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USS Downes (FF 1070)

USS DOWNES was the 19^th KNOX - class frigate and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name. Decommissioned on June 5, 1992, and stricken from the Navy list on January 11, 1995, the DOWNES spent the next years moored at Bremerton, Wash., awaiting a possible transfer to Taiwan. When Taiwan was no longer interested in obtaining the DOWNES, the Navy decided to dispose the DOWNES of as a target. In 2002, the DOWNES was towed to Mare Island in preparation of the SINKEX which was finally conducted on August 15, 2003, at 031° 10' 01.0" North, 119° 48' 03.0" West.

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Crew List:

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

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• Click here to see which USS DOWNES memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS DOWNES Cruise Books:

• WestPac Cruise Book 1984-85

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Accidents aboard USS DOWNES:

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About the Ship's Name:

Commodore John Downes was born in Canton, Massachusetts, in 1786. He entered the United States Navy as an acting midshipman on September 9, 1800, and became a passed midshipman on June 1, 1802. During the First Barbary War, he served aboard USS CONGRESS in the Mediterranean.

During the War of 1812, Downes served as executive officer of USS ESSEX under Captain David Porter. He participated in the ship's commerce-raiding cruise in the Pacific and in her engagement with the British warships HMS PHOEBE and HMS CHERUB at Valparaiso, Chile, on March 28, 1814. He later commanded USS EPERVIER and was subsequently assigned to USS GUERRIERE and USS ONTARIO. Downes was promoted to captain on March 5, 1817. He commanded USS INDEPENDENCE and served as commander of the Pacific Squadron from 1818 to 1821 and of the Mediterranean Squadron from 1828 to 1829. He returned to command the Pacific Squadron in 1831, with USS POTOMAC as his flagship.

On February 6, 1832, Downes directed a naval and landing operation against Quallah Battoo on Sumatra after local forces had attacked the American merchant ship FRIENDSHIP and killed members of its crew. POTOMAC subsequently continued across the Pacific and around Cape Horn, completing a circumnavigation of the world when she returned to Boston on May 23, 1834.

Downes later served as commandant of the Boston Navy Yard from 1835 to 1842 and again from 1849 to 1852. He died at Charlestown, Massachusetts, on August 11, 1854, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. USS DOWNES (FF 1070) was the third United States Navy ship named in his honor.

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USS DOWNES History:

USS DOWNES was ordered on July 22, 1964, as the nineteenth ship of the KNOX-class, a series of destroyer escorts developed primarily for open-ocean antisubmarine warfare and the protection of aircraft carriers, amphibious forces, replenishment groups, and merchant convoys. Her keel was laid down by Todd Pacific Shipyards at Seattle, Washington, on September 5, 1968. She was launched and christened on December 13, 1969, sponsored by Mrs. Philip L. Kelton, a great-granddaughter of Commodore John Downes, for whom the ship was named. DOWNES was the third United States Navy ship to bear his name. She conducted documented builder's trials in Puget Sound on June 1, 1971, and was commissioned at Bremerton, Washington, on August 28, 1971, as USS DOWNES (DE 1070), with Commander Edmund B. Bossart Jr. in command.

Following commissioning, DOWNES completed fitting-out work, acceptance trials, crew training, engineering examinations, and shakedown operations in Pacific coast waters. Her early career differed from that of most KNOX-class ships because she was used extensively in the evaluation of weapons and sensors intended to broaden the capabilities of American surface escorts. Rather than immediately entering the regular cycle of lengthy overseas deployments, she spent much of the first half of the 1970s conducting short periods at sea from West Coast facilities, interspersed with technical modifications, maintenance, missile trials, radar tests, target-tracking exercises, and evaluations involving aircraft, submarines, and other surface ships.

