USS Koelsch

History
United States
Name	Koelsch
Namesake	John Kelvin Koelsch
Ordered	21 March 1963
Builder	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan
Laid down	19 February 1964
Launched	8 June 1965
Acquired	23 May 1967
Commissioned	19 October 1968
Decommissioned	31 May 1989
Stricken	19 August 1994
Motto	Valor [and] Versatility.
Fate	Sold to Trusha Investments Pte. Ltd, c/o Jacques Pierot, Jr. & Sons, Inc., of New York City for $625,824. Scrapped in Hong Kong, China
Pakistan
Name	Siqqat
Acquired	31 May 1989
Out of service	Returned to US custody, 19 August 1994
Identification	F267
Fate	Returned to US custody
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	2,624 tons (light) 3,400 tons full
Length	414 ft 6 in (126.34 m)
Beam	44 ft 1 in (13.44 m)
Draft	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Propulsion	2 Foster-Wheeler boilers, 1 steam turbine, 35,000 shp (26,000 kW), single screw
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range	4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 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 guns 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	Gyrodyne QH-50 (planned) / SH-2 LAMPS

USS Koelsch (FF-1049) was a Template:Sclass- destroyer escort, later reclassified as a frigate, in the United States Navy. She was named for Navy helicopter pilot Lt(jg) John Kelvin Koelsch, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Korean War. On 3 July 1951, Koelsch and his crewman attempted to rescue a downed Marine aviator from enemy territory. Under heavy fire, Koelsch's helicopter was shot down; Koelsch, his crewman, and the Marine aviator survived the crash and evaded the enemy for nine days before being captured. Lt(jg) John Koelsch died of malnutrition and dysentery in a prisoner-of-war camp three months later.

History

Koelsch was laid down on 19 February 1964 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan. She was launched on 8 June 1965, sponsored by Miss Virginia L. Koelsch; and commissioned on 10 June 1967, with Commander John A. Buck in command.

She provided escort and antisubmarine warfare support to ships of the Atlantic Fleet from her home port, Mayport, Florida, as well as blockade, surveillance, and emergency evacuation capabilities along with providing assistance to the United States Coast Guard with antidrug operations.

Reclassified a frigate on 30 June 1975, Koelsch became FF-1049.

Fate

Decommissioned on 31 May 1989, Koelsch was leased to Pakistan and became frigate Siqqat (F-267). Because Pakistan would not stop its nuclear weapons program, the lease was cancelled in 1994. Returned to U.S. custody at Singapore on 19 August 1994, former Koelsch was stricken from the Navy Register the same day. Transferred to the Maritime Administration the following 9 September, on the same date she was sold to Trusha Investments Pte. Ltd, c/o Jacques Pierot, Jr. & Sons, Inc., of New York City for $625,824. She was then towed to Hong Kong and scrapped.

References

• K. Jack Bauer and Stephen S. Roberts, "Register of Ships of the U. S. Navy, 1775-1990,"
• "Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1947–1995"
• Naval Institute "Proceedings," May 1995, p. 219-221.
•  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.