USS Flatley

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USS Flatley (FFG-21) was a United States Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate. She was the 13th ship of her class and was named for Vice Admiral James H. Flatley, a famed naval aviation leader from World War II. Built by Bath Iron Works in Maine, she was ordered in 1977, laid down in 1979, launched in 1980, and commissioned in 1981. Her home port was Mayport, Florida, and her hull number was FFG-21 with the code NJHF and the motto Have Courage.

Flatley served as a multi-mission escort frigate, equipped for anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine duties. She carried a SH-60 LAMPS helicopter detachment for scouting and mission support. Her armament included a 76 mm gun, torpedo tubes, anti-ship and anti-air missiles, and close-in defenses, along with radar and sonar systems for air and surface tracking and undersea detection.

The ship could reach speeds above 29 knots and had a range of about 5,000 nautical miles at 18 knots. Her crew consisted of about 15 officers and 190 enlisted sailors.

Flatley was decommissioned on 11 May 1996. She was later sold to Turkey on 27 August 1998 and was converted into a Turkish G-class frigate, renamed TCG Gemlik (F 492). In Turkish service, she remains active as Gemlik and carries the hull number F 492, MMSI 271035034, and callsign TBOG.