Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index USS Clifton Sprague (FFG-16), tenth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Vice Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague (1896-1955), hero of the Battle of Samar. Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY76 program, Clifton Sprague was laid down 30 July 1979, launched 16 February 1980, and commissioned 21 March 1981. Decommissioned 2 June 1995, she was transferred to Turkey 27 August 1997 as that nation's TCG Gazantiep (F 490). She was stricken 4 September 1997. Clifton Sprague (FFG-16) was the first ship of that name in the US Navy. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.