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USS Carr (FFG 52)

- decommissioned -




USS CARR was the 42nd OLIVER HAZARD PERRY - class frigate and the ninth ship in that class built by Todd in Seattle. USS CARR was the first ship in the Navy named in honor of Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Paul Henry Carr.

General Characteristics:Keel Laid: March 26, 1982
Launched: February 26, 1983
Commissioned: July 27, 1985
Decommissioned: March 13, 2013
Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards Co., Seattle Division, Seattle, Wash.
Propulsion system: two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, two 350 Horsepower Electric Drive Auxiliary Propulsion Units
Propellers: one
Blades on each Propeller: five
Length: 453 feet (138 meters)
Beam: 47 feet (14.32 meters)
Draft: 24,6 feet (7.5 meters)
Displacement: 4,100 tons
Speed: 28+ knots
Aircraft: two SH-60 Sea Hawk (LAMPS 3)
Armament: one Mk 75 76mm/62 caliber rapid firing gun, MK 32 ASW torpedo tubes (two triple mounts), one Phalanx CIWS
Crew: 17 Officers and 198 Enlisted


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Crew List:

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


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USS CARR's Commanding Officers:


PeriodName
July 27, 1985 - September 12, 1987Commander Robert J. Horne, USN
September 12, 1987 - October 6, 1989Commander Wade C. Johnson, USN
October 6, 1989 - September 10, 1991Commander Edward G. Bagley III, USN
September 10, 1991 - May 20, 1993Commander Caradean L. Brown, USN
May 20, 1993 - March 10, 1995Commander Thomas D. Williams IV, USN
March 10, 1995 - July 12, 1996Commander Richard A. Feckler, USN
July 12, 1996 - March 27, 1998Commander Keith L. Wray, USN
March 27, 1998 - November 18, 1999Commander Michael W. Reedy, USN
November 18, 1999 - May 2001Commander Darrel M. Morben, USN
May 2001 - December 2002Commander Brian I. Donegan, USN
December 2002 - June 2004Commander Tony Swain, USN
June 2004 - April 2006Commander Peter Pagano, USN
April 2006 - October 2007Commander George E. Lang, Jr., USN
October 2007 - March 2009Commander Mark V. Metzger, USN
March 2009 - October 2010Commander Eric H. Ver Hage, USN
October 2010 - March 13, 2013Commander Patrick E. Kulakowski, USN


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About the Ship's Coat of Arms:

The Shield:

The wavy, divided shield alludes to the Battle of Leyte Gulf where the newly commissioned destroyer escort SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE 413) and one of her gunner’s mates on his first duty cruise were both to end their short naval careers. The red reversed chevron suggests Paul Henry Carr’s rank as Petty Officer Third Class, and the bombshell refers to his rating and training as a gunner’s mate. The white star symbolizes the Silver Star posthumously awarded to Gunners Mate Carr for his valor as a gun captain while engaged against the enemy.

The Crest:

The gold sea lion grasping an artillery projectile symbolizes the courage, will, and determination demonstrated by Gunners Mate Carr in continuing to fire his gun after his ship was disabled and after sustaining massive personal injuries to which he would shortly succumb.


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History of USS CARR:

The keel of this 4100 ton guided missile frigate was laid on 26 March 1982 at Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation's Seattle Washington Division. CARR was launched on 26 February 1983. Mrs. Goldie Carr Bensilhe, Gunners Mate Third Class Paul Henry Carr's widow, christened the ship.

USS CARR was commissioned on 27 July 1985, and Commander Robert J. Horne, USN, became the first Commanding Officer. After commissioning, a transit to Charleston, and a Post-Shakedown Availability in Maine, CARR began work-ups for her maiden cruise.

Commander Wade C. Johnson, USN, assumed command on 12 September 1987 to become CARR's second Commanding Officer. CARR made her first six month deployment ten days later, escorting tanker convoys and providing sea area defense for the Northern Persian Gulf, returning to Charleston March 1988.

Commander Edward G. Bagley III, USN, assumed command on 06 October 1989 to become CARR's third Commanding Officer. On 30 October 1989 CARR departed Charleston to begin her second Persian Gulf cruise. During her deployment CARR escorted ships through the Persian Gulf and provided area defense. CARR returned from this deployment 30 April 1990.

