Ainsworth (FF-1090)
1973–1994
Walden Lee Ainsworth -- born on 10 November 1886 in Minneapolis, Minn., to William G. and Mary W. Ainsworth -- came from Colonial New England stock with both military and naval forbears, Daniel Ainsworth having served in the Connecticut Militia during the Revolution, and Steward (later Lieutenant, Continental Navy) Jacob Walden sailed with John Paul Jones in sloop Ranger to engage British sloop-of-war Drake in 1778. He graduated from Central High School in Minneapolis, and completed his freshman year at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, before his appointment to the United States Naval Academy from the Fifth District of Minnesota on 21 June 1906. While a Midshipman, he served as a member of the crew for three years and became Captain his First Class year, before graduating on 3 June 1910.
Following successive two-year tours at sea in Iowa (Battleship No. 4) and in transport Prairie, he was commissioned ensign on 7 March 1912. Ainsworth shifted to Florida (Battleship No. 30) during the spring of 1914, just in time to act as the adjutant of one of the battalions that landed at Veracruz, Mexico, on 21 and 22 April. After taking part in that fighting, he returned to Florida. Ainsworth married Katherine Gardner of Charleston, S.C., on 10 June 1916. Their union bore two children: H. Gardner Ainsworth, who subsequently became the Director of the Department of State’s Office of Maritime Affairs; and Katherine A. Semmes, who married Vice Adm. Benedict J. Semmes Jr.
Ainsworth served in Florida until sent to DeKalb in May 1917. During World War I, he found himself in transports DeKalb (Id. No. 3010) and in America (Id. No. 3006 — ex-German liner Amerika). During the last months of the conflict, he served in Frederick (Armored Cruiser No. 8). In the rank of lieutenant commander the young officer next reported to the Inspector of Ordnance, Naval Armor and Projectile Plant, Charleston, W. Va., where he had duty from February 1919 to March 1921. Returning to sea, he served consecutively as executive officer of transport Hancock (AP-3) and light cruiser Birmingham (CL-2), and in September 1922 reported for duty with the Destroyer Squadrons, Pacific Fleet, and assumed command of destroyer Marcus (DD-321). He served in that command for a year before detaching for duty as Naval Inspector of Ordnance, Munhall District, Pittsburgh, Pa. (November 1923–August 1924). He was then ordered to the New York Navy Yard, where he remained on duty until November 1925.
By the end of 1925, Ainsworth’s growing stature in the field of ordnance gained him the position of gunnery officer on the staff of the Commander Destroyer Squadron, Asiatic Fleet, who wore his pennant in destroyer tender Black Hawk (AD-9), reporting in January 1926. Ainsworth’s service in those waters occurred while heavy fighting between rival factions continued in the Chinese Civil War, and the fleet landed bluejackets, marines, and soldiers to protect Americans and Europeans at the International Settlement in Shanghai. In addition, he struggled against funding and logistics issues, and Black Hawk’s boilers repeatedly gave her trouble and her crewmen laboriously re-tubed them.
In July 1927 he assumed command of Paul Jones (DD-230), and then (September 1928–June 1931) served as an instructor in the Department of Navigation at the Naval Academy. For two years thereafter he returned to sea, serving first as navigator of Idaho (BB-42) and later heavy cruiser Pensacola (CA-24), operating with Battleship Division 2, Battle Force, and Cruiser Division 4, Scouting Force, respectively.
From June 1933 until May 1935 he was District Communications Officer for the Fifteenth Naval District at Balboa in the Panama Canal Zone, and after completing the senior course at the Naval War College at Newport, Ainsworth reported in June 1936 as executive officer of Mississippi (BB-41), and remained on board that battleship for two years. Advanced to the rank of captain, he served from July 1938 until July 1940 as Professor of Naval Science and Tactics, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit, Tulane University, New Orleans, La. He then served as Commander Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 2, beginning on 22 July 1940, progressed in grade to the rank of rear admiral, to date from 2 December 1941, and on 20 December 1941 assumed command of Mississippi, then operating in the Atlantic. Ainsworth promptly took that veteran battleship to the Pacific to bolster the Navy’s strength in that ocean following the initial Japanese onslaught.
On 4 July 1942, he first broke his flag as Commander Destroyers, Pacific Fleet, and Commander Destroyer Flotillas 1 and 2, and on 10 December 1942, was assigned additional duty as Commander Task Force (TF) 67. Transferred to command of TF 18 and Cruiser Division (CruDiv) 9, Ainsworth continued his success during a prolonged series of runs up the hotly contested, long and narrow body of water between the central Solomon Islands, which American sailors aptly nicknamed “the Slot.” These battles parried the thrusts by Japanese warships challenging Allied control of the area.
Ainsworth led Task Group (TG) 67.2 northward to bombard Japanese airfield and installations at Munda on New Georgia in the Solomons, on 5 January 1943. After the rest of the task force joined TG 67.2, enemy planes attacked the ships, near-missing light cruiser Honolulu (CL-48) and damaging New Zealand light cruiser Achilles (70), about 18 miles south of Cape Hunter, Guadalcanal. In the action, light cruiser Helena (CL-50) became the first U.S. Navy ship to use Mk. 32 proximity-fuzed projectiles in combat, downing a Japanese Aichi D3A1 Type 99 carrier bomber [Val] with her second salvo. On 24 January, he led a bombardment group of destroyers that shelled Japanese fuel and munitions dumps in the Stanmore area, Kolombangara, Solomons. Later that same day, planes flying from carrier Saratoga (CV-3) bombed the same objectives. The admiral meanwhile directed his ships to attack Munda and Vila airfields in the Solomons on 13 May. Minelayers of TG 36.5 sowed mines across the northwestern approaches to Kula Gulf. These raids did not occur without cost, however, and a turret explosion damaged light cruiser Nashville (CL-43), and gun mount explosions damaged Chevalier (DD-805) and Nicholas (DD-449).
