FFG-34 - Tin Can Sailors

Hull Number: FFG-34

Launch Date: 10/17/1981

Commissioned Date: 10/09/1982

Decommissioned Date: 12/12/1997

Call Sign: NAWF

Class: OLIVER HAZARD PERRY

OLIVER HAZARD PERRY Class

Length Overall: 445'

Beam: 45'

Draft: 24' 6"

Armament:

1-3″ 1-Standard-SAM Harpoon-SSM 6-12.75″T LAMPS

Complement:

180

Propulsion:

40,000 SHP, 2 G. E. LM-2500 gas turbines, 1 screw

Highest speed on trials: 28.5 knots

Namesake: AUBREY WRAY FITCH

AUBREY WRAY FITCH

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

Aubrey Wray Fitch (June 11, 1883 – May 22, 1978) was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. A naval aviator, he held important aviation-related commands both at sea and on shore from the 1920s onward. He also served as superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.

Fitch was born in Saint Ignace, Michigan, on June 11, 1883. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in the summer of 1902 and graduated on February 12, 1906. His Naval Academy classmates included Arthur L. Bristol, William L. Calhoun, William A. Glassford, Charles C. Hartigan, Frank J. Fletcher, Robert L. Ghormley, Isaac C. Kidd, John S. McCain Sr., Leigh Noyes, Ferdinand L. Reichmuth, Raymond A. Spruance, John H. Towers, Russell Willson, and Thomas Withers. After serving the two years of sea duty then required by law before being commissioned (serving on the armored cruiser Pennsylvania and the torpedo boat Chauncey), Fitch became an ensign on February 13, 1908. He then served afloat on Rainbow and Concord before receiving instruction in torpedoes at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, in the school conducted on board the old cruiser Montgomery.

Upon completion of the torpedo course, Fitch helped to fit out the battleship Delaware, which commissioned on April 4, 1910, before returning to Annapolis for consecutive tours of duty at the Naval Academy, first as assistant discipline officer between 1911 and 1912 and later as an instructor of physical training from 1912 to 1913. Service in the destroyers Balch and Duncan followed before he received his first sea command, the destroyer Terry, with the 2nd Division, Reserve Torpedo Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet.

After serving on the staff of the commander in chief, Atlantic Fleet, Fitch assumed command of the yacht Yankton in January 1915, with additional duty as aide to the commander in chief.

Relieved of command of Yankton shortly after the United States entered World War I in the spring of 1917, Fitch continued his staff duties for another five months before joining Wyoming to serve as her gunnery officer for the remainder of hostilities, as that dreadnought operated with the 6th Battle Squadron, Grand Fleet.

After the armistice, Fitch again served at the Naval Academy once more before becoming, concurrently, inspector of ordnance in charge of the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot in Hingham, MA, and naval inspector of ordnance in charge at the Naval Coaling Station, Frenchman Bay, Maine. From August 1920, Fitch commanded a division of fast minelayers, while also commanding in turn Luce and Mahan.

Detached from Mahan in December 1922, Fitch served at Rio de Janeiro until March 1927 as a member of the United States mission to Brazil before reporting back to the Navy Department for a brief tour of duty in Washington, D.C. Going to sea as executive officer of Nevada in May 1927, Fitch assumed command of Arctic (a type of ship sometimes known uncomplimentarily as a “beef boat”) in November of that year.

He reported for aviation instruction at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, in June 1929 and there won his wings as a naval aviator on February 4, 1930. Following brief duty at NAS San Diego, California, Fitch assumed command of the USS Wright in the spring of 1930. Relieved from that billet a little over a year later (July 1931), he then began a year as commanding officer of the Navy’s first aircraft carrier, Langley.

