The Brooke class was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 class that is based on the Garcia class

Garcia class frigate

Garcia class frigates were United States Navy warships. These frigates were originally ocean escorts bearing the hull classification DE or DEG until 1975...

, but with the addition of the Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System

Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System

The Tartar Guided Missile Fire Control System is an air defense system developed by the United States Navy to defend warships from air attack. Since its introduction the system has been improved and sold to several United States allies.-Description:...

.

Description

Brooke class ships were nearly identical to the Garcia class, except the second 5"/38 caliber gun was replaced with a Tartar

RIM-24 Tartar

The General Dynamics RIM-24 Tartar was a medium-range naval surface-to-air missile , and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships...

 missile system and electronics. Brooke class ships also had the AN/SPS-52

AN/SPS-52

The AN/SPS-52 is a United States Navy three-dimensional, long range air search radar that is capable of providing contact bearing, range and altitude. It was used on Brooke class frigates, Charles F...

 3D air search radar instead of the two dimension AN/SPS-40

AN/SPS-40

The AN/SPS-40 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar that is capable of providing contact bearing and range. It was used on s, s, s, s, s, s, s and many other ship classes...

 and added the AN/SPG-51

AN/SPG-51

The AN/SPG-51 is a tracking / illumination radar for RIM-66 Standard missiles. It is used for target tracking and Surface-to-air missile guidance on s, s, and s.The French Cassard class frigates also utilise this system.Older variants were used on s....

 for target tracking and missile guidance. The Mk 22, single arm, 16 missile launcher was placed midships.

FFG-1 through FFG-3 had a Westinghouse geared steam turbine while FFG-4 through FFG-6 employed a General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 turbine. All ships had two Foster-Wheeler boilers. FFG-4 through FFG-6 had an angled base of the bridge structure behind the ASROC

ASROC

ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...

 launcher for automatic reloading.

The Brooke class was originally designed to carry the DASH drone, but were later equipped with LAMPS SH-2 Seasprite

SH-2 Seasprite

The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter with anti-submarine, anti-surface threat capability, including over-the-horizon targeting. This aircraft extends and increases shipboard sensor and weapon capabilities against several types of enemy threats, including submarines of all types,...

 after the hangar was enlarged.

Oliver Hazard Perry class

Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate

The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...

 systems were evaluated on including the Otobreda 76 mm

Otobreda 76 mm

The Otobreda 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defence conglomerate Otobreda. It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier...

 gun, the AN/SQS-56 sonar and other systems.

Initially authorized as guided missile destroyer escorts (DEG), FFG-1 through FFG-3 were authorized in FY1962 while FFG-4 through FFG-6 were authorized in FY1963. Plans called for ten more ships to be authorized in FY1964 and possibly three more in later years, but those plans were dropped because of the $11 million higher cost of the DEG over an FF.

Units

Ship Name	Hull No.	Builder	Commission– Decommission	Fate	Link
	FFG-1	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company , was a shipyard in Seattle, Washington on Harbor Island at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Founded in 1898 as the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, the company that built Harbor Island, it was purchased by Lockheed in 1959... , Seattle	1966–1988	Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 03/28/1994	http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG1.htm
	FFG-2	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle	1967–1988	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 06/15/2000	http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG2.htm
	FFG-3	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle	1968–1988	Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, 11/02/1999	http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG3.htm
	FFG-4	Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...	1967–1988	Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 03/28/1994	http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG4.htm
	FFG-5	Bath Iron Works	1967–1988	Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 03/28/1994	http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG5.htm
	FFG-6	Bath Iron Works	1967–1989	Disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration, 03/28/1994	http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/FFG6.htm

External links

• Brooke-class guided missile frigates at Destroyer History Foundation
• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/ffg-1.htm