During the mid-1970s, DOWNES became an operational test and evaluation platform for the Harpoon antiship missile, the Sea Sparrow point-defense missile system, and the Mark 23 Target Acquisition System. Lieutenant Commander James B. Perkins III served as her executive officer from October 1975 until January 1977 while this work was in progress. Harpoon was intended to give surface escorts an ability to engage ships beyond visual range, while Sea Sparrow provided short-range protection against aircraft and antiship missiles. The Mark 23 system supported the detection and tracking of low-altitude aerial targets. DOWNES' test schedule required repeated missile exercises, tracking runs, electronic evaluations, engineering trials, and coordination with aircraft and instrumented ranges along the Pacific coast.

On June 30, 1975, DOWNES was redesignated from destroyer escort DE 1070 to frigate FF 1070 as part of a Navy-wide reclassification of surface combatants. After the specialized evaluation program ended, DOWNES entered a more conventional pattern of Pacific Fleet training and deployment preparation. Her activities included antisubmarine exercises, helicopter operations, naval gunfire training, replenishment at sea, air-defense drills, engineering casualty-control exercises, inspections, and work with carrier formations operating from the West Coast.

DOWNES began her first extensively documented major deployment on February 21, 1979, when she departed San Diego as part of Task Group 37.9. The formation centered on the aircraft carrier USS RANGER (CV 61) and included USS ELLIOT (DD 967), flagship of Destroyer Squadron 31, USS BUCHANAN (DDG 14), USS BROOKE (FFG 1), the fast combat-support ship USS CAMDEN (AOE 2), and the ammunition ship USS MAUNA KEA (AE 22). The task group also operated with Canadian naval units during portions of the transpacific passage.

The deployment occurred during a period of growing instability around the Indian Ocean and Arabian Peninsula. The Iranian Revolution was ending the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and transforming a country that had been one of the principal American security partners in the region. Fighting between North and South Yemen had raised concern that a local conflict could widen, while the United States and Soviet Union were both maintaining naval forces near the approaches to the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa, and the major maritime routes carrying oil toward Europe, East Asia, and North America.

The RANGER battle group reached Pearl Harbor on March 2, 1979. The ships departed on March 5 and continued tactical exercises during the westward transit, including operations opposed by the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS LOS ANGELES (SSN 688). On March 16, the formation was overflown by a Soviet TU-95 reconnaissance aircraft, an encounter typical of Cold War deployments in which Soviet aircraft observed American carrier movements and collected electronic and photographic information. The task group arrived at Subic Bay in the Philippines on March 20. DOWNES underwent upkeep, replenishment, and final preparations there before the ships resumed operations.

DOWNES departed Subic Bay at the end of March and by April 1 was operating as part of a formation that included RANGER, ELLIOT, the guided-missile cruiser USS ENGLAND (CG 22), the guided-missile destroyer USS ROBISON (DDG 12), and CAMDEN. Early on April 5, RANGER collided with the Liberian-registered tanker FORTUNE in the Strait of Malacca. The carrier suffered significant damage to her bow and had to return to Subic Bay and subsequently proceed to Yokosuka for repairs. The collision disrupted the original carrier-group schedule, but the accompanying surface combatants continued with revised assignments in the Indian Ocean.

During the same period, DOWNES encountered a small vessel carrying Vietnamese refugees. The movement of people fleeing postwar Vietnam had developed into a major humanitarian crisis in the South China Sea. Many refugees attempted long passages in crowded craft with inadequate food, water, navigation equipment, or seaworthiness. By April 5, DOWNES had taken 29 refugees aboard. She rendezvoused that day with the salvage ship USS BRUNSWICK (ATS 3) and transferred the rescued people to her. BRUNSWICK carried them to Singapore, where they were disembarked on April 7.

DOWNES subsequently operated with American forces proceeding into the Indian Ocean. She was at Diego Garcia from April 12 to 16. The isolated island base provided fuel, supplies, communications, and limited support for ships operating far from established naval facilities in Japan and the Philippines. After leaving Diego Garcia, the American ships rendezvoused with the aircraft carrier USS MIDWAY (CV 41) and continued into the Gulf of Aden as part of a task group whose principal purpose was to maintain a visible American military presence in the region.

