere "low" category guided missile frigates (compared with the high capability ) for General Purpose and Anti-Air convoy escort. They were built under a cloud of controversy, with their very light gun armament and lack of redundancy and duplicated systems in event of ship being hit. They were regarded by the Reagan administration and Secretary

John Lehman John Francis Lehman Jr. (born September 14, 1942) is an American private equity investor and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy (1981–1987) in the Ronald Reagan administration where he promoted the creation of a 600-ship Navy. From 2 ...

as not part of the 500 ship navy plan, but ultimately proved useful as anti-submarine ships if fitted to carry Seahawks and towed arrays and into the 21st Century as low grade patrol ships making up the numbers in a USN desperately short of escorts.

Construction and career

''Oliver Hazard Perry'' was ordered from

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest ...

on 30 October 1973 as part of the FY73 program, and was laid down on 12 June 1975, launched on 25 September 1976, and commissioned on 17 December 1977. She was ordered as PFG-109 but was redesignated as FFG-7 in the 1975 fleet designation realignment on 1 June 1975, before she was laid down.

Launch incident

During her launch ceremony on 25 September 1976, the ship found herself briefly stuck on the slip-way. Film star John Wayne appeared from the crowd of watching dignitaries, climbed the launch ceremony platform, and gave the bow of the frigate – which was by this time starting to move slightly – a shove with one hand, and so John Wayne famously appeared to have 'pushed' a US warship down her slip-way.

Shock Trial Testing

''Oliver Hazard Perry'' was one of the few lead ships to be subjected to shock trials. These series of trials conducted early in the life of the ship put this steel hull / aluminum superstructure to the test. The proximity of the tests (seen in associated pictures), caused many of the machine mounts and components to become warped or damaged. This damage created alignment problems for the engineering and combat systems teams in the years to come. The ship regularly required waivers on machine performance due to the warping of many mounting brackets. The shock tests also created cracks in the aluminum superstructure that required frequent repairs. However, this did not affect the overall readiness of the ship, nor did it prevent ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' from achieving the record for the most-ever hours put on the GE LM2500 Main Propulsion engine.US Navy OPPE Results, 1984 to 1989, US Navy archives

Fate

After 19.2 years of active service, ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' was decommissioned on 20 February 1997, in Mayport, FL under the last Commanding Officer, CDR Robert F. Holman, USNR. Though she was stricken on 3 May 1999, ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' was held in the museum donation category at the former Navy shipyard in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Pennsylvania. A group had hoped to bring her to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

as a museum ship and a memorial for the

. The group was unable submit a viable financial plan together in time so the ''Perry'' was sold for scrap in December 2005.

Awards

*Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation *

Navy E Ribbon The Navy "E" Ribbon or Battle Efficiency Ribbon (informally the Battle "E" ribbon) was authorized on March 31, 1976, by Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf as a unit award for battle efficiency competition. The service ribbon replaced t ...

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, after ...

* Special Operations Service Ribbon Star (1

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

)

Gallery

File:USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) aft view in 1976.jpg, Aft view of ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' in 1976 File:USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) underway in late 1977.jpg, ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' underway in late 1977

References

External links

Photos of USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG 7)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) 1976 ships Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates of the United States Navy Ships built in Bath, Maine Cold War frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States