After commanding NAS Hampton Roads, Virginia, until June 1935 Fitch reported as chief of staff to commander, Aircraft, Battle Force, and remained in that billet until assuming command of Lexington (CV-2) in April 1936. Subsequently, attending the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, from June 1937 to May 1938, Fitch completed the senior course there before assuming command of NAS Pensacola, in June 1938. In the spring of 1940, he took over the reins of Patrol Wing 2, based at Pearl Harbor, and seven months later, broke his flag in Saratoga as commander, Carrier Division 1. The outbreak of hostilities in the Pacific in December 1941 thus found Fitch one of the most experienced carrier commanders afloat.

Fitch’s flagship, Saratoga, figured prominently in the abortive attempt to reinforce Wake Island in December 1941 and was later torpedoed off Oahu in late January 1942, seriously cutting American carrier strength in the Pacific at a critical period.

Rear Admiral Fitch relieved Vice Admiral Wilson Brown on April 3, 1942, breaking his flag in Lexington, his former command. During the Battle of the Coral Sea, Fitch served as the Commander Task Group 17.5, consisting of “Lady Lex” and the Yorktown (CV-5), and was named Officer in Tactical Command (O.T.C.) by Task Force commander Admiral Frank J. Fletcher. That engagement, the first in history where neither side came within surface gun range of the other, effectively stopped the Japanese thrust at the strategic Port Moresby, but resulted in the first loss of an American aircraft carrier in the war— the USS Lexington, sunk on May 8, 1942.

The admiral then shifted his flag to Minneapolis, which was also flagship of Task Force 17 (TF 17). Fitch together with Captain Frederick C. Sherman and the Lexington‘s executive officer, Commander Morton T. Seligman, visited “Lady Lex”‘s wounded in Minneapolis’ sickbay—an action that “contributed in no small measure to the patients’ well-being.” For the leadership he exhibited during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Fitch was awarded his first Distinguished Service Medal.

He again broke his flag in his former flagship, Saratoga, but the task group formed around that ship arrived too late to take part in the pivotal Battle of Midway.

On September 20, 1942, six weeks after the first American amphibious operation of the war got underway at Guadalcanal, Fitch assumed command of Aircraft, South Pacific Force. Not a desk-bound admiral, he carried out numerous, hazardous flights into the combat zones, inspecting air activities incident to the selection of bases for projected operations. For these, he received a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Under Fitch’s command, AirSoPac—ultimately encompassing not only Navy but Army, Marine Corps, and Royal New Zealand air units—achieved great success in aiding the Allied campaign in the South Pacific. Fitch’s planes protected Allied shipping, providing vital air cover that strongly assisted the Allies in challenging, and ultimately defeating, the Japanese in the Solomons. In addition, his aircraft performed essential reconnaissance missions, spotting enemy warships prior to the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands in October 1942 and during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.

Later, Fitch oversaw the early experiments in conducting night bombing utilizing radar (a concept which paid great dividends in interdicting Japanese shipping) and encouraged the use of specially modified aircraft to obtain photographic intelligence. In addition, for his skillful coordination of the Allied air effort in that area of the world Fitch received a gold star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal.

Fitch returned to Washington in the summer of 1944 and became the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air). He skillfully and efficiently directed the aeronautical organization of the Navy, oversaw efforts to assure the readiness and deployment of air units, and planned all of the related logistics measures. For these efforts he received the Legion of Merit.

After V-J Day, Vice Admiral Fitch assumed duty as the superintendent of the Naval Academy on August 16, 1945, and held that post until January 15, 1947, with collateral duty as commandant, Severn River Command. The first aviator to head the Naval Academy, Fitch was instrumental in establishing the Department of Aeronautics, authorized by the Navy on November 28, 1945.

Subsequent to heading the academy, Fitch served briefly in the Office of the Undersecretary of the Navy before becoming the senior member of the Naval Clemency and Prison Inspection Board in March 1947. He was so serving when he retired from the Navy and was relieved of all active duty on July 1, 1947.

Admiral Fitch died due to a heart ailment combined with a bout with pneumonia in Newcastle, Maine, his adopted state, on May 22, 1978, shortly before his 95th birthday.

Disposition:

Stricken 5/1999. Held for spares.

