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USS Thach (FFG 43)

USS THACH was the 34^th OLIVER HAZARD PERRY class guided missile frigate and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Last homeported in San Diego, Calif., the THACH held a decommissioning on November 1, 2013, before she was officially decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on November 15, 2013. On July 14, 2016, the THACH was sunk as a target during RIMPAC 2016 about 55 nautical miles north of Kauai, Hi.

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Crew List:

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

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS THACH memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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Accidents aboard USS THACH:

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About the Ship's Name, about Admiral John Smith Thach:

John Smith Thach was born in Pine Bluffs, Arkansas, on April 19, 1905. In 1923 he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy, where, on June 20, 1927, he was graduated and commissioned an Ensign in the U. S. Navy. Admiral Thach was assigned to the battleships USS MISSISSIPPI and USS CALIFORNIA, until he was ordered to flight training at Pensacola, Florida in 1929. In January 1930, Admiral Thach was designated a Naval Aviator and was assigned to his first operational squadron.

Form the beginning, Admiral Thach proved himself a highly capable pilot, becoming recognized as one of the Navy's aerial gunnery experts, repeatedly shooting top scores in every type of combat aircraft he flew.

During the next few years of his career, Admiral Thach's superior performance qualified him to be a test pilot and flight instructor and to receive a letter of commendation in 1940 for "exceptional skill and technique in aerial gunnery and bombing; efficient and meticulous operation of a squadron gunnery department; marked ability to train other pilots in fighting plane tactics and gunnery."

When the United States entered World War II, Admiral Thach was a Lieutenant Commander commanding Fighter Squadron Three, embarked on the aircraft carrier USS SARATOGA. At the time, Admiral Thach was one of the top fighter tacticians in the Navy. Intelligence reports from the Sino-Japanese was convinced him that the Navy's top carrier fighter, the F4F Grumman Wildcat, was no match for the superior flying performance of the Japanese Zero. Admiral Thach sought to devise a means to give his squadron a fighting chance against the Zero. The result, which he worked out with match skickson his kitchen table, was the famous "Thach Weave" still used today by modern jets fighters. He initiated the practice of having U. S. fighter planes operate in pairs, instead of trios. The pair would weave back and forth as they encountered the Zero, thus providing the wingman the opportunity to shoot at the Zero on his partners tail and vice versa. This tactic proved highly successful at the Battle of Midway.

Admiral Thach returned to Pearl Harbor to instruct other pilots in the use of his new technique. Later in the war, Admiral Thach was assigned to the Fast Carrier Task Force as Air Operations Officer, where he developed the system of blanketing enemy airfields with a continuous patrol of carrier-based fighters. The tactics is credited with destroying the air offensive capabilities of Japan. His direction of the Navy's final offensive blows to the Japanese mainland led to an invitation to participate in the Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS MISSOURI.

Admiral Thach continued his distinguished career after the war, commanding the aircraft carrier USS SICILY in the Korean conflict, and later, the carrier USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in November of 1955, Vice Admiral in January of 1960, and to Admiral in March of 1960. In recognition of his work, the Navy annually awards the best anti-submarine warfare aircraft squadron "The Admiral Thach Award". In 1965, Admiral Thach was ordered to duty as Commander-in-Chief of U. S. Naval Forces in Europe and served there until his retirement in May 1967, after more than 40 years of service. Admiral Thach died on 15 April 1981.

Admiral Thach participated in twelve major engagements or campaigns and was awarded the following distinctions: Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Cross, Letter of Commendation from Fleet Admiral Nimitz, Gold Star in lieu of second Navy Cross, Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Gold Star in lieu of second Legion of Merit, plus other campaign, unit and service awards. Admiral Thach is survived by his two sons, John Smith Thach, Jr. and William Leleand Thach.

