Thomas C Hart (FF 1092) - Naval Cruise Book

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g' 7,gj Lx!! VA' f ,':x K USS T1-IQMAS C. HART QFF-10929 9 ? 3 MID-EAST 5 5 DEPLOY MENT : A 1983 ,

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SHIP'S HISTORY USS.THOMAS C. HART CFF 10925 is named in honor of the late Admiral Thomas C. Hart, United States Navy, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet from 1939-1942, and is the first ship ever to bear his name. She 1S one of a series of 27 frigates built by Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, Louisiana. The keel was laid on October 8, 1971 and the ship was launched on August 12, 1972. She was commissioned in Boston Massachusetts on July 28, 1973 under the sponsorship of Mrs. Reginald Bragonier, eldest granddaughter of Admiral Hart. The ship is especially designed to locate and destroy enemy submarines and can screen as part of a carrier task group or convoy escort at long ranges from home base. She is equipped with the latest advances in sonar Cunderwater sound detectionb. One, mounted in the hull at the bow, is capable of gaining surface or subsurface contacts at long ranges. The second, capable of being lowered to various depths to improve submarine detection, is towed astern. These two shipboard systems are complemented by HART'S manned anti-submarine jet helicopter fa LAMPS SH-2Fj which is capable of submarine detection at extended distances from the ship. Once an enemy submarine is detected by these sensors, HART'S principal armament for destruction 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 to deliver the torpedo to its target area include torpedo tubes, the ASROC Canti-submarine rocketb launcher, and the LAMPS helicopter. Other major armament includes the 5 !54-caliber rapid fire gun with anti-air, anti-surface and shore bombardment capabilities, and a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile installation, with beyond the horizon anti-ship capability. The ship is powered by a modern, clean-burning 1200 pound steam system which develops 35,000 shaft horsepower and can propel the ship at speeds of up to 27 knots. USS THOMAS C. HART also reflects significant improvements in habitability. Virtually all compartments are air conditioned. The ship's store, laundry, and barber shop represent vast improvements over older counterparts and a crew's lounge is designed into the ship. Berthing spaces are outfitted with bunk-locker combinations, reading lamps and television while other improvements continue to be made throughout the ship as part of an ongoing habitability program. In over ten years of commissioned service, USS THOMAS C. HART has deployed twice to the Caribbean Sea, three times to the Mediterranean Sea, once to South America as part of UNITAS XVII, and twice to the Persian Gulf. The ship is the current holder of the CINCLANTFLT GOLDEN ANCHOR AWARD for retention, the COMNAVSURFLANT ADMIRALS CUP and CINCLANTFLT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD for the top Atlantic Fleet sports programs and was the 1980 winner of the COMNAVSURFLANT Anti-Submarine Warfare Award.