USS ''Taylor'' (FFG-50), an , was a ship of the
United States Navy named for Commander
Jesse J. Taylor (1925–1965), a naval
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
who was awarded the
Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism in the
Vietnam War.
Construction
''Taylor''s keel was laid down by
Bath Iron Works Corp.,
Bath, Maine, on May 5, 1983. She was
launched November 5, 1983, and
commissioned December 1, 1984 in Bath, Maine. ''Taylor'' was
sponsored by Barbara A. Taylor, the widow of the ship's namesake, and Diane Taylor-Oeland as matron of honor.
History
''Taylor'' was
homeported in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
, was part of Destroyer Squadron 6 "Greyhounds", from 1985 to 1993. The ship deployed to Northern Europe as part of the
Standing Naval Forces Atlantic
Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.
Hi ...
in 1987, and the
Persian Gulf in 1988 and 1990. She participated in
Operation Earnest Will and
Operation Prime Chance. In 1993, ''Taylor'' changed homeport to
Mayport, Florida Mayport is a small community located between Naval Station Mayport and the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities. The only public road to Mayport is State Road A1A, which crosses the St. Johns ...
, with the closing of
Charleston Naval Station. Up to 2015, ''Taylor'' was homeported at Naval Station Mayport, and was part of
Destroyer Squadron 14
Destroyer Squadron 14, now Naval Surface Squadron Fourteen (CNSS 14, or SURFRON 14), is the administrative Immediate Superior in Command (ISIC) for ships that are homeported at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida.
CNSS 14 was establi ...
.
In August 2008, ''Taylor'' entered the
Black Sea conducting a pre-planned routine visit to the region to interact and exercise with NATO partners Romania and Bulgaria. It joined ships from Poland, Germany and Spain.
In September 2010, ''Taylor'' was buzzed by a Russian
Tu-95 bomber.
However, as of 2004, all significant anti-aircraft capability was deleted from this class. On January 8, 2014, ''Taylor'' left Naval Station Mayport for her last seven-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleets. On February 5, 2014, ''Taylor'' was scheduled to enter the Black Sea along with in support of the
Sochi Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games (russian: XXII Олимпийские зимние игры, XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (russian: Сочи 2014), was an international ...
.
On February 12, 2014, ''Taylor'' ran aground while mooring in
Samsun, Turkey, during operations supporting the 2014 Winter Olympics.
"A senior Turkish port official said the ship's propeller scraped the surface as it was mooring at Samsun." The ship's skipper, Commander Dennis Volpe, was subsequently relieved and reassigned.
Republic of China Navy
''Taylor'' was decommissioned on May 8, 2015, and subsequently transferred to Taiwan, where the ship was commissioned by the
Republic of China Navy as ROCS ''Ming-chuan'' (銘傳, PFG-1112) on November 8, 2018.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor (FFG-50)
1983 ships
Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates of the United States Navy
Ships built in Bath, Maine