USS Albemarle (AV-5)
USS Albemarle (AV-5), 30 July 1943, in Measure 21 (Navy blue/haze gray) camouflage.
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name |
|
Namesake |
|
Builder | New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey |
Laid down | 12 June 1939 |
Launched | 13 July 1940 |
Commissioned | 20 December 1940 |
Decommissioned | 14 August 1950 |
Recommissioned | 21 October 1957 |
Decommissioned | 21 October 1960 |
In service | January 1966 |
Out of service | 1973 |
Stricken | 31 December 1974 |
Fate | Sold for scrapping, 17 July 1975 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Curtiss class seaplane tender |
Displacement | 8,671 long tons (8,810 t) |
Length | 527 ft 4 in (160.73 m) |
Beam | 69 ft 3 in (21.11 m) |
Draft | 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m) |
Installed power | 4 × turbo-drive 500 kW 450 V A.C. service generators |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
Complement |
|
Armament |
|
USS Albemarle (AV-5) was one of only two
On 27 March 1965, the ship was reinstated on the Navy Vessel Register and received a new name and classification as USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1), named for
Equipment
The ship was 527 feet (161 m) long, compared to destroyers of the day which were about 300 feet (91 m) long. She had a very wide 69 feet (21 m) beam and drew over three
She was equipped with the brand new
Service history
1941
Albemarle remained at
Diverted while en route, Albemarle anchored in the harbor at
Albemarle then anchored in the harbor of refuge, off
Albemarle, after again wearing Rear Admiral Bristol's flag on 2 May, departed Newport for Norfolk on 4 May, arriving the following day. The seaplane tender then cleared the Virginia Capes on the morning of 9 May for Newport, and arrived there the following morning. She embarked officers and men of VP-52 on 12 May and then sailed the following morning (13 May) for
Albemarle quickly refueled the aircraft that had been flying training missions that morning and readied others for the urgent mission. At 14:40 the first group of four PBYs lifted off, followed a little less than three hours later, at 17:20, by a second flight of seven. The pilots of the Catalinas were briefed for a long reconnaissance mission that would take them some 500
Underway on the day, Albemarle, screened by the destroyer
1942
Ultimately, the ship proceeded to Reykjavík, Iceland, where she would encounter the most severe weather she would see in her career. One particular day, 15 January 1942, was memorable. She set her special sea, anchor and steaming watches and put out both anchors with 120 fathoms (219 m) of chain on the starboard and 60 fathoms (110 m) to port, with her main engines turning over and steam up on all boilers. The winds were clocked at 71 kn (82 mph; 131 km/h), with occasional gusts of 95, forcing the tender to drag anchor. The gale lasted until 19 January, and caused heavy damage among the ship's patrol planes. The ship nearly collided with the heavy cruiser Wichita on one occasion, and was in danger of fouling several other ships during that time. Her starboard anchor was fouled once, and she lost the port anchor. She ultimately left Reykjavík on 19 January, steaming initially at greatly reduced speed because of the tempest, shaping course for Argentia, where she would embark passengers for transportation to Norfolk.[4]
Reaching Norfolk on 29 January, Albemarle then proceeded to Narragansett Bay, and there provided tender services to VP-73 as that squadron worked with torpedoes there. On 5 March, Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll, Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, made an unofficial call and inspected the ship informally. Albemarle completed her work with VP-73 and remained at anchor in Narragansett Bay until 3 April, when she proceeded to the Boston Navy Yard South Annex for an availability.[4]
Her overhaul lasted until 1 May. Upon completion of her refit, Albemarle got underway for Newport, on 5 May, and there, over the next few days, degaussed, calibrated her direction finders, and loaded aircraft for transportation to Bermuda. Underway on 15 May with
Shortly thereafter, escorted by
1943
Over the next seven months, Albemarle shuttled between Norfolk and Guantánamo Bay, Trinidad, San Juan, and Bermuda, on eight round-trip voyages. She varied this routine only slightly on the sixth and eighth of these, visiting
Underway on 22 October as part of a task group formed around the escort carrier Croatan and three destroyers, Albemarle sailed for Casablanca. Routed via Bermuda, the group reached its destination on 3 November. After discharging her cargo and disembarking her passengers, the seaplane tender then sailed for the U.S. on 10 November with another convoy, this one larger and formed around the escort carrier Croatan and the light cruiser Philadelphia, escorted by seven destroyers, and containing the USS Matagorda and three transports. Albemarle made a second cruise to Casablanca before the year 1943 was out, underway on 28 November and escorted by the destroyers Barry and Goff, and arriving on 7 December. She sailed on the 13th for Reykjavík, and reached that Icelandic port on the 19th. There she embarked men from VB-128 for transportation back to the U.S., and proceeded out of Reykjavík on 22 December for Norfolk. Battling heavy seas on the return voyage (making only five knots on Christmas Day), Albemarle returned to NOB, Norfolk, on the last day of the year 1943.[4]