At the end of June 1943, the tempo of American fighting in the southwestern Pacific picked up, since the Navy assembled enough amphibious shipping in that theater to resume the offensive. On the night of 4 and 5 July, TG 36.1 moved up the Slot and bombarded Japanese positions at Vila on Kolombangara and at Bairoko Harbor on New Georgia. The next afternoon, while Ainsworth’s ships retired from this action, word reached him that a force of seven Japanese destroyers, Rear Adm. Akiyama Teruo in command -- four of which (Amagiri, Hatsuyuki, Nagatsuki, and Satsuki) carried troops and supplies to Kolombangara -- headed toward the area. In an effort to meet and check this new threat, he brought his warships about and made for the enemy.
That night, shortly before midnight, Ainsworth engaged the enemy in the Battle of Kula Gulf. A Japanese torpedo -- fired by either Nagatsuki, Niizuki, or Yunagi -- sank destroyer Strong (DD-467). The fighting continued into the pre-dawn darkness of 6 July as Japanese destroyers Suzukaze and Tanikaze sank Helena, but gunfire from a “Brooklyn-class light cruiser” -- most likely light cruiser Honolulu (CL-48) -- sank Niizuki. American gunfire damaged Nagatsuki, which grounded and lay abandoned on the southeastern coast of Kolombangara, and gunfire from most likely St. Louis (CL-49) and Honolulu damaged Sukukaze. In addition, gunfire damaged Amagiri, and shooting from Honolulu and most likely destroyers Nicholas (DD-449) and O'Bannon (DD-450) damaged Hatsuyuki, while a dud shell struck Tanikaze. In the wake of the battle, while rescuing some of Helena’s survivors, Nicholas and Radford (DD-446) battled Amagiri and Hatsuyuki, damaging both. Still later, U.S. Douglas SBD Dauntlesses, Grumman TBF Avengers, and Grumman F4F Wildcats bombed the beached Nagatsuki.
Ainsworth subsequently received the Navy Cross for gallantly leading “his task force into the restricted and submarine infested waters where, in the face of enemy gun and torpedo fire, he directed the bombardment of shore batteries and installations which covered the landings by our troops. Twenty-four hours later, he again led his ships against a Japanese force of approximately ten vessels. The skillful and accurate fire of his task force sank or severely damaged all of the enemy units. His outstanding leadership, brilliant tactics and courageous conduct throughout the engagements contributed immeasurably to the destruction of the enemy forces and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
The fierce fighting in those waters continued as Ainsworth led the three light cruisers and ten destroyers of TG 36.1 against Japanese Rear Adm. Izaki Shunji, who commanded light cruiser Jintsū and five destroyers escorting troop-carrying destroyers, in the Battle of Kolombangara in the darkness on 13 July off that island. Enemy torpedoes damaged Honolulu, St. Louis, New Zealand light cruiser Leander (which replaced the lost Helena), and destroyer Gwin (DD-433), which was scuttled by Ralph Talbot (DD-390). Buchanan (DD-484) and Woodworth (DD-460) collided in the confusion, both sustaining damage. American cruiser gunfire and a destroyer torpedo sank Jintsū, and the U.S. fire damaged destroyer Yukikaze. He rounded out the year by leading two cruisers and four destroyers to bombard the Kieta area of Bougainville on 27 December 1943.
On 8 January 1944, Ainsworth led TF 38, consisting of two light cruisers and five destroyers, and shelled Japanese shore installations on Faisi, Poporang, and Shortland Islands in the Solomons. His ships covered from the south when TF 31, Rear Adm. Theodore S. Wilkinson in command, landed the 3rd New Zealand Division, Maj. Gen. Harold E. Barraclough in command, on Green Island, east of New Ireland, on 15 February. The two light cruisers and five destroyers of TF 39, Rear Adm. Aaron S. Merrill in command, covered the landings from the north and east. Ainsworth also received the Distinguished Service Medal for his performance in the southwestern Pacific. He next commanded TG 52.18, the fire support group, during Operation Forager—the invasion of the Mariana Islands. On 14 June 1944, Ainsworth’s battleships and those of TG 52.17, Rear Adm. Jesse B. Oldendorf in command, shelled the Japanese garrisons of Saipan and Tinian. Enemy shore battery fire damaged California (BB-44) off Saipan and Braine (DD-630) off Tinian. In addition, near-misses from shells damaged Tennessee (BB-43), Indianapolis (CA-35), Birmingham (CL-62), and Remey (DD-688).
“The enemy gun crews,” Rear Adm. Theodore D. Ruddock Jr., Commander Battleship Division (BatDiv) 4, afterward reported, “seemed to be thoroughly demoralized by the bombardment inflicted by the fast battleships…” Their action enabled Colorado (BB-45) to close to within 4,000 yards of the shore. “In many instances,” Ruddock explained, “the camouflage had been stripped from guns and other likely targets by the fast battleships’ bombardment, which facilitated early visual location and expeditious destruction of targets with a minimum expenditure of the limited supply of ammunition.”
Ainsworth shifted his attention to Guam, and his battleships, cruisers, and destroyers bombarded Japanese installations there on 16 June, for which he afterward received the Legion of Merit: “For distinguishing himself by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service in July 1944, during the assault and occupation of Guam Island, Rear Admiral Ainsworth commanded the fire support group which bombarded the objective prior to, during and subsequent to the assault by our forces. By his personal leadership, his skillful handling of the ships under his command, and his thorough knowledge of amphibious fire support problems he caused his ships to render accurate and devastating naval gunfire support to our assault troops, and contributed in a large degree to the successful capture of the island…”
Ainsworth then became Commander Cruisers and Commander Destroyers, U.S. Pacific Fleet (31 October 1944–13 July 1945), and for “exceptionally meritorious” service in that capacity received a Gold Star in lieu of the second Legion of Merit: “He displayed exceptional ability and aggressiveness in handling the organization and administration of the cruisers, destroyers, destroyer escorts and patrol frigates under his command during a period when those ships were playing a most vital part in an unprecedented offensive against a ruthless and fanatic enemy. His sound judgment and experience were of great value in providing for the servicing of those ships in Forward Areas. In addition, he handled the countless detailed problems of his command, including the supervision of training programs, with the greatest efficiency…”
After returning to the United States in the summer of 1945, he commanded the Fifth Naval District and the Naval Operating Base at Norfolk, Va., until he retired on 1 December 1948, and was advanced to the rank of vice admiral on the basis of combat awards. Ainsworth died at Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Md., on 7 August 1960. Following a service at Ft. Myer Chapel he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, on 11 August.
