Armament was a modest mix of ballistic, missile, and rocket weaponry; there was 1 x 5" (127mm) /54 caliber Mark 42 series turreted deck gun over the forecastle, 1 x 8-tube launcher for the "Harpoon" anti-submarine missile or Anti-Submarine ROCket (ASROC) solution, and 1 x 8-cell launcher housing the RIM-7 "Sea Sparrow" medium-range Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) weapon system.
Beyond this, the warship supported a single Kaman SH-2 "Seasprite" (LAMPS I equipped in later forms) navy helicopter as well as the DASH helicopter drone, both of which could be armed with ship-sinking torpedoes and patrol beyond-the-horizon.
Once in service from 1969 onward, with the Vietnam War (1955-1975) in full swing, USS Knox was stationed in the Pacific Theater where she was used to run the gamut of ASW-related sorties but also included surveillance, blockade, and Search & Rescue (SAR) initiatives. In 1975, along with other American assets, she was used to good effect to evacuate U.S. military personnel from Phnom Penh during Operation Eagle Pull". Just after this, she was reclassified to a Frigate and handed a new hull designation (the aforementioned "FF-1052"). Beyond this, and with the Cold War ending in 1991, there was little more notable action, leading to her ultimate decommissioning on February 14th, 1992. She was struck from the Naval Register in January 1995 and ultimately sunk as a target ship off the coast of Guam in August of 2007. This was part of Exercise Valiant Shield, a massive U.S. wargame in the Pacific.
During the course of her decades-long ocean-going career, the ship and her crews were awarded multiple ribbons and medals including the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (with two Bronze Stars), Navy Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary (with Bronze Star), Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal (with Bronze Star), and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
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