Commander Caradean L. Brown assumed command of CARR on 10 September 1991, becoming the fourth Commanding Officer. The ship deployed as part of MEF 1-92 on 02 December 1991. CARR conducted four months of intensive Maritime Interdiction Force operations in the Red Sea and two months of Battle Group escort operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship returned from the cruise on 02 June 1992.

Commander Thomas D. Williams IV, USN, became CARR's fifth Commanding Officer on 20 May 1993. On 12 January 1994 CARR deployed to the Red Sea. After three months of Maritime Interception Operations, the ship operated in the Mediterranean for two months of Sixth Fleet battle group operations and exercises. Following CARR’s return to homeport and a brief standdown period, CARR participated in two Caribbean counter-narcotic operations, a fleet exercise, and a period of carrier work-ups with USS AMERICA (CV 66).

Commander Richard A. Feckler, assumed command of CARR on 10 March 1995. For the next eight months CARR was in an Extended Selective Restricted Availability (ESRA) undergoing extensive combat system upgrades at Detyen's Shipyard, Charleston, SC. Major installations included the AN/SQR-19B Tactical Towed Array Sonar System and the Mk 92 Mod 6 Fire Control System. At the end of the availability, CARR satisfactorily completed a CINCLANTFLT Propulsion Examining Board Light Off Examination and on 03 November 1995 left Charleston, SC bound for her new homeport of Norfolk. In early December, CARR began work-ups to prepare for her November 1996 deployment with the THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71) Battle Group. On 08 January 1996 CARR commenced a Combat Systems Ship Qualification Test (CSSQT) to certify her newly installed Mk 92 Mod 6 Fire Control System. This testing ultimately led to two highly successful dual missile firing exercises in the North Puerto Rican Operations area.

In early April 1996, CARR completed a CINCLANTFLT Propulsion Examining Board Operational Propulsion Plant Examination achieving a grade of above average. In early June 1996, CARR completed the basic phase of the interdeployment training cycle and stood ready to join the THEODORE ROOSEVELT Battle Group.

In July 1996, Commander Keith L. Wray assumed command of the USS CARR.

On 25 November 1996 CARR got underway from Norfolk, Va., with the THEODORE ROOSEVELT Battle Group. For the following six months, the frigate operated in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf. USS CARR returned home to Norfolk on 22 May 1997.


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USS CARR Patch Gallery:

MED 1994 - HSL-44 Det. 4SSG 06-1 - HSL-44 Det. 3


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About the Ship’s Name, about Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Paul Henry Carr:

CARR is named in honor of Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Paul Henry Carr, USNR (1924-1944), the heroic gun captain of the after 5-inch mount of the destroyer escort USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (DE 413) during the Battle of Samar, 15 October 1944, awarded a posthumous Silver Star for his conspicuous and gallant display of "outstanding technical skill" and "courageous initiative."

When SAMUEL B. ROBERTS engaged Japanese heavy cruisers attacking a force of escort carriers off Samar during the battle of Leyte Gulf, the fire of her after 5-inch guns inspired "every man on the ship." As the destroyer escort maneuvered radically, and used minimal fire control equipment, Carr's mount fired over 300 rounds of 5-inch ammunition, scoring, at close range, "a great many hits" on one of the enemy heavy cruisers, knocking out an 8-inch turret, demolishing her bridge and starting fires aft.

Ultimately, the damage received from Japanese shells knocked out all power, compressed air, and communications, crippling the ship. Knowing the hazards involved, Carr's close-knit crew loaded, rammed, and fired six charges by hand, without the safety device of a gas ejection system. In attempting to fire a seventh round, however, the powder charge "cooked-off" before the breech was closed, wrecking the gun and killing or wounding all but three men in the gun house.

After the order to abandon ship had been given, a Petty Officer entered the mount, to find Carr, literally torn open from neck to thigh, holding a 54-pound projectile, trying unassisted to load and ram the only shell available. Carr begged the man to help him get off the last round, but the latter, seeing that the gun had been destroyed and its breach rendered an unrecognizable mass of steel, took the projectile from the gunner's hands. After helping one of the other wounded men to the main deck, the Petty Officer returned to find Carr again attempting, although horribly wounded, to place the projectile on the loading tray of the inoperative gun. Carr perished a few minutes later after he was dragged from the mount.


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