USS Blakely ( FF - 1072 ) The third USS " Blakely " ( DE - 1072 / FF - 1072 ) was a " Knox " - class destroyer escort in the United States Navy . She was reclassified as a frigate in 1975 along with her entire class . Her primary mission of ASW remained unchanged . She was named for Captain Johnston Blakeley and Charles Adams Blakely . She was primarily stationed out of Charleston , South Carolina . " Blakely " was laid down on 8 June 1968 at Westwego , Louisiana by Avondale Shipyards . She was launched on 23 August 1969 ; sponsored by Mrs . Lila Blakely Morgan , daughter of the late Vice Admiral Blakely and delivered to the Navy on 1 July at the Charleston Naval Shipyard . She was commissioned there on 18 July 1970 , Comdr . Francis L . Carelli in command . Operational history . " Blakely " spent the remainder of the year fitting out , conducting post - commissioning trials , and making her shakedown cruise . After a leave and upkeep period lasting from 12 December 1970 to 21 February 1971 , she entered the Charleston Nava1 Shipyard on 22 February for post - shakedown availability . During that extended repair period , her Sea Sparrow basic point defense surface missile system launcher was installed . She completed post - shakedown repairs and modifications as well as final contract trials on 4 August . Between 4 and 11 August , the ocean escort made a round - trip voyage to the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range for missile and gunfire qualification . The warship returned to Charleston on 11 August and , on the 23d got underway for a voyage — via Newfoundland — to northern Europe . During that cruise , she visited ports in Norway , Denmark , Germany , and France . She returned to Charleston on 3 October and began normal duty as a unit of the 2d Fleet . Her 2d Fleet service occupied her during the remainder of 1971 and 11 months of 1972 . During that time , " Blakely " conducted type training , individual ship ’ s drills , and fleet exercises aIong the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies . On 1 December 1972 , the ocean escort got underway from Charleston bound for the $ 3 . Steaming via the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , she arrived at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 7 January 1973 . Five days later , the warship departed Subic Bay for the Vietnamese combat zone . Her tour of duty in the Far East came at the very end of American participation in the Vietnam War ; and , as a consequence , she served only once in the combat zone . That service took place on the northern sea - air rescue station in the Gulf of Tonkin . " Blakely " concluded that assignment and arrived at Kaohsiung , Talwan , on 5 February . Following a fortnight there , she got underway on the 19th to return to Charleston . After calls at Hong Kong , Yokosuka in Japan , San Diego , and Panama , she arrived back at Charleston on 23 March . After post - deployment standdown , the warship resumed normal operations out of Charleston . That duty continued until 27 June when she entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability . Over the next five months , she underwent two major modifications . Her main propulsion plant was converted to use Navy distillate fuel , and the light airborne multipurpose system ( LAMPS ) was installed . She completed the restricted availability on 28 November and spent the remainder of the year preparing for refresher training . On 12 January 1974 , " Blakely " departed Charleston for refresher training in the West Indies . That training — including missile shoots , torpedo launchings , and gunfire support drills — lasted until 7 March at which time she returned to Charleston . After a series of inspections and examinations , both in port and underway , the warship resumed normal 2d Fleet duty on 29 April when she got underway to participate in LantReadEx ( Atlantic Fleet Readiness Exercise ) 3 - 74 . Blakely returned to Charleston from the readiness exercise on 8 May and began preparations for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea . On 14 June , the ocean escort stood out of Charleston on her way to the Mediterranean . She arrived in Rota , Spain , on the 24th and relieved . On the 26th , she began operations with the 6th Fleet . In addition to the usual exercises and port visits , she took part in evacuation operations conducted at Cyprus in July after strife broke out between the Turkish and Greek factions on that island . In August , she resumed the usual 6th Fleet duty and remained so occupied until relieved by at Gibraltar on 23 November . Two days later , the warship shaped a course back to the United States . " Blakely " arrived back in Charleston on 5 December and began a combination post deployment and holiday standdown . Redesignation . She remained in port through the end of the first month of 1975 . The warship got underway for the first time in 1975 on 18 February to conduct independent ship ’ s exercises , to take part