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Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive



Ship's patches courtesy of Mike Smolinski

USS Ainsworth (DE 1090)


Flag Hoist / Radio Call Sign:
N - C - Q - I
Tactical Voice Radio Call: "First Team"


Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Second Row: Navy Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Medal w/ 2 stars
Third Row: National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star - Sea Service Deployment Ribbon - CG Special Operations Service Ribbon


"Parata Pugnare"
(Prepared to Fight)
Specifications:
Class: Knox
Type: SCB No. 64 / 199C
Displacement: 3020 tons (std), 4065 tons (full)
Length: 415' (wl), 438' (oa)
Beam: 46' 9" (extreme)
Draft: 15' 0" (draft limit)
Propulsion: 2 Combustion Engineering 1200psi boilers; 1 Westinghouse geared turbine; 35,000 shp; 1 shaft
Speed: 27 kts
Range: 4,500 nm @ 20 knots
Armament: 1 x 5"/54 Mk 42 (600 rds), 1 Mk16 ASROC launcher (16 missiles), 4-12.75" (324mm) Mk 32 (4x1 fixed) tubes / Mk 46 torpedos (6)
Complement: 13 / 211
Radars: AN/SPS-10 (surface), AN/SPS-40 (air), AN/SPS-58 threat warning in some ships
Sonars: AN/SQS-26CX, AN/SQS-35 IVDS in FF-1052, 1056, 1063-1071, 1073-1076, 1078-1097
Fire Control Systems: Mk68 Gun FCS, Mk114 Underwater Battery FCS
Ainsworth (DE 1090) Building and Operational Data:
  • 25 August 1966: Building contract awarded to Avondale Shipyards, Inc.
  • 11 June 1971: Keel laid at Avondale Shipyards, Inc., Westwego, La.
  • 15 April 1972: Launched and christened, sponsored by Mrs. Katherine Gardner Ainsworth, the widow of Vice Admiral Ainsworth
  • 31 March 1973: Commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va., Cmdr. Terrence E. Siple in command
  • 30 June 1975: Reclassified Frigate (FF 1090)
  • 30 September 1990: Assigned to the Naval Reserve Force, Atlantic, at Norfolk, Va.
  • 27 May 1994: Decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. after 21 years and 2 months of service, leased to Turkey, renamed TCG Ege (F-256)
  • 21 March 2005: Decommissioned from the Turkish Navy, now a museum ship at Izmir, Turkey
  • 11 January 1995: Struck from the NVR
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By And/Or Copyright
    Ainsworth
    0602109001

    Ainsworth
    38k Walden "Pug" Lee Ainsworth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 10 November 1886. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1910 and was commissioned Ensign on 07 March 1912. Selected to Flag Rank early in World War II, he was transferred to the Retired List and concurrently promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral on the basis of combat awards in 1948. He died on 07 August 1960 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Although much of his time at sea was spent in battleships and cruisers, Vice Admiral Ainsworth's "first love was destroyers." These he commanded in various capacities throughout his distinguished career; as ship's Captain, Squadron Commander, Flotilla Commander, Task Force Commander and Type Commander. Aptly described as "a destroyerman's destroyerman" by Theodore Roscoe in his book Destroyer Operations in World War II, he was one of the outstanding bombardment task force commanders of the war in the Far East. "He was new to the South Pacific," wrote historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, "but he entered the arena as if he had been fighting... all his life." His exploits are written in the history of the Solomon's, Marianas, Palaus and Leyte Campaigns. For those he was awarded the Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit and many of his ships received Navy Unit Commendations and Presidential Units Citations. From 1945 until 1948, Vice Admiral Ainsworth served concurrently as Commander Fifth Naval District and Commander Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia. He retired from naval service on 01 December 1948. Vice Admiral Ainsworth is survived by his wife, the former Katherine Gardner; two children - H. Gardener Ainsworth, Director of the Office of Maritime Affairs, Department of State; and Katherine Ainsworth Semmes, wife of Vice Admiral B.J. Semmes, Jr., USN (Ret.).

    USS Ainsworth (DE 1090) (1973 - 1994) was the first ship to be named in his honor.        (U.S. Navy photo #NH 85190 from the U.S. Naval Historical Center)
    Robert M. Cieri
    Ainsworth
    0602109028
    113k 27 April 1973: USS Ainsworth (DE 1090) underway in Chesapeake Bay.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Centre Photo #K-99628 by PHC Roger E. Barnes, Photo and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships)
    Robert Hurst /
    Tommy Trampp
    Ainsworth
    0602109025
    37k late 1974: Balboa, Panama - Ainsworth tied up at the Rodman Pier on the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Panama. Taken while the ship was participating in the annual Unitas exercise that year. Ed Sallia
    1974 - 1976
    Ainsworth "Snoopy"
    Team Photographer
    Ainsworth
    0602109002
    90k June 1975: Chesapeake Bay

