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USS Knox (FF 1052)

USS KNOX was the lead ship of the KNOX class and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name. Built and commissioned as a destroyer escort, USS KNOX was redesignated a frigate on June 30, 1975. The ship was decommissioned on February 14, 1992, and was stricken from the Navy List on January 11, 1995. KNOX spent the following years laid-up at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF), Bremerton, Wash. Later, the KNOX was moved to Suisun Bay. From there, she was towed to Guam in 2007 where the KNOX was finally sunk as a target during exercise Valiant Shield 2007 on August 7, 2007. The USS KNOX was last homeported in Long Beach, Ca.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS KNOX. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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Accidents aboard USS KNOX:

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About the Ship's Name:

Dudley Wright Knox, born 21 June 1877 in Fort Walla Walla, Wash., graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy 5 June 1896. During the Spanish-American War he served on board screw steamer MAPLE, a tender, in Cuban waters. He commanded gunboats ALBANY and IRIS during the Philippine Insurrection and the latter during the Chinese Boxer Rebellion. He then commanded three of the Navy’s first destroyers: SHUBRICK (Torpedo Boat No. 31), WILKES (Torpedo Boat No. 35) and DECATUR (DD 5) before commanding the First Torpedo Flotilla. During the cruise of the "Great White Fleet", sent around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt, he was ordnance officer of battleship NEBRASKA (BB 14). In the years before World War I, he was Fleet Ordnance Officer in both Atlantic and Pacific, served the Office of Naval Intelligence, and commanded the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. In November 1917, he joined the staff of Admiral Sims, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters, and earned the Navy Cross for "distinguished service" serving as Aide in the Planning Section, and later in the Historical Section. He was promoted to Captain 1 February 1918.

After returning to the United States in March 1919 for a year on the faculty of the Naval War College, he successively commanded armored cruiser BROOKLYN (ACR 3) and protected cruiser CHARLESTON (C 22) before resuming duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

Transferred to the Retired List of the Navy 20 October 1921, he continued active duty simultaneously serving as Officer in Charge, Office of Naval Records and Library, and as Curator for the Navy Department. Early in World War II, he was assigned important, additional duty as Deputy Director of Naval History. For a quarter of a century his leadership inspired diligence, efficiency, and initiative while he guided, improved, and expanded the Navy's archival and historical operations. During his tenure he contributed a written legacy that honored both the Nation and the Navy.

A master of content and style, his clear writings include "The Eclipse of American Sea Power" (1922) ; "The Naval Genius of George Washington" (1932) ; and "A History of the United States Navy" (1936), the latter recognized as "the best one-volume history of the United States Navy in existence." Advanced to Commodore 2 November 1945, he was awarded the Legion of Merit for "exceptionally meritorious conduct" while directing the correlation and preservation of accurate records of the U.S. naval operations in World War II, thus protecting this vital information for posterity.

Commodore Knox was relieved of all active duty 26 June 1946. He died 11 June 1960.

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USS KNOX History:

The contract for USS KNOX was awarded to Todd Shipyards Corporation on July 22, 1964. Her keel was laid at the company's Seattle, Washington, yard on October 5, 1965. She was launched on November 19, 1966, sponsored by Mrs. Peter A. Sturtevant, a granddaughter of Commodore Knox, and was subsequently completed as the first ship of what became a large class of specialized anti-submarine escorts. KNOX was commissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, on April 12, 1969, with Commander William A. Lamm in command. She was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 11 and Destroyer Division 112, with Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as her initial homeport.

Following commissioning, KNOX spent much of the remainder of 1969 completing fitting-out, trials, shakedown and fleet qualification. As the lead ship of a new class, her early operations also provided the Navy with practical experience in the performance and support requirements of the design. Her movements during this period included a visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she was photographed on July 12, 1969. Subsequent training centered largely on Hawaiian operating areas and involved engineering, weapons, navigation and anti-submarine qualifications in preparation for sustained deployment.

Commander Estel W. Hays relieved Commander Lamm on June 27, 1970. Later in 1970, KNOX undertook the first Western Pacific deployment by a ship of her class. The cruise placed the new destroyer escort within Seventh Fleet operations during the Vietnam War and tested the class under sustained operational conditions far from its homeport. By November 16, 1970, KNOX was at Subic Bay in the Philippines. On that date, she departed with USS HANCOCK (CVA 19) and USS PERKINS (DD 877) as part of Task Group 77.4. The group subsequently operated on Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin from November 16 through November 28. HANCOCK conducted carrier air operations associated with continuing United States activities over and around Southeast Asia, while escorts such as KNOX provided anti-submarine screening and protection for the carrier force. The deployment occurred while the United States was reducing its ground presence in South Vietnam under the policy of Vietnamization but continued to maintain substantial naval and aviation forces offshore.

