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USS Robert E. Peary (FF 1073)

USS ROBERT E. PEARY was the 22^nd ship in the KNOX - class of frigates and the second ship in the Navy named after Robert E. Peary who is credited with the discovery of the North Pole. Built and commissioned as a destroyer escort, the ROBERT E. PEARY was redesignated as frigate on June 30, 1975.

Decommissioned on August 7, 1992, the ship was subsequently leased to Taiwan where it was recommissioned as CHIU YANG. Stricken from the Navy list on January 11, 1995, the ship was finally purchased by Taiwan on September 29, 1999.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS ROBERT E. PEARY. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

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About the Ship's Name:

Robert Edwin Peary, born at Cresson, Penn., 6 May 1856, was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Navy 26 October 1881.

In addition to his Arctic explorations, he was in charge of the Nicaragua Canal survey 1887–1888. He invented a type of tolling lock gates for the canal. His first Arctic expedition was in 1886 and on his eighth expedition he became the first man to reach the North Pole over the ice, arriving 6 April 1909, following a final dash covering 130 miles in five days. He was promoted to Rear Admiral and given the thanks of Congress by a special act of 30 March 1911. Rear Admiral Peary received honors from numerous scientific societies of Europe and America for his Arctic explorations and discoveries and wrote several books on his experience in the polar regions. He died in Washington, D.C., 20 February 1920.

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USS ROBERT E. PEARY History:

USS ROBERT E. PEARY was a KNOX-class frigate and the third commissioned United States Navy warship named for Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary, the naval officer and Arctic explorer associated with the 1909 expedition to the North Pole. The contract for the ship was awarded on July 22, 1964, and her keel was laid down by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company at Seattle, Washington, on December 20, 1970. She was launched on June 23, 1971, sponsored by Miss Josephine Peary, and commissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, on September 23, 1972, with Commander Charles J. Beasley in command.

Following commissioning, USS ROBERT E. PEARY spent approximately two months conducting tests, trials, and training along the northern Pacific coast. She then proceeded south to her assigned home port at Long Beach, California, where she arrived on November 8, 1972. The following months were devoted to shakedown training, engineering and weapons-system evaluations, crew certification, and the correction of deficiencies identified during her initial operations. These preparations introduced the ship and her crew to the demanding cycle of maintenance, training, inspections, exercises, and overseas deployments that characterized Pacific Fleet service.

USS ROBERT E. PEARY departed Long Beach on November 9, 1973, for her first deployment to the western Pacific. She reached Subic Bay in the Philippines on November 19 and entered the operational control of the United States Seventh Fleet. The deployment took place during the period between the withdrawal of most American combat forces from Vietnam and the final collapse of South Vietnam in 1975. Her duties were centered on fleet readiness, antisubmarine warfare, escort operations, surveillance, and cooperation with other American and allied naval forces rather than direct participation in the earlier phases of the Vietnam War. After returning to the United States in 1974, she resumed the normal Pacific Fleet cycle of maintenance and local operations from Southern California.

On June 30, 1975, the Navy's fleet-wide ship classification revision changed her designation from ocean escort DE 1073 to frigate FF 1073. During the middle of the decade, USS ROBERT E. PEARY continued to conduct Pacific Fleet exercises and overseas deployments, including a documented western Pacific cruise in 1976. Her activities during these years focused on maintaining proficiency in antisubmarine search and tracking, helicopter operations, naval gunfire, communications, replenishment at sea, and the protection of larger task groups. By the latter part of the decade, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, had become her operating base, placing the ship closer to the central and western Pacific areas in which she was most frequently employed.

On November 24, 1978, USS ROBERT E. PEARY departed Pearl Harbor in company with USS BREWTON (FF 1086) and USS COCHRANE (DDG 21). The ships made a five-day transit to San Diego before participating in Fleet Exercise 1-79. The approximately two-week fleet exercise brought together surface ships, submarines, and aircraft in a large tactical training environment and tested the participants in coordinated antisubmarine warfare, air defense, surface action, communications, and logistical support. The exercise formed part of the continuing effort to maintain Pacific Fleet readiness during a period in which the Soviet Pacific Fleet was expanding its submarine, surface-combatant, and long-range aviation capabilities.

