USS ''Clifton Sprague'' (FFG-16) was an guided missile

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

of the

United States 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 ...

, the tenth ship of that class. She was named for Vice Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague (1896–1955), hero of the

Battle off Samar The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battle in history, largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar (island), Samar Island, in the Philippin ...

action of the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf () 23–26 October 1944, was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. By late 1944, Japan possessed fewer capital sh ...

, where he received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

. ''Clifton Sprague'' (FFG-16) was the first ship of that name in the US Navy. She was transferred to the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

in 1997 as TCG ''Gaziantep'' (F 490) and remains in active service.

History

Ordered from

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest ...

on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY76 program, ''Clifton Sprague'' was laid down 30 July 1979, launched 16 February 1980, and commissioned 21 March 1981. ''Clifton Sprague'' was part of the forces during Operation Urgent Fury, the US led 1983

Invasion of Grenada The United States and a Caribbean Peace Force, coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in m ...

. The frigate served as the clandestine mother ship for a pre-invasion reconnaissance team of Navy SEALs and Air Force combat controllers. Prior to D-Day on 25 Oct., the 20-man commando force twice attempted to use small boats launched from the frigate to reach a new airport under construction on Grenada's southwest coast. Their nighttime attempts to make an assessment of its military defenses and the condition of its uncompleted runway were frustrated both times by rough seas, equipment failures and bad luck. In July 1993, the

guided-missile cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

and ''Clifton Sprague'' participated in a passing exercise (PASSEX) with three Russian ships, cruiser , destroyer ''Admiral Kharlamov'' and the replenishment ship ''Dnester''. This was noteworthy because the two navies had an adversarial relationship for decades prior to the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. ''Clifton Sprague'' was part of the flotilla for

Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a multinational military intervention designed to remove the military regime led and installed by Raoul Cédras after the 1991 Haitian coup d'état overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The op ...

, the September 1995 US intervention in Haiti. She was decommissioned on 2 June 1995 at

Naval Station Mayport Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base on San Pablo Island in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a m ...

, Florida, and was stricken from the US Navy register on 4 September 1997 after being transferred to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

TCG ''Gaziantep'' (F 490)

She was transferred to

on 27 August 1997 as that nation's TCG ''Gaziantep'' (F 490), and then immediately modified into a

G-class frigate The G class (Turkish: ''Gabya sınıfı fırkateyn(ler)'') is one of the frigate classes of the Turkish Navy. They are extensively modernized versions of ex- guided-missile frigates of the US Navy, mainly designed for air defense with a weapons c ...

by the Turkish Naval Yard.

Awards

''Clifton Sprague'' and her crew received the following unit awards, according to the US Navy unit awards website: *

Navy E Ribbon A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, 1 October 1980 to 30 September 1981 *

, 1 October 1981 to 30 September 1982 *

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded to t ...

, 18 April 1983 to 22 April 1983,

1983 United States embassy bombing The April 18, 1983, United States Embassy bombing was a suicide bombing on the Embassy of the United States, Beirut, Embassy of the United States in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 32 Lebanese, 17 Americans, and 14 visitors and passers-by. The vict ...

, Lebanon *

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

, 23 October 1983 to 2 November 1983,

/ Operation Urgent Fury *

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, a ...

, 23 October 1983 to 18 November 1983,

/ Operation Urgent Fury *

1 October 1983 to 31 March 1985 *

1 April 1985 to 30 September 1986 * Coast Guard

Special Operations Service Ribbon The Special Operations Service Ribbon is a service award of the United States Coast Guard which was first created 1 July 1987 by order of Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul A. Yost Jr. The award is authorized for certain acts of non-comb ...

for 1 April 1989 * Coast Guard

, 1 July 1989 to 30 September 1989 * Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation, 1 December 1989 to 1 April 1990 *

Joint Meritorious Unit Award The Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA) is a US military award that was established on June 4, 1981, by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982. The Joint Meritor ...

, 28 January 1991 to 25 February 1991, this was in the

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

time period, but FFG-16 was not listed as participating in the Gulf War. *

, 16 September 1994 to 24 September 1994, Operation Uphold Democracy Haiti *

, 11 September 1994 to 31 March 1995, Operation Uphold Democracy Haiti *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

for service during the Gulf War era ''Clifton Sprague'' was also nominated for the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

Outstanding Unit Citation for operations from 24 June 1994 to 12 July 1994, but did not receive the award. This was around the time that many

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

were fleeing Haiti in small boats.

References

External links

MaritimeQuest USS Clifton Sprague FFG-16 pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton Sprague Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates of the United States Navy 1980 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Turkish Navy Ships built in Bath, Maine