USS Taylor (FFG 50)

USS TAYLOR was one of the OLIVER HAZARD PERRY - class frigates and the first ship named in honor of the late Commander Jesse Junior Taylor. Decommissioned at her homeport Mayport in Florida on May 8, 2015, the TAYLOR spent the following year laid up at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. In mid-2016, she was towed to the Detyens Shipyard in Charleston, SC., for conversion in preparation for her transfer to the Taiwanese Navy. Reportedly, this conversion would allow the ship to serve for another 30 years. On March 9, 2017, the TAYLOR was transferred to the Taiwanese Navy where she was recommissioned as MINGCHUAN by the end of May 2017.

Crew List:

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

USS TAYLOR History:

Built at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, USS TAYLOR's keel was laid on May 5, 1983. She was launched on November 5, 1983, delivered on November 16, 1984, and commissioned on December 1, 1984. Entering service in the late Cold War, USS TAYLOR spent her early years in the Atlantic Fleet rhythm of workups, readiness certifications, and deployments that tied U.S. sea control and escort forces into NATO's forward maritime posture, while also feeding the growing demand for naval presence in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

By the latter half of the 1980s, USS TAYLOR's extended deployments reflected that dual focus. In 1987, she deployed with NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic, operating in a routine of combined exercises and maritime presence missions that were central to alliance deterrence and interoperability. In 1988, she deployed to the Arabian Gulf during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq War's maritime "Tanker War", when mines, small-boat threats, and the security of commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz shaped day-to-day naval operations. That regional volatility returned in a new form in 1990. USS TAYLOR was on patrol in the Arabian Gulf when Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, and she became part of the early maritime presence that transitioned into Operation Desert Shield and then Operation Desert Storm. In 1992, as the coalition's emphasis shifted from major combat to containment, she undertook another extended deployment as part of Operation Southern Watch, contributing to the broader framework that supported restrictions on Iraqi military activity. In 1993, amid large-scale U.S. basing changes, USS TAYLOR changed homeport to Mayport, Florida. In 1994, she conducted an extended deployment to the Mediterranean and Red Seas, operating in waters where U.S. and allied naval forces were frequently tasked for presence, crisis-response readiness, and security monitoring during the unsettled post-Cold War decade. In 1997, she again deployed with NATO, this time with the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean, continuing her pattern of alliance integration and forward presence.

In the early 2000s, USS TAYLOR's employment increasingly reflected the post-September 11 environment of expeditionary operations and multinational maritime security. In the spring of 2002, she deployed with the USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67) battle group in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, operating across the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Arabian Gulf at a time when U.S. naval forces were sustaining continuous strike and escort capability while also expanding maritime security tasking. On July 29, 2002, with an embarked detachment from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) 46, USS TAYLOR took part in a humanitarian assistance exercise while participating in Operation Cooperative Partner in the Black Sea, an engagement activity consistent with the era's emphasis on interoperability and partnership-building in Europe's maritime periphery.

Not every defining moment in the ship's record was tied to major strategy. On October 6, 2004, about 50 miles off northern Florida, five sailors went into the water during the lowering of the ship's rigid-hull inflatable boat. All five were rescued. A longer operational stretch followed. USS TAYLOR completed a seven-month deployment associated with Global War on Terrorism maritime security operations and returned to Mayport on June 6, 2005. Within that deployment, she participated in NATO activity in the Mediterranean. On May 20, 2005, she was at Souda Bay, Crete, alongside other allied ships following a North Atlantic Council and Military Committee "Sea Day" event tied to alliance readiness and the evolving NATO Response Force concept.

In 2006, USS TAYLOR shifted from Mediterranean security frameworks to multinational training in the western hemisphere. In mid-May she joined USS BATAAN (LHD 5) and USS FORT McHENRY (LSD 43) for the Dutch-led exercise Joint Caribbean Lion 2006, operating with participating units from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela in an interoperability-focused Caribbean scenario. She returned to Mayport on June 20, 2006, but later that year she was again deployed far from Florida. On November 29, 2006, while underway in the Arabian Sea, USS TAYLOR collided with an unflagged dhow at approximately 2:47 p.m. local time. USS TAYLOR remained mission capable and rendered assistance on scene. The dhow sustained damage but was later able to proceed. During the same deployment, a change of command took place at sea: on December 6, 2006, Cmdr. Kurush F. Morris assumed command of USS TAYLOR.

