The Knox class design was derived from the Brooke-class frigate modified to extend range and without a long-range missile system.

The ships were equipped with a torpedo-carrying DASH drone helicopter; its telescoping hangar and landing pad were positioned amidships aft of the mack.

[3] Harold E. Holt was built by Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California.

Although not scheduled for deployment so soon after commissioning, Harold E. Holt was sent to the Gulf of Tonkin on short notice soon after the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive began in the spring of 1972.

During the recapture of the container ship Mayaguez,[4] Marines crossing from Harold E. Holt conducted the first hostile ship-to-ship boarding by the U.S. Navy since 1826.

Harold E. Holt stayed on scene for several days before the Soviets could send out a seagoing tug to bring her home.