USS Rathburne (FF-1057)

• Namesake: USS Rathburne (FF-1057) was named after John Rathbun, an early naval officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. The spelling "Rathburne" was a variant used by the Navy for the ship. • Class and Type: Rathburne was a Knox-class frigate, originally classified as a destroyer escort (DE-1057) before being reclassified as a frigate (FF-1057) in 1975. • Commissioning: USS Rathburne was commissioned on 16 May 1970 at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. • Vietnam War Service: Shortly after commissioning, Rathburne deployed to the Western Pacific and provided naval gunfire support off the coast of Vietnam. • Homeport: The ship was homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for most of its service life, serving as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. • ASW Capabilities: As a Knox-class ship, Rathburne specialized in anti-submarine warfare (ASW), equipped with SQS-26 sonar, ASROC, and torpedo tubes. • LAMPS I Helicopter: Rathburne was modified to operate the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) I helicopter, enhancing its ASW capabilities. • Humanitarian Missions: The ship participated in rescue missions and provided assistance to Vietnamese refugees ("boat people") in the South China Sea during the late 1970s and early 1980s. • Decommissioning: Rathburne was decommissioned on 14 February 1992 after more than 20 years of service and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. • SINKEX Target: In 2002, the ex-Rathburne was sunk as a target during a RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise) live-fire exercise off the coast of Hawaii, providing valuable training for U.S. and allied forces.