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USS THACH History:

USS THACH was laid on 6 March 1982 at Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California. She was launched on 18 December 1982 and commissioned at Long Beach, California, on 17 March 1984. Commander Dale H. Moses became her first commanding officer. The remainder of 1984 was devoted to post-commissioning work, acceptance into the fleet, training, and the process of bringing the new guided-missile frigate into operational service with the Pacific Fleet. During 1985, she continued post-shakedown activity, underwent early combat-systems improvements including the installation of the AN/SQQ-28 acoustic processor, and entered the routine cycle of readiness exercises, inspections, and training evolutions that prepared her for deployment.

In early 1986, USS THACH took part in Computex 86-2 and then in Readiness Exercise 86-2 off southern California. On 12 May 1986, she departed San Diego for her first major western Pacific deployment. During that cruise she operated with Pacific Fleet formations and replenishment ships and made port visits that included Hong Kong, Subic Bay, Manila, and Pattaya Beach. While in Manila, members of her crew participated in a Project Handclasp community-relations effort. In August 1986, she joined Cobra Gold 86 in Thailand, where she supported combined training with Thai forces and participated in activities connected with the exercise.

In 1987, USS THACH entered a six-week Selected Restricted Availability at Campbell Shipyard in San Diego. After completing maintenance and deployment workups, she departed on 17 August 1987 with USS FORD (FFG 54) for the Persian Gulf. This deployment occurred during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq War at sea, when the United States was protecting reflagged Kuwaiti shipping under Operation Earnest Will. During the deployment, USS THACH carried out seven convoy escorts for reflagged tankers and merchant traffic moving through the Gulf. On 19 October 1987, she participated in Operation Nimble Archer, the retaliatory U.S. strike against Iranian offshore oil platforms after the missile attack on the reflagged tanker SEA ISLE CITY. USS THACH was involved in the force that inserted a SEAL, small-boat, and explosive ordnance team for the demolition of the Rashadat platform. During the same deployment, she also escorted vessels including MV ROVER, MV GIANELLA, MV BRIDGETON, and MV SURF CITY. The final months of 1987 included continued Gulf patrols, escort operations, and brief periods in ports and anchorages around the wider region.

USS THACH remained deployed into early 1988. In January she moved between Kuwait, Sitrah, Strait of Hormuz patrol areas, Sri Lanka, Phuket, and Pusan, before reaching Pearl Harbor in February. She returned to San Diego on 17 February 1988, with a tiger cruise carried on the final leg home. On 8 March 1988, she received the Battle Efficiency "E" for Destroyer Squadron 21. A command change followed on 1 June 1988, when Commander Keith T. Moore relieved Commander G. J. O’Donnell. Soon afterward the ship participated in events connected with the Portland Rose Festival, conducted a burial at sea on 5 June, replenished from USS KANSAS CITY (AOR 3), and on 10 June received the Spokane Trophy from Admiral David Jeremiah as the Pacific Fleet's most proficient surface combatant in overall combat operations. Later that year, she continued through inspections, missile and combat-systems training, and routine readiness activity. On 12 October 1988, she shifted dead-stick to Southwest Marine in San Diego for a five-month drydocked Selected Restricted Availability.

USS THACH spent the first months of 1989 in that yard period. During the availability she received the AN/SQQ-89 antisubmarine warfare suite. Sea trials followed in April 1989. She then loaded ammunition at Concord, trained at Treasure Island, and visited San Francisco. Later in the year, she visited Seattle for Seafair, completed additional engineering and maintenance phases, and on 15 December 1989 departed San Diego for a six-month Middle East Force deployment. In January 1990, she moved westward by way of Pearl Harbor, Subic Bay, Singapore, and Colombo into the Gulf, where she relieved USS GARY (FFG 51) and joined Joint Task Force Middle East. Her deployment was built around patrols, escort duties, Bahrain periods, and operations in both the southern and northern Gulf.

