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U.S.S. SCHOFIELD
(FFG-3)LIBERTE PAR VIGILANCE
Click to view crew list
USS SCHOFIELD (FFG-3) - a Brooke-class frigate
In Commission 1968 to 1988FFG-3 Deployments - Major Events
Add a FFG-3 Shellback Initiation | Add a FFG-3 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
APR | 1963 | - | Keel Date: 15 APR 1963 at Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction Co. Seattle WA | ||
DEC | 1963 | - | Launch Date: 7 DEC 1963 | ||
MAY | 1968 | - | Commissioned: 11 MAY 1968 | ||
MAR | 1969 | - | NOV | 1969 | West Pac |
MAR | 1971 | - | JUL | 1971 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
APR | 1971 | - | Shellback Initiation - 15 APR 1971 - Pacific Ocean | ||
SEP | 1972 | - | MAR | 1973 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
NOV | 1973 | - | MAY | 1974 | West Pac-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf |
JAN | 1974 | - | Shellback Initiation - 17 JAN 1974 - Indian Ocean | ||
JAN | 1974 | - | Shellback Initiation - 17 JAN 1974 - Pacific Ocean | ||
FEB | 1975 | - | SEP | 1975 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
JAN | 1977 | - | JAN | 1977 | West Pac |
AUG | 1987 | - | Shellback Initiation - 12 AUG 1987 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
SEP | 1988 | - | Decommissioned: 8 SEP 1988 |
FFG-3 General Specifications
Class: Brooke-class frigate
Named for: Frank Herman Schofield
Complement: 14 Officers and 214 Enlisted
Displacement: 3426 tons
Length: 414 feet
Beam: 44 feet
Flank Speed: 27 Knots
Range: 4 000 nautical miles
Final Disposition:Sunk as a target 2 November 1999
USS SCHOFIELD (FFG-3)
Schofield (DEG-3) was laid down on 15
April 1963 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co., Seattle,
Wash.; launched on 7 December 1963; sponsored by Mrs. F. Perry
Schofield; and commissioned on 11 May 1968, Comdr. Earl H. Graffan in command.
Following shakedown, Schofield conducted training exercises,
both independently and with her squadron, Destroyer Squadron 23, out of her home port of Long Beach. With the new year, 1969, she participated
in 1st Fleet exercises; and, at the
end of March, she headed across the Pacific for her first WestPac deployment.
On 24 April, the guided missile escort ship joined the 7th
Fleet. On 7 May, she commenced operations with Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31)
in the Gulf of Tonkin. A week later, she put into Subic Bay; then, after upkeep,
she joined other 7th Fleet units in Operation "Sea Spirit,"
a combined SEATO exercise terminated on 3 June by the collision of USS Frank
E. Evans (DD-754) and HMAS Melbourne.
On 17 June, the DEG moved back into the Gulf of Tonkin,
remaining into July. On the 6th, she departed the area and headed for
Japan where she participated in a joint United States Navy-Japanese Maritime
Self Defense Force exercise; then, toward the end of the month,
she again set a course for the South China Sea.
Schofield
returned to
the Gulf of Tonkin on the 27th and, for the
next two weeks, operated with Kearsarge (CVS-33). A visit to Hong Kong followed. On 22 August, she returned to
Subic Bay; and, in early September,
she moved north for patrol duty in Taiwan Strait. On the night of the 8th, she steamed to the assistance of Warbler (MSC-206) caught in
heavy seas 70 miles away and unable
to transfer fuel to her engine. By the
time the DEG arrived, the minecraft was
dead in the water. At daybreak, however, Schofield took the MSC in tow and headed for Kaohsiung, whence she returned to patrol duty.
Three days later, Schofield continued north to
Japan; participated in HUK exercises; then sailed for Hong
Kong, where, for two weeks, she served as station ship. On 23 October,
she returned to Japan; and, on 6 November, she headed home.
