USS Samuel Eliot Morison

USS Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG-13), was the seventh Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate in service with the United States Navy. She was named for Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison (1887–1976), one of America's most distinguished naval historians, who wrote more than 40 books on naval history including the official history of the US Navy in World War II.

USS Samuel Eliot Morison during sea trials in 1980
History
United States
Name	USS Samuel Eliot Morison
Namesake	Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison
Ordered	27 February 1976
Builder	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down	4 December 1978
Launched	14 July 1979
Commissioned	11 October 1980
Decommissioned	10 April 2002
Stricken	23 July 2002
Homeport	Naval Station Mayport Charleston Naval Shipyard (Assigned 30 June 1986)
Identification	Hull symbol:FFG-13 Code letters:NSEM
Motto	"The Past is Prologue"
Fate	Sold to Turkey on 11 April 2002
Badge
Turkish TCG Gökova
Turkey
Name	Gökova
Namesake	Municipality of Gökova
Acquired	11 April 2002
Identification	F 496
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate
Displacement	4,100 long tons (4,200 t), full load
Length	445 feet (136 m), overall
Beam	45 feet (14 m)
Draft	22 feet (6.7 m)
Propulsion	2 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (31 MW) through a single shaft and variable pitch propeller 2 × Auxiliary Propulsion Units, 350 hp (260 kW) retractable electric azimuth thrusters for maneuvering and docking.
Speed	over 29 knots (54 km/h)
Range	5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h)
Complement	15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus SH-60 LAMPS detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-49 air-search radar AN/SPS-55 surface-search radar CAS and STIR fire-control radar AN/SQS-56 sonar.
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32
Armament	As built: 1 × OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun 2 × Mk 32 triple-tube (324 mm) launchers for Mark 46 torpedoes 1 × Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 4 × .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. 1 × Mk 13 Mod 4 single-arm launcher for Harpoon anti-ship missiles and SM-1MR Standard anti-ship/air missiles (40 round magazine) Note: As of 2004, Mk 13 systems removed from all active US vessels of this class. G-Class Frigate: 1 × Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS 1 × Oto Melara 76mm DP gun 8 × Harpoon SSM 40 × SM-1 MR SAM 32 × ESSM launched from Mk-41 VLS (4 ESSM missiles per MK-41 cell through the use of MK25 Quadpack canisters, total of 8 cells) Two triple Mark 32 Anti-submarine warfare torpedo tubes with Mark 46 or Mark 50 anti-submarine warfare torpedoes
Aircraft carried	1 × SH-2F LAMPS I But may have never been modified to carry LAMPS (ie "poop deck")Lack of funding for NRF ships.
Aviation facilities	Hangar Bay, Helicopter Deck

Samuel Eliot Morison was the first ship of that name in the U.S. Navy.

TCG Gökova (F 496)

On 11 April 2002, Samuel Eliot Morison was decommissioned and transferred to Turkey, where she was renamed as TCG Gökova (F 496) and joined the other Oliver Hazard Perry-class vessels acquired by the Turkish Navy as G-class frigates.

In 2013, she contributed to Operation Ocean Shield with other NATO Forces Ships in the Gulf of Aden.

As of 2019, she is still in active service.

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  USS Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG-13)

References

 This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

External links

• MaritimeQuest USS Samuel Eliot Morison FFG-13 pages