Early 2007 kept the ship in the Middle East security and partnership orbit. In February, she participated in Exercise Eagle Salute 2007 with Egyptian forces in the Red Sea, a bilateral training event that reflected the long-standing U.S.-Egypt maritime relationship and shared interest in Red Sea access and stability. USS TAYLOR returned to Mayport on March 9, 2007, after a five-month deployment that included security responsibilities in the northern Arabian Gulf, where offshore infrastructure and sea lines of communication remained sensitive targets in the mid-2000s. Later that year, the ship experienced a serious engineering-space emergency. On September 13, 2007, USS TAYLOR suffered an engineering casualty in auxiliary machinery room 2 that resulted in a fire and injuries to two sailors. The incident occurred during certification testing, and the ship was ultimately towed back to Mayport.

USS TAYLOR departed Mayport on August 6, 2008, for a Mediterranean deployment as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1. Her activities included a planned Black Sea phase with NATO partners Romania and Bulgaria and allied ships from Poland, Germany, and Spain - moves that carried added geopolitical sensitivity during a year marked by heightened regional tension around Russia and Georgia. The deployment continued into early 2009. USS TAYLOR made a call at Souda Bay on January 14, 2009, and returned to Mayport on February 6, 2009, after roughly six months underway. During this period, she also supported NATO's Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean, a post-September 11 maritime security mission centered on patrolling and monitoring to deter terrorist-related activity at sea. After returning home, she maintained a visible public presence and outreach cadence, including a port visit to Boston on March 13, 2009, during the St. Patrick's Day period.

USS TAYLOR's 2010 deployment became one of the most geographically varied and politically visible cruises of her later career. She departed Mayport on April 23, 2010, for a scheduled U.S. Sixth Fleet deployment that threaded through the western Mediterranean, Adriatic, Black Sea, northern Europe, and into Arctic-adjacent waters. Early in the summer she visited Port Mahon, Menorca, and departed on June 7, 2010, in a call notable for being the first visit by a U.S. Navy warship there since 1998. She then continued into the Adriatic, arriving at Durres, Albania, on June 16, 2010, for regional maritime cooperation activity. In mid-July, she entered Odessa, Ukraine, on July 12, 2010, for Exercise Sea Breeze 2010, and departed Odessa on July 23. A logistics stop at Souda Bay followed on July 28 as she repositioned for further tasking. On August 2, 2010, southeast of Gibraltar, she assisted three Spanish boaters who had been adrift for about 24 hours after mechanical failure during a rigid-hull inflatable boat trial. Moving north, USS TAYLOR arrived in Copenhagen on August 10, 2010, for events marking the 500th anniversary of the Danish Navy, and later continued into northern European operating areas with additional allied interaction. The cruise then reached a particularly sensitive moment in the High North: USS TAYLOR arrived in Murmansk, Russia, on September 6, 2010, for a three-day port visit connected to commemorations of World War II-era Arctic convoy cooperation. During her subsequent operations in the Barents Sea, on September 10, 2010 - reported again in public accounts as continuing into September 11 - she was approached twice at low altitude by a Russian Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft with its bomb bay doors open, an encounter widely described as reminiscent of Cold War signaling. As the deployment moved back toward the Atlantic approaches, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy visited the ship at La Coruna, Spain, on October 8, 2010, during a trip focused on maritime security cooperation and allied engagement. USS TAYLOR returned to Mayport on October 23, 2010, closing a six-month deployment marked by unusually wide-ranging presence activity.

In 2011, the ship's focus shifted toward maintenance and material readiness. A yard period that began on February 14, 2011, culminated in a one-day sea trial on May 27, 2011, and the ship's configuration updates included the installation of a new 25 mm gun mount on the forecastle, reflecting how the class was being adapted for the security and presence missions dominating its final decade. Later in the summer, on August 25, 2011, USS TAYLOR departed Naval Station Norfolk to avoid the approach of Hurricane Irene.

