US Navy Frigates of the Cold War

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The US Navy's frigate fleet were warships on the frontline of the Cold War at sea. The descendants of World War Two's destroyer escorts, they specialised in anti-submarine warfare, but were intended to be numerous, tough, versatile and well-armed enough to demonstrate US naval power around the world, performing roles that varied from intercepting drug-smugglers to defending aircraft carriers.When the Cold War turned hot, these were often the warships involved: it was a frigate, USS Harold E. Holt, that conducted the US Navy's first hostile boarding action since 1826 during the SS Mayaguez incident. During the Iran-Iraq war, they were dispatched employed at the forefront of the tanker war in the Persian Gulf where USS Stark suffered a notorious Exocet attack by Iraqi warplanes and proved the Oliver Hazard Perry class’s legendary toughness. Mark Stilley explains how the technology and design of these frigates changed during the Cold War and how the classes were modified to keep up to date. This fully illustrated book offers a fresh new study of the ships that formed the backbone of the Cold War US Navy.