Frigates

Frigates, 1775–1945

While the 13 frigates of the Revolution were vastly outmatched by the Royal Navy, Congress saw the need for a permanent navy and in 1794 appropriated funds for an additional six frigates ranging in size from the 44-gun USS Constitution (popularly known today as “Old Ironsides”) to the 36-gun USS Constellation. These six frigates saw extensive service against the Barbary Pirates and during the War of 1812. Newer generations of frigates, including the USS Congress, a 1,800-ton sailing frigate, served in both the Mexican- American and Civil Wars. While foreign navies continued to utilize frigates in the ironclad age, the U.S. Navy did not. During the Second World War, however, frigates reappeared in the American arsenal. While a handful were built by Great Britain, the majority, belonging to the Tacoma class, were British-designed and American-built warships that displaced 1,430 tons and were used primarily in an antisubmarine role.

Frigates and the Cold War

After World War II, the U.S. Navy continued to deploy numerous frigates, primarily to combat the rising threat from the Soviet Union’s burgeoning submarine fleet. Over time, the differences in design, size, armament, and raison d’être between frigates, cruisers, and destroyers began to blur, and so in 1975, the U.S. Navy reclassified many ships with the result that the number of frigates in service dramatically declined. Most frigates were reclassified as either destroyers or cruisers, while destroyer escorts built as antisubmarine vessels were reclassified as frigates.

In 1960, Congress authorized the construction of the new Bronstein-class destroyer escort, designed to combat Soviet submarines worldwide. At just over [Page 566]2,700 tons, the Bronstein class carried advanced sonar, antisubmarine rockets, and 3-inch guns. In 1964, the U.S. Navy commissioned the first of the new larger and faster Garcia-class destroyer escorts. With 5-inch guns and built to handle both manned and unmanned helicopters, the Garcia represented a demonstrable improvement over the Bronstein class, especially after the addition of the lightweight Tartar surface-to-air missile (Garcia-class destroyer escorts equipped with the Tartar were known as Brooke-class vessels). In 1965, construction began on the first of the 4,200-ton Knox-class destroyer escorts. The 41 ships of the Knox class, which enjoyed periodic sonar upgrades as well as the eventual introduction of the Sea Sparrow and Phalanx weapons systems—both of which protect ships against incoming missiles—remained stalwart escort and antisubmarine vessels until the 1990s.

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