In 2012, USS TAYLOR returned to sustained maritime security tasking, deploying from Mayport on February 9, 2012, with an embarked detachment from Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) 48. By March 10, 2012, she was operating in support of NATO's counter-piracy effort, Operation Ocean Shield, as part of NATO Task Force 508, at a time when piracy in the Gulf of Aden and adjacent waters demanded persistent multinational patrol and escort coverage. USS TAYLOR returned to Mayport on September 10, 2012, completing a seven-month deployment. The following year emphasized maintenance recovery: after a three-month Selected Restricted Availability at the BAE Systems Mayport facility in Jacksonville, Florida, USS TAYLOR departed Mayport on April 19, 2013, for sea trials, marking her return to full operational status.

USS TAYLOR's final deployment began on January 8, 2014, and quickly placed her in the center of Europe's most sensitive maritime geography. With an embarked detachment from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 46, she deployed to the Mediterranean and, on February 5, 2014, entered the Black Sea together with USS MOUNT WHITNEY (LCC 20) in support of security requirements linked to the Sochi Winter Olympics. On February 12, 2014, she moored at the industry terminal in Samsun, Turkey, for refueling, and during maneuvering to pull in she ran aground, damaging her propeller hub and blades. What should have been a brief logistics stop became a prolonged emergent repair and assessment period. On February 25, 2014, her commanding officer, Cmdr. Dennis J. Volpe, was relieved of duty. On March 7, 2014, USS TAYLOR departed Samsun under tow by a tug and arrived at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay on March 12 to begin repairs.

After weeks of work, she completed sea trials on April 21, 2014, and transited the Bosporus northbound on April 22, returning to Black Sea operations in the early weeks of the rapidly escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis. Once back on station, she executed a series of combined activities with allied and partner navies: on April 23 she conducted a bilateral underway engagement with USS DONALD COOK (DDG 75) as well as the Romanian navy ships ROS REGINA MARIA and ROS MARASESTI. On May 6, she conducted another bilateral engagement with four Romanian navy ships and on May 8 she made a port visit to Batumi, Georgia, continuing a visible reassurance pattern in the region. On May 12, she departed the Black Sea and joined Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, shifting back to Mediterranean maritime security operations under Operation Active Endeavour. In mid-June, she returned to Souda Bay and subsequently joined Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. The deployment then pivoted across the Atlantic: on July 12, 2014, USS TAYLOR moored at Oranjestad, Aruba, and transitioned into counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean in support of broader interdiction efforts coordinated through U.S. and partner-nation frameworks. USS TAYLOR returned to Mayport on August 9, 2014, concluding a seven-month deployment that combined Black Sea reassurance activity, NATO maritime security operations, and Caribbean interdiction tasking.

USS TAYLOR was decommissioned at Mayport on May 8, 2015, closing more than three decades of service. After decommissioning, she was held in inactive status in Philadelphia while preparations advanced for transfer to Taiwan. On May 20, 2016, the ex-USS TAYLOR departed Philadelphia under tow for Charleston, South Carolina, where she entered conversion work at Detyens Shipyards in preparation for transfer. On March 9, 2017, in Charleston, ex-USS TAYLOR and ex-USS GARY (FFG 51) were formally signed over to Taiwan.

Date	Where	Events
October 6, 2004	50 miles off Mayport, Fla.	Five sailors fall into the water while their rigid hull inflatable boat is lowered from the TAYLOR. All are rescued but two are medevaced to Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla.
November 29, 2006	Arabian Sea	USS TAYLOR and an unflagged dhow collide at 2:47 p.m. local time. The TAYLOR suffers no damage.
September 13, 2007	5 miles off Mayport, Fla.	USS TAYLOR suffers an engineering casualty in auxiliary machinery room 2 resulting in a fire that injures two sailors. At the time of the accident the TAYLOR was conducting combat systems and ship survivability certification tests and had to be towed back to Mayport as a result of the accident.
February 12, 2014	Samsun, Turkey	USS TAYLOR runs aground while entering the harbor of Samsun. Initially planned as a short fuel stop, the port visit had to be extended due to damage caused by the grounding. On February 25, TAYLOR's CO Cdr. Dennis Volpe was relieved of duty. On March 7, TAYLOR left Samsun under tow for Souda Bay, Crete, Greece, where she arrived on March 12, to commence emergent repairs to her propeller hub and blades.

Date

Where

Events

October 6, 2004

50 miles off Mayport, Fla.

Five sailors fall into the water while their rigid hull inflatable boat is lowered from the TAYLOR. All are rescued but two are medevaced to Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla.

November 29, 2006

Arabian Sea

USS TAYLOR and an unflagged dhow collide at 2:47 p.m. local time. The TAYLOR suffers no damage.

