USS Kauffman (FFG-59)

USS Kauffman (FFG-59)

USS Kauffman (FFG-59), in 1986.
History
United States
Name:	Kauffman
Namesake:	Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman Rear Admiral Draper L. Kauffman
Awarded:	28 October 1982
Builder:	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down:	8 April 1985
Launched:	29 March 1986
Sponsored by:	Elizabeth Kauffman Bush
Commissioned:	28 February 1987
Decommissioned:	18 September 2015
Homeport:	NS Norfolk, Virginia
Identification:	Hull symbol:FFG-59 Code letters:NJLK
Motto:	"Toujours en Vedette" ("Always in the Lead")
Nickname(s):	Special K
Status:	decommissioned
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate
Displacement:	4,100 long tons (4,200 t), full load
Length:	453 feet (138 m), overall
Beam:	45 feet (14 m)
Draught:	22 feet (6.7 m)
Propulsion:	2 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (31 MW) through a single shaft and variable pitch propeller 2 × Auxiliary Propulsion Units, 350 hp (260 kW) retractable electric azimuth thrusters for maneuvering and docking.
Speed:	over 29 knots (54 km/h)
Range:	5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h)
Complement:	15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus SH-60 LAMPS detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-49 air-search radar AN/SPS-55 surface-search radar CAS and STIR fire-control radar AN/SQS-56 sonar.
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32
Armament:	As built: 1 × OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun 2 × Mk 32 triple-tube (324 mm) launchers for Mark 46 torpedoes 1 × Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 4 × .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. 1 × Mk 13 Mod 4 single-arm launcher for Harpoon anti-ship missiles and SM-1MR Standard anti-ship/air missiles (40 round magazine) Note: As of 2004, Mk 13 systems removed from all active US vessels of this class.
Aircraft carried:	2 × SH-60 LAMPS III helicopters
Aviation facilities:	2 × Hangars RAST helicopter hauldown system

USS Kauffman (FFG-59), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman (1887–1963) and his son, Rear Admiral Draper L. Kauffman (1911–1979), both experts in sub-surface naval missions.

Kauffman was laid down on 8 April 1985 by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine; launched on 29 March 1986; sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth Kauffman Bush, the daughter of Vice Admiral James L. Kauffman and sister of Rear Admiral Draper L. Kauffman; and commissioned on 28 February 1987 at Bath, Maine, Commander John C. Dranchak, USN in command.

As of 2012, Kauffman is captained by Commander William K. Shafley, III, USN, homeported at NS Norfolk, Virginia, and assigned to Destroyer Squadron 22.

Kauffman deployed for the final time on 8 January 2015. She was decommissioned on 18 September 2015.

Note: the milestones are extracted from the official command histories and no other sources. The set of command histories available is not complete, resulting in the partial record following.

Note: unless otherwise referenced, information has been sourced from the official command histories.

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.