1/17 What power does naval heritage give to a warship and crew? Thirty-five years ago today, a U.S. frigate in mortal peril off the Iranian coast found out.
2/17 The USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) was a Perry-class guided missile frigate. At 445 feet and 4,200 tons, she was small by the standards of the American Navy. But she was designed and built by Maine's Bath Iron Works, known for its sturdy ships.
3/17 Her crew was second to none, at least in the eyes of the trainers and evaluators of the Atlantic Fleet, who marveled at the Roberts' ability to handle even the toughest damage-control scenarios cooked up after the deadly 1987 missile attack on the USS Stark.
4/17 Her captain, Cmdr. Paul X. Rinn, brought combat experience and an unusual belief in the power of heritage to inspire and motivate his sailors.
Rinn ensured that his crew knew who Samuel B. Roberts was: a coxswain laid down his life to save Marines on Guadalcanal. Roberts received a posthumous Navy Cross, the naval service's second-highest award for valor.
5/17 And he made sure they knew about the first USS Samuel B. Roberts: DE 413, a pint-sized destroyer escort that in 1944 helped fight off a vastly superior force of Japanese battleships menacing American troopships off the Philippine Island of Leyte.
6/17 Rinn commissioned a bronze plaque bearing an image of DE 413 and the names of everyone who fought aboard her. He had it hung it near his frigate's quarterdeck.
7/17 On April 14, 1988, the Roberts — the third U.S. warship to bear the name, after DE 413 and DD 823 — was sailing the wartorn waters of the Persian Gulf. Her mission: to escort oil tankers and other commercial vessels past hostile Iraqi and Iranian forces.
8/17 Around 4 p.m., the forward lookout spotted naval mines off the bow. Few sights strike more fear into a mariner's heart. No weapon has sunk more U.S. warships since WWII.
9/17 As the captain tried to back out of the minefield, the detonation of 253 pounds of TNT blasted a truck-sized hole in the Roberts' hull. Superhot gases entered below the waterline, blew through through the ship's enginerooms, and set fires on four decks.
10/17 Flooded, on fire, alone in a sea at war, the Roberts crew battled dwindling odds as their ship settled ever lower in the water. Two major spaces had flooded immediately, and water was rushing into a critical third.
11/17 As the Roberts sailors ran to and fro, hauling hoses, shoring up damage, moving shells from fire-warmed magazines, many touched the DE 413 plaque on their way past. For luck, perhaps, or reassurance that someone had done this before them.
12/17 Later, Navy engineers expressed wonderment that a ship so badly damaged had not continued to sink, all the way to the bottom of the Gulf. And later, many of the Roberts crew said their connection to valiant sailors of old had helped to keep them fighting.
13/17 Four days later, after Navy EOD sailors had traced the mines to Iran, the U.S. retaliated. In Operation Praying Mantis, U.S. forces sank a half-dozen Iranian warships and boats. The 8-hour battle included the U.S. Navy's first missile duel between warships.
14/17 Among the lessons of the Roberts is how a weak military can use inexpensive weapons — Iran used thousand-dollar mines built to a 1903 design — to inflict grave damage upon a stronger one.
The Roberts was eventually returned to service with a repair bill of $96 million.
The Roberts was eventually returned to service with a repair bill of $96 million.
15/17 But another lesson is that the stories the Navy tells its sailors about valor at sea are not just stories. They have real power, and may matter most in times of crisis.
16/17 A suggestion, then: as the Navy considers future ship names, it should consider naming a fourth warship for Samuel B. Roberts.
17/17 Want more? I wrote a book on the Roberts: "No Higher Honor: Saving the Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf" (@NavalInstitute, 2006) amazon.com
Tonight (Sun., 4/16) at 8pm ET! Join @cdrsalamander, EagleOne, and me on the venerable Midrats podcast as we explore the legacy of the saving of the Sammy B, 35 years on. Listen live this evening ; it'll also be posted for download later. blogtalkradio.com
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