In addition to the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Gold Star in lieu of the second award, and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Ainsworth had the Mexican Service Medal; World War I Victory Medal, Transport Clasp; Yangtze Service Medal; American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with eight operation stars; the World War II Victory Medal; and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, State of New Hampshire, and a Director of the National Society; and also a member of the New York Yacht Club and of the Chevy Chase Club, Chevy Chase, Md.
(DE-1090: displacement 4,180; length 438'; beam 47'; draft 25'; speed 27 knots; complement 298; armament 1 5-inch, RUR-5 ASROC, RIM-7 Sea Sparrow BPDMS, 4 torpedo tubes; class Knox)
Ainsworth (DE-1090) was laid down at Westwego, La., on 11 June 1971 by Avondale Shipyards, Inc.; launched on 15 April 1972; sponsored by Mrs. Katherine G. Ainsworth, the widow of the late Vice Adm. Ainsworth; and commissioned on 31 March 1973 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., Lt. Cmdr. Terrence E. Siple in command.
Following fitting out, the new ocean escort departed her home port of Norfolk on 11 June 1973 and headed for Port Everglades, Fla., to prepare for sensor tests and calibration. She then proceeded to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for shakedown training. While crewmen familiarized themselves with their ship and their duties, Ainsworth visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and then proceeded on to La Guaira, Venezuela, where on 24 July she joined warships of four other navies in a voyage to Maracaibo to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Lake Maracaibo, a naval victory which helped the Venezuelans win their independence.
En route home, the ship made recruiting stops at New Orleans and Miami, Fla., before reaching Norfolk on 16 August 1973 and beginning preparation for her post-shakedown overhaul. She got underway on 16 October and, two days later, entered Charleston Naval Shipyard. Rising tension in the Middle East, however, interrupted the work less than a week after it started, and the Navy ordered Ainsworth to a 36-hour ready standby status so that she would be able, if necessary, to race to the Mediterranean. The situation soon eased sufficiently for her to resume the yard work, that ended on 22 February 1974. The overhaul included: expanding her original capability to operate a Gyrodyne QH-50 drone anti-submarine helicopter (DASH) to accommodate a Kaman S-2F Seasprite and its associated detachment; installing a twin agent fire-fighting system, consisting of an aqueous film forming foam and purple potassium powder, in the main engineering spaces; and converting her fuel oil system from Navy Special Fuel Oil to Navy Distillate.
Ainsworth took part in an experiment involving a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion lifting a disabled Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) helicopter from the flight deck at sea on 26 March 1974. After successfully completing the test, a Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight made the first helo landing on board the frigate. While at Port Everglades, the ship received a “sonar scrub” and aligned and calibrated her sensors. Ainsworth then made for Caribbean waters for refresher training (RefTra), including working out of Guantánamo Bay, operating with submarine Jallao (SS-368), taking part in a defense exercise to protect the anchorage, and qualifying in naval gunfire support at Vieques Island, P.R. (5 April–9 May). She suffered an engineering casualty at one point, however, and following that training moored alongside Puget Sound (AD-38) and completed an availability with the destroyer tender (18 May–1 June). The frigate then (5–14 June) conducted a LAMPS work-up with Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 32 Detachment 10. Cmdr. Haig H. Pakradooni III, relieved Cmdr. Siple as the commanding officer during a ceremony at sea, and while a helo lifted Siple from the ship, on 15 July 1974.
The escort operated along the east coast and in the West Indies until 18 July, when she began Unitas XV, a voyage in which she circumnavigated South America, sailing south in company with guided missile frigate Belknap (DLG-26), destroyer Bordelon (DD-881), and submarine Tiru (SS-416), via the West Indies to Brazil and then proceeding on down the coast. The ship first visited Roosevelt Roads, P.R. (1–5 August), following which she called at Cartagena, Columbia (9–13 August), and Port of Spain, Trinidad (19–20 August). Ainsworth crossed the equator at 37°00ˈW on 24 August 1974. Continuing on her voyage, the ship put in to Salvador (28 August–1 September), Rio de Janeiro (5–10 September), and Rio Grande do Sol, Brazil (15–16 September). On 16 September, a Belknap sailor sustained injuries and despite low visibility, Ainsworth’s embarked Seasprite airlifted the man from Belknap over 80 miles to a hospital at Rio Grande do Sol for emergency treatment. The ships resumed their cruise and Ainsworth visited Montevideo, Uruguay (17–21 September), Puerto Belgrano, Argentina (4–7 October), and Punta Arenas, Chile (10–11 October), while passing through the Strait of Magellan and the Chilean Inner Waterway (11–16 October). While returning north in the Pacific, she visited Talcahuano (16–23 October) and Valparaiso, Chile (20 October–4 November), and Callao, Peru (13–18 November). Ainsworth crossed the equator again at 81°04ˈW on 22 November, before visiting Naval Station (NS) Rodman at the Panama Canal and then reentering the Atlantic through the canal (24–28 November). After stops at La Guaira (4–7 December) and Cumona (8–10 December), Venezuela, where that country’s President Carlos A. Pérez reviewed the U.S. ships from his yacht, she proceeded home via Roosevelt Roads, and after steaming more than 26,000 miles reaching Norfolk on 16 December 1974.
Following leave and upkeep, the ship underwent a tender availability alongside Puget Sound, and then sailed for LantReadEx 2-75 in the Caribbean on 11 March 1975. The ship moored at the Mosquito Piers at Vieques Island (20 March) for an ammunition loadout, qualified for naval gunfire support at Vieques (20–21 March), visited Roosevelt Roads (22–24 March), and returned to Hampton Roads, Va., on 27 March. The ship completed an availability alongside destroyer tender Shenandoah (AD-44) during the first half of May, carried out a midshipmen training cruise from Newport (12 June–2 July).