The formation included MIDWAY, ENGLAND, ELLIOT, ROBISON, CAMDEN, and DOWNES. Its operations involved air and surface surveillance, antisubmarine screening, communications exercises, replenishment at sea, formation maneuvering, helicopter operations, and observation of foreign naval activity. American ships encountered both French and Soviet units in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters. The Soviet formation operating in the region included the aviation cruiser MINSK and accompanying cruisers, amphibious ships, and auxiliaries. DOWNES operated as part of the American group that observed Soviet movements and maintained readiness while the two naval forces used the same strategically important waters.

DOWNES visited Port Victoria in the Seychelles from May 8 to 12. The call gave the crew a period of liberty and allowed routine maintenance after sustained operations at sea. She then returned to Indian Ocean duties. On the return passage toward Southeast Asia, DOWNES visited Singapore from June 7 to 11. She reached Subic Bay on June 15 and entered an upkeep period lasting approximately two weeks. Maintenance at Subic Bay was particularly important for ships returning from the Indian Ocean, where long distances, high temperatures, and continuous steaming placed substantial demands on propulsion, electrical, sonar, radar, and aviation equipment. DOWNES departed Subic Bay on July 1 for Hong Kong. She arrived in the harbor on July 3, but Typhoon Ellis forced the visiting ships to leave the exposed anchorage on July 4, only about twenty hours after their arrival. DOWNES returned to Subic Bay rather than completing the planned port visit.

On July 10, she departed Philippine waters for exercises near Okinawa. The training program included Missilex 2-79 and Asuwex 2-79, which tested missile employment, antisubmarine weapons, surface warfare procedures, air defense, electronic control of emissions, replenishment formations, and coordination among ships operating as separate surface action groups. The exercises also allowed the participating units to practice opposed transits and operations with ships arriving from Yokosuka.

After returning to Subic Bay, DOWNES began the homeward phase of the deployment on July 28 in company with ELLIOT, BUCHANAN, and CAMDEN. Rather than returning directly across the North Pacific, the ships followed a route through the South Pacific that combined multinational exercises with diplomatic port visits. The first stop was Noumea, New Caledonia, from August 7 to 10. The American ships conducted official calls and public visits while their crews participated in social and sporting events with French personnel stationed there. DOWNES then proceeded to Auckland, New Zealand, where the visiting ships prepared for Exercise Tasmanex 79. The gathering included American, British, Australian, and New Zealand warships and was one of the largest concentrations of naval vessels in New Zealand waters since the Second World War.

Tasmanex began during the second half of August and ended on August 24. The exercise covered antisubmarine warfare, antiaircraft defense, surface engagements, communications, towing, electronic-emissions control, night encounters, and over-the-horizon targeting. Participating ships were divided into opposing forces, allowing them to practice detection, tracking, and coordinated attacks under conditions intended to resemble wartime operations. The exercise also tested the ability of ships from several allied navies to exchange information and operate under common tactical procedures.

DOWNES arrived at Apia in Western Samoa on August 27 for the final foreign port call of the deployment and departed on August 28. The ships transferred from Seventh Fleet to Third Fleet operational control on August 30 while continuing toward Hawaii. They stopped briefly at Pearl Harbor on September 3 to take on supplies and embark relatives and friends participating in the final Tiger Cruise. DOWNES returned to San Diego on September 9, 1979, completing a deployment of more than six months. Following her return, DOWNES entered the usual cycle of post-deployment leave, upkeep, repairs, inspections, and refresher training. She returned to sea for local Pacific Fleet operations and prepared for another deployment to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean.

During 1980, DOWNES again operated with forces assigned to the Indian Ocean. An official Navy formation photograph records her with a battle group centered on MIDWAY. Other ships in the formation included ENGLAND, CAMDEN, ELLIOT, ROBISON, and a Military Sealift Command tanker. The strategic conditions were more serious than those encountered during the 1979 deployment. Iranian militants had seized the United States Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, and continued to hold American diplomats and citizens hostage. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, increasing concern that Moscow might extend its influence toward the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Iraq invaded Iran on September 22, 1980, beginning the Iran-Iraq War and creating a further threat to the stability of the oil-producing region.