KNOX remained in the western Pacific into early 1971. On March 3, 1971, while returning eastward from the deployment, she suffered a serious fire in her engineering spaces and lost propulsion. USS CHICAGO (CG 11), operating in the same general area, responded to KNOX's distress and assisted the disabled destroyer escort. On March 4, CHICAGO was documented passing a tow to KNOX. The casualty was serious enough to interrupt the ship's return voyage and required outside assistance, but KNOX was subsequently repaired and restored to operational service. The episode became one of several major engineering-space fires aboard modern escorts during the period and reinforced the importance of damage-control training and redundancy aboard ships with single-shaft propulsion plants.

Following repairs and renewed training, KNOX again deployed to the western Pacific during late 1971 and into 1972. Commander Ned Cooper Roberts relieved Commander Hays on November 19, 1971. KNOX again operated in the Vietnam theater. On January 15, 1972, she was photographed operating off Vietnam with USS CONSTELLATION (CVA 64), which was then conducting its October 1971-July 1972 Western Pacific deployment. The strategic situation deteriorated sharply only a few months later when North Vietnam began the Easter Offensive on March 30, 1972. That offensive caused a major expansion of American naval and air activity, including intensified carrier operations, naval gunfire support and the renewed bombing campaign against North Vietnam. KNOX completed her deployment and subsequently returned to the normal Pacific Fleet cycle of maintenance, qualification and anti-submarine training.

The year 1973 brought an important technical assignment associated directly with KNOX's primary anti-submarine mission. The Navy was examining methods of reducing flow noise and improving acoustic transmission through the large sonar domes used by ships equipped with the AN/SQS-26 sonar. Rubber acoustic windows offered potential advantages over traditional steel construction, and in January 1973 the Chief of Naval Operations directed an operational comparison of the two arrangements.

KNOX, equipped with a rubber sonar-dome window, was selected for comparison with USS KIRK (DE 1087), which retained a steel window. USS GUITARRO (SSN 665) served as the submarine target for the evaluation. The principal trials took place north of Hawaii in March 1973, generally along 157 degrees west longitude between approximately 27 and 33 degrees north latitude. Shortly before the comparative trials, inspectors discovered a cut approximately seven inches long in the rubber acoustic window of KNOX's sonar dome. Rather than cancel the test program, technicians carried out an underwater repair using bonding material designed for the purpose. Subsequent acoustic measurements indicated that the repair had restored the window to essentially its previous noise condition.

Fuel limitations initially restricted the speeds at which the two surface ships could be compared. After replenishment, however, the test series included a substantially more demanding evaluation. KNOX operated at approximately 22 knots while KIRK generally operated between about 12 and 15 knots. Despite KNOX's considerably greater speed, the rubber-window installation produced substantially better convergence-zone sonar performance. The effective zone width measured aboard KNOX was roughly four times that recorded aboard KIRK during the particular comparison, and KNOX also obtained a substantially higher proportion of useful echoes relative to transmitted sonar pings. The test results provided important operational evidence supporting wider use of rubber sonar-dome windows. Commander Everett J. Dennis relieved Commander Roberts on May 15, 1973.

KNOX continued Pacific Fleet operations through 1974 and began another Western Pacific deployment on October 1, 1974. She sailed westward in company with USS COCHRANE (DDG 21), USS WHIPPLE (DE 1062) and USS RATHBURNE (DE 1057). The ships made a brief stop at Midway during the transit and passed into Seventh Fleet operational control while proceeding through the Guam area on October 9. The deployment took place during the final months of the wars in Cambodia and South Vietnam. Direct American combat operations against North Vietnam had ended, but the political and military position of the governments in Phnom Penh and Saigon was deteriorating rapidly. By early 1975, the Seventh Fleet was preparing contingency forces for the possible evacuation of American citizens and selected foreign nationals from both capitals.