On 12 June 1975, frigate Aylwin (FF-1081) set out from Norfolk for Newport to train midshipmen. Embarking the midshipmen the following day at Newport, she spent the next week carrying out gun shoots, ship handling, coordinated antisubmarine warfare exercises, antisubmarine weapon firings, and basic seamanship. On 19 June, Aircraft 37, an S2F Seasprite (BuNo. 149745) manned by 27-year-old Lt (j.g.) Timothy Stone (pilot), 35-year-old Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn (copilot), 33-year-old Lt (j.g.) Phillip Hannaford (passenger), and 38-year-old AW2 Lawrence J. Kamas of HSL-34 Detachment 3, launched for a routine training flight but struck the radio antenna mounted above the frigate’s helo hangar and crashed off the starboard side, about two miles east of Brenton Reef Light, approximately six miles off the coast. The bridge watch launched the motor whaleboat and recovered Stone and Hannaford and returned them to the ship within seven minutes. Stone suffered some injuries but returned to service two days later. Guinn and Kamas, however, failed to clear the sinking Seasprite and perished in the crash. A force including Ainsworth, ocean minesweeper Adroit (MSO-509), Raytheon vessel Subsig, and divers from the Naval Underwater Systems Command searched for the helo, locating the wreckage in 110 feet of water. Aylwin meanwhile came about for Newport and resumed training midshipmen. The squadron held a memorial service for Guinn and Kamas at the Chapel by the Woods at Naval Air Station (NAS) Norfolk on 23 June. Some of their shipmates also attended funerals held in the men’s home towns of Williamsport and Ford City, Pa., respectively.
Ainsworth was reclassified to a frigate (FF-1090) on 30 June 1975. The ship steamed back to the West Indies during CaribEx 2-76 (22–29 August), and then worked in the Norfolk-Virginia capes area until early autumn. On 3 October, Ainsworth headed across the Atlantic for her first visit to the Mediterranean, beginning a routine of alternating deployments to the Sixth Fleet with operations on the east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. She reported to the Sixth Fleet and relieved sister ship Capodanno (FF-1093) at Rota, Spain, on 13 October.
Whenever the warship deployed to the Mediterranean, she escorted carriers as they traveled the length and breadth of the sea, and participated in exercises testing the fleet’s readiness and its ability to operate in concert allied navies. When not so engaged, the ship called at ports on goodwill missions. During the remainder of the month, she visited Tangier, Morocco (14–16 October 1975), in company with destroyer Mullinnex (DD-944); conducted operations in the western Mediterranean; and made a port call at Malaga, Spain (29–31 October), in company with Paul (FF-1080). She left the Mediterranean on the last day of October and devoted the next three weeks to multi-role exercise Ocean Safari in the northern Atlantic, and in company with Bowen (FF-1079) visited Portsmouth, England (22–28 November). She headed back toward Gibraltar on the latter day and rejoined the Sixth Fleet at Rota on 3 December 1975.
The ship’s operations during the next five months took her almost the full length of the Mediterranean, and she made a brief stop for supplies at Naples, Italy, on 7 December 1975, and visited Athens, Greece (9–13 December). She medically evacuated U.S. citizen John A. Vretos from the Greek island of Kasos (13–14 December), visited Marmaris, Turkey (15–20 December), and spent Christmas at Naples (22–31 December 1975). Ainsworth began the New Year in port at Naples (1–6 January 1976). She then (12–13 January) visited Syracuse, Sicily, in company with Mullinnex. The ship visited Piraeus, Greece (26 January–1 February), and Naples (5–18 February), before taking part in task group operations (19–22 February). Ainsworth accomplished deployment upkeep in Toulon, France (23 February–8 March), participated in Sixth Fleet exercise National Exercise XXII (9–16 March), and put into Villefranche, France (17–25 March), before resuming her operations in the western Mediterranean. The frigate rounded out her voyage by returning to French waters when she visited Marseilles (31 March–5 April), and Spanish waters when she put into Palma de Mallorca (6–15 April), Valencia (18–22 April), and Rota (23–25 April), before she came about for home on 26 April 1976. After reaching Norfolk on 5 May, the frigate completed post-voyage repairs alongside destroyer tender Sierra (AD-18), and operated in the Hampton Roads-Virginia capes area for the remainder of the year. The production version of the RGM-84 Harpoon Command and Launch Missile System was installed in Ainsworth while the ship lay at Norfolk (12 July–3 September), and she then (13–17 September) tested the system off the Virginia capes. The frigate steamed up Chesapeake Bay and visited the Naval Academy (27 September–4 October), where Cmdr. Robert J. Brenton relieved Pakradooni on 4 October.
On 17 January 1977, Ainsworth sailed for the Caribbean. She stopped at Guantánamo Bay (22–24 January); Fort-de-France, Martinique (28–31 January); and San Juan, P.R. (8–10 February), before taking part in CaribEx 1-77 (11–21 February). Upon her return to Norfolk on George Washington’s Birthday, the ship readied for another deployment to European waters, standing down the channel to cross the Atlantic on the last day of March. Ainsworth sustained damage while crossing the Atlantic, and after reaching Rota on 12 April, she sailed for Skaramangas, Greece (16–21 April), and remained at that port for a month (23 April–20 May), moored alongside guided missile destroyer Farragut (DDG-37) for repairs. The ships lay near a Greek destroyer undergoing sandblasting in a dry dock, however, that caused cleanliness problems for the American vessels. She then proceeded via Souda Bay, Crete, to the Ionian Sea, and there took part in a series of Sixth Fleet exercises which, but for runs to nearby ports -- Bari, Italy (28 May–8 June); Kithera, Greece (12–13 June); Taormina, Sicily (19–26 June); and Gaeta, Italy (2–8 July) -- kept her busy until mid-July. On 15 July, she sailed for the Levant and visited Haifa, Israel (20–24 July). Then, after sailing westward, she reached Naples on 29 July and underwent a tender availability there until 11 August. Three days at Augusta Bay, Sicily, preceded her participation in National Week XXIII (16–22 August). During her ensuing operations in the western Mediterranean, including NATO exercise Display Determination (22–28 September), she called at Golfe Juan, France (26–30 August), Port Mahon, Menorca (3–7 September), Alicante (15–21 September), and Palma de Mallorca (29 September–5 October), and Lisbon, Portugal (8–10 October) before sailing for home, reaching Hampton Roads on 21 October. Ainsworth returned to sea on 28 November for Marcott 3/77, a joint exercise with Canadian warships which kept her busy until she returned to Norfolk (28 November–13 December 1977).