She escorted MV CHESAPEAKE CITY and MV SURF CITY and spent an extended period inside the Silkworm missile threat envelope while SURF CITY moved slowly after a fire. She refueled at Kuwait City and later escorted MV BRIDGETON. After a turnover with USS REID (FFG 30) in late April 1990, she began her homeward transit by way of Diego Garcia and Australia. Commander T. A. Baker relieved Commander Moore at Fremantle on 12 May 1990. The return route included Fremantle, Hobart, Sydney, and Pago Pago. On 7 June 1990, the ship suffered a serious peacetime incident when embarked helicopter OCEANLORD 26 crashed during routine flight operations off Hawaii. All aircrew were recovered after the ship first completed the emergency retrieval of her towed array. USS THACH returned to San Diego on 15 June 1990. Later that year she attended Seattle Seafair, took part in the joint Canadian-American exercise Mardezex Pacific Northwest 90, and entered intermediate maintenance followed by another selected restricted availability at Continental Maritime. Sea trials in December closed out the year.

In 1991, USS THACH carried out an eastern Pacific deployment. By 1992, she was a forward-deployed frigate homeported at Yokosuka, Japan, with Destroyer Squadron 15. In that 1992 cycle, she operated in the Arabian Gulf and wider Seventh Fleet region during Operation Remembrance, Operation Neon Spark, Gulfex XII, Operation Eastern Sailor, and Operation Southern Watch, working with U.S. units as well as French, Royal Navy, and Qatari naval forces. During that period, she also made a four-day visit to Hong Kong. Through the mid-1990s, USS THACH remained part of the forward-deployed Seventh Fleet force, operating across East Asia and the Arabian Gulf during post-Cold War presence missions, maritime security operations, and sanctions-enforcement duties. In 1995, she underwent another selected restricted availability. By early 1996, the ship was again moving through the western Pacific and Indian Ocean circuit. She was in Hong Kong in January 1996, and on 21 March 1996 she relieved USS JOHN S. McCAIN (DDG 56) as the protection ship for Maritime Prepositioning Ships in the central Arabian Gulf. Later in 1996, she made another brief four-day visit to Hong Kong before returning to Yokosuka and beginning preparations for further overseas operations.

During 1997 and 1998, USS THACH remained part of the Yokosuka-based forward-deployed force. She continued to serve with Seventh Fleet units in the western Pacific and took part in the normal cycle of training, antisubmarine warfare activity, regional exercises, and routine presence operations associated with the permanently forward-deployed surface force in Japan.

In 1999, USS THACH began the year in Yokosuka, conducted limited training in the Philippine Sea, and on 21 January 1999, fired a successful Standard missile in company with USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53) during Missilex 99-1A. She then moved through Okinawa, Guam for tender work with USS FRANK CABLE (AS 40), and Saipan, where local dignitaries were received on board. After returning to Yokosuka, she completed the inter-deployment training cycle, and on 26 March 1999 Commander Stephen Camacho relieved Commander Thomas Goodall during an at-sea change of command.

Spring and summer brought Tailored Ship's Training Availability phases, a port visit to Kure, another reconnaissance exercise off Okinawa, participation in the Shimoda Black Ship Festival with USS O'BRIEN (DD 975), and operations with USS JOHN S. MCCAIN off South Korea, including visits to Pusan and Tonghae and participation in Counter Special Operational Force Exercise 99-2 with the Republic of Korea Navy. Later in the year, she completed engineering qualification and final evaluation work, joined blue-green workups with USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA 3), USS GERMANTOWN (LSD 42), and USS FORT McHENRY (LSD 43), and on 31 August 1999 took part in the personnel exchange in which she and USS GARY carried out a hull swap.

After two weeks of shakedown with the new crew, she visited Manila and Guam, paused at Pearl Harbor where Commander Richard W. Daniel relieved Commander Joseph Harriss at sea, and reached San Diego on 15 October 1999. Her first months back in California included service as an opposition-force unit during Joint Task Force Exercise for the USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74) battle group and an ammunition offload at Seal Beach in December.

