Only two ships of this class were built: and . Both were later sold to the
Mexican Navy.
Bronstein • Built by:
Avondale Shipyards,
Avondale, Louisiana • Laid down: 16 May 1961 • Launched: 31 March 1962 • Commissioned: 15 June 1963 • Reclassified: As
frigate (FF) 30 June 1975 • Operations:
US Pacific Fleet • Decommissioned: 13 December 1990 • Stricken: 13 December 1990 • Sold: To
Mexico, 1 October 1993; renamed
Hermenegildo Galeana (E-42); later ARM
Hermenegildo Galeana (F202)
McCloy • Built by:
Avondale Shipyards,
Avondale, Louisiana • Laid down: 1 September 1961 • Launched: 9 June 1962 • Commissioned: 21 October 1963 • Reclassified: As
frigate (FF) 30 June 1975 • Operations:
US Atlantic Fleet • Decommissioned: 14 December 1990 • Stricken: 17 December 1990 • Sold: To
Mexico, 1 October 1993; renamed ARM
Nicolas Bravo (E-40); later ARM
Nicolas Bravo (F201) At one time USS
McCloy held the record for largest military drug bust at 49.5 tons of marijuana (late 1980s). A sea-going
tug was forcefully boarded after an overnight chase while the tug's crew tossed bales of cocaine overboard and weapons fire was released the following morning at dawn. One of the tug's crew was wounded by .50 caliber gunfire and was helo'd off. A
Coast Guard detachment estimated the amount and an attempt was made to tow the tug to port. The tug had too much damage and sank in the night after several attempts to salvage her.
McCloy made many drug busts late in her life, received several citations and was painted with marijuana leaves for each bust. Other notables include involvement in the rescue of the crew of the
submarine . One of the last US Navy diesel submarines, it had a battery compartment fire and was abandoned by her crew off the coast of Florida.
McCloy ran lifeguard ops and eventually was designated the tow vessel to bring
Bonefish to
Charleston, South Carolina. ==See also==