DOWNES operated as an escort and antisubmarine warfare ship during this prolonged American naval response. The deployment required sustained operations far from major repair bases and placed considerable stress on the frigate's steam plant. On February 20, 1981, after casualties had disabled both of her boilers, DOWNES was being towed from the vicinity of Diego Garcia toward Subic Bay by the fleet tug USNS NARRAGANSETT (T-ATF 167). The planned passage involved towing the disabled frigate across a substantial part of the Indian Ocean and through Southeast Asian waters.

DOWNES' engineering crew succeeded in returning one boiler to operation on February 22. The ship was then able to continue toward Subic Bay under her own power, while NARRAGANSETT remained in company in case the restored machinery failed. DOWNES underwent repairs after reaching the Philippines. The casualty illustrated a significant limitation of the KNOX-class design: although the ships had two boilers, both supplied a single turbine and propeller shaft, leaving little redundancy when serious propulsion failures occurred.

After completing repairs and returning to the United States, DOWNES resumed Pacific Fleet duties from San Diego. DOWNES was again in the western Pacific during 1983. On June 1, she was documented at Naval Station Subic Bay with the frigate USS BRONSTEIN (FF 1037). The two ships were photographed in port and subsequently departing the base. DOWNES' presence in the Philippines formed part of another Pacific deployment involving antisubmarine warfare, surveillance, training, upkeep at Subic Bay, and operations with Seventh Fleet units. After returning to San Diego, DOWNES underwent maintenance and completed the training program required before her next major deployment. This included engineering examinations, antisubmarine exercises, helicopter landing qualifications, weapons training, replenishments, communications drills, and coordinated operations with carrier-group units.

DOWNES departed San Diego on October 18, 1984, for a western Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment associated with Battle Group Charlie, centered on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70). Following her departure from San Diego, DOWNES remained at sea until she reached Pearl Harbor on November 2. She stayed there through November 6 while the participating ships completed logistical preparations. DOWNES departed Hawaii on November 7 and remained underway until December 5. During this passage she took part in the large Fleetex 85-1 exercise series, which involved several carrier groups operating across the Pacific. The training included coordinated air defense, antisubmarine warfare, surface engagements, electronic warfare, replenishment, communications, and protection of the carriers against simulated multi-directional attacks.

DOWNES arrived at Sasebo, Japan, on December 6 and remained there until December 8. She departed on December 9 and reached Hong Kong on December 11. The ship remained in Hong Kong through December 16, combining crew liberty with routine maintenance and replenishment. She departed on December 17 and arrived at Subic Bay on December 18. DOWNES remained at Subic Bay until January 3, 1985. The extended upkeep allowed work on her propulsion machinery, combat systems, sonar, aviation equipment, and habitability spaces and provided time for operational conferences before the battle group entered the Indian Ocean. DOWNES departed on January 4 and remained underway through January 31.

The frigate reached the anchorage at Al Masirah, Oman, on February 1 and went alongside the repair ship USS VULCAN (AR 5). She remained there through February 4 while VULCAN's technicians assisted with maintenance and repairs that could not easily be completed by the ship's own crew. DOWNES returned to sea on February 5 and operated continuously until February 17. She went alongside VULCAN again at Al Masirah on February 18 and remained there through February 22. DOWNES departed the anchorage on February 23 and returned to Arabian Sea operations. Her duties included carrier screening, submarine searches, air and surface surveillance, helicopter operations, communications, and repeated replenishment at sea. She arrived at Goa, India, on February 28 and remained there through March 3. The visit combined diplomatic contact and crew liberty with routine upkeep after another extended period at sea.

The ship departed Goa on March 4 and remained continuously underway through April 18. This was the longest uninterrupted operational period of the deployment for DOWNES. The frigate maintained her position within the wider carrier-group screen, investigated contacts, coordinated with maritime patrol and carrier aircraft, and conducted replenishments while remaining prepared for submarine, aircraft, or surface threats.

