USS Garcia

USS Garcia The USS Garcia off the shores of Newport, Rhode Island in August 1972
History
United States
Name	USS Garcia
Awarded	22 June 1961
Builder	Bethlehem Steel, San Francisco, California
Laid down	16 October 1962
Launched	31 October 1963
Sponsored by	Daisy Garcia de Alvarez
Acquired	3 December 1964
Commissioned	21 December 1964
Decommissioned	31 January 1989
Out of service	1989
Reclassified	30 June 1975*
Stricken	31 January 1989
Homeport	Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Identification	DE-1040 (1964) FF-1040 (1975)
Nickname(s)	Greasy-G
Fate	Scrapped 29 March 1994
Badge
Pakistan
Acquired	31 January 1989
Out of service	1994
Renamed	Siaf
Identification	F264
General characteristics
Class and type	Garcia-class frigate (Formerly destroyer escort)
Displacement	2,624 tons (light)
Length	414 ft 6 in (126.34 m)
Beam	44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Draught	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Propulsion	2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 Westinghouse turbine, 35,000 shp (26,000 kW), single screw
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement	16 officers 231 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-40 air search radar AN/SPS-10 surface search radar AN/SQS-26 bow mounted sonar
Armament	2 × single 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal. Mk 30 gun 1 8-tube ASROC Mk16 launcher (16 missiles) 2 × triple 12.75 in (324 mm) Mk 32 torpedo tubes, Mk 46 torpedoes 2 × MK 37 torpedo tubes (fixed, stern) (removed later)
Aircraft carried	1 x SH-2F Seasprite LAMPS I

USS Garcia (FF-1040) was the lead ship of her class of destroyer escort ships, later reclassified as frigates, in the United States Navy. She was named for U.S. Marine Private First Class Fernando Luis Garcia, the first Puerto Rican Medal of Honor Recipient.

Laid down on 16 October 1962 by Bethlehem Steel of San Francisco, California, Garcia was launched on 31 October 1963 and commissioned on 21 December 1964. Originally designated DE-1040, she was redesignated FF-1040 in 1975 as part of the Navy's 1975 ship reclassification.

She served in the Atlantic Fleet and was homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Pakistan service

For other ships with the same name, see PNS Saif.

Following her decommissioning on 31 January 1989, she was transferred to Pakistan on the same day. Renamed Saif, she was returned to the United States on 13 January 1994 and was then sold for scrap on 29 March 1994.

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

	Navy Unit Commendation (with one star)
	Navy "E" Ribbon
	Navy Expeditionary Medal
	National Defense Service Medal
	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

References

• K. Jack Bauer and Stephen S. Roberts, "Register of Ships of the U. S. Navy, 1775-1990," p. 243.
• Naval Institute "Proceedings," May 1995, pp. 219, 220.
•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
•  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.

External links

• USS Garcia on NavSource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive
• Photo of Garcia