N03-070-628 USS ROBERT E. PEARY FF-1073

USS Robert E. Peary (FF-1073) was an American frigate which was laid down in 1970, it was launched in June 1971 and it entered service with the US Navy in 1972. The total length of the ship was 134 meters and a width of 14 meters. Full displacement reached about 4,100 tons, and the maximum speed exceeded 27 knots. The frigate was armed with: one 8-rail ASROC rocket launcher and Harpoon missiles, a single 127 mm Mark 42 cannon, or - later - a 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx set. The ship - after modernization - had a helipad and could operate a single Kaman SH-2 Seasprite machine. USS Robert E. Peary (FF-1073) was one of 46 Knox-class frigates. Frigates of this type were created to supplement and later replace units of the Bronstein and Garcia classes. The new ships were primarily escort units, in which particular emphasis was placed on the activities of the ZOP (anti-submarine warfare), as evidenced by, for example, the equipment of these frigates with large and modern - by the standards of the 1960s and 1970s - AN / SQS sonar- 26. In the years 1972-1976, the Knox frigates underwent modernization, during which they were adapted to homing an on-board helicopter. At the end of the 1970s, frigates of this type were replaced in line with ships of the Olivier H. Perry class. One of the representatives of the Knox class - USS Robert E. Peary (FF-1073), after undergoing sea tests, was commissioned in the Pacific Fleet, in which he served until 1992. After decommissioning in the US Navy, he was handed over to the Taiwanese Navy, where he served until 2015 under the name Chi Yang.