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USS Brumby

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History
United States
NameUSS Brumby
NamesakeFrank H. Brumby Thomas Mason Brumby
Awarded3 January 1962
BuilderAvondale Shipyards
Laid down1 August 1963
Launched6 June 1964
Acquired26 July 1965
Commissioned5 August 1965
Decommissioned31 March 1989
ReclassifiedFrigate 30 June 1975
Stricken1 July 1994
Identification
  • DE-1044 (1965)
  • FF-1044 (1975)
MottoVenator et Vastator (Hunter and Destroyer)[1]
FateSold for scrapping 9 September 1994
General characteristics
Class and typeGarcia-class frigate
Displacement2,624 tons (light)
Length414 ft 6 in (126.34 m)
Beam44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Draft24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Propulsion2 Foster Wheeler boilers, 1 steam turbine, 35,000 shp (26,000 kW), single screw
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement
  • 16 officers
  • 231 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
Aircraft carriedGyrodyne QH-50 (planned) / SH-2 LAMPS

USS Brumby (FF-1044) was a Garcia-class destroyer escort (and later a frigate) in the US Navy. She was named after Admiral Frank H. Brumby. The ship was in US Navy service from 5 August 1965 to 31 March 1989 and was in Pakistan Navy service from 1989 to 1994 as Harbah.

History

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Brumby was built in the early 1960s, and during the Vietnam War served in the Atlantic. 'Her keel was laid down at Avondale Shipyards, Louisiana on 1 August 1963. She was launched and Christened 6 June 1963 and co-sponsored by Adm. Brumby's granddaughters, Misses Muriel Tuckerman Fitzgerald and Cornelia Truxtun Fitzgerald. Brumby was commissioned at Charleston 5 August 1965.[1]

Brumby deployed to northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea in 1967. The ship visited Oslo, Norway, Kiel, Germany, Norrköping, Sweden, El Ferrol del Caudillo, Spain, Naples, Italy, Valletta, Malta, and Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily.[2] Brumby was towed to Portsmouth Norfolk Naval Shipyard on or about January 1968 and remained until her boilers were repaired. Brumby departed Norfolk November 1968 to return to homeport Newport RI. In January 1969 Brumby departed Newport en route to GITMO for refresher training. One weekend while moored off of Guantanamo Bay Brumby sonar dome became damaged by the anchor chain. Brumby completed training late February early March then sailed to the Boston shipyard drydock to have sonar dome repaired.

Brumby departed Naval Station Mayport 28 November 1970 for a Mediterranean Deployment, returning 3 May 1971. The ship visited Bermuda, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Rota, Spain, Souda Bay, Crete, Piraeus, Greece, Augusta Bay, Sicily, Valletta, Malta, Split, Yugoslavia, Palermo, Sicily, Palma, Majorca, Naples, Italy and Barcelona, Spain. Brumby spent several weeks, around the New Year, shadowing the Soviet helicopter carrier Leningrad.[3]

While deployed in 1972, Brumby experienced a boiler casualty and was towed from Scotland by USS Preserver (ARS-8) arriving in Charleston, SC, 15 November 1972.[4] The cause of the boilers rupturing a total of 36 of its steam tubes (these carry the steam from the water drum where the water is boiled to the main engines and other steam driven equipment) was due to a failure of the engineering department to properly monitor and maintain the required level of chlorides in the system. Chlorides cause chloride stress corrosion in stainless steel components. The level of chlorides should be less than 1 PPM (parts per million) and the level in the system was over 16;000 PPM.[5]

Brumby deployed to South America 21 July 1975 to 8 December 1975. The ship visited Cartagena, Colombia, Chile, Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro.[6]

Brumby received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for service relating to Iran / Indian Ocean, in 1980.[7]

Brumby received the Navy Expeditionary Medal for service relating to Lebanon in 1983.[7]

In 1984, Brumby deployed to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean returning in November 1984. Brumby was selected to join the 29th activation of NATO's Naval on Call Force – Mediterranean (NAVOCFORMED), a predecessor to Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. The force was activated at Ancona, Italy and included the Italian frigate Alpino (F 580), the Turkish destroyer Piyalepasa (ex-Fiske), HMS Brazen (F91) and the Greek destroyer Sachtouris (ex-USS Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869)). During the deployment, the ship also visited Puerto Cortés, Honduras, Rota, Spain, Monaco, Nice, Naples and others. The ship transited the Suez Canal and spent 102 continuous days at sea during the deployment.[8]

Brumby received the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for winter law enforcement operations from 1 November 1985 to 28 February 1986.[7]

Brumby received the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation for 1 October 1986 to 30 June 1987.[7]

Fate

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On 31 March 1989 Brumby was decommissioned and leased to the Pakistan Navy the same day, where she was commissioned as Harbah.[9] However, following Pakistan's refusal to halt its nuclear weapons program, the lease was cancelled in 1994. She was returned to United States custody on 9 September 1994 and stricken from the Navy Register the same day. Brumby was sold for scrapping for $635,602.50 ($1.31 million today) on 9 September 1994 to Trusha Investments Pte. Ltd.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b "USS Brumby". NavSource.org. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. ^ "History". USS Brumby. 1967. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  3. ^ "History". USS Brumby Mediterranean Deployment. 1971. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. ^ Arkin, W. (1990). "Naval Nuclear Accidents" (PDF). Greenpeace. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  5. ^ I served on the USS Brumby on that cruise and stood watches in the engine room.
  6. ^ "History". USS Brumby. 1975. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d "USS Brumby Unit Awards Query". awards.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 14 October 2004. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  8. ^ "History". USS Brumby. 1984. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  9. ^ Silverstone, Paul (2009). The Navy of the Nuclear Age, 1947–2007. New York: Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 9781135864668.
  10. ^ "USS Brumby Vessel Status Card". US Maritime Administration. Retrieved 22 May 2016.