The first of these major evacuation operations occurred in Cambodia. Khmer Rouge forces had progressively isolated Phnom Penh, and by April 1975 the United States concluded that the remaining embassy personnel and designated evacuees had to be removed before the city fell. Operation Eagle Pull was conducted on April 12, 1975. The amphibious force available for the operation included HANCOCK, USS OKINAWA (LPH 3), USS VANCOUVER (LPD 2) and USS THOMASTON (LSD 28). The supporting surface force included USS EDSON (DD 946), USS HENRY B. WILSON (DDG 7), KNOX, KIRK and USS COOK (DE 1083). Helicopters began launching early on April 12 and evacuated United States embassy personnel together with Cambodians and other foreign nationals from designated landing areas in and around Phnom Penh. The operation was completed shortly after noon, only days before Khmer Rouge forces entered the capital.

KNOX served as part of the surface force supporting Eagle Pull. Her presence provided escort, surveillance and naval gunfire-support capability if the evacuation force required protection. The operation was one of the final major American military actions associated with the Cambodian conflict. The deteriorating situation in South Vietnam produced a second evacuation requirement only a little more than two weeks later. As North Vietnamese forces approached Saigon, United States naval forces concentrated offshore for Operation Frequent Wind, the final evacuation of American personnel and designated Vietnamese from the South Vietnamese capital. Contemporary task-organization records specifically include KNOX among the naval forces assigned to Commander Task Force 77 for the operation, together with ships including USS CORAL SEA (CVA 43), USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN 65) and USS REASONER (DE 1063).

Operation Frequent Wind was conducted on April 29-30, 1975. Helicopters evacuated thousands of people from locations in and around Saigon to American ships offshore. KNOX's documented status was as part of the naval task organization supporting the evacuation. KNOX took part in both major United States evacuation operations marking the final collapse of the allied governments in Cambodia and South Vietnam: Eagle Pull on April 12 and Frequent Wind on April 29-30.

On June 30, 1975, the Navy implemented a broad reclassification of its surface combatants. KNOX was redesignated from destroyer escort DE 1052 to frigate FF 1052. Commander Markham D. Tuft relieved Commander Dennis on July 9, 1975.

During 1976 and the first part of 1977, KNOX continued Pacific Fleet training and overseas operations. The geopolitical setting was shifting away from the Vietnam War and toward broader maritime competition with the Soviet Union. Soviet submarines and surface forces were increasingly active throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while the United States was placing greater emphasis on sustained naval presence in East Asia, the Indian Ocean and waters near the Persian Gulf. A major organizational change occurred in August 1977 when KNOX changed homeport from Pearl Harbor to Yokosuka, Japan, and joined Destroyer Squadron 15. Commander William A. Hartman had assumed command on July 15. The move made KNOX part of the permanently forward-deployed United States naval force in Japan and substantially reduced the transit time required to respond to contingencies in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Destroyer Squadron 15 was then transitioning from older destroyers to more modern frigates. Other KNOX-class ships associated with the forward-deployed force included USS LOCKWOOD (FF 1064), USS FRANCIS HAMMOND (FF 1067) and KIRK. KNOX was photographed leaving Pearl Harbor in August while proceeding toward her new homeport and was subsequently documented at Yokosuka.

Forward deployment placed KNOX in regular association with the carrier force centered on USS MIDWAY (CV 41), which was also homeported at Yokosuka. Anti-submarine warfare was a particularly important part of the carrier screen because the Soviet Pacific Fleet possessed a large submarine force, including nuclear-powered attack and cruise-missile submarines. KNOX's long-range sonar, later supplemented by her variable-depth sonar and embarked helicopter, allowed her to operate as part of the outer anti-submarine screen around high-value units.

KNOX's forward-deployed schedule also brought frequent multinational exercises and regional port visits. A Hong Kong visit is documented during this period, and the frigate was present at Shimoda, Japan, in 1978. During late 1978, KNOX participated in Exercise Sandgroper off Western Australia. The exercise involved Australian, New Zealand and United States naval forces and provided combined training in maritime operations linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Personnel from HMAS STALWART (D 215) spent several days aboard KNOX as part of an exchange associated with the exercise. Such exchanges allowed allied crews to observe procedures, equipment and watch organization aboard ships of another navy while participating in the same operation.

Commander Dennis R. Conley relieved Commander Hartman on August 10, 1979. Later that year, KNOX became involved in one of the most important United States naval responses of the period. On November 4, Iranian militants seized the United States embassy in Tehran and took American diplomats and other citizens hostage. The hostage crisis caused Washington to maintain powerful carrier forces in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea while diplomatic and military options were considered. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December further increased the strategic importance of the region.

