Subject: USS Fanning, (FF-1076)
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999
From: Gary Brown
To: Destroyers Online

Mark,

Glad to hear you're back on line. I'm new to the net, and found your site while looking for information on my first ship, USS Fanning. I've been out of the Navy 20 (God!) years, and hadn't heard anything about the ship since I left San Diego in 1979. It came as quite a shock to hear that the Knox class in it's entirety is extinct. I guess that was to be expected, given the age of the ships and that even when new they were regarded by the top brass as red headed step-children. Looks like they put them out to pasture as soon as they could.

I came aboard Fanning on 2 September 1974 in Singapore as a push-button 3rd class Fire Controlman on the Point Defense system. I served with Arnold Galloway, Skip Schreiber, Greg Sellars, GMGC Swain, and later, George Breshears. I remember Terry McCullough, Hixenbaugh, Mike Galli and Mike Beatty with the 68 GFCS, and Jerry Brazzle, Bill McGraw on the 5" .54. Our division officer was Lt.(jg) Campbell, we used to call him "Killer" which he hated, but he was a pretty good fellow and a good officer. Some of my good buds were with the sonar crew, Roy Aiken, Dan Haller, Scott Strahsburg, Scotty Hand, Clyde Roy, and Bud Romminger. Billy Blake on the ASROC crew. The skipper while I was on board was Cdr. Marshall Stovall, a Massachusetts man with a Kennedyesque accent. I made the rest of that cruise and a second in '75-'76 (during which I made E-5), leaving the ship due to a knee injury incurred on board in Hong Kong. Got put in the British Military Hospital for about 30 days, & then was transferred to Clark Hospital in the P.I. One of the loneliest feelings I've ever had is to be lying in that bed watching her steam out of Hong Kong Harbor. When I got back to San Diego and out of medical hold, I was reassigned to the New Orleans. The last time I saw Fanning was when I stumped aboard on crutches to pick up the last of my gear.

I have a lot of fond memories of that ship and her crew. Cdr. Stovall was the man that informed me that I was a father for the first time two days after leaving Midway Island headed west when I was invited up to his cabin and handed the telegram and one of his cigars. Our berthing space was forward between the 5" and ASROC, my bunk was against the port side hull. I used to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the water rushing by, never slept better in my life. We spent a lot of time in the I.O., playing tag with the Russians, and never had either a Kirvack or Kresta destroyer more than 2000 yards off our beam. We were close enough at times to wave over to the Soviet sailors on the deck of the Russian ships, but they never waved back. Curious.

I remember ports of call in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Karachi Pakistan. Karachi was dry, and the crew got invited over to the Kings Club and treated to one warm beer each. That was it for the next five days, and it's not like there's anything much else to do in Karachi other than ride around in pony carts looking at the people look at you. Not to mention that the smell of that harbor was indescribable in polite company.

Prior to the '75-'76 deployment we went up to Long Beach for about three months to get some engineering work done, so everyone who had a family commuted from San Diego. At the conclusion of the yard work it took us three tries to get the ship out of there, some problem with the forced draft blowers that kept us limping back in for more work. One of the fellows I roomed with at "A" school was stationed on an old FRAM II across the pier. My sea & anchor station was on the fantail, and when we pulled out on the third try I hollered over to him " Jim, I'll see you later." Lt. Johnson, Deck Department Officer came over and whispered in my ear, " Brownie, if we DO come back in you'll be swimming over with the mooring line in your teeth. " Fortunately for me we made it out. Mr. Johnson followed me over to the New Orleans about six months after I came on board as the Engineering officer. About June of '75 we did a missile shoot as part of REFTRA and splashed the drone. From there we headed directly up the Oregon and Washington coast on the way to Anchorage Alaska. Nice place, but the tide was about 14 feet from low to flood, so duty consisted of constantly adjusting the mooring lines. The sun never quite went down either. On liberty it was hard to feel what time it was, and wasn't unusual to look down at your watch to find that you were still bar hopping at 0330, with the duty the next morning.

We pulled out on the WESPAC in the fall of '75. Some of the strongest memories I have concerning that cruise are the yard period in Subic when we were put up in one of the floating dry docks. We had our work completed and moved out of the dock, and tied up at a berth about 150 yards away from it. About a week later the yard crews were working on the dry docks when the flood valves for the center two pontoons stuck open and flooded the two sections. The first we knew of it was when sirens started squealing in the yard, and then the dry dock broke in half and started to sink. The two huge cranes rolled down their tracks to the break and ended up in the harbor, and the section of the dock nearest us started to swing around in our direction. We went to sea & anchor immediately, but the quick action of one of the yard tugs held the thing in place until it settled on the bottom. Sure raised the pucker factor. For much of that cruise we stood as plane guard for the USS Oriskany, on her last cruise prior to decommissioning. I was up in the '68 Director running range checks, and had the range finder focused on the stern of the carrier as she was recovering aircraft. While I was watching one of the F-8's make an approach, the pilot punched out, and the plane pancaked into the rear of the flight deck. We went to pilot recovery and got the man up on deck without further incident. The Oriskany figured prominently in what is my most vivid memory of my naval service. Just after Christmas of '75 we headed out accompanied by the USS Davidson FF-1045, to escort the carrier on flight Ops. We were informed that the Admiral on Oriskany intended to make a port call to Hong Kong, with us in attendance. We had been appraised that a storm was brewing in the South China Sea, but expected that we could get where we were going before it caused us any trouble. WRONG! We headed out in calm seas and an overcast sky that had started to roughen up with a considerable chop by the time I hit the rack. I woke up about 0400 that morning being tossed from side to side as the ship labored through the water. The Captain came on the 1MC about 0600 and told all departments to rig for heavy seas and for all hands to stand clear of the weather decks. About 0900 that morning the look out called down to tell us that the Point Defense director was swinging back & forth, so Skip and I put on life jackets and went up to tie her down. The seas at that point were running 15 to 20 feet, and the sonar dome was starting to smack on the down pitch as it re-entered the water. We finished up as soon as we could and got back below. It got rougher as we went further along our course.