Ship History

USS AUBREY FITCH FFG-34 Ship History

Wikipedia (as of 2024)

USS Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34), the twenty-sixth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Vice-Admiral Aubrey Fitch (1883–1978), who was noted for his outstanding command work in the South Pacific during World War II.

Ordered on 23 January 1978, as a part of the FY-1978 program, Aubrey Fitch was laid down on 10 April 1981 at the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. She was launched on 17 October 1981—sponsored by Mrs. Francesca Fitch Ferguson, the granddaughter of the late Admiral Fitch—and was commissioned at Bath, Maine, on 9 October 1982.^[3]

This warship was decommissioned on 12 December 1997 and stricken from the Navy’s list on 3 May 1999.

After commissioning, Aubrey Fitch remained at Bath for another five weeks completing her outfitting, propulsion plant testing, and sailors’ training. In mid-November, she made the passage from Bath to her home port, Mayport, Florida, where she spent the remainder of 1982.^[3] She was the final “Short-Hull” Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate to be built, the rest were “Long-Hulls”.

Early in January 1983, the guided-missile frigate embarked upon her shakedown cruise to the vicinity of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The warship returned to Mayport during the middle of February and then launched into a series of trials, qualifications, and certifications preparatory to her final acceptance by the Navy. She completed final acceptance trials late in May and entered the yard at Bath Iron Works for a three-month, post-shakedown availability. Aubrey Fitch completed repairs and returned to Mayport in September. In October, she commenced refresher training out of Guantánamo Bay.^[3]

The guided-missile frigate was so engaged when United States military forces invaded the small Caribbean island nation of Grenada on 25 October. Aubrey Fitch interrupted refresher training to conduct patrols in defense of the base at Guantánamo Bay against possible hostile action by Cuba as a result of the conflict in Grenada.^[3]

Early in November, however the warship completed refresher training and assumed tactical control of Aquila and Taurus for the purpose of testing the feasibility of operating guided-missile frigates and guided-missile hydrofoil gunboats together in the same task organization. Demands attendant to the continuing American presence in Grenada, however, overtook the experiment and sent Aubrey Fitch and her two consorts south to the tiny republic. Duty in the waters adjacent to Grenada lasted until mid-December when the warship returned to Mayport.^[3]

Aubrey Fitch began 1984 in her home port. Later in January, she embarked upon a normal schedule of training operations in the West Indies. That employment occupied her through the month of May and into June. On 22 June, the guided missile frigate put to sea to become a unit of NATO‘s Standing Naval Force, Atlantic, based at Plymouth, England. That deployment included visits to a number of ports in northern Europe as well as training evolutions in the Baltic Sea. Early in the fall of 1984, the NATO force visited American waters and made calls at Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans. Late in November, the warships visited Aubrey Fitch‘s home port in Florida. Early in December, the NATO force headed back to Europe, leaving Aubrey Fitch at Mayport.^[3]

The warship opened 1985 much the same way as she did 1984. After concluding holiday leave and upkeep at Mayport during the first half of January, she returned to sea for the usual training exercises, equipment operation certifications, and ASW helicopter landing qualifications. These and similar evolutions alternated with periods in port for routine upkeep and availability occupied her time during the first five months of the year. In June, Aubrey Fitch began providing escort and plane guard services for America and Saratoga when the carriers put to sea to conduct landing qualifications.^[3]

Near the end of June, she put to sea for special operations off the west coast of the Isthmus of Panama. She transited the Panama Canal and then operated from PSA Panama International Terminal during July, August, and part of September. After passing back through the canal in mid-September, Aubrey Fitch arrived back at Mayport on the 21st. Repairs took up the remainder of September as well as October and November. She concluded her restricted availability with sea trials on 5 and 6 December and, after a brief round trip to Charleston and back, settled into the usual year-end holiday routine.^[3]

