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Entering service from 1969 through 1974, the forty-six Knox class frigates were intended as specialized
anti-submarine escorts. The design involved a series of compromises that initially
generated much criticism, much of it focused on what Knox class ships were not.
They were not general-purpose destroyers, but very large ASW escorts. As such they carried
only one main gun, a 5"/54 mount that - in theory - was the equal of two older
5"/38 mounts. Knox frigates lacked the speed of destroyers, another source of
criticism from the surface warfare crowd, and the single screw design made them
vulnerable. But in their intended role as ASW escorts, Knox class ships were very capable.
They utilized advanced sonar, and there was sufficient design margin to enlarge hangar
facilitiesfor a LAMPS ASW helicopter. These frigates were, however, very wet, and this was
addressed by fitting later ships (and retrofitting earlier vessels) with raised bulwarks
forward and hull mounted spray strakes. Knox class frigates were the largest class of post
WW2 USN surface vessels until an even larger class of Perry class frigates replaced them.
A significant number of these USN frigate are now serving with other navies, Taiwan being
the largest user.
The Iron Shipwright USS Ainsworth FF-1090 is a one-piece full hull resin model. Its most impressive feature is its engineering. There are only a handful of resin parts besides the hull, and they snap into place. The parts are detailed on all sides, which eliminates the necessity of endless flat sanding, mating surfaces that are never really flat, and then filling the resulting seam. This greatly speeds up construction, not to mention making the process more enjoyable. There is a slight downside to this sort of aggressive casting. There were a few visible voids. I filled them with plastic rod dipped in thick super glue, which I then snipped flush with the resin part and sanded smooth. The white specs in the accompanying photos show where I’ve done this. There were also pinholes and roughness along the keel. This is where resin is poured into the mold and is unavoidable. It is easily fixed with sanding, though some modelers won't bother. If your ship is mounted on keel blocks, these blemishes will be invisible to all but the dental mirror crowd. That said, I coated the keel area with super glue and sanded smooth. Old habits die hard.
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