The Atlantic Fleet reorganized squadron commands in 1978 and Ainsworth accordingly shifted to DesRon 10. She devoted the full month of February 1978 to the Atlantic Fleet’s annual readiness exercise, and then spent the first 12 days of March in upkeep at Norfolk. At 1230 on 17 March 1978, President James E. “Jimmy” Carter and his wife Rosalynn stepped out of their helo onto the flight deck of aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). “I’m still one of you,” the President noted, referring to his naval service. He later joined crewmen for lunch on the mess decks. National Security Advisor Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Secretary of Defense Dr. Harold Brown, Secretary of the Navy W. Graham Claytor Jr., and James L. Holloway III, Chief of Naval Operations, accompanied the President and the First Lady. The presidential party viewed Operation Shamrock, a combined weapons training exercise, involving Dwight D. Eisenhower and her embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and CVW-1, guided missile cruiser Virginia (CGN-38), destroyer Peterson (DD-969), and Ainsworth. Vice Adm. Wesley L. McDonald, Commander, Second Fleet, acted as the battle force commander during the exercise.
On St. Patrick’s Day, Ainsworth arrived at Jacksonville, Fla., and spent the rest of March 1978 in that vicinity supporting advanced underway training of surface warfare officers. She returned to Norfolk on 1 April to serve off the Virginia capes as deck landing qualifications ship for LAMPS-equipped HSLs 30, 32, and 34. Some 94 pilots qualified in 725 landings and the ship pumped more than 6,000 gallons of JP-5 aviation fuel to the thirsty helos during the five-day procedure. Ainsworth also buried SM2 Jumper at sea at dusk on 11 April. Then, following further operations in the Norfolk-Virginia capes area, Ainsworth moored at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia, Pa. (12–15 May), and then entered Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for an overhaul that lasted until 1 March 1979. Cmdr. Alexander J. Krekich relieved Cmdr. Brenton on 6 October.
Underway for her home port the following day, she arrived at Norfolk on 3 March 1979 and conducted local operations until getting underway on 10 May for RefTra in the West Indies. This cruise, which lasted through mid-summer, took her initially to the Acoustic Underwater Testing and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) Range at Andros Island in the Bahamas (10–13 May), following which the ship visited Nassau (14–16 May). From there, the ship visited Guantánamo Bay (19–20 May), and carried out her RefTra in those waters (22 May–7 June). The crew enjoyed an all too brief respite while touring Port-au-Prince (9–10 June), resumed RefTra off Guantánamo Bay (11–22 June), and visited the Cuban port (23–24 June). Ainsworth refueled at Roosevelt Roads on 27 June, qualified in naval gunfire support at Vieques Island (28–29 June), visited St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (1–2 July), and then, with fighting skills again honed to a keen edge, she returned to Norfolk on 6 July and operated locally until putting to sea on 1 October for 12 days of combined underway training exercises along the east coast and in waters off Puerto Rico. Upon returning home on 13 October, she began preparations for another deployment.
Iranian revolutionaries seized 66 Americans, including one naval aviator and 14 marines, at the U.S. Embassy and the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehrān, Iran, on 4 November 1979. The revolutionaries’ demands included the return to Iran of deposed Shah Mohammad R. Pahlavi, who was in the U.S. Ainsworth consequently deployed during a tense and uncertain time when she sailed on 10 November. She rendezvoused with Miller (FF-1091), and the two ships steamed across the Atlantic, refueling at Punta del Gada in the Azores (16–17 November), and Rota two days later. Passing the Rock of Gibraltar, Ainsworth visited Malaga (21–22 November). The ship crossed the Mediterranean, refueling from Military Sealift Command-manned oiler USNS Marias (T-AO-57), and then anchoring at Port Said, Egypt, on 27 November, before passing through the Suez Canal the following day in company with Miller. She turned over with Julius A. Furer (FFG-6) at Port Suez, and anchored for a brief refueling at Jidda, Saudi Arabia, on 3 December. The frigate continued on her voyage through the volatile region, refueling and taking on stores at Djibouti, Afars and Issas, on 5 December, and steaming through the Strait of Hormuz on 9 December. She stopped briefly for fuel and stores at Sitra at Bahrain three days before Christmas, and on 22 December 1979 began 84 consecutive days of service underway at sea ready to act in any emergency which might arise in the area. The ship initially patrolled the Persian Gulf in company with command ship La Salle (AGF-3), flagship of the Middle East Force, and Miller. On 11 March 1980, Ainsworth finally put in to Muscat, Oman, for fuel as she began her voyage homeward. Three days later, she topped off her oil bunkers at Djibouti and continued on through the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean, visiting Barcelona, Spain (24–26 March) en route to Gibraltar. Following brief stops to refuel at Punta del Gada and at Bermuda, on 31 March and 16 April, respectively, she returned to Norfolk on 17 April.
After a month of leave and upkeep, the ship took part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (CompTuEx) 4-80 and carried out naval gunfire support qualifications. At the end of a four-day visit to Port-au-Prince, she got underway for home on 19 June 1980 and proceeded via Port Everglades to Norfolk, which she reached on 23 June. Two days later, she entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability which lasted until 11 August. She then began preparations for overseas movement and stood down the channel on 29 August for United Effort and Teamwork 80, two exercises that kept her at sea in the North Atlantic and the North Sea until she arrived at Copenhagen, Denmark, on 24 September. She also put into Oslo, Norway (2–8 October), Leith (9–13 October) and Rosyth (13 October), Scotland, and Portsmouth, England (15–21 October), en route home, which she reached on 2 November.
