ORP Gen. K. Pułaski

ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski moored in Gdynia
History
United States
Name	USS Clark
Namesake	Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark (1893–1971)
Ordered	27 February 1976
Builder	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down	17 July 1978
Launched	24 March 1979
Sponsored by	Mrs. Olga Clark, widow of Admiral Clark
Commissioned	9 May 1980
Decommissioned	15 March 2000
Stricken	15 March 2000
Homeport	Norfolk, Virginia (former)
Identification	Hull symbol:FFG-11 Code letters:NJJC
Motto	"Determined Warrior"
Fate	Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP) Sold to Polish Navy
Badge
Complement	15 officers and 190 enlisted, plus SH-60 LAMPS detachment of roughly six officer pilots and 15 enlisted maintainers
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-49 air-search radar AN/SPS-55 surface-search radar CAS and STIR fire-control radar AN/SQS-56 sonar.
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32
Armament	As built: 1 × OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun 2 × Mk 32 triple-tube (324 mm) launchers for Mark 46 torpedoes 1 × Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 4 × .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns. 1 × Mk 13 Mod 4 single-arm launcher for Harpoon anti-ship missiles and SM-1MR Standard anti-ship/air missiles (40 round magazine) Note: As of 2004, Mk 13 systems removed from all active US vessels of this class.
Aircraft carried	1 × SH-60 LAMPS III helicopter
Poland
Name	ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski
Namesake	Casimir Pulaski
Acquired	15 March 2000
Commissioned	25 June 2000
Identification	Pennant number: 272 MMSI number: 261268000 Callsign: SNWR
Status	Active
Complement	17 officers and 198 enlisted
Armament	2 × double tube anti-submarine torpedo mounts 1 × 76 mm (3.0 in) Rapid Fire Dual Purpose Gun 1 × Vulcan Phalanx system 1 × Guided missile launching system with Standard surface-to-air missiles Boeing Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles
Aircraft carried	ASW Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter
General characteristics
Class and type	Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate
Displacement	4,100 long tons (4,200 t), full load
Length	445 feet (136 m), overall
Beam	45 feet (14 m)
Draft	22 feet (6.7 m)
Propulsion	2 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (31 MW) through a single shaft and variable pitch propeller 2 × Auxiliary Propulsion Units, 350 hp (260 kW) retractable electric azimuth thrusters for maneuvering and docking.
Speed	over 29 knots (54 km/h)
Range	5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots (9,300 km at 33 km/h)

ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski is one of two Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates of the Polish Navy. Formerly serving in the United States Navy as the USS Clark (FFG-11), after her transfer to Poland she was named for Kazimierz Pułaski, who fought in both the War of the Bar Confederation in Poland and later the American Revolutionary War. As the USS Clark, she was the US Navy's fifth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, and was named for Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark (1893–1971). The ship is propelled by two General Electric LM-2500 gas turbines and two 350 horsepower (261 kW) electric drive auxiliary propulsion units. The Gen K. Pułaski is currently homeported at Gdynia (Oksywie).

Ordered by the US Navy from Bath Iron Works on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY76 program, Clark was laid down on 17 July 1978 and launched on 24 March 1979. The frigate commissioned on 9 May 1980. She was the second US Navy ship commissioned with the name USS Clark. The ship sponsor was Mrs. Olga Clark, the widow of the ship's namesake.

In July 1982, Clark recovered three sailors that were washed overboard from the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain.^[1] A fourth sailor was not recovered and was lost at sea.^[2]

In December 1992, Clark was nearby when the crew of an F-14 was forced to eject during training operations off the coast of Virginia. Clark's helicopter rescued the radar intercept officer and a United States Coast Guard helicopter rescued the pilot.^[3]

In April 1994, Clark changed homeports from Newport, Rhode Island, to Norfolk, Virginia.^[4] The ship had previously been homeported in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from the mid-1980s to 1992 and Mayport, Florida before that. Decommissioned and stricken from the US Navy list on 15 March 2000, she was transferred to the Polish Navy that same day.

The ship was commissioned as ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski (after Kazimierz Pułaski) on 25 June 2000, at a ceremony attended by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Commander Marian Ambroziak was the first Polish commanding officer. Since her transfer to Poland, Generał Kazimierz Pułaski has participated in numerous NATO exercises in the Baltic Sea.

USS Clark and her crew received the following unit awards, according to the US Navy unit awards website:^[5]

• Humanitarian Service Medal for the evacuation of Lebanon, 23 to 25 June 1982
• Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Lebanon from 11 December 1983 to 21 January 1984
• US Coast Guard Unit Commendation, 31 October 1984 to 31 December 1984
• Meritorious Unit Commendation, 1 February 1984 to 21 April 1984
• US Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon, three awards, for April to June 1989, July to September 1989 and 19 January 1990 to 24 February 1990.
• Navy E Ribbon, two awards, for the years of 1992 and 1995
• Joint Meritorious Unit Award for the year of 1997.

USS Clark was also nominated for the United States Public Health Service Outstanding Unit Citation for operations from 24 June 1994 to 12 July 1994, but did not receive the award. The ship was reported near Haiti in mid-July 1994^[6] around the time many refugees were fleeing Haiti in small boats.^[7]

• USS Pulaski for US Navy ships of a similar name.

 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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Clark (FFG-11) (ship, 1979) and ORP Gen. K. Pułaski (ship, 1979).

• Polish Navy official site about Perry class in English
• Polish Navy official web about ORP Pulaski in Polish