USS Flatley
1980 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate

USS Flatley (FFG-21) was the thirteenth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates. She was the first ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for Vice Admiral James H. Flatley (1906–1958), a leading Naval Aviation tactician from World War II who flew the Grumman F4F Wildcat in the Battle of Coral Sea and subsequently commanded the VF-10 Grim Reapers taking them into combat for the first time.
Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 28 February 1977 as part of the FY77 program, Flatley's keel was laid down on 13 November 1979. She was launched on 15 May 1980, and commissioned on 20 June 1981. Decommissioned on 11 May 1996, she was sold to Turkey on 27 August 1998.
TCG Gemlik (F 492)
The ship immediately underwent conversion into a Turkish G-class frigate. She serves in the Turkish Navy as TCG Gemlik (F 492).
References
This article incorporates public domain material from Flatley (FFG-21) at the Naval Vessel Register.
The public source identifies “USS Flatley” as 1980 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Flatley, Oliver and Hazard.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “USS Flatley”, the useful work is to connect “1980 Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4821789. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1906, 1958, 1977 and 1979.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “USS Flatley”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow USS Flatley primary sources, USS Flatley archive and Flatley research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “USS Flatley”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “USS Flatley” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.