The deployment took place during the Iran-Iraq War, when both countries were attacking military and economic targets and the danger to shipping in and near the Persian Gulf was increasing. American forces in the North Arabian Sea were also monitoring Soviet naval and air activity and maintaining the ability to respond to a regional crisis. DOWNES arrived at Geraldton, Western Australia, on April 19. She remained there through April 26, giving her crew a period of rest and allowing maintenance after more than six weeks at sea. The call also formed part of continuing naval cooperation between the United States and Australia.

She departed Geraldton on April 27 and reached Subic Bay on May 3. DOWNES remained in the Philippines through May 6 for final repairs, replenishment, and preparation for the transpacific voyage. She departed on May 7 and arrived at Pearl Harbor on May 17. After a short stay through May 18, she embarked guests for a Tiger Cruise and departed Hawaii on May 19. DOWNES arrived at San Diego on May 24, 1985, completing a deployment of slightly more than seven months.

Post-deployment leave and maintenance followed. DOWNES then resumed local operations from San Diego, including antisubmarine exercises, engineering drills, gunnery, aviation qualifications, inspections, and work with other Pacific Fleet units. She remained active through 1986. On November 5, 1986, she was photographed leaving San Diego beneath the Coronado Bridge, documenting another underway period in the southern California operating area.

During 1987 and 1988, DOWNES continued alternating maintenance availabilities with Pacific Fleet training. Her principal mission remained antisubmarine warfare, but her crew also maintained proficiency in air defense, surface warfare, electronic surveillance, helicopter operations, replenishment, damage control, navigation, and independent steaming. The improving performance of Soviet submarines continued to influence American naval training, while instability around the Persian Gulf demonstrated the continuing requirement for surface escorts capable of long-distance operations.

On June 19, 1989, DOWNES participated in a seapower demonstration for the Navy League off southern California. During the event, she passed close to the battleship USS MISSOURI (BB 63), allowing invited observers to see different types of Pacific Fleet warships operating together. She was again photographed underway on August 30. Later in 1989, DOWNES operated in the western Pacific and Japanese waters. On October 10, while the frigate was approximately 300 miles southwest of Tokyo in rough seas and poor visibility, Petty Officer Third Class David M. Yanders and Petty Officer Second Class David M. Bowman were swept or fell overboard. Bowman was recovered almost immediately by DOWNES' crew. He suffered minor cuts and bruises and was transferred to the amphibious assault ship USS TARAWA (LHA 1) for medical treatment. Ships and aircraft searched for Yanders for approximately 32 hours despite stormy weather, rough seas, and restricted visibility. The search was ended on October 12, and Yanders was declared missing and presumed lost.

DOWNES remained operational from San Diego during 1990 and 1991 and completed further Pacific cruises, interspersed with maintenance and local training. By this stage, she was approaching two decades of service. The manpower and maintenance demands of her high-pressure steam plant were increasing, while newer ships offered more modern radar, sonar, missile, propulsion, and command systems. Nevertheless, DOWNES continued to conduct the engineering, antisubmarine, aviation, weapons, and readiness training required of an active Pacific Fleet frigate.

The end of the Cold War brought a substantial reduction in the planned size of the United States Navy. KNOX-class frigates were among the ships selected for early retirement because their single-shaft steam plants required relatively large engineering departments and increasing levels of maintenance. Their original emphasis on open-ocean antisubmarine warfare was also less closely aligned with the changing missions of the post-Cold War fleet. DOWNES entered the deactivation process during 1992. Ammunition was removed, inventories were completed, equipment was transferred or preserved, and systems not needed for safe operation were secured. USS DOWNES was decommissioned on June 5, 1992, after almost twenty-one years of commissioned service.

The former frigate was placed in inactive status and moored at Bremerton, Washington. A transfer to Taiwan was considered, but it did not take place. DOWNES was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on January 11, 1995, ending her status as a retained United States naval asset. The hulk remained in Navy custody for several more years. By July 2002, DOWNES had been moved to Mare Island in the San Francisco Bay area for preparation as a target. In August 2003, she was towed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge on her final voyage. The former frigate was sunk on August 15, 2003, during a fleet training exercise off the West Coast.

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USS DOWNES Image Gallery:

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