KNOX operated with the MIDWAY task group during the crisis. The MIDWAY group had originally been expected to leave the Indian Ocean in December 1979, but the seizure of the embassy hostages caused its deployment in the region to be extended. KNOX's principal contribution remained anti-submarine escort and surveillance, protecting the carrier and its logistics support in waters where Soviet submarines and surface ships were also operating. The prolonged deployment required repeated underway replenishment, sustained engineering readiness and extensive helicopter and sonar operations.

On January 21, 1980, a relieving force centered on USS NIMITZ (CVN 68), accompanied by USS CALIFORNIA (CGN 36) and USS TEXAS (CGN 39), rendezvoused with the MIDWAY force in the Arabian Sea. After turnover was completed, MIDWAY, PARSONS (DDG 33), USS FANNING (FF 1076) and KNOX began withdrawing from the operating area in early February. They transited the Strait of Malacca on February 9 and 10 and reached Subic Bay on February 13.

KNOX remained permanently assigned to Yokosuka and continued the high operating tempo associated with forward deployment. Commander Charles J. Bustamante relieved Commander Conley on August 15, 1981. On December 9, 1981, KNOX was photographed underway off Luzon in the Philippines, illustrating her continued Seventh Fleet activity far south of her Japanese homeport. On June 10, 1982, KNOX conducted a Sea Sparrow missile-firing exercise in Philippine operating areas. USS REEVES (CG 24) provided telemetry support after completing an ammunition-transfer evolution. The firing demonstrated how the capabilities of the KNOX-class had broadened beyond the ships' original anti-submarine specialization. The increasing threat posed by sea-skimming anti-ship missiles had made short-range point defense an important requirement for escort ships.

Later in 1982, KNOX again operated with allied forces in Australian waters. FRANCIS HAMMOND proceeded toward Exercise Sandgroper '82 in company with KNOX, USS DAVIDSON (FF 1045) and STEIN (FF 1065). From November 15 through November 24, KNOX participated in combined exercises involving Australian and New Zealand ships including STALWART, HMAS PERTH (D 38), HMAS SWAN (DE 50), HMAS YARRA (DE 45) and HMNZS OTAGO (F 111). The exercise emphasized allied maritime cooperation, anti-submarine warfare and protection of sea routes linking the western Pacific with Australia and the Indian Ocean.

Commander Kenneth R. McGruther assumed command on November 24, 1983. During 1983 and 1984 KNOX continued forward-deployed operations from Yokosuka, participating in carrier-screening, anti-submarine training and regional-presence missions. KNOX maintained an active aviation program during this period. Her operation of the SH-2 Seasprite resulted in the ship receiving the Navy-wide Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System helicopter ship safety award for 1984. The award was formally presented during the following year and reflected the importance of safe helicopter operations to the ship's anti-submarine mission.

KNOX began the year 1985 at Yokosuka and remained in upkeep through January 6. On January 7 she entered a Selected Restricted Availability at the United States Naval Ship Repair Facility in Yokosuka. The availability continued through March 8 and involved repair and maintenance intended to prepare the frigate for a demanding deployment schedule. KNOX remained in port from March 9 through March 17, with a combat-systems material review conducted from March 11 through March 15. KNOX returned to sea on March 18 for Battle Group Alfa workups and group-sail training. Fleet Training Group Western Pacific personnel embarked during part of the workup as the frigate conducted exercises while proceeding toward Hong Kong. She arrived there on March 24 and remained until March 27.

Departing Hong Kong on March 28, KNOX proceeded toward the Philippines and reached Subic Bay at the end of the month. From March 31 through April 8 she was dry-docked at the Naval Ship Repair Facility for work that included repairs to the ship's cathodic-protection system. KNOX departed Subic Bay on April 9 and returned toward Japan, reaching Yokosuka on April 14. After two days in port she got underway on April 16 for an Underway Material Inspection. She operated in the Philippine Sea on April 17 and 18. Heavy weather during this period damaged the rubber acoustic window of her sonar dome, a serious issue for a ship whose principal mission depended on effective sonar performance. KNOX returned to Yokosuka and entered another repair and dock period from April 21 through May 14. The work included repair of the damaged sonar-dome window.