The frigate remained in the Norfolk area into the New Year, and on 6 January 1981 sailed for Narragansett Bay, R.I., where she supported three days of submarine training. Ainsworth then prepared for ReadEx 1-81 and gunfire qualifications, which kept her busy until 17 February, when work began on making the ship ready for another deployment to the Middle East. Cmdr. George J. Ellis relieved Cmdr. Krekich on 25 February. The ship deployed as part of Med 3-81 on 18 March, reaching Rota on 29 March. After steaming in company with Du Pont (DD-941) through the Suez Canal and across the Red Sea (14–17 April), she turned over with Truett (FF-1095) and refueled at Djibouti on 17 April, entered the Indian Ocean, and headed back toward the Persian Gulf. After refueling at Sitra on 25 April, she operated near the Strait of Hormuz until 11 May, and the following day took part in a passing exercise with British frigates Bacchante (F.69) and Minerva (F.45) in the Gulf of Oman. Next came battle group operations with America (CV-66) and a visit to Mombasa, Kenya, crossing the equator at 045°00ˈE on 23 May. Upon finishing another PassEx on 3 June, an exercise conducted with two Kenyan fast patrol boats, she sailed for Sitra in company with Kitty Hawk (CV-63), en route to the Persian Gulf, and conducted operations with that carrier’s battle group.
Following almost a month’s labors in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf, broken by visits to Mina Sulman at Bahrain (15–27 June and 2–8 July 1981), she began the first leg of her voyage home by sailing for Djibouti on 8 July, and taking part in further exercises with Bacchante and Minerva in the Gulf of Oman two days later, and in operations with America in the Arabian Sea on 11 July. MacDonough (DDG-39) relieved Ainsworth at Djibouti on 15 July, and both ships refueled at the strategic port. Ainsworth steamed up the Red Sea in company with Du Pont, passed northbound through the Suez Canal and reentered the Mediterranean on 19 July, and reached Haifa with the destroyer two days later. Heading eastward with Du Pont on 24 July, the pair stopped at Palermo, Sicily (27 July–8 August), where the frigate completed repairs alongside Puget Sound, and she then operated with Forrestal (CV-59) and Nimitz (CVN-68) until 19 August. On the last two days of those operations (18–19 August), Ainsworth took part in a missile exercise in the Gulf of Sidra, in international waters off the Libyan coast. After arriving at Rota on 22 August, Ainsworth took part in Ocean Venture and Magic Sword, before sailing for home on 4 September with a battle group built around Forrestal, reaching Norfolk on 15 September.
Following a month in leave and upkeep status at Norfolk, the ship moved to the York River on 15 October 1981 to take part in ceremonies celebrating the bicentennial of the American victory at Yorktown. On 20 October, she headed with Samuel Eliot Morison (FFG-13) and Tinosa (SSN-606) for the Bahamas to serve as a school ship in antisubmarine warfare training for future commanding officers at AUTEC. She returned to Norfolk on 2 November and, three days later, entered Horne Brothers Shipyard for a selected restricted availability. She completed this work on 4 January 1982; and, but for short operations in the Caribbean during the latter half of February -- including a visit to Charlotte Amalie in the Virgin Islands (19–21 February) -- and the first half of October, the frigate spent most of the year training with submarines and carrying out helicopter landing qualifications while in the vicinity of Norfolk. She hosted Danae (F.47) when the British frigate visited Norfolk (19–28 March), and operated with the Dutch off the Virginia capes (29 March–2 April). Ainsworth anchored in Hampton Roads in connection with a joint U.S. and British surface ship magnetic silencing program (12–16 April), steamed off the Virginia capes and Ft. Story, Va., in connection with a naval mine engineering survey (27–28 April), and took part in an evaluation of the Mk 62 Quickstrike mine off Ft. Monroe, Va., on 27 August. The ship incurred problems with her sonar dome that required emergency repairs at Coastal Drydock at Brooklyn, N.Y. (1–20 December 1982).
She again weighed anchor on 27 December 1982 and proceeded eastward across the Atlantic, via Bermuda and the Azores, reaching Rota on 7 January 1983. The next day, she pushed on toward the Levant to serve as a naval gunfire support ship backing the multi-national, peace-keeping troops at Beirut, Lebanon. She served off that troubled land (13–29 January) and then proceeded via the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden for the Arabian Sea. Following a tender availability at Masirah, Oman, she got underway with America for Weapons-Week operations in the vicinity of Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory. Cmdr. John W. Beardsley relieved Ellis on 27 February. After these exercises, she visited Malé in the Maldive Islands (7–13 March). She worked her way back with the America Battle Group to Masirah, which she reached on 26 March. Two days later, she sailed for Kenya and visited Mombasa (5–11 April). The ship headed back toward the northern Arabian Sea in company with America and, en route, participated in a PassEx with Australian warships. She also took part in submarine exercises with Boston (SSN-703). The ship passed through the Suez Canal on 30 April and conducted special operations in the central Mediterranean with Nimitz before she detached from the Sixth Fleet on 10 May to return home. She pulled into Norfolk on 20 May and began a post deployment leave and upkeep period.
Her ensuing operations along the east coast took her to New England waters before she departed Hampton Roads on 10 August 1983 for an overhaul at Charleston Naval Shipyard. The yard work, which included upgrading of the ship’s sonar equipment and installation of a Mk 15 Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) on her fantail, lasted into the spring of 1984. Ainsworth sailed for Norfolk on 28 March and reentered her home port the next day. The frigate made a run to the Bahamas during the second week of July for acoustic trials on the AUTEC range -- and visiting Nassau (10–12 July) -- but otherwise operated on the east coast for the remainder of the year. The ship completed work in medium auxiliary floating dry dock Sustain (AFDM-7) at Norfolk (4 September–9 October). Following her yard work, the frigate accomplished RefTra and “hunted” submarine Trepang (SSN-674) off Guantánamo Bay (11 October–26 November), breaking her grueling regimen by visiting Montego Bay, Jamaica (10–11 November). She rounded out the year by hunting submarines Finback (SSN-670) and Hammerhead (SSN-663) during an antisubmarine exercise off the Virginia capes (17–19 December 1984).