USS ROBERT E. PEARY departed Pearl Harbor again on January 24, 1979, accompanied by USS COCHRANE and USS ROARK (FF 1053), for a deployment to the South Pacific. The cruise brought the task group into waters and island regions less frequently visited by major United States Navy formations and combined operational training with naval presence and international contacts. After operating through the South Pacific and subsequently continuing into Asian waters, USS ROBERT E. PEARY became involved in the most widely documented humanitarian event of her American service.

On May 5, 1979, while approximately 400 miles south of Thailand, the frigate encountered a disabled vessel carrying Vietnamese refugees. The people aboard were among the large numbers who had fled Vietnam by sea in the years following the end of the war. Many such vessels were overcrowded, inadequately supplied, and incapable of safely completing their voyages. USS ROBERT E. PEARY rescued 440 refugees from the disabled craft and provided them with shelter, food, water, and medical attention. On May 8, the survivors were transferred to the amphibious assault ship USS TARAWA (LHA 1), which possessed greater accommodation and medical facilities. The rescue later contributed to the ship's receipt of the Humanitarian Service Medal.

After completing the deployment and returning to Pearl Harbor, USS ROBERT E. PEARY entered another period of maintenance, training, and preparation. She departed on her next western Pacific deployment on June 17, 1980, and remained deployed until December 17. During the six-month cruise, she served with Seventh Fleet forces across the western Pacific, carrying out the routine but important work of an ocean escort: screening larger formations, conducting antisubmarine exercises, operating her embarked helicopter, maintaining surveillance of maritime activity, and training with other American and allied units. The deployment occurred at a time of growing Cold War tension following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the Iranian Revolution, and the continuing expansion of Soviet naval activity in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Another extended cruise, described in the ship's contemporary records as a South Pacific and Indian Ocean deployment, began on January 23, 1982. The deployment reflected the increasingly broad geographical employment of Pacific Fleet frigates, which could be assigned to island diplomacy and training in the South Pacific, surveillance and exercises in Southeast Asia, or operations along the principal sea routes of the Indian Ocean. Later that year, USS ROBERT E. PEARY and USS BREWTON participated in Exercise SANDGROPER 82, conducted from November 15 to 26 in the approaches to Western Australia. The exercise involved Australian and allied naval forces and emphasized coordinated operations in the eastern Indian Ocean. On November 25, USS ROBERT E. PEARY was among the American ships entering Fremantle during the concluding phase of the exercise.

In 1984, USS ROBERT E. PEARY deployed as part of the battle group centered on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65). The deployment began on May 30, 1984, when ENTERPRISE departed Alameda, California, and the participating ships assembled for their movement across the Pacific. The battle group took part in RIMPAC 84 in Hawaiian waters. RIMPAC brought together American and allied naval and air forces for large-scale operations that included carrier defense, antisubmarine warfare, surface engagements, amphibious activity, and replenishment at sea. After the Hawaiian phase, the force continued westward and conducted further training, including Battle Group Readiness Exercise 84-4 and Exercise BELL VOLCANO 84-1. USS ROBERT E. PEARY's role was principally to contribute to the formation's antisubmarine screen, provide surface surveillance, and protect the carrier and supporting ships against submarine and surface threats.

The battle group subsequently operated in the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. In the North Arabian Sea, its ships and aircraft devoted considerable effort to locating and maintaining contact with Soviet submarines observing American carrier operations. During one such operation, an opposing submarine had been localized on October 20. Three days later, on October 23, an SH-2 SEASPRITE helicopter operating from USS ROBERT E. PEARY regained sonobuoy contact and helped direct additional aircraft into the search area. The episode demonstrated the importance of the frigate's helicopter and sonar systems in maintaining a layered antisubmarine screen around a carrier battle group. The deployment also reflected the increasing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea following the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, and the continuing Soviet military presence in Afghanistan.

Between major deployments, USS ROBERT E. PEARY underwent the regular maintenance and modernization required to keep a steam-powered frigate operational. This work included upkeep of her boilers and propulsion machinery, sonar and radar maintenance, weapons-system servicing, aviation-support work, and the incorporation of changes introduced across the KNOX-class. During the latter half of the 1980s, a repair availability for the ship was assigned to Honolulu Shipyard under a Navy program that used both public and private shipyards for Pacific Fleet maintenance. These periods were accompanied by sea trials, refresher training, inspections, and tactical workups before the ship could again be certified for deployment.

