USS Lang (FF-1060)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Lang.
USS Lang (FF-1060)
History
United States
Name: USS Lang
Ordered: 22 July 1964
Builder: Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California
Laid down: 25 March 1967
Launched: 17 February 1968
Sponsored by: Mrs. Ephraim P. Holmes
Acquired: 20 March 1970
Commissioned: 28 March 1970
Decommissioned: 12 December 1991
Struck: 11 January 1995
Identification: FF-1060
Motto: 1812–1970
Fate: Sold for scrapping 15 December 2001
General characteristics
Class and type: Knox-class frigate
Displacement: 3,250 tons (4,246 full load)
Length: 438 ft (134 m)
Beam: 46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Draft: 24 ft 9 in (7.54 m)
Propulsion:
  • 2 × CE 1200psi boilers
  • 1 Westinghouse geared turbine
  • 1 shaft, 35,000 shp (26 MW)
Speed: over 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h)
Range: 4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 20 knots (23 mph; 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:
Aircraft carried: one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter

USS Lang (FF-1060) was a Knox-class frigate of the US Navy. Named for John Lang, the first man on USS Wasp to board HMS Frolic in the closing stage of action 18 October 1812, and his ardor and impetuosity carried the remainder of the boarding party with him.

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.[1]

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).[2]

The Knox-class ships were armed with a 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward and a single 3″/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.[3]

Construction and career

Lang was laid down by Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California, 25 March 1967; launched 17 February 1968; sponsored by Mrs. Ephraim P. Holmes, wife of Admiral Holmes, Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic Fleet. Lang was delivered 20 March 1970 and commissioned 28 March 1970.

17 October 1989, hours after the Loma Prieta earthquake, Lang left Treasure Island for Hunters Point, where she provided wet steam to Pacific Gas and Electric. Through this effort, PG&E was able to quickly re-establish electrical services to San Francisco.[4] For this effort Lang and her crew were awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal, which was later expanded to include all military members in the San Francisco Bay area at the time.

Lang was decommissioned 12 December 1991, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 11 January 1995, and sold for scrapping on 15 December 2001.

Notes

  1. ↑ Friedman, pp. 357–60, 425
  2. ↑ Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
  3. ↑ Friedman, pp. 360–61; Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
  4. ↑ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pamphlet 870-1-44, 1993

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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