ORP ''Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko'', formerly USS ''Wadsworth'' (FFG-9), is one of two guided-missile frigates in the

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

. She is the 2nd "short-hull" ship to be built and 3rd overall. She is named after

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

hero as well as a hero of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

's struggle for independence. In

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

service she was named after Commodore Alexander S. Wadsworth''.'' Originally commissioned in 1980, she served in the US Navy until 2002, when she was decommissioned and immediately turned over to the Polish Navy. ''Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko'' has participated in numerous

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

exercises in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

History

Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY75 program, ''Wadsworth'', originally classified PF-111, was laid down on 13 July 1977, launched on 29 July 1978, and commissioned on 28 February 1980. ''Wadsworth'' was sponsored by Mrs. Patricia P. Roberts, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Alexander S. Wadsworth. ''Wadsworth'' portrayed USS ''Reuben James'' (FFG-57) in the 1990 film ''

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

'' along with USS ''Gary'' (FFG-51). The ship's motto in American service was "For One's Country" and originates from the words of Captain

Isaac Hull Commodore (rank), Commodore Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a United States Navy officer who served in the Quasi-War, Barbary Wars and War of 1812. During his military career, he commanded the warships , , , and . During the ...

, Commanding Officer of USS ''Constitution'' before her August 1812 battle with HMS ''Guerriere''. Hull said, "Men, now do your duty. Your officers cannot have entire command over you now. Each man must do all in his power for his country.". ''Wadsworth'' and her crew received Battle Effectiveness Awards for operations in 1993, 1998 and 2001. Decommissioned on 28 June 2002, ''Wadsworth'' was handed over to Poland the same day as part of the

Foreign Military Sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is a security assistance program of the United States government to facilitate the purchase of U.S. arms, defense equipment, design and construction services, and military training to foreign governments. FMS is a gove ...

programme and commissioned under her current name. She was formally stricken from the Navy list on 23 July 2002.

References

* ''This article incorporates text from the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

''. The entry can be foun
here
'' * ''This article includes information collected from the''

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

'', which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the

. The entry can be foun
here
''

Bibliography

* Ships built in Los Angeles 1979 ships Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates of the Polish Navy Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Polish Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates Ships of the Polish Navy {{Europe-mil-ship-stub

History

See also

References

Bibliography