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USS Robert G. Bradley

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USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG-49) c. 1980s
History
United States
NamesakeLieutenant Robert G. Bradley
Awarded28 April 1980
BuilderBath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down28 December 1982
Launched13 August 1983
Sponsored byMrs. Edna D. Woodruff
Commissioned30 June 1984
Decommissioned28 March 2014
HomeportMayport, Florida
Identification
StatusDecommissioned (will be transferred to Royal Bahrain Naval Force)
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeOliver Hazard Perry-class frigate
Displacement4,100 long tons (4,200 t), full load
Length453 feet (138 m), overall
Beam45 feet (14 m)
Draught22 feet (6.7 m)
Propulsion
Speedover 29 knots (54 km/h)
Range5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h)
Complement15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus SH-60 LAMPS detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys		AN/SLQ-32
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × SH-60 LAMPS III helicopters

USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG-49) is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, a decommissioned ship of the United States Navy named for Lieutenant Robert G. Bradley (1921–1944), who was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism on USS Princeton during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Robert G. Bradley entered service on 30 June 1984. The ship was homeported in Mayport, Florida. She was decommissioned in Mayport on 28 March 2014. She is planned to enter service with the Royal Bahrain Naval Force as RBNS Khalid bin Ali (91).[1]

Namesake

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Robert G. Bradley

Robert Graham Bradley was born in Washington, D.C., on 26 September 1921. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on 9 June 1939, and graduated on 19 June 1942. He completed instruction at the Atlantic Subordinate Command, Service Force, Norfolk, Va. (3 July – 27 October 1942), and on 29 October reported to New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, for the fitting out of light aircraft carrier USS Princeton (CVL-23). He served as a member of the ship's company when Princeton was commissioned on 25 February 1943, and while on board received promotions to lieutenant, junior grade and lieutenant (1 May 1943 and 1 July 1944, respectively), as she took part in operations ranging from the occupation of Baker Island (September 1943) to the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 1944).[2]

On 24 October 1944 while Princeton steamed with Task Group 38.3 (part of Task Force 38) in Leyte Gulf off the east coast of Luzon, Philippines, a Japanese plane, tentatively identified as a Yokosuka D4Y1 Type 2 [Judy], attacked the ship. Its bomb penetrated the flight, hangar, and main decks and exploded, igniting an inferno that swept across the hangar deck. Explosions rocked the carrier, but Bradley, the ship's assistant first lieutenant, led a repair party and battled the blaze on the second and third decks. The intense heat compelled Bradley and his men to abandon their efforts, and after verifying that no wounded men remained behind, he entered the water at 10:05, rescued soon thereafter by Morrison. Their success in fighting the fire led many of the men to believe that if they could clear the smoke from Princeton's largely undamaged machinery spaces, they could raise steam and save the ship.[2] At 13:00 Bradley returned to Princeton from Morrison — which lay alongside Princeton's starboard quarter to play her hoses onto the flames and became temporarily wedged between two of the carrier's overhanging stacks. A submarine and air alert sounded 30 minutes later and Birmingham and Morrison, the two closest ships, pulled away from Princeton to take their antisubmarine stations. The determined firefighting efforts had nearly controlled the fire, but it raged again during the ensuing lull. Following the alert, Birmingham and Morrison closed and attempted to secure a line to Princeton. At 15:15 the cruiser succeeded on its third try, but at 15:23 the flames touched off four hundred 100-pound bombs stowed aft in the torpedo magazine. The resulting explosion blew off the upper part of the carrier's stern, killing Bradley and every man in the vicinity.[2]

Bradley had repeatedly risked his life, entering the most dangerous areas below deck to ascertain the extent of the damage and to fight the fires blazing on board. For his "outstanding fortitude, great personal valor, and self-sacrificing devotion to the completion of an extremely perilous task," as well as his "extraordinary heroism," Bradley received the Navy Cross posthumously.[2][3] Bradley's name appears on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.[4]

Service history

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Robert G. Bradley was laid down on 28 December 1982 at Bath, Maine, by Bath Iron Works Corp. and launched on 13 August 1983; sponsored by Mrs. Edna D. Woodruff, Bradley's mother; and commissioned on 30 June 1984.[2]