About noon the call came down for volunteers for forward and aft look out's. Apparently a junk had been sighted close aboard, and in the clutter the surface search radar was proving useless. I went up to the bridge and was rigged in a harness that was secured to the railings in front of the signal shelter, and went up to start the watch.

The bow was pitching up clear of the water on the peak of each wave, while at the same time the stern would bury under. As the nose of the ship fell down the trough, the sonar dome would enter with an audible "thwack", and then start settling with a side to side shaking of the ship. Green water was flowing up to the 5" mount, and the spray created by the dome hitting the water would fly up in two great sheets on either side of the ship up over the top of the Mack. As the nose buried you could feel the stern lift clear and the vibration of the screw coming clear of the water. I could see the Davidson about 1500 yards off to port, and she would alternately appear and disappear as we were tossed up and then slid back down. When her nose came up I could see daylight under her keel as far as the bridge. I remember thinking Christ, is that how we look to her? Oriskany was rolling like a drunken boxer, with the water lapping up along her sides about to the flight deck.

I suppose that I should have been scared to death up there, but I was only filled with an elation brought on by the power and beauty of the display that nature was putting on. If there was any doubt in my mind that there is a greater force in the universe than the hand of man, that hour up on the signal bridge erased it completely. There was a fury in that storm, but there was also a peace within it. I think it was being willing to give yourself up to the will of God, because nothing that you were going to do would make a substantial difference as to what was going to happen. We were supposed to be up there for half an hour, but I stayed up for an extra watch. Lovin' every minute of it.

The real heart stopper came about an hour and a half later. We later heard that the Oriskany had part of her starboard catwalk ripped loose from its supports, and the Davidson was really taking a pounding, having sustained damage to the search and navigation radar's, gig, and a couple of her whip antennas. We received a message from the Oriskany to come about.

Now I've been told, and maybe someone can confirm this, that the Knox Class was designed to prevent capsizing through major topside equipment ( 5", ASROC, Mk. 68 Director, Mack, & Point Defense) tearing free at a roll of approximately 52 degrees, causing the ship to right itself. This may be an old wives tale for all I know. What I do know is that when we came around parallel to the trough, the ship heeled over and held for what seemed forever. I was standing in the starboard passageway by disbursing with one foot on the deck and the other on the bulkhead wondering "Well God, is this it?" You could hear the ship groan, and a variety of snaps and pops as the ship strained against the water. Then, slowly, we came back up. We were still pitching and rolling, but now headed out of the storm. I was later told by an HT in DC Central that the inclinometer went over to 48 degrees during the roll. It was good to be headed back to Subic. About a month later we did get to Hong Kong, when my knee blew up and I was compelled to leave Fanning. Later while on board the New Orleans (around winter of '76 I think) I heard that the Fanning had suffered some sort of explosion in her boiler room, and that among the injured was Chief Joe Moore, but never heard anything else on the incident.

So much for the stroll down memory lane, if I keep rambling this will get unmanageable. I've got a couple of photos of the ship I'm going to scan and send over to you as soon as you want them. The first is a post card from the ship's store that shows her before the LAMPS conversion and the Point Defense system was added. The second is with PD, prior to LAMPS. Hope you can use them, they track the vessel through the early stages of her evolution. Leaving the ship abruptly, I had no chance to take extensive photographs, but somewhere I've still got the cruise book from the '74 WESPAC, as soon as I can find it I'll send a crew list along to you. I'd love to hear from any of my old shipmates. Your site has inspired me to complete a hull I started carving 15 years ago, but references for Knox class frigates are few and far between and this site has been a Godsend. Anyone out therehaving photos or detail shots, I'd love to get a look at them.

In my mind, the Fanning will stay forever as she was the day I last passed down her gangplank. I hope the Turks appreciate what they have got in her, and look after her accordingly. Here's an idea I'd like to float to you and your readers. The Navy's interest in the Knox class ships is such that they sank USS Badger as a target last year, and others are having their bones picked for parts in places from Suisun to Taiwan. I see the Knox herself is listed as being on hold for eventual disposition as a memorial or museum and I think that's great. I know the Pentagon griped continually about the class almost from the time the first one was launched, but I think the record indicates that they turned out to be the "little ships that could." They were versatile, hard slogging ships that approached "Fleet Ops" with a never say die attitude, and accomplished far more than was expected of them. A whole generation of destroyer sailors served proudly aboard these somewhat different looking ships, and much of the engineering and weapons in use in today's fleet found their genesis in the Knox class. They bridged the gap between the old FRAM II's (some of which, by the way, served over 40 years) and today's turbine powered ships with all the Star Wars technology. They deserve some form of official remembrance. As the Knox is currently being preserved in Puget Sound I would assume that where ever she is placed it will be somewhere on the west coast. Although the Turks have her I think that it would be most appropriate to have the Fanning (The Spirit of '76) returned at the end of her lease and be placed on display in Boston Harbor, though I admit I may be biased on the issue. If not Fanning, then some other worthy member of the Knox class, before they are truly gone forever. If the situation between China and Taiwan keeps to the same heading the brass just might get the chance to see what these ships can do in a combat situation after all.

My apologies for the length of this missive, but thinking of the old girl and her crew opened a wellspring. If I can be of help to you or any others of her crew you have but to contact me.

May you and she have fair winds and following seas.

Gary Brown,
FTM-2
1974 - 76