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USS Patterson (FF 1061)

- formerly DE 1061 -
- decommissioned -


USS PATTERSON was the 10th ship in the KNOX - class of frigates and the third ship in the Navy named after Commodore Daniel Todd Patterson, USN. Commissioned as a destroyer escort (DE), the ship was reclassified as frigate (FF) on June 30, 1975. Decommissioned on September 30, 1991, and stricken from the Navy list on January 11, 1995, the PATTERSON was later sold for scrap. Scrapping was completed on June 21, 2000.

General Characteristics:Awarded: July 22, 1964
Keel laid: October 12, 1967
Launched: May 3, 1969
Commissioned: March 14, 1970
Decommissioned: September 30, 1991
Builder: Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, La.
Propulsion system: 2 - 1200 psi boilers; 1 geared turbine, 1 shaft; 35,000 shaft horsepower
Length: 438 feet (133.5 meters)
Beam: 47 feet (14.4 meters)
Draft: 25 feet (7.6 meters)
Displacement: approx. 4,200 tons full load
Speed: 27 knots
Armament: one Mk-16 missile launcher for ASROC and Harpoon missiles, one Mk-42 5-inch/54 caliber gun, Mk-46 torpedoes from single tube launchers, one Mk-25 launcher for Sea Sparrow missiles
Aircraft: one SH-2F (LAMPS I) helicopter
Crew: 18 officers, 267 enlisted


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS PATTERSON. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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Accidents aboard USS PATTERSON:

DateWhereEvents
April 23, 1975Mayport, Fla.
The PATTERSON experiences flooding in a machinery room when an air compressor saltwater cooling line ruptures while the ship is in upkeep at Mayport Naval Station, Fla.
June 3, 1987Caribbean
USS PATTERSON returns to sea after suffering several small fires from efforts to restart a faulty genertor while the ship is conducting drills in the Caribbean. The PATTERSON was subsequently towed to Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, for one day or repairs. No injuries or damage to the ship are reported.


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History of USS PATTERSON:

USS PATTERSON was built at Westwego, Louisiana. She was placed in commission in mid-March 1970, conducted shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in June and August 1971 made her first overseas deployment, a trip to northern Europe. Her next deployment, to the Mediterranean Sea for service with the Sixth Fleet, took place during the first half of 1974. When all newer escort ships were reclassified as frigates in mid-1975, PATTERSON became FF 1061. At about this time she was also updated, receiving enlarged helicopter facilities and the Basic Point Defense Missile System, whose launcher for eight "Sea Sparrow" guided missiles was installed on her afterdeck.

PATTERSON made another Mediterranean cruise from late 1976 to mid-1977 and a third in 1978 and early 1979. In September and October 1979 the ship returned to northern European waters and in mid-1980 she provided help to the West Indies island of St. Lucia after it was hit by a devastating hurricane. After steaming east to the Mediterranean in October 1980, PATTERSON voyaged onward to make a tour of the Persian Gulf during the last months of that year and the first month of 1981. A fifth Sixth Fleet cruise followed from late in 1981 into 1982, with Red Sea operations at the end of the deployment. The frigate earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation for her activities during this time.

In June 1983 PATTERSON was assigned to the Naval Reserve Force, based at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She remained in this non-deploying status for the next eight years, making frequent cruises in the western Atlantic area, from Canada to the West Indies, to keep Naval Reservists' training up to date. In late 1990 PATTERSON conducted counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, taking a two-way passage through the Panama Canal as part of her work. A final cruise, to Bermuda in May 1991, was followed by decommissioning at the end of September. After more than three years in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, USS PATTERSON was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1995. Though later considered for transfer to Greece as a source of spare parts, she remained in Navy custody until late September 1999, when a contract was let for her scrapping. The ship was broken up at Baltimore, Maryland, during the rest of 1999 and the first half of 2000.


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About the Ship's Name:

Daniel Todd Patterson was born on Long Island, New York, on 6 March 1786. He entered the U.S. Navy as an acting Midshipman in 1799, and had Quasi-War with France service in the frigate DELAWARE. During the war with Tripoli he served in the frigates CONSTITUTION and PHILADELPHIA, becoming a prisoner of war when the latter was captured on 31 October 1803. Released in 1805, Midshipman Patterson was assigned to duty at New Orleans, Louisiana. He served there for nearly two decades, attaining the ranks of Lieutenant in 1807 and Master Commandant in 1812. Later in 1812 Patterson took command of the New Orleans station. In 1814 he led an amphibious attack on a pirate town in Barataria Bay and in December directed Naval forces in actions that significantly delayed the British approach to New Orleans. The following month, Master Commandant Patterson distinguished himself in action with the British during the Battle of New Orleans.

Promoted to Captain at the end of February 1815, Patterson's service at New Orleans continued until 1824, when he took command of the frigate CONSTITUTION. He was appointed a Navy Commissioner in 1828. In 1832-1836 he commanded the Mediterranean Squadron, with the title of Commodore. Subsequently, Patterson was Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard, holding that post until he died on 25 August 1839.


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