September 13, 2007

5 miles off Mayport, Fla.

USS TAYLOR suffers an engineering casualty in auxiliary machinery room 2 resulting in a fire that injures two sailors. At the time of the accident the TAYLOR was conducting combat systems and ship survivability certification tests and had to be towed back to Mayport as a result of the accident.

February 12, 2014

Samsun, Turkey

USS TAYLOR runs aground while entering the harbor of Samsun. Initially planned as a short fuel stop, the port visit had to be extended due to damage caused by the grounding. On February 25, TAYLOR's CO Cdr. Dennis Volpe was relieved of duty. On March 7, TAYLOR left Samsun under tow for Souda Bay, Crete, Greece, where she arrived on March 12, to commence emergent repairs to her propeller hub and blades.

About the Frigate's Name, about Commander Jesse Junior Taylor, U.S. Navy:

Commander Taylor was born in Wichita, Kansas on 16 January 1925. He enlisted in the Navy in October 1942, and served as an Aviation Radioman until the end of World War II with Bombing Squadron VB-II aboard the carrier USS HORNET in the South Pacific.

During the Korean conflict, he returned to the Navy for training as a Naval Aviator and, in May 1952, received his commission as an Ensign. After a tour with Composite Squadron Four, he served as NROTC Instructor at the University of California at Los Angeles. Further flight training and a tour with the Staff of Chief, Naval Air Training followed at NAS Pensacola, Florida. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander while serving with VF-174. He attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and directed the Flight Division of the Bureau of Naval Weapons at St. Louis, Missouri for two years.

In July 1965, LCDR Taylor was assigned to Air Wing 16 aboard the attack carrier USS ORISKANY, and sailed to the Western Pacific. He flew 16 missions between September and November, earning an Air Medal and a Gold Star in lieu of a second award. Advanced to the rank of Commander on 1 September 1965 he had not been officially given the rank at the time of his death.

On 17 November 1965, Commander Taylor was flying his A-1 Skyraider during attacks on a key bridge near the North Vietnamese Port of Haiphong. Ground fire had downed one of the other Navy aircraft, and its pilot had ejected in a heavily defended area. Commander Taylor heard the radio transmission describing the pilot's plight. Realizing that time was of the essence in any attempt to rescue the downed pilot, Commander Taylor made a courageous decision. Although it was not his assigned mission, and having discovered that other rescue aircraft were occupied elsewhere, he took command of the rescue effort.

Commander Taylor proceeded to the scene and found the pilot still in his parachute harness in shallow water. To cover the approach of the rescue helicopter, Commander Taylor attacked the anti-aircraft gun sites despite intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire and the fact that his own plane had sustained damage. The storm of enemy fire made it impossible for the helicopter to rescue the man on the ground. Meanwhile, because of fire in his own aircraft, Commander Taylor was forced to break off his own persistent attacks. Rather than abandon his plane in enemy territory, he elected to try to ditch in the Gulf of Tonkin. However, the fire burned through the wing of his plane, and it crashed before he had time to leave it.

For his heroic determination to save a fellow pilot, even at great risk to his own life, Commander Taylor was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

The photo below was taken by me and shows USS TAYLOR at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on July 31, 2000.

The photos below were taken by Stefan Karpinski and show the USS TAYLOR at Naval Base Wilhelmshaven, Germany, in early October 2003.

The photos below were taken by Michael Jenning and show the TAYLOR laid up among her sisterships at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Penn., on October 16, 2015.

General Characteristics:	Keel Laid: May 5, 1983
	Launched: November 5, 1983
	Commissioned: December 1, 1984
	Decommissioned: May 8, 2015
	Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
	Propulsion system: two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, two 350 Horsepower Electric Drive Auxiliary Propulsion Units
	Propellers: one
	Blades on each Propeller: five
	Length: 453 feet (138 meters)
	Beam: 47 feet (14.32 meters)
	Draft: 24,6 feet (7.5 meters)
	Displacement: 4,100 tons
	Speed: 28+ knots
	Aircraft: two SH-60 Sea Hawk (LAMPS 3)
	Armament: one Mk 75 76mm/62 caliber rapid firing gun, MK 32 ASW torpedo tubes (two triple mounts), one Phalanx CIWS
	Crew: 17 Officers and 198 Enlisted