Ainsworth (FF 1090) - Naval Cruise Book

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Vice Admiral Pug Ainsworth 1886-1960

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T K- .- jv. I 1 The mission of USS AINSWORTH is to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations at sea, worldwide, in sup- port of national interests. She accomplishes the functions of sea control through her specialized configuration as an anti-subma- rine frigate, mounting a variety of electronic and acoustic sensors and weapons. AINSWORTH was named m honor of Vice Admiral Walden Lee Ainsworth, USN. It is the first ship ever to bear the name. Vice Admiral Ainsworth was a distinguished task force commander in the South Pacific Cam- paign of World War II and was known as a destroyerman ' s destroyerman. AINS- WORTH was built by Avondale Shipyards, Inc., of Westwego, Louisiana. She is the thir- teenth ship of the JOSEPH HEWES class of frigates. AINSWORTH was commissioned 31 March 1973 and is manned by 18 officers and more than 260 enlisted personnel. The ship is also capable of performing such other missions as patrol, search and rescue, block- ade, surveillance, shore bombardment, anti- submarine warfare, and anti-air warfare. AINSWORTH is outfitted with some of the most modern electronic equipment for de- tecting ships, submarines, and aircraft. Main features include the ship ' s three sonar sys- tems. One, mounted in the bow of the ship, is capable of gaining surface or subsurface contacts at extremely long ranges. The other two have variable depth capability and are towed astern. AINSWORTH ' S principal armament is the homing torpedo. Placed in the general vicin- ity of an enemy submarine, the torpedo will seek out and destroy its target. The three systems installed on the ship to deliver the torpedo to the target area include: over-the- side torpedo tubes, the ASROC (Anti-sub- marine rocket) launcher, and the LAMPS (Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System), a manned helicopter. Other major armament includes the 5 ' 754 rapid fire gun, having a primary purpose of anti-air and anti-surface warfare. It is also effective for shore bom- bardment in support of forces on beach- heads to several miles inland. The Harpoon anti-ship missile, with over-the-horizon ranges in excess of 50 nautical miles, adds significantly to AINSWORTH ' S fighting capability. In addition to these systems, AINSWORTH has the most up-to-date point defense system, the MK 15 Close-in Weapons System, designed to shoot down incoming missiles. AINSWORTH is powered by a single, five blade propellor driven by steam turbines de- veloping 35,000 shaft horsepower. Featuring automatic combustion control of her boilers, which operate a steam pressures of approxi- mately 1200 pounds per square inch, she is capable of speeds in excess of 27 knots. The ship is 440 feet long, 47 feet wide, with a Navigational Draft of 27 feet.

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Vice Admiral Walden Lee Ainsworth Walden Lee Ainsworth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 10, 1886. He graduated from the US. Naval Acad- emy in June 1910 and was commissioned Ensign on 7 March 1912. Selected to Flag Rank early in World War II, he was transferred to the Retired List and concurrently promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral on the basis of combat awards in 1948. Although ' much of his time at sea was spent in battleships and cruisers, Vice Admiral Ainsworth ' s first love was destroyers. These he com- manded in various capacities throughout his distinguished career — as ship ' s Captain, Squadron Commander, Flotilla Commander, Task Force Commander, and Type Commander. Aptly described as a des- troyerman ' s destroyerman by Theodore Roscoe in Destroyer Oper- ations in World War II , he was one of the outstandig bombardment task force commanders of the war in the Far East. He was new to the South Pacific, wrote historian Samuel Eliot Morison, but he entered the arena as if he had been fighting ... all his life. His exploits are written in the history of the Solomons, Marianas, Palous, and Leyte Campaigns. For these he was awarded the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, and Legion of Merit, and many of his ships received Navy Unit Commendations and Presidential Unit Creations. From 1945 until 1948 Vice Admiral Ainsworth served concurrently as Commandant Fifth Naval District and Commander Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia. He retired December, 1948 and died August 7, I960. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.