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USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)

Launched in December 1984 by Bath Iron Works, USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) was one of the final vessels in the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates. Put in commission in April 1986 under the command of Cmdr. Paul X. Rinn, the ship racked up numerous awards and commendations even before its first deployment began in January 1988.

The ship was sent to the Persian Gulf to participate in Operation Earnest Will, the escort of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers during the Iran-Iraq War. It operated there until 14 April, when the ship struck an M-08 mine in the central Gulf, in an area it had safely traveled a few days previously. The mine blew a 15-foot hole in the hull, flooded the engine room, and knocked the two gas turbines from their mounts. The well-trained crew fought fire and floods for five hours to save the ship. Ten sailors were medevaced for injuries sustained in the blast; six returned to the Roberts in a day or so, while four burn victims were sent for treatment to a military hospital in Germany, and eventually to medical facilities in the United States.

The U.S. traced nearby mines to Iran, and retaliated four days later with Operation Praying Mantis, a one-day campaign that became the U.S. Navy's fiercest surface engagement since World War II. U.S. ships, aircraft, and troops destroyed two Iranian oil platforms used to control Iranian naval forces in the Gulf, sank one Iranian frigate, damaged another, and sent at least three armed powerboats to the bottom. The U.S. lost one Marine Corps helicopter.

The Roberts was eventually carried back to its Newport, Rhode Island, homeport aboard the Mighty Servant II, a semi-submersible heavy-lift ship owned by a Dutch shipping firm. The frigate was repaired in BIW's Portland, Maine, yard in time to make its second deployment in support of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield.

Dates

• Laid down: 21 May 1984
• Launched: 8 December 1984
• Commissioned: 12 April 1986
• Decommissioned: n/a
• Struck: n/a
• Fate: n/a

Facts

• Displacement: 3658 tons
• Length: 455.25 ft (138.8m)
• Beam: 45 ft (13.7m)
• Draft: 24.5 ft
• Propulsion:
  • Two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (30,600 kW) through a single shaft and OTO Melara Mk 75 76mm/62-caliber naval gun
  • One Vulcan Harpoon anti-ship missiles
    • SM-1MR Standard anti-ship/air missiles (40-round magazine).
  • Two Mk 32 triple-tube (324mm) launchers for Mark 46 torpedoes.