    (Both Photos © Richard Leonhardt)
    Richard Leonhardt
    Bethlehem, Pa.
    Ainsworth
    0602109003
    57k
    Ainsworth
    0602109026
    38k October 1975: The Lamps helo deck while underway in the Mediterranean Sea. The helicopter is British, but I am not certain off which ship. We were involved in a joint excercise off the coast of North Africa at the time. Ed Sallia
    1974 - 1976
    Ainsworth "Snoopy"
    Team Photographer
    Ainsworth
    0602109027
    29k October 1975: Looking at the forward gun mount and bridge from the foc'sle.
    Ainsworth
    0602109036
    229k January 1976: The U.S. Navy frigate USS Ainsworth (FF 1090) at anchor off Spain. The photo was taken from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV 60), which was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea from 06 January to 28 July 1976. In the background are the guided missile cruiser USS Dale (CG 19) and a Gearing-class destroyer, probably USS Bordelon (DD 881). The photo may have been taken off Malaga, Spain, with the highway A7 under construction in the background.

    (U.S. Naval Historical Center photo #K-113217 from the Naval History and Heritage Command)
    Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Ainsworth
    0602109029
    260k 18 March 1976: Villefranche-sur-Mer, France - Ainsworth is anchored offshore for a port visit to the French Riviera.

    (Photo by Carlo Martinelli)
    Carlo Martinelli
    Genoa, Italy
    Ainsworth
    0602109004
    71k undated image -
    Ainsworth
    0602104305
    link Seven (7) YouTube Movies of different evolutions aboard Ainsworth. (Posted these on YouTube and thought everyone might be interested. I took them sometime during the 1977 Med cruise or 1978 Caribbean cruise. They’re a bit shaky, but we didn’t have image stabilization on Super 8 cameras.) Chuck Chandler
    Ainsworth
    0602109037
    167k 1979 - 80: The U.S. Navy frigate USS Ainsworth (FF 1090) underway at sea.

    (U.S. Navy photo from the USS Ainsworth (FF 1090) 1979-1980 Cruise Book
    Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Ainsworth
    0602109038
    156k 1981: the U.S. Navy frigate USS Ainsworth (FF 1090) underway at sea. Note that she has received the heightened bow section and spray strakes as a measure to prevent damage forward in heavy seas.

    (U.S. Navy photo from the USS Ainsworth (FF 1090) 1981 Cruise Book
    Ainsworth
    0602109034
    311k Summer 1981: Mina Salman, Bahrain - Left to Right: USS Ainsworth (FF 1090), USS Bigelow (DD 942), and USS Coronado (AGF 11) pier-side in Mina Salman. Coronado, the flagship of the U.S. Middle East Forces at the time, was painted white as is tradition for flagships since the great White Fleet.

    (U.S. Navy photo)
    Ainsworth
    0602109005
    147k 15 October 1981: Yorktown, Va. - A port quarter view of the British frigate HMS Ariadne (F-72), left, in the York River during a re-enactment of the Battle of Yorktown. On the right is a stern view of the frigate Ainsworth.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-86-066750 by JO1 Peter D. Sundberg from the Defense Visual Information Center)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Ainsworth  411k       Ainsworth  501k       Ainsworth 494k

    01 May 1984: at sea - A port beam view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-88-09142, DN-SC-88-09147, and DN-SC-88-09148 by PH1 Erickson from the DVIC)

    0602109007   -   0602109035   -   0602109006


    Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom
    Ainsworth
    0602109008
    354k 01 August 1985: at sea - An aerial starboard bow view of Ainsworth underway in the Atlatic.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-88-09148 by PH1 Erickson from the DVIC)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Ainsworth
    0602109009
    122k 25 August 1986: at sea - A bow view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-87-10542 from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109010
    209k 25 August 1986: at sea - A starboard quarter view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-87-10546 from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109011
    178k 25 August 1986: at sea - A port quarter view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-87-10542 from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109012
    129k 25 August 1986: at sea - A stern view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SN-87-10540 from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109013
    245k 17 October 1987: at sea - A port beam view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-90-11745 from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109014
    885k 17 October 1987: at sea - A port beam view of Ainsworth underway.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-90-11738 from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109021
    152k 29 October 1988: Elizabeth River, Norfolk, Va. - A port bow view of Ainsworth undergoing overhaul in a floating dry dock at the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-89-01504 by Don S. Montgomery, USN (Ret.) from the DVIC)
    Bill Gonyo
    Downey, Cal.
    Ainsworth
    0602109015
    99k 10 November 1989: Norfolk, Va. - The national ensign flies from the stern of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), as Ainsworth returns to its home port.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-90-03549 by PH2 Tracy Lee Didas from the DVIC)
    Mike Smolinski
    Clifton, N.J.

