Phutthayotfa Chulaok
Frigate
The Royal Thai Navy presently has two former U.S. Knox class Frigates in service. The Ouelet and Truett have been renamed Phutthaloetla Naphalai and Phutthayotfa Chulaok and currently serve in the third fleet.
The Ouelet (ff.1077) was decomissioned in 1993 and sold to Thailand in 1996. Decommissioned on July 30, 1994, the TRUETT was subsequently leased to Thailand where she was recommissioned as Phutthayotfa Chulaok. Stricken from the Navy list on January 11, 1995, the TRUETT was eventually purchased by Thailand on December 9, 1999. USS Truett, was the Navy's first training frigate and the second Navy ship to be homeported in Naval Station Ingleside, Texas. Knox-Class frigates have been in service since 1969.
USS TRUETT was the 44th KNOX-class frigate and one of the eight ships of her class transfered to the Naval Reserve Force serving as Reserve Training Frigates (FFT). Each of the eight Reserve Training Frigates had its own reserve crew, and was also assigned four "nucleus crews" which would man the 32 decommissioned KNOX-class frigates in the case of a reactivation of these ships.
The former United States Navy frigate USS Ouellet (FF-1077), recived a $14 million conversion and recommission for her new owners, the Royal Thai Navy from Cascade General Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, USA.
Work performed by Cascade General on the 440-foot (134 m) Knox-Class frigate included system reactivations, electronic and equipment upgrades and repairs to the boilers, pumps, propulsion systems, stabilizer and rudder. The reactivation also included drydocking and coating. The vessel was built in 1970 at Avondale Shipyards in Louisiana and remained in active duty until 1991. She was re-christened the HTMS Phutthaloetla Naphalai (FF-462).
Specifications | |
| Displacement | Standard - 7000 Full Load - 4,250 |
| Length | 438' |
| Beam | 47' |
| Draft | 6.2 m |
| Speed | 27 kts maximum 16 kts cruising |
| Armament | 8 - ASROC (from MK 16 launcher) 8 - Harpoon (from MK 16 box launcher) 4 - MK-46 torpedoes (from single tube launchers) 1 - 5-inch / 54 caliber MK 42 gun 1 - 20mm Phalanx close-in-weapons system 8 - Sea Sparrow BPDMS (on some ships) |
| Torpedoes | NA |
| AA Guns | 4 x Vulcan Phalanx CIWS(not installed) 2 x 30mm |
| Aircraft | 1 light Helicopter |
| Crew | ~250 |
Ships | |||||||
| Name | Number | Homeport | Builder | Ordered | Commissioned | Decomm | |
| Phutthayotfa Chulaok Phutthaloetla Naphalai | 461 462 | Phuket? | Avondale | NA | 1994 1997 | ||