KNOX returned to sea on May 15 for sea trials and subsequent operations in the Philippine Sea. This period continued through June 2. She then remained at Yokosuka from June 3 through June 9 for final preparations before deployment. On June 10, KNOX departed Japan and headed south. She reached Subic Bay on June 19 and remained there through June 23 for upkeep. On June 24, she got underway as part of Battle Group Alfa, centered on MIDWAY. The group trained in Philippine operating areas on June 24 and 25 and then proceeded west toward the Strait of Malacca. On June 28, KNOX participated in a passing exercise with elements of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The frigate entered the Strait of Malacca on June 29 and completed the transit on June 30, passing from Southeast Asian waters into the Indian Ocean.

Battle Group Alfa then moved toward the northern Arabian Sea. The deployment took place against the background of the continuing Iran-Iraq War, the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan and persistent concern over the security of the Persian Gulf oil routes. The United States had not yet begun the reflagged Kuwaiti tanker escorts later known as Operation Earnest Will, but maintaining carrier forces in the Arabian Sea had become a regular part of American naval strategy.

The MIDWAY group reached the northern Arabian Sea in early July and began turnover operations with the outgoing carrier force centered on CONSTELLATION. KNOX spent much of this phase performing escort, anti-submarine and surface-warfare duties within the carrier group. Commander Destroyer Squadron 15 visited the frigate between July 15 and July 17 and formally presented the Navy-wide helicopter ship safety award KNOX had earned for her 1984 aviation record. On July 16 KNOX also participated in a passing exercise with a French naval vessel.

On July 17, KNOX anchored at Ras Al Hadd, Oman. Approximately 168 members of her crew attended a concert aboard KANSAS CITY (AOR 3), which was supporting the deployed force. KNOX subsequently headed for Diego Garcia. She crossed the equator on July 22, and the traditional line-crossing ceremony initiated 127 previously uninitiated crew members as Shellbacks. KNOX reached Diego Garcia on July 23 and remained there through July 28 for maintenance and availability alongside USS SIERRA (AD 18). Diego Garcia had by then become one of the principal United States support facilities in the Indian Ocean, allowing deployed forces to obtain maintenance and logistics assistance without returning to the western Pacific.

KNOX departed Diego Garcia on July 29 and resumed Indian Ocean and northern Arabian Sea operations. On August 4, she anchored near Al Masirah, Oman. Another anchorage occurred at Ras Al Hadd on August 8, followed by a further stop near Al Masirah on August 11. These anchorages supported prolonged operations at sea rather than conventional liberty visits. From August 17 through August 18, KNOX participated in an anti-submarine warfare exercise. From August 28 through August 29, she took part in a convoy exercise designed to test protection of merchant or logistics vessels against simulated threats. Between August 29 and August 31, the frigate conducted a concentrated weapons-training period in waters near Diego Garcia.

Another exercise was held on September 3 as preparations began to turn the operating area over to a relieving carrier force. On September 4, KNOX participated in turnover activity with the battle group centered on USS KITTY HAWK (CV 63). After the relief was completed, KNOX began the long passage toward Australia. KNOX and TOWERS (DDG 9) detached from the principal force on September 12 and proceeded to Geraldton, Western Australia. They arrived on September 13. The port call ended approximately 47 consecutive days underway for KNOX since leaving Diego Garcia. She remained in Geraldton through September 18.

KNOX returned to sea on September 19 for Exercise Valiant Usher off Western Australia. The exercise continued through September 23 and included combined amphibious, surface and air-defense training. KNOX provided naval gunfire support between September 20 and September 22. The exercise demonstrated her continued ability to perform traditional surface-fire support missions in addition to her principal anti-submarine duties and reinforced cooperation between American and Australian forces operating near the approaches to the Indian Ocean. Departing the exercise area on September 23, KNOX headed back toward the Philippines. She reached Subic Bay on October 2 and remained through October 6 for upkeep. During the port period the crew completed an aviation-readiness examination, and shipboard medical personnel participated in a community-assistance activity.

On October 7, KNOX got underway for naval gunfire-support qualification at the Tabones range. The firing continued into October 8, and the ship achieved a 100-percent score during the exercise. She then proceeded into the Philippine Sea. From October 10 through October 14, KNOX participated in Annual Exercise 60G with units of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Such bilateral exercises were intended to improve interoperability between American and Japanese naval forces, particularly in anti-submarine warfare and defense of the sea lanes around Japan. KNOX returned to Yokosuka on October 20 and remained there through November 3. A supply-management inspection was conducted between October 29 and October 31. On November 3 the frigate conducted a dependents cruise in Tokyo Bay before returning to operational duties.