Ainsworth visited Bermuda early in the New Year (10–12 January 1985). Following training in Narragansett Bay (4–7 March), she visited New York City (8–10 March). The ship then traveled south to Mayport, Fla., and thence in company with Coral Sea (CV-43) to the West Indies (1–4 April), where she visited Roosevelt Roads (5–6 April) and carried out shore bombardment practice at Vieques Island (8–10 April). The warship put in to St. Croix, Virgin Islands (10–12 April), operated with Coral Sea (12–16 April), and then returned north to Norfolk. Ainsworth operated in the immediate vicinity until late summer. Cmdr. Arthur B. Carden relieved Beardsley on 24 May 1985. The frigate then embarked midshipmen for their summer cruise (2–29 July), which included ReadEx 2-85 (5–24 July).
On 27 August 1985, the ship, with an SH-2F Seasprite (BuNo. 161901) from HSL-34 Detachment 6 embarked, stood out of her home port bound for a tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. Ainsworth took part in Ocean Safari while crossing the Atlantic, and conducted a turnover at Augusta Bay (10–13 September). She then participated in the five phases of Display Determination 3-85 at different times (14 September–27 October), breaking up the NATO exercise with a number of operations and port visits. She fired at targets ashore while maneuvering off Capo Tuledo, Sardinia (16–17 September). Some of the crewmen took part in a swim call off Sardinia. The ship put in to Cavalaire, France (19–22 September). Officers took turns cooking for the enlisted men (October), and a Soviet guided missile cruiser shadowed Ainsworth while she operated with the Italians. The frigate visited Naples (28 September–2 October), and Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (10–13 October). She moored in a nest alongside destroyer tender Yellowstone (AD-41) and frigates Capodanno and Jesse L. Brown (FF-1089) at Haifa (28 October–17 November). The ship visited Palermo, Italy (21–24 November), and provided anti-air warfare services for fast combat support ship Seattle (AOE-3) in the eastern Mediterranean on 7 December. Ainsworth spent Christmas at Villefranche (20–26 December). She returned to Naples early in the New Year (6–19 January 1986), and put into Marseilles (3–6 February), and Palma de Mallorca (18–20 February). Ainsworth returned to Sardinian waters when she accomplished voyage repairs while moored alongside submarine tender Orion (AS-18) at La Maddalena, Italy (6–17 March).
The Americans meanwhile initiated a series of ‘Freedom of Navigation’ exercises in the Gulf of Sidra below a “line of death” that Libyan strongman Col. Muammar al-Qadhafi had announced that stretched across the gulf at 32º30’N. On 24 March the U.S. launched Operation Attain Document III (Prairie Fire) — an armed response to Libyan-sponsored acts of terrorism. Vice Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, Commander Sixth Fleet, deployed Battle Force Zulu (Task Force 60), including America, Coral Sea, and Saratoga (CV-60), across the line, triggering Libyan action. Ainsworth participated in the strikes as part of TG 60.1, also comprising Coral Sea, guided missile cruisers Richmond K. Turner (CG-20) and Yorktown (CG-48), Mahan (DDG-42), De Wert (FFG-45), Donald B. Berry (FF-1085), Garcia (FF-1040), and Paul.
Libyan SA-2 Guideline and SA-5 Gammon surface-to-air missiles at Surt fired ineffectually at the Americans, and Grumman A-6E Intruders of Attack Squadrons (VAs) 34 and 85 savaged Libyan ships with AGM-84 Harpoon air-to-ground missiles and Mk 20 Rockeye cluster bombs, marking the first operational use of Harpoons in combat. Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron (VAQ) 137 co-authored a plan to attack an SA-5 battery at Surt. Grumman EA-6B Prowlers flying from the carriers executed the plan using principally electronic warfare capabilities, and LTV A-7E Corsair IIs of VA-81 acted as decoys for Corsair IIs of VA-83 that knocked-out the battery with AGM‑88 High Speed Antiradiation Missiles. Lockheed P-3C Orions of Patrol Squadron (VP) 56 hunted for Libyan submarines, and amphibious assault ship Guadalcanal (LPH-7) acted as the primary casualty receiving/treatment ship. Naval aircraft completed 1,546 sorties, 375 of them south of the line. Following a brief visit to Taormina (29 March–1 April), Ainsworth came about for home, completing turnover formalities at Rota early in April 1986, and then setting out across the Atlantic on 6 April, and standing into Norfolk again on 16 April.
Following the usual month of post-deployment leave and upkeep, the warship entered the yard at the Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. to begin a 12-week repair period. Emerging again on 12 August, she operated in the immediate vicinity of Norfolk, either in the lower Chesapeake Bay or just off the Virginia capes, until early in October. On 4 October, Ainsworth headed south to the coast of Florida where she occupied the rest of the month carrying out RefTra. The frigate returned to Norfolk on 31 October and spent the remainder of 1986 in port. Cmdr. Daniel T. Sherrange relieved Carden on 22 July 1987, and the ship deployed to the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean (11 October 1987–29 March 1988).
Ainsworth deployed as part of Med 3-89 (31 May–10 November 1989). The group also comprised Coral Sea, guided missile cruisers Mississippi (CGN-40), San Jacinto (CG-56), and Thomas S. Gates (CG-51), guided missile destroyer John King (DDG-3), guided missile frigates Kauffman (FFG-59) and Klakring (FFG-42), Aylwin, amphibious assault ship Nassau (LHA-4), amphibious transport dock Shreveport (LPD-12), tank landing ship Barnstable County (LST-1197), oiler Monongahela (AO-178), ammunition ship Butte (AE-27), and Shenandoah. Ainsworth took part in Display Determination, and Cmdr. Robert P. Perry relieved Sherrange on 19 December 1989.