In 2000, USS THACH spent much of the year in maintenance, retraining, and readiness work after her return from the western Pacific. January included flight-deck landing qualifications. From 25 January to 30 March 2000, she underwent a selected restrictive maintenance availability at Continental Maritime. Sea trials followed on 31 March. In April she completed Combat Assessment Readiness Training. A command-and-control availability followed in June. In late November she made a run to Cabo San Lucas, and in mid-December she onloaded ammunition at Seal Beach.

From 22 to 31 January 2001, USS THACH was at sea for Fleet Exercise off southern California, followed by Joint Task Force Exercise in early February and a friends-and-family cruise later that month. On 15 March 2001, she deployed from San Diego with USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64) in support of maritime interception operations. Four days later, on 19 March 2001, Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Chief Ronald Hiland was killed in a flight deck helicopter accident in the eastern Pacific. The deployment continued into the western Pacific and the Middle East, with port visits including Sydney and Adelaide in April, Manama in May, Jebel Ali, Phuket, Hong Kong, and Pearl Harbor. During the deployment she also conducted a sistership exercise with BANS SABHA, a former American frigate serving in the Royal Bahraini Navy. USS THACH returned to San Diego on 15 September 2001.

On 10 January 2002, she entered a ten-week drydocking selected restricted availability. Sea trials followed in March. In May she visited Port Hueneme for combat-systems assessment work and then moved through the readiness progression that led toward Composite Training Unit Exercise and Joint Task Force Exercise later in the year. On 21 May 2002, she also responded to the distress of the research submarine DOLPHIN (AGSS 555) after a fire on board and helped rescue all 43 people forced into the water. On 2 November 2002, USS THACH deployed again with USS CONSTELLATION in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She visited Hong Kong on 22 November, Singapore on 1 December, and entered the Arabian Gulf on 17 December 2002. In early 2003, she made a brief call at Bahrain, carried out another sistership exercise with BANS SABHA, and visited Doha for Eastern Sailor 03-2. By 23 March 2003, she was operating in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On 1 April 2003, after an S-3B from USS CONSTELLATION crashed into the water shortly after landing, USS THACH launched her rigid-hull inflatable boat immediately, and the two aviators were recovered by helicopter. On 11 April 2003, Commander James T. Loeblein relieved Commander William A. Sheehan. The ship departed the Gulf on 17 April and returned to San Diego on 2 June 2003 after a seven-month deployment. In October 2003 she visited San Francisco for Fleet Week.

USS THACH next deployed on 6 December 2004 with the expeditionary strike group built around USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6). Early in that cruise, she anchored off Dili, East Timor, on 5 January 2005 for a goodwill visit. By 23 March 2005, she was in the Arabian Gulf taking part in Arabian Gauntlet, a multinational surface, air, and mine-countermeasures exercise. On 12 April 2005, Commander Rinda K. Ranch relieved Commander Loeblein. The deployment ended with her return to San Diego on 6 June 2005.

Her later mid-decade career included a stronger emphasis on maritime security operations. On 18 September 2006, she moored in Nassau, and by 15 December 2006 she had returned to San Diego from a six-month counter-narcotics deployment in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean that also included port calls in Panama and Peru. Commander Steven R. Rasmussen assumed command on 6 October 2006. In the following period, the ship's counter-narcotics work was credited with multiple successful interdictions, the seizure of large quantities of cocaine, and the detention of numerous traffickers. By 10 December 2007, the ship was again at sea for routine training with the USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) carrier strike group off southern California.

On 28 February 2008, Commander David W. Haas relieved Commander Rasmussen. On 19 May 2008, USS THACH deployed with the USS RONALD REAGAN strike group for a western Pacific and Middle East cruise. On 26 June 2008, she helped deliver relief supplies to Panay after Typhoon Fengshen. The itinerary also included Shimonoseki on 14 July, Yokosuka on 28 July, maritime security operations in the North Arabian Sea by 8 September, and participation in exercise Malabar off Goa beginning on 18 October. She returned to San Diego on 25 November 2008.