Robert G. Bradley deployed to the Mediterranean (18 August 1986 – 7 March 1987; 4 November 1994 – 15 April 1995; and 28 June–21 December 1996); the Mediterranean and North Atlantic (5 January–2 July 1998); and the Middle East Force (Horn of Africa, Persian Gulf, 28 April–28 October 1988). In addition, she made multiple law enforcement and counter-narcotics deployments to the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and carried out a number of specialized operations in North American, Latin American, and European waters. The ship also took part in Operation Support Democracy: a UN attempt to restore order in Haiti (September–October 1993). Robert G. Bradley operated off Haiti's northern coast, tracking an average of more than 150 ships per day. During the ship's deployments, she normally embarked one or two Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawks of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadrons (Light) (HSL) 42, 46, or 48.

Robert G. Bradley intercepted fishing vessel Recuerdo, smuggling 9.2 short tons (8.3 t) of cocaine, in the eastern Pacific (3 August 2001). She subsequently turned over the suspects and their illicit cargo to U.S. and Panamanian law enforcement authorities. Robert G. Bradley then intercepted a go fast carrying 1.2 short tons (1.1 t) of cocaine (3 September). The ship sank the go fast, and turned over the narcotics and the four smugglers to coastal patrol ship Hurricane (PC-3), which transferred them to U.S. law enforcement authorities. In company with destroyer David R. Ray, Robert G. Bradley monitored and boarded fishing vessel Lilliana 1, took the boat under tow when she developed engine trouble, and brought her 13 crewmembers ashore (24 September–5 October).

Robert G. Bradley's (2 June–2 September 2003) counter-narcotics deployment to the Caribbean and eastern Pacific proved especially eventful. The ship operated as the on-scene commander for the search and rescue of fishing vessel Fufu Chen and her nine crewmembers off the Costa Rican coast (17–19 July). Fishing boat Costa del Sol transferred three survivors for treatment to Robert G. Bradley, and fishing vessel Arelis transferred a fourth person. The ship then shifted the survivors to the Costa Rican Coast Guard. Guided missile frigate Rentz transferred 19 narcotics smugglers she had apprehended to Robert G. Bradley in Panamanian waters, which then turned them over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (8–13 August).

The ship next intercepted and boarded fishing vessel Llanero, which flew the Nicaraguan flag without proper documentation (26–27 August). Her boarding team discovered 1.85 short tons (1.68 t) of cocaine hidden in the hold, and apprehended eight smugglers. The inspectors determined that Llanero was unfit for the sea and sank her with GAU-16 fire from Cutlass 472, her embarked Seahawk, and 76 and 25 millimeter gunfire, 40 millimeter grenades, and .50 caliber fire from the ship (6°29′4″N 83°12′6″W / 6.48444°N 83.20167°W / 6.48444; -83.20167). Robert G. Bradley and a U.S. Coast Guard Lockheed HC-130H "Hercules" chased a go fast that escaped into Colombian waters and beached herself on the Island de Providencia (30 August). The smugglers fled, but Colombian Coast Guardsmen recovered 1.3 short tons (1.2 t) of cocaine.

Robert G. Bradley is set to be transferred to the Bahrain Navy in 2019 for US$150m including refurbishment, spares, support and training.[5][6][7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Bahraini frigate modernisation plan revealed". Janes.com. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "USS Robert G. Bradley". Public Domain US Navy Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Robert Graham Bradley". Military Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Robert G. Bradley". American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  5. ^ "CBO: Navy frigate sale to Bahrain has $80M price tag". Inside Defense. 13 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Bahrain – Refurbishment of the Oliver Hazard Perry Class Ship, Ex ROBERT G. BRADLEY (FFG 49)". Defense Security Cooperation Agency. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Bahrain approved for $150M refurbishment of U.S. Navy frigate". United Press International. 23 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Bahrain investing $150m to buy, refurbish its second Oliver Hazard Perry frigate". NAVALTODAY. 24 October 2019.
  9. ^ "The U.S. has approved the refurbishment of frigate sold to Bahrain". NAVAL NEWS. 24 October 2019.

Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. Public Domain This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

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