USS Reasoner

	USS Reasoner (FF-1063)
History
United States
Name	Reasoner
Namesake	Frank S. Reasoner
Ordered	22 July 1964
Builder	Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington
Laid down	6 January 1969
Launched	1 August 1970
Acquired	22 June 1971
Commissioned	31 July 1971
Decommissioned	28 August 1993
Identification	FF-1063
Motto	Fidelity
Fate	Sold to Turkey, 22 February 2002
Turkey
Name	Kocatepe
Acquired	22 February 2002
Fate	Sunk as target, 4 May 2005
General characteristics
Class and type	Knox-class frigate
Displacement	3,011 tons (3,877 full load)
Length	438 ft (134 m)
Beam	46 ft 9 in (14.25 m)
Draft	24 ft 9 in (7.54 m)
Propulsion	2 - 1200 psi boilers; 1 geared turbine, 1 shaft; 35,000 shp (26,000 kW)
Speed	over 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement	18 officers, 267 enlisted
Sensors and ; processing systems	AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar; AN/SPS-67 Surface Search Radar; AN/SQS-26 Sonar; AN/SQR-18 Towed array sonar system; Mk68 Gun Fire Control System;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Electronics Warfare System
Armament	one Mk-16 8 cell missile launcher for RUR-5 ASROC and Harpoon missiles; one Mk-42 5-inch/54 caliber gun; Mark 46 torpedoes from four single tube launchers; one Mk-25 BPDMS launcher for Sea Sparrow missiles (later replaced with Phalanx CIWS);
Aircraft carried	one SH-2 Seasprite (LAMPS I) helicopter

USS Reasoner (FF-1063) was a Knox-class frigate of the United States Navy, named in honor of 1st Lt. Frank S. Reasoner, awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in the Vietnam War.

Construction

Reasoner was laid down 6 January 1969, by Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington, and launched 1 August 1970, cosponsored by Mrs. James C. Curry and Mrs. Robert Svingen. Reasoner was commissioned 31 July 1971, Cmdr. Francisco Velazquez-Suarez, USN, commanding. Her hull number, originally DE-1063, was changed in 1975.

Class design and description

The Knox-class design was derived from the Brooke-class frigate, modified to extend range and without a long-range missile system. The ships had an overall length of 438 feet (133.5 m), a beam of 47 feet (14.3 m) and a draft of 25 feet (7.6 m). They displaced 4,066 long tons (4,131 t) at full load. Their crew consisted of 13 officers and 211 enlisted men.^[1]

The warships were equipped with one Westinghouse geared steam turbine that drove the single propeller shaft. The turbine was designed to produce 35,000 shaft horsepower (26,000 kW), using steam provided by two C-E boilers, to reach the designed speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The Knox class had a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).^[2]

The Knox-class ships were armed with a 5"/54 caliber Mark 42 gun forward and a single 3-inch/50-caliber gun aft. They mounted an eight-round RUR-5 ASROC launcher between the 5-inch (127 mm) gun and the bridge. Close-range anti-submarine defense was provided by two twin 12.75-inch (324 mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes. The ships were equipped with a torpedo-carrying DASH drone helicopter; its telescoping hangar and landing pad were positioned amidships aft of the mack. Beginning in the 1970s, the DASH was replaced by a SH-2 Seasprite LAMPS I helicopter and the hangar and landing deck were accordingly enlarged. Most ships also had the 3-inch (76 mm) gun replaced by an eight-cell BPDMS missile launcher in the early 1970s.^[3]

Service history

Reasoner first deployed with HSL 31 "Lamps" SH2D in 1973 to Southeast Asia and took part in Operation End Sweep (the removal of mines in Haiphong Harbor). Reasoner was decommissioned on 28 August 1993, and subsequently leased to Turkey, where the ship was recommissioned as Kocatepe. On 22 February 2002, she was finally purchased by Turkey. On 4 May 2005, the ship was used as a target and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea.^[4]

In popular culture

Reasoner was featured in 1979 music video for The Village People single "In the Navy".

Awards and decorations

Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
Navy "E" Ribbon (2)
Navy Expeditionary Medal
National Defense Service Medal w/service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/bronze star
Southwest Asia Service Medal w/bronze star
Humanitarian Service Medal w/bronze star
Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

^[5]

Notes

^ Friedman, pp. 357–60, 425
^ Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
^ Friedman, pp. 360–61; Gardiner, Chumley & Budzbon, p. 598
^ "Kocatepe (F-252) (+2005)". Wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 29 May 2022. Kocatepe (F-252) was sunk as a target in the Eastern Mediterranean on the 4th May 2005. Originally built as the USS Reasoner (DE-1063) Knox class destroyer escort but reclassified as a Frigate FF-1063 in June 1975. Sold to Turkey in 1993.
^ "Destroyer Escort Photo Index DE-1063 USS REASONER". Navsource.org.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
Friedman, Norman (1982). U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-733-X.
Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.