    Navsource DE/FF/LCS
    Archive Manager
    Ainsworth
    0602109016
    218k 10 November 1989: Naval Station Norfolk, Va. - A port beam view of Ainsworth returning to home port with its crew manning the rail.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-90-03550 by PH2 Tracy Lee Didas from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109017
    204k 10 November 1989: Naval Station Norfolk - A port beam view of Ainsworth returning to home port with its crew manning the rail.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-90-03998 by PH2 Tracy Lee Didas from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109018
    167k 10 November 1989: Naval Station Norfolk - The large harbor tug Anoka (YTB-810) and Ainsworth pass each other in the harbor.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-90-03999 by PH2 Tracy Lee Didas from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109019
    105k 02 February 1992: Staten Island, N.Y. - Sailors aboard the Naval Reserve Force training frigate Ainsworth are shown enjoying the noontime meal in the messdeck spaces aboard the ship.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-94-01198 by CWO2 Ed Bailey from the DVIC)
    **McCandless / Ainsworth**
    0602108409
    158k 04 July 1993: Naval Station Mayport, Fla. - The training frigates Ainsworth and USS McCandless (FFT 1084) each display a rainbow of signal flags while moored at the naval station on the Fourth of July.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-93-05527 by OS2 John Bouvia from the DVIC)
    **McCandless / Ainsworth**
    0602108410
    134k 04 July 1993: Naval Station Mayport - as in previous photo.

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-SC-93-05523 by OS2 John Bouvia from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109020
    163k 21 May 1994: Naval Station Norfolk, Va. - A port bow view of the recently commissioned Turkish frigate Trakya (F-254), ex-McCandless (FF-1084) tied up at the Norfolk Naval Station. Next to Trakya is Ainsworth which is being prepared for transfer to the Turkish Navy as TCG Ege (F-256).

    (U.S. Navy photo DVID #DN-ST-95-00970 by Don Montgomery from the DVIC)
    Ainsworth
    0602109031
    314k May 1994: at sea off Norfolk, Va. - The national ensign flies from the mack of USS Ainsworth as she is overflown by a B-52 shortly before her transfer to Turkey. Hakan Tasan
    CPO (Ret.), Turkish Navy
    Ainsworth
    0602109032
    470k 27 May 1994: Norfolk, Va. - Two views of Ainsworth (FF 1090) as she prepares for her decommissioning and transfer to the Turkish Navy as frigate TCG Ege (F-256).  CPO Tasan was in the first Turkish crew.
    Ainsworth
    0602109033
    392k
    Ainsworth
    0602109022
    112k undated: a photo of TCG Ege's emblem, as painted on her hangar door. Yucel M.Umar
    CPO (Ret.), Turkish Navy
    Ainsworth
    0602109023
    153k date / location unknown
    Ainsworth
    0602109024
    117k
    Ainsworth
    0602109030
    33k undated: Izmir, Turkey - The frigate TCG Ege (F-256, ex-USS Ainsworth) with the submarine TCG Pirireis (S 343, ex-USS Tang, SS 563) alongside at the Inciralti Sea Museum, Izmir, Turkey. Bob Hurst
    Worksop, Nottinghamshire,
    England, United Kingdom

    Ainsworth Memorabilia
    Ship's
    Lighter
    Ainsworth
    Courtesy of
    Mike Smolinski
    Ship's
    Buckle
    Ainsworth
    Courtesy of
    Hakan Tasan

    Ainsworth History
    View the USS Ainsworth (DE 1090) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site.
    View a Photo Slideshow of TCG Ege, ex-USS Ainsworth, as a Turkish museum today.

    Ainsworth's Commanding Officers
    Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves
    Dates of Command Commanding Officers
    1.)  31 Mar. 1973 - 15 Jul. 1974Cmdr. Terrence Eugene Siple (prior enl.) (Crawford, Pa.)
    2.)  15 Jul. 1974 - 04 Oct. 1976Cmdr. Haig Hadrasian Pakradooni III (OCS '57) (Wynnewood, Pa.)
    3.)  04 Oct. 1976 - 06 Oct. 1978Cmdr. Robert Jackson Brenton (USNA '60) (Palisade, Colo.)
    4.)  06 Oct. 1978 - 25 Feb. 1981Cmdr. Alexander Joseph Krekich (USNA '64) (Passaic, N.J.) (ret. as Vadm.) (Go Indians!)
    5.)  25 Feb. 1981 - 27 Feb. 1983Capt. George Jeremiah Ellis (Dallas, Tex.)
    6.)  27 Feb. 1983 - 24 May 1985Cmdr. John William Beardsley (USNA '64) (Navy Jr., McLean, Va.)
    7.)  24 May 1985 - 22 Jul. 1987Cmdr. Arthur Bruce Carden (OCS '67) (Tampa, Fla.)
    8.)  22 Jul. 1987 - 19 Dec. 1989Cmdr. Daniel Thomas Sherrange (NROTC '69) (Erie, Pa.)
    9.)  19 Dec. 1989 - 22 Nov. 1991Cmdr. Robert Philip Perry (USNA '72) (Jeffersonville, Ind.)
    10.) 22 Nov. 1991 - 21 May 1993Cmdr. Patrick Leo Denny (USNA '73) (St. Louis, Mo.)
    11.) 21 May 1993 - 27 May 1994Cmdr. James Sidney Snyder (NROTC) (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
     
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information

    None
    Note About Contacts

    Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
    made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
    a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
    Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.


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    by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved.
    Page Last Updated: 19 December 2021