USS Thach

Commissioned in 1984, the Thach honors Admiral John S. 'Jimmy' Thach, the naval aviator who invented the 'Thach Weave'—the aerial combat tactic that allowed American pilots in slower Wildcats to defeat the superior Japanese Zero—and who later commanded all air forces in the Western Pacific. The Thach Weave saved uncountable American aviators' lives during the Pacific War. The Thach was decommissioned in 2004.