USS ROBERT E. PEARY returned to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean in 1987 as part of the battle group centered on USS RANGER (CV 61). The deployment lasted from July 14 to December 29 and coincided with a period of serious tension in the Persian Gulf. The Iran-Iraq War had expanded into attacks on commercial shipping, leading the United States to escort reflagged Kuwaiti tankers under Operation EARNEST WILL. American forces also carried out Operation NIMBLE ARCHER in October 1987 after an Iranian missile struck the tanker SEA ISLE CITY.

The RANGER battle group provided a powerful supporting presence in the Arabian Sea while other American forces conducted escort and security operations in and around the Persian Gulf. USS ROBERT E. PEARY served as part of the group's protective screen, contributing antisubmarine warfare, surveillance, communications, and escort capabilities. On November 1, 1987, she was photographed in formation in the northern Arabian Sea with RANGER, the battleship USS MISSOURI (BB 63), the nuclear-powered cruiser USS LONG BEACH (CGN 9), USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52), USS LEFTWICH (DD 984), USS CURTS (FFG 38), and supporting vessels.

In 1989, USS ROBERT E. PEARY took part in Exercise KANGAROO 89, a large Australian-led exercise conducted in and around northern Australia. She and USS OLDENDORF (DD 972) were the two participating United States Navy surface combatants among a force that included numerous Royal Australian Navy ships. The ships assembled at Darwin, where their crews also took part in ceremonial and public events before the operational phase began on August 1. The exercise continued until the evening of August 20 and involved maritime surveillance, air defense, antisubmarine warfare, amphibious operations, logistics, and the coordination of forces from different services and nations.

Following KANGAROO 89, USS ROBERT E. PEARY and USS OLDENDORF began the passage toward Singapore in company with HMAS SYDNEY (FFG 03). HMAS SUCCESS (OR 304) joined the formation on August 22, and the four ships arrived in Singapore on August 28. Their combined passage provided further opportunities for communications drills, formation maneuvering, replenishment training, and other multinational procedures. The operation demonstrated the close working relationship among American and Australian naval forces at the end of the Cold War and placed USS ROBERT E. PEARY in the wider network of exercises intended to protect the maritime routes connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The frigate remained operational as the Cold War ended and the strategic emphasis of the United States Navy shifted toward regional crises and maritime security. In 1991, following the liberation of Kuwait and the end of the main combat phase of Operation DESERT STORM, USS ROBERT E. PEARY served with the Middle East Force. American and allied warships remained in the region to support the postwar security structure, enforce United Nations restrictions on Iraq, monitor shipping, and maintain cooperation among coalition navies.

In early October 1991, USS McCLUSKY (FFG 41), which had visited Muscat, Oman, from October 1 to 4, conducted a Middle East Force turnover with USS ROBERT E. PEARY during its return passage. The turnover marked USS ROBERT E. PEARY's assumption of regional duties and allowed the incoming crew to receive current information concerning operating areas, communications procedures, shipping patterns, and local threats. In mid-December, she joined the nuclear-powered cruiser USS BAINBRIDGE (CGN 25), a Royal Navy warship, and a French Navy warship for Gulf Exercise Seven. The multinational tactical exercise tested coordination among the participating navies and formed part of the continuing coalition presence after the Gulf War. Her service during this period qualified USS ROBERT E. PEARY for campaign and regional decorations associated with Southwest Asia and the liberation of Kuwait.

By 1992, USS ROBERT E. PEARY had completed almost twenty years of active United States Navy service. The KNOX-class was increasingly expensive to maintain, required comparatively large crews, and lacked the integrated air-defense systems carried by newer frigates and destroyers. The Navy was also reducing its overall force following the end of the Cold War. USS ROBERT E. PEARY was therefore selected for retirement and transfer rather than further modernization. USS ROBERT E. PEARY was decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on August 7, 1992. On the same date, she was transferred on lease to the Republic of China for service with the Republic of China Navy. After preparation and the training of her new crew, she was commissioned as ROCS CHI YANG (FF 932) at Kaohsiung on October 6, 1993. She was formally removed from the United States Naval Vessel Register on January 11, 1995, completing the administrative transfer of the former American frigate.

ROCS CHI YANG was decommissioned at Kaohsiung on May 1, 2015, in a ceremony that also included ROCS HAI YING (FF 937). Her retirement ended approximately 42 years of combined active service with the United States and Republic of China navies. The former frigate was retained after decommissioning for use as a target. On July 15, 2020, during the Taiwanese armed forces' HAN KUANG 36 exercise, the hulk of the former USS ROBERT E. PEARY was struck by a submarine-launched torpedo and sunk.

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