in carrier qualifications with , and to undergo an operational readiness inspection . The ocean escort returned to Charleston on 25 February and , thereafter , resumed normal operations from that base . " Blakely " remained so occupied until 2 June when she entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard for a restricted availability followed immediately by a regular overhaul . On 30 June 1975 , " Blakely " was redesignated a frigate , and her hull number became FF 1072 . The repair period lasted until the third month of 1976 . She completed overhaul on 30 March 1976 and embarked upon post - overhaul trials and refresher training . Those tasks took her on an extended cruise in the West Indies , and she did not return to Charleston until 7 July . Operations out of Charleston - including a series of inspections and examinations - carried her through the year . In December , she also began preparations for another Mediterranean deployment . On the morning of 15 January 1977 , " Blakely " left Charleston and began her voyage to Europe . On 24 January , she arrived in Leixoes , Portugal , where she relieved . For the next six months , she ranged the length and breadth of the “ middle sea . ” In addition to the customary port calls , she participated in a series of national and multinational training exercises . She ended her tour of duty with the 6th Fleet on 20 July at Rota , Spain , where she was relieved by . " Blakely " departed Rota on the 22d and arrived in Charleston on 1 August . After a month of leave and upkeep and a tender availability , the frigate resumed 2d Fleet operations on 11 September . For the remainder of 1977 , she performed normal duty along the east coast and in the West Indies . In mid - February 1978 , the warship began preparations for another assignment to the Mediterranean . On 4 April , " Blakely " stood out of Charleston to join a Europe - bound task force built around . She arrived in Rota on 14 April and relieved " Blandy " . On the 17th , she entered the Mediterranean proper and began her actual duty with the 6th Fleet . That service — which included a number of multinational training exercises as well as the usual port visits — took up her time for the next six months . On 11 October , " Blakely " returned to Rota where she was relieved by . Four days later , the frigate put to sea for the return voyage to Charleston where she arrived on the 26th . Post - deployment leave and upkeep as well as two Destroyer Squadron ( DesRon ) 4 inspections kept her in port until the beginning of December . She got underway on the 4th and conducted training missions along the southeastern coast of the United States until the 15th . On that day , she returned to Charleston and commenced holiday standdown . She opened 1979 moored at pierside in her home port . Late in January , " Blakely " resumed operations with the 2d Fleet . For the next five months , she put to sea repeatedly — usually to participate in helicopter deck landing qualifications but also to conduct naval gunfire support training and other single - ship exercises . On 29 May , the frigate departed Charleston for Boston , Mass . She arrived at her destination on 31 May ; and , the following day , Boston became her new home port . On 4 June , the warship entered the drydock for a repair and modification period . On 4 October , she came out of the dock but remained in Boston well into 1980 completing repairs . She completed the overhaul on 21 April 1980 and departed Boston to return to Charleston . That same day also brought an official change of home port , from Boston back to Charleston . She arrived at her familiar old base on the 24th and resumed operations along the east coast and in the West Indies . She remained so occupied for the rest of the year . The beginning of 1981 found her in port in Charleston preparing for an overseas movement . On 12 January 1981 , " Blakely " got underway in company with bound ultimately for duty with the Middle East Force in the Indian Ocean . She arrived in Rota on 23 January and , the next day , began crossing the Mediterranean . On the 31st , the warship transited the Suez Canal and joined the Middle East Force . For almost four months , she cruised the waters of the Indian Ocean , the Gulf of Aden , and the Persian Gulf helping to display the keen interest of the United States in establishing peace and order in that perennially troubled area of the world . On 18 May , relieved her , and " Blakely " began the long voyage back to Charleston . She retransited the Suez Canal on 26 May and proceeded to Malaga , Spain , where she stopped over from 1 to 7 June . After additional stops at Ponta Delgada in the Azores and at Bermuda , the frigate arrived in Charleston on 18 June . Following the normal leave and upkeep period , she resumed 2d Fleet operations on 21 July . The ship was decommissioned on 15 November 1991 and struck from the Navy list on 11 January 1995 . She was disposed of by scrapping on 30 September 2000 .