KNOX departed Japan on November 4 and proceeded toward South Korea, reaching Chinhae on November 6. She remained there through November 12. During the visit the ship underwent unannounced technical and weapons-related inspections. On November 12, members of the crew had an opportunity to visit the Korean Demilitarized Zone, reflecting the continuing military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula more than three decades after the 1953 armistice.

KNOX departed Chinhae on November 13 and began another extended operating period covering the East China Sea, South China Sea and Philippine Sea. On November 20 and 21, she assisted in search-and-rescue activity following a man-overboard incident involving MIDWAY. From November 21 through November 25, she participated in Multiplex 86-1, which emphasized coordinated anti-submarine operations. KNOX arrived at Hong Kong on November 27 and remained there through December 1. She departed on December 2 for further operations in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea. From December 5 through December 11, she participated in Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise 86-1J with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. The training also included Harpoon and surface-action-group exercises, combining KNOX's traditional submarine-hunting role with the increasingly important long-range surface-warfare mission.

On December 12 and 13, KNOX conducted torpedo exercises in northern Japanese waters with TOWERS, COCHRANE and OLDENDORF (DD 972). She returned to Yokosuka on December 13 and remained there for leave and upkeep through the end of the year.

KNOX continued forward-deployed operations during 1986. During the summer, she operated with FRANCIS HAMMOND and TOWERS in Japanese waters and participated in combined anti-submarine training with Japanese forces, including JDS MAKIGUMO (DDK 114) and JDS YAMAGUMO (DDK 113).

From August 24 through August 28, 1986, KNOX operated in the South China Sea with TOWERS, FRANCIS HAMMOND, NAVASOTA (T-AO 106) and Royal Australian Navy ships including HMAS HOBART (D 39), HMAS DERWENT (DE 49) and HMAS PARRAMATTA (DE 46). The exercises reflected the continuing emphasis on multinational anti-submarine warfare and allied maritime cooperation during a period when Soviet naval forces remained highly active in the western Pacific.

Commander James L. Hornback assumed command on November 24, 1986. KNOX remained heavily employed during 1987 as the Iran-Iraq War and the associated Tanker War intensified around the Persian Gulf. Attacks on merchant shipping led the United States to begin Operation Earnest Will in July, escorting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers through the Gulf. KNOX's documented operations were principally with carrier and surface forces in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea rather than with the individual Earnest Will convoys.

On October 1, 1987, KNOX was photographed in an Indian Ocean formation with KIRK, FRANCIS HAMMOND, LOCKWOOD and TOWERS. By December, KNOX was operating within a large American carrier and surface force in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. On December 1, ships operating within the broader formation included USS IOWA (BB 61), MIDWAY, USS HORNE (CG 30), USS TICONDEROGA (CG 47), TOWERS, KNOX, FRANCIS HAMMOND, USS DEYO (DD 989), OLDENDORF, USS CIMARRON (AO 177), MISPILLION (T-AO 105), USS WHITE PLAINS (AFS 4) and KILAUEA (AE 26). The force combined a forward-deployed carrier group, a modernized battleship, cruisers, destroyers, frigates and logistics ships at a time when the United States was maintaining a major naval presence near the Middle East.

On December 21, KNOX participated in a surface gunnery exercise with IOWA, TICONDEROGA, USS STERETT (CG 31) and HORNE. The training supplemented her normal anti-submarine responsibilities with coordinated surface-warfare operations involving some of the most heavily armed ships then in the fleet.

Commander Gregory L. Maxwell relieved Commander Hornback on May 12, 1988. During July, KNOX's long period as a permanently forward-deployed Yokosuka ship came to an end. Her homeport was shifted to Long Beach, California, and she was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9. USS CURTS (FFG 38) and USS RODNEY M. DAVIS (FFG 60) were among the newer frigates entering the forward-deployed structure as older KNOX-class ships such as KNOX and LOCKWOOD returned to the United States.

Almost immediately after her homeport change, KNOX entered another major maintenance cycle. On July 15, 1988, the Navy awarded Southwest Marine's San Pedro Division at Terminal Island a contract valued at approximately $8.09 million for a regular overhaul. The work was scheduled for completion in February 1989. The availability was intended to restore machinery, hull and combat-system readiness as KNOX approached her twentieth year of commissioned service.