Another deployment followed on 27 May 2009. During that five-month period, USS THACH anchored off Phuket on 25 June, operated in the northern Arabian Gulf as part of Task Group Iraqi Maritime, helped protect Iraqi offshore oil infrastructure, and carried out counterpiracy and countersmuggling missions. The deployment included transits through both the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal and port calls at Saipan, Manama, Aqaba, and Ponta Delgada before she returned to San Diego on 5 November 2009.

The final sustained operational phase of USS THACH's service shifted toward the Americas. On 5 April 2011, Commander Jeffrey L. Scudder relieved Commander Haas as the ship began a six-month Southern Seas deployment. She reached Salvador on 15 April 2011 for UNITAS, visited Rio de Janeiro on 26 April, Montevideo on 13 May, Punta Arenas with USS BOONE (FFG 28) on 20 May, Puerto Montt in early June, Talcahuano on 10 June, Valparaiso on 24 June, Coquimbo on 1 July, Callao in mid-July, Manta on 1 August, Panama City on 13 August for Panamax 2011, and Acajutla on 31 August for El Salvador's independence celebrations before returning to San Diego on 16 September 2011.

Repairs and modernization at NASSCO followed. Commander Hans E. Lynch took command on 5 September 2012. On 8 January 2013, USS THACH deployed again, this time for counter-transnational organized crime operations in the Fourth Fleet area. She called at Puerto Quetzal and Balboa, operated with an embarked Coast Guard law-enforcement detachment and helicopter detachment, supported Operation Martillo, and took part in a Project Handclasp school refurbishment effort in Panama. Because of sequestration-related budget decisions, she was ordered home early and returned on 12 April 2013 after interdicting more than 379 kilograms of cocaine and over 1,100 pounds of marijuana. After one more local underway for Coast Guard and tactical law-enforcement training in June, her active career drew to a close. A decommissioning ceremony was held at Naval Base San Diego on 1 November 2013, and she was officially decommissioned and stricken on 15 November 2013.

The ship's final chapter came after active service had ended. On 14 July 2016, the former USS THACH was sunk during the Rim of the Pacific sinking exercise about 55 nautical miles north of Kauai in water roughly 15,000 feet deep.

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THACH SINKEX:

The decommissioned THACH was sunk as a target during exercise RIMPAC 2016 off the Hawaiian Islands. The sinking took place on July 14, 2016, 55 nautical miles north of the island of Kauai. The THACH took an amazing number of hits before she finally sunk at 07.25pm local time. She now rests 15,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean. According to the US Navy, the following munitions were used against the guided missile frigate: one UTM-84 sub-launched Harpoon missile fired by a South Korean submarine, one RTM-84 ship-launched Harpoon missile fired from HMAS Ballarat, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles fired by an Australian SH-60S helicopter, an AGM-65 Maverick and an AGM-84 fired by US maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, one RGM-84 ship-launched Harpoon missile from the USS PRINCETON (CG 59), an AGM-114 Hellfire missile fired by a US Navy SH-60S helicopter, a Mk-84 bomb fired from a US Navy F/A-18, a GBU-12 Paveway laser-guided bomb dropped from a US Air Force B-52 bomber and finally a Mk-48 advanced torpedo fired from a US Navy attack submarine.

The video below shows a few of the attacks on the THACH and many close-ups of the inflicted damage. The actual sinking is not shown. This is a long video (17:38 minutes). US Navy video by Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique Lasco.

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USS THACH Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken by me and shows the THACH at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 10, 2008.

The photos below were taken by me and show the THACH undergoing maintenance at San Diego, Calif., on March 23, 2010.

The photos below were taken by me and show the THACH undergoing maintenance at San Diego, Calif., on September 29, 2011.

The photos below were taken by me and show the THACH at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on March 15, 2012.

The photos below were taken by me and show the THACH at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on May 8, 2012.

The photos below were taken by me and show the THACH at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on October 3, 2012.

The photos below were taken by me and show the THACH departing San Diego, Calif., on October 11, 2012.

The photo below was taken by Henry Schnutz and shows the THACH at Naval Base San Diego, Calif., on August 27, 2013.

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