Ordered 25 August 1966 Acquired 17 May 1971 Decommissioned 30 June 1994 Construction started 11 July 1969 Length 134 m Draft 7.54 m | Laid down 11 July 1969 Commissioned 22 May 1971 Struck 11 January 1995 Launched 2 May 1970 Displacement 2.921 million kg | |
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Builders Avondale Shipyard, Westwego | ||
USS Bowen (DE-1079/FF-1079) was a Knox-class frigate in the United States Navy. She was named for Vice Admiral Harold G. Bowen, Sr. (1883-1965), former chief of the Naval Research Laboratory and the Office of Naval Research, who was deceased at the time of her commissioning. Admiral Bowen's son and namesake, Harold G. Bowen, Jr., who also retired as a Vice Admiral, presided over the U.S. Navy's 1969 inquiry into the Pueblo incident.
Bowen was built by Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana. Bowen was laid down 11 July 1969, launched 2 May 1970 and delivered 17 May 1971. She was commissioned 22 May 1971.
Commanded by CDR Arthur Drennan, US Naval Academy Class of 1964, Bowen was part of the Naval expeditionary force deployed off the coast of Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. In early September 1983, U.S. Marines at the Beirut International Airport came under artillery fire. After repeated warnings, Bowen was ordered to fire in defense of the Marines. On 8 September 1983, Bowen opened fire with her 5" Gun, destroying several artillery pieces and a fire control tower in the mountains, 9 miles south-east of Beirut. Bowen's action received international media attention and cemented her place in history as the first Naval Warship to engage in hostile fire in the Mediterranean since World War II. In all, Bowen made 6 firing runs, firing a total of 75 shells at hostile targets. For their actions, Bowen's crew was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, the Navy Expeditionary Medal and proudly adopted the slogan "First to Shoot in Beirut". In early October 1983, after one month on the "Gun Line", Bowen was relieved by the USS New Jersey (BB-62).
Bowen was decommissioned 30 June 1994 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 11 January 1995.
Bowen was disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) Section 516, Southern Region Amendment, to Turkey 22 February 2002. She served there as Akdeniz (F-257) until 2011.