Ainsworth (FF 1090) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS AINSWORTH FF-1090 USS AINSWORTH is named in honor of Vice Admiral Walden Lee Ainsworth, U.S. Navy, and is the first ship ever to bear the name. Vice Admiral Ainsworth was a distinguished task force commander in the South Pacific Campaign of World War II and was known as a destroyerman ' s destroyerman. AINSWORTH was built by Avondole Shipyards, Inc., of Westwego, Louisiana. She is the thirteenth ship of the JOSEPH HEWES class of frigates. The ship is specially designed for locating enemy submarines but is also capable of performing such other missions as patrol, search and rescue, blockade, surveillance, shore bombardment, anti-surface warfare and anti-air warfare. AINSWORTH is outfitted with the most recent electronic equipment for detecting and or communicating with ships, sub- marines, and aircraft. Main features include the ship ' s two sonar (underwater sound detection) systems. One, mounted in the hull at the bow, is capable of gaining surface or subsurface contacts at extremely long ranges. The other has a variable depth capability and is towed astern. AINSWORTH ' s principal armament is the homing torpedo. Placed in the general vicinity of an enemy submarine, the torpedo will seek-out and destroy its target. The three systems installed in the ship to deliver the torpedo include: torpedo tubes, the ASROC (Antisubmarine Rocket) launcher, and the LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System), a manned heli- copter. Other major armament includes the 5 54 rapid fire gun, having a primary purpose of anti-air and anti-surface warfare. It is also effective for shore bombardment in support of forces from beachheads to several miles inland. In August 1976, AINSWORTH became the first ship to receive installation of a production version of the HARPOON Missile Launch System. The HARPOON anti-ship missile, with beyond-the-horizon ranges in excess of 50 nautical miles, odds significantly to AINSWORTH ' s fighting capability. AINSWORTH is powered by a single five-bladed propeller driven by steam turbines developing 35,000 shaft horsepower. Featuring Automatic Combustion Control of her two boilers, which operate at steam pressures of approximately 1200 pounds per square inch, she is capable of speeds in excess of 27 knots (more than 30 miles per hour). The ship ' s characteristics ore: Length overall - 438 feet; beam (width) - 47 feet; navigational draft (deepest point below woterline) - 26 feet; full load dis- placement - 4,200 tons. AINSWORTH was commissioned 31 March 1973 and is manned by 17 officers and more than 225 enlisted men. The ship has facilities for embarking the Squadron Commander and his staff and a LAMPS helicopter detachment. In addition to oper- ations in the Western Atlantic and the Caribbean, the ship has completed three extended deployments in her brief history. AINSWORTH was a unit of Operation UNITAS XV from July 1974 to December 1974, conducting maneuvers with the forces of seven South American navies while circumnavigating the continent and completing twenty-one port visits. From October 1975 to May 1976, AINSWORTH participated in major fleet exercises in the Mediterranean with the SIXTH Fleet and in Northern European waters with NATO forces and made twenty-one port calls in seven countries. Then from March 1977 to October 1977 AINSWORTH once again participated in major fleet exercises in the Mediterranean and made twelve port calls in six countries. AINSWORTH ' s vital statistics during this deployment were: Total miles steamed underway - 33,367.4 Fuel consumed underway - 2,386,058 gallons Fuel consumed in port - 445,584 gallons Total hours underway - 2,332.8 Total hours in port - 2,496.2 Total fresh water distilled - 1,308,186 gallons Total underway refuelings - 43 Total in port refuelings - 8 Total incoming messages processed - 14,184 Total outgoing messages processed - 3,678

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Commander Robert J. Brenton Commanding Officer USS Ainsworth (FF-1090) Commander Robert J. Brenton is a native of Palisade, Colorado. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Post- gradua ' e School. Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1960, Commander Brenton served successively as the moin propulsion assistant in USS PERKINS (DD-877) and as the engineer officer in USS HALSEY POWELL (DD-686). He then served on the stoff of Commander Destroyer Division 172 as the senior staff officer and division material officer from 1963 to 1965. Completing o post groduate education tour at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Cali- fornia in 1968, Commander Brenton reported for duty to USS SOUTHERLAND (DD-743) as the executive officer. After graduating from the Navol Command and Staff course at the Naval War College he then served from 1971 to 1973 as the commonding officer of USS CALCATERRA (DER-390). Commander Brenton studied German at the Defense Language Institute for one year, and then served on exchange duty with the Federal German Navy Command and Control System Headquarters from 1974 to 1976. Commander Brenton assumed command of USS AINS- WORTH (FF-1090) on 4 October 1976. Commander Brenton ' s decorations include the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal-Korea, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with three stars, and the Vietnam Unit Citation with clasp. He and his wife, the former Bobbie Wade of Hogerstown, Maryland, reside with their daughters Rebecco and Elizabeth, and son Brian in Virginia Beach, Virginia.