Arriving on the 21st, the DEG remained in port for most of
the remainder of the year. In January 1970, she resumed her antisubmarine
warfare exercises off the California coast. Early on the morning of the
9th, the
exercises with her squadron and Hornet (CVS-12) were interrupted to assist a merchant tanker, SS Connecticut, reported to be sinking approximately 200 miles away. En route to
the scene, Schofield refueled Hornet
helicopters delivering rescue
personnel and equipment to the
tanker. Two of Schofield's men, EMCS
P. L. Kidd and BT1 A. E. Personette, were transferred to the tanker. The tanker's master commended the work
in saving the ship.
When Schofield arrived on the scene late in the afternoon,
the situation was under control. That evening, the exercises were
resumed. At mid-month, Schofield returned
to Long Beach and entered the naval shipyard there for a yard period
which took her into March. Squadron exercises, target ship duty, missile firing
exercises, and a reservist training cruise followed. In July, she
again entered the shipyard for boiler overhaul work; and, in October, she resumed her 1st Fleet
operating schedule.
On 7 January 1971, Schofield headed west. Into February,
she conducted exercises in Hawaiian waters, then returned to the west coast for Operation Admixture, a joint United States-Canadian exercise.
During the exercise, the DEG added mothership duties for the experimental hydrofoil, Highpoint (PGH-1),
to her helicopter inflight refueling, plane guard, and escort responsibilities.
The exercise was completed on 4 March. Schofield then
returned briefly to Long Beach; and, on the 11th, she departed the California
coast for the western Pacific. Steaming in company with ASW Group 3, she joined
the 7th Fleet on the 26th. On 3 and 4 April, she operated off the
Vietnamese coast; and, on the 7th, she arrived in Subic Bay.
Five days later, the group got underway for Singapore,
whence they proceeded into the Indian Ocean for ASW
exercises. At the end of the month, the ships sailed for Hong Kong; and, on the 11th, they got underway for Japan.
After repairs at Yokosuka, Schofield participated
in the first major United States task force exercise in the Sea of
Japan in several years; then, on 17 June, she sailed for home. Proceeding north, she
participated in ASW exercises between Attu
and Kamchatka. On 5 July, she arrived
at Long Beach. In August, she began preparations
for her first major overhaul. On 1 September,
she shifted her home port to San Diego; and, on 8 September, she entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for an extended overhaul which took her
into 1972.
The overhaul was completed on 6 June 1972, and Schofield sailed to her new home port,
San Diego. The next three months were spent
in refresher training and various exercises, including two successful
launchings of her TARTAR missiles at the Pacific Missile Range.
On 9 September, Schofield departed San Diego for her
third tour with the 7th Fleet. After brief stops at Pearl
Harbor, Midway Island, Guam, and Subic Bay, P.I., the DEG joined TU 77.0.1
in the Tonkin Gulf on 8 October. She received her first bombardment mission of the deployment 20 days later and fired all
night. On 30 October, she departed the area for Kaohsiung and a period of upkeep. She was back on station in the Tonkin Gulf from 9 November to 8 December for another line period. The DEG then visited Hong
Kong and Sasebo before returning to the firing line on New Year's Day, 1973.
Schofield acted as a picket ship until
mid-January when she was assigned to provide fire support. She fired
daily missions until the 26th when she departed for Subic Bay. She returned to Yankee Station
on 13 February and learned that, due to the
cessation of hostilities, her WestPac deployment was to be reduced one month. On 15 February, she sailed for Yokosuka
and San Diego, arriving at her home port on 9 March.
During a period of restricted availability between April
and September, Schofield received extensive helicopter
facilities to enable her to operate the SH-2 LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System)
helo. She held sea trials in October,
firing exercises in early November;
and, on the 23d, she was underway for the western Pacific.
Scliofield participated in exercises at
Pearl Harbor and Midway Island before entering Subic Bay on 18 December.
Four days later, she departed for Singapore with orders to continue from there to the Indian
Ocean and conduct surveillance operations.
She returned to San Diego on 6 June
1974 and is operating from that port as of July 1974.
Schofield received four battle stars for
service in Vietnam.
[Note: The above USS SCHOFIELD (FFG-3) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS SCHOFIELD (FFG-3), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]