The relative inactivity of holiday standdown carried over into the first three weeks of 1986. On 21 January, Aubrey Fitch put to sea for a week of ASW training in the Bahama Islands. On 28 January, she interrupted her return voyage when the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated soon after launch. From her position just 50 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral Aubrey Fitch rushed to the scene of the tragedy and began recovering debris. She collected several tons of material which she later delivered to Cape Canaveral to be inspected as a part of the investigation into the cause of the disaster. From Cape Canaveral the guided-missile frigate returned to Mayport and remained there until the second week in February. On 10 February, Aubrey Fitch resumed training operations out of Mayport, and she continued so employed until the beginning of April at which time the warship began preparations to deploy to the Persian Gulf.^[3]

On 4 June, Aubrey Fitch stood out of Mayport in company with the frigate Talbot to rendezvous with the destroyers Nicholson and Semmes. She and her traveling companions then laid in a course that took them across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, and around the Arabian Peninsula to the Strait of Hormuz. Aubrey Fitch and her consorts arrived at Bahrain in the Persian Gulf on 8 July. The guided-missile frigate spent the next four months conducting patrols and escorting merchant ships in the strategic–and troubled–waters of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the northern portion of the Arabian Sea. No untoward events marred her sojourn in the region, and she concluded her assignment on 30 October by turning her responsibilities over to the destroyer USS Sampson. Retracing her outward-bound voyage via the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, Aubrey Fitch steamed into Mayport on 4 December. Post-deployment standdown took up the remainder of 1986.^[3]

Over the next ten years, Aubrey Fitch continued to the Middle East and the West Indies. During a 1988 deployment to the Persian Gulf, the frigate participated in Operation Earnest Will, during which she conducted escort missions to protect Kuwaiti merchant tankers from attack during the Iran–Iraq War. In December 1990 the warship conducted counter-narcotics patrols in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and received a Joint Meritorious Unit Award for her efforts. In July 1991, Aubrey Fitch hosted the Soviet guided missile destroyer Simferopol during a visit to Mayport.^[3]

In August 1991, following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein‘s Iraqi Army, the frigate surged to the Middle East to participate in Maritime Interception Operations (MIO) in the northern Red Sea. Designed to cut the flow of supplies and equipment to Iraq in support of United Nations’ economic sanctions, Aubrey Fitch conducted 243 merchant ship boardings and inspected over 3 million tons of cargo. The ship received a Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation for this performance.^[3]

In February 1993 the frigate participated in Operation Able Manner, in support of migration interdiction efforts off Haiti, receiving the Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon for developing baseline procedures for conducting mass lifesaving operations.^[3]

In 1994, Aubrey Fitch carried out two deployments to Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy, where the crew boarded over 50 ships to enforce economic sanctions against the government and provided security and search-and-rescue support for operations within Port-au-Prince Harbor.^[3]

In the summer of 1995, the frigate sailed to Europe both to conduct NATO training exercises and to participate in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of the Atlantic and the end of the war in Europe.^[3]

Aubrey Fitch spent March through July 1995 touring Western Europe, including Bermuda; Brest, France; Rota, Barcelona and Ibiza, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; Gibraltar, Portsmouth & Liverpool, UK; Lisbon, Portugal; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Derry & Portrush, Northern Ireland and Rosyth, Scotland.

From September 1996 to March 1997, Aubrey Fitch conducted her last operational deployment as part of Standing Naval Force Atlantic, during which she visited fourteen ports ranging between Gdynia, Poland west to Faslane, Scotland and south to Lisbon, Portugal.^[3]

Aubrey Fitch was decommissioned on 12 December 1997 and towed to the former Philadelphia Naval Yard as part of the inactive reserve fleet. She had the shortest active career of any of the US Navy’s Oliver Hazard Perry-class ships at 15 years, and was stricken on 3 May 1999, just two years later into unmaintained (Category-X) status to await scrap sale. Aubrey Fitch was transferred to Metro Machine Corp. for scrapping, on 26 March 2004.

Aubrey Fitch (FFG-34) was the first ship with this name in the U.S. Navy.