Following the overhaul period and return to operational status, KNOX participated in Pacific Exercise 89 from September 5 through October 19, 1989. The exercise was one of the largest Pacific Fleet training events of the closing years of the Cold War. KNOX served in Battle Group Delta, centered on CONSTELLATION. Pacific Exercise 89 extended across broad areas of the northern Pacific and tested carrier aviation, anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and logistics on a large scale. Although relations between the United States and Soviet Union were improving under Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Pacific Fleet continued to maintain substantial submarine, surface and naval-aviation forces. KNOX was therefore still performing essentially the same anti-submarine screening mission for which she had been designed more than two decades earlier, although she was now operating within a far more sophisticated carrier battle group.

KNOX undertook another extended Western Pacific deployment in 1990 with Battle Group Charlie, centered on USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70). CARL VINSON departed Alameda on February 1, with Destroyer Squadron 9 serving as the battle group's anti-submarine warfare command element. The battle group conducted initial exercises off California and then proceeded west through Hawaiian waters. It entered Seventh Fleet control in late February and participated in Exercise Team Spirit 90 in waters around Korea and Japan. Team Spirit was the long-established annual United States-South Korean exercise designed to test reinforcement, command coordination and combined military operations on and around the Korean Peninsula. Naval forces had to operate in constrained regional waters while maintaining air, surface and anti-submarine defenses.

During March, the CARL VINSON group operated in Japanese and Korean waters and also conducted combined operations involving the MIDWAY battle group. KNOX again served within the anti-submarine screen of a carrier force at a time when the Soviet Pacific Fleet still possessed significant submarine capabilities despite rapid political changes in relations between Washington and Moscow. The deployment subsequently extended through Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean operating areas. The carrier-group itinerary included operations and visits involving Singapore, Diego Garcia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan.

During the return phase in June, the group operated with Australian forces after a port period at Fremantle and conducted a passing exercise with Royal Australian Navy units. The ships subsequently transited Indonesian waters through the Lombok Strait and Sibutu Passage. During this part of the deployment, the Destroyer Squadron 9 change of command was conducted aboard KNOX. The force also conducted Harpoon-related surface-warfare training during the Southeast Asian portion of the return transit. The battle group subsequently entered Subic Bay for upkeep and later visited Hong Kong before leaving Seventh Fleet control in July. After crossing the Pacific and stopping at Pearl Harbor, the carrier group returned to the United States at the end of July.

KNOX's return preceded the next major Middle Eastern crisis. Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, only days after the CARL VINSON deployment ended. Commander Robert P. Farrington relieved Commander Maxwell on October 5, 1990. KNOX remained based at Long Beach and continued training and readiness operations. Late in 1990 and into the following period, her repaired rubber sonar-dome window remained subject to radiographic inspection and technical monitoring. The engineering recommendation was to continue monitoring the repair rather than treating the dome as requiring immediate replacement.

During 1991, KNOX continued service with Destroyer Squadron 9 while the strategic environment changed with extraordinary speed. The Warsaw Pact dissolved, Soviet military activity declined sharply and the Soviet Union itself ceased to exist in December. The end of the Cold War substantially reduced the requirement for the large fleet of specialized anti-submarine escorts that had been built to counter Soviet submarines. Older steam-powered ships such as the KNOX-class frigates were consequently among the units selected for accelerated retirement.

USS KNOX was decommissioned at Naval Station Long Beach on February 14, 1992, after approximately 22 years and ten months of commissioned service. She was placed in inactive status and subsequently entered the Navy's reserve-fleet system. The former frigate remained in United States ownership rather than entering service with another navy. KNOX was formally struck from the Naval Vessel Register on January 11, 1995. She remained in inactive custody for many years after being stricken. Photographic and reserve-fleet records document her at inactive-ship facilities, and she was later held in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in California. The former frigate was ultimately selected for use as a target. In 2007, she was removed from reserve-fleet custody and prepared for a fleet live-fire exercise in the western Pacific. On August 7, 2007, ex-KNOX was sunk during Exercise Valiant Shield in waters off Guam. She went down in approximately 6,700 feet of water. Her sinking ended the physical existence of the lead ship of the KNOX-class more than 41 years after her keel had been laid and more than 38 years after she had entered commissioned service.

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