Aylwin (FF 1081) - Naval Cruise Book

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The USS Aylwin was commissioned as DE-1081 at the Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana on 18 September 1971. Built as an anti-submarine escort, she was originally homeported in Nor- folk, Virginia. In June 1974, AYLWIN departed on her initial deployment to the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. Upon her return to Norfolk, she was awarded her first Battle E for overall outstanding perfor- mance. In October 1975, ALYWIN deployed on her first Mediterra- nean cruise. Upon her return in May 1976, she went into a twelve month overhaul at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, after which, AYLWIN moved to her present homeport of Charleston, South Carolina. She then began a series of inspections, exercises and refresher training to improve combat readiness. Following the training period, AYLWIN joined the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean where the deployment took her to Israel and Egypt. AYLWIN returned to Charleston in October 1978 for upkeep and local operations and was underway ten months later for the Indian Ocean where she was the first USN ship to arrive off the coast of Iran during the U.S. Embassy Hostage crisis in Tehran. Her part in the crisis forced AYLWIN to extend through Christmas and she returned to Charleston on 7 January 1980. In April 1980 AYLWIN entered Brooklyn Naval Shipyard for a twelve month overhaul. The ship received improvements including the SWS 18A Towed Array Sonar. On 8 June 1982, AYLWIN got underway for her fourth deploy- ment to the Mediterranean. She played a major role in the evacua- tion of the PLO forces from Beirut and supported the MULTI- NATIONAL Peacekeeping Force efforts in Lebanon. AYLWIN returned to Charleston on 23 December 1982 and con- ducted inport maintenance until late spring when she deployed to the North Atlantic. AYLWIN RETURNED TO Charleston in July to prepare for an autumn of heavy operational activity The ship deployed for a five week Caribbean cruise as Caribbean Ready Ship, participated in three major exercises, and conducted numer- ous local operations. During that time the ship visited six countries and was awarded her second Battle E for overall outstanding performance. MED CRUISE 84 tasked the AYIN with extensive independent duty. She steamed with a battle group less than three weeks out of seven months, reaffirming the title ROGUE FRIGATE. She is one of the worlds most capable anti-submarine combatants. L