The warship shifted to DesRon 2 as part of a reassignment of ships within the readiness squadrons, on 1 May 1990, and was transferred to the Naval Reserve Force that October. The ship routinely accomplished maintenance and upkeep, and trained naval reservists during brief sorties at sea, usually off Narragansett Bay, often embarking Demon 45, a Seasprite of HSL-74 Detachments 1, 1A, 2, or 3. Ainsworth confiscated 28 kilograms of cocaine and boarded and inspected multiple vessels during two law enforcement operations (25–31 July and 1–20 August 1990). She completed an18-week availability at the Jonathan Corporation Shipyard at Norfolk, and then (11–23 March 1991) trained reservists in Puerto Rican waters, following her brief sojourn at sea with a stop at Nassau (16–19 March). The ship, with a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment embarked, took part in counternarcotics patrols in the Caribbean, seizing 250 kilograms of cocaine (3 April–31 May). Her reservists boarded at Norfolk and the frigate intermittently carried out law enforcement operations, and passed through the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean (2–17 May), visiting Guantánamo Bay three days later. The ship participated in FleetEx 4-91 (23–31 July and 1–3 August), following which she trained at the underwater tracking range at St. Croix (4–5 August). The warship worked with a Lockheed P-3 Orion to defend an amphibious task force from submarines during MargEx 1-92 (8–24 October). Cmdr. Patrick L. Denny relieved Perry on 22 November, and Ainsworth was reclassified to a training frigate (FFT-1090) on 15 December 1991.
Ainsworth stood out of Norfolk and trained in Puerto Rican waters early in the New Year, returning to Newport (13–25 January 1992). Sixteen women (four officers and 12 enlisted) became the first female sailors assigned to the ship on 12 February. She worked with Fahrion (FFG-22) at AUTEC and wrapped-up the exercise with a stop at Nassau (30 March–10 April), took part in more exercises in the Caribbean and AUTEC (22 April–11 May), stopping briefly at St. Thomas (1–4 May). The ship shifted home ports when she steamed eastward in the outbound lane of Thimble Shoals Channel for NS New York, returning to northern waters en route and visiting Halifax before mooring at Staten Island (22–29 June). The first ten of the 16 female reservists to be permanently assigned to the frigate arrived on board in late July. On 3 August Ainsworth transferred to the operational and administrative control of Commander Naval Surface Group 6, headquartered in Mobile, Ala. While steaming to embark some reservists the ship visited Baltimore, Md. (9–12 October).
The ship completed an extensive drydocking phased maintenance availability at New York Naval Shipyard (26 October 1992–12 March 1993), during which she replaced the flight deck, installed a higher capacity aqueous film forming foam fire-fighting system, an oily waste disposal system, and the sea valves on the main condenser. Tugs towed her to Stapleton Pier at Staten Island on 12 March. She onloaded ammunition at Naval Weapons Station Earle, N.J., on 21 April, and then trained in the North Atlantic the following day before returning to Staten Island. After that brief sojourn underway, she embarked some reservists and in company with Bowen and Samuel Eliot Morison made for the warmer waters of the Caribbean (24 April–17 May). Ainsworth visited Norfolk on her voyage southward on 25 April, and alternated hunting two Los Angeles (SSN-688) class submarines and training her reservists with a visit to Roosevelt Roads (30 April–1 May and on 5 May), and St. Maarten (7–9 May). Cmdr. James S. Snyder relieved Denny on 21 May 1993.
The ships company joined the Fleet Week 93 festivities with John F. Kennedy and a number of other vessels including a Russian destroyer, while Ainsworth moored at Staten Island (26–30 May 1993). Ainsworth then (7 June–14 July) returned to the Caribbean, stopping briefly to refuel at Mayport on 10 June. The ship took part in an integrated submarine hunting exercise with Bowen at AUTEC (13–14 June), berthed at Roosevelt Roads (17–20 and 24–27 June), celebrated Independence Day at Mayport (2–6 July), and put in to Norfolk on her return voyage (9–12 July). During the summer she participated in TacDevEx 20-93, a tactical development exercise that took her to Canadian and New England waters, stopping at Newport on 18 July, operating against Bowen, a Los Angeles-class submarine, and a Canadian diesel-powered submarine off Boston, Mass. (20–24 July), and visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia (25–28 July). The ship meanwhile approached the end of her U.S. naval service and transfer to the Turkish Navy. Rear Adm. Gular, the Turkish Navy’s chief engineer, toured the frigate on 29 September, expressing his eagerness to take delivery of her as soon as possible.
Ainsworth then (4 October–12 December 1993) took part in counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean. She broke up her patrols by accomplishing voyage repairs at Roosevelt Roads (9–11, 18, and 24 October, and 3–5 November), and visiting St. Johns, Antigua (30 October–1 November). While the ship sailed in these waters, however, an ongoing crisis in Haiti embroiled the region. Following the Haitian Army’s overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in September 1991, a succession of governments had led to sectarian violence. The UN authorized force to restore order and the U.S. initiated Operations Support Democracy and Uphold/Restore Democracy—Uphold Democracy for a peaceful entry into Haiti, and Restore Democracy in the event of resistance. The ship consequently came about and joined Caribbean Task Force 120 for Support Democracy (10–21 November and 24 November–2 December). Ainsworth intercepted 11 ships that attempted to slip into that island, during one of which on 26 November she carried out the operation’s 100th boarding, and split the patrols by accomplishing upkeep at Guantánamo Bay on 22 and 23 November, and pausing at Norfolk during the return leg of her voyage on the windy and rainy day of 5 December. She completed a logistic management assessment on 10 December, and ended 1993 at her home port.
Ainsworth spent the first few months of 1994 in port at Staten Island and completing an underway material inspection by the Board of Inspection and Survey (InSurv), Atlantic, while preparing for the arrival of the Turkish sailors. Cmdr. Atasun Baykara, her prospective commanding officer, arrived at his new ship on 20 February. The frigate sailed from Staten Island with a dozen “Tigers” (male dependents of crewmembers) on 5 March, carrying out gunnery and antisubmarine warfare demonstrations before reaching Norfolk two days later. On 8 March, 160 Turkish officers and petty-officers boarded Ainsworth and began familiarizing themselves with the ship. A team of civilian inspectors aided the ships company in working with the new crewmen. She repeatedly stood out to sea from Norfolk to train the Turkish sailors during the succeeding weeks, focusing on engineering casualty control, tracking exercises, precision anchorages, and antisubmarine warfare exercises. On 21 May, 127 additional Turkish crewmen arrived to complete their complement. Ainsworth was decommissioned on 27 May 1994 at NS Norfolk, and transferred to the Turkish Navy and renamed Ege (F.256), which roughly translates as the “Aegean Sea.”
Mark L. Evans
18 April 2016
