The guided-missile frigate USS Simpson floats off the coast of New England prior to its commissioning in 1985. The Simpson, the last U.S. Navy frigate, will be decommissioned on September 29.
U.S. Navy
The guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman (FFG 59) departs Naval Station Norfolk on January 9, 2015, for its final deployment. The ship, the last operational Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, will fight drug trafficking in the Caribbean and off South America.
Laura Hoover/U.S. Navy
Another frigate of the Perry class, the USS Stark, was hit by two Exocet missiles fired from an Iraqi jet during the Iran-Iraq war on May 17, 1987, killing 37.
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The Perry-class frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts, shown here in Panama in 2005, was struck by an Iranian mine in the Persian Gulf in 1988.
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The Roberts crew had to use steel cables to keep the warship together after the mine attack.
U.S. Navy
The 4,300-ton Roberts was later placed aboard a heavy lift ship, the Mighty Servant 2, off Dubai and then transported back to the U.S. for repairs.
U.S. Navy
The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS-2) is pictured at Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, in 2010. The ship was specifically designed to defeat "anti-access" threats in shallow coastal water regions, including surface craft, diesel submarines and mines, according to the Navy.
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The USS Constitution is shown in Boston Harbor in 2005. The tall-masted frigate in the oldest active warship in the world.