1944
Proceeding thence to Bayonne, New Jersey, on 4 January 1944 for upkeep and availability, Albemarle returned to Norfolk on 17 January and prepared for a voyage to San Juan. While outward-bound, however, on 18 January, the seaplane tender fouled a buoy in a thick fog and put about for repairs. Drydocked on 20 January, Albemarle sailed again for her original destination, San Juan, the following day.[4]
Subsequently, touching at Trinidad and Recife, and retracing her path calling at Trinidad and San Juan on the return leg of the passage, Albemarle returned to Norfolk on 23 February for availability. She then steamed to Casablanca in company with the amphibious command ship Catoctin and two destroyers, and, among her passengers on the westward bound trip, were 20 German U-boat sailors, prisoners of war. She arrived back at Norfolk on 1 April. After upkeep at NOB, Norfolk, Albemarle proceeded up to the Naval Supply Depot at Bayonne, where she loaded aviation cargo, between 7 and 13 April. She then sailed, via Norfolk, to Guantánamo Bay, Trinidad, the Brazilian ports of Recife and Bahia, and San Juan, ultimately making arrival back at Norfolk on 27 May for voyage repairs and upkeep. Loading cargo at the end of that period, including 29 dive bombers, Albemarle again shaped a course for North African waters, the seaplane tender making arrival at Casablanca on 20 June. She proceeded thence to Avonmouth, England, where she loaded cargo and embarked passengers for return to the United States. Underway for Boston on 6 July, she reached her destination on the 13th. Albemarle spent the next month undergoing a 30-day availability for repairs and alterations at the Boston Navy Yard. Emerging from the yard on 15 August, the seaplane tender proceeded to Bayonne, to load cargo. Sailing via Norfolk, the ship visited the familiar bases at San Juan, Trinidad, Recife and Guantánamo Bay before returning to NOB, Norfolk, on 29 September. After loading cargo at Bayonne (12–17 October), Albemarle headed south for the supply run to San Juan, Trinidad and Recife. Outward-bound the voyage proved uneventful; however, while loading ammunition and cargo at San Juan for the return leg of the voyage, an electrical fire damaged the ship's main distribution board, putting Albemarle's lighting and ventilation systems out of commission. Underway for Hampton Roads on 22 November, the seaplane tender reached Hampton Roads on the 25th, and moored at NOB, Norfolk, on the 26th to commence an availability.[4]
1945
Underway for Guantánamo Bay on the last day of 1944, Albemarle dropped anchor there on 4 January 1945. Reporting to Commander, Fleet Air Wing 11, for temporary duty, she tended Patrol Bombing Squadrons (VPB)
Entering the Norfolk Navy Yard on 28 July for repairs and alterations to fit her out for duty in the Pacific, Albemarle was in the midst of this availability when the
1946
The seaplane tender arrived at the
1947
She remained in the Norfolk area until she sailed on 3 March 1947 with Commander, Training Command, Atlantic, embarked. Stopping briefly at
1948
Albemarle sailed from Norfolk on 16 January 1948 for the Canal Zone, and upon completing the transit of the isthmian waterway reported for duty with Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, for temporary duty with Joint Task Force "Switchman". Steaming thence to Terminal Island for final fitting out for her next task at hand, and arriving there on 4 February, Albemarle sailed for Pearl Harbor on 1 March, in company with the
Departing Eniwetok on 21 May, Albemarle arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 27th, en route to Oakland, California, which she reached on 4 June. Sailing for Norfolk on 11 June, she transited the Panama Canal on 20–21 June, and reached her ultimate destination on the 26th. She remained there undergoing overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard until 23 August, when she sailed for Guantánamo Bay, reaching "Gitmo" on the 27th for a three-day stay. Over the two weeks following her departure from Cuban waters, Albemarle visited Key West, Boston, and Newport before returning to Norfolk on 14 September.[4]
1949
Following an overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Albemarle stood out of Hampton Roads on 8 February, and over the ensuing weeks visited a succession of ports and operating areas: Key West; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Kingston, Jamaica; and Bermuda, interspersing these port visits with training out of Guantánamo Bay. Returning to the Norfolk Naval Base on 19 March, she remained there into the summer, ultimately sailing for Boston on 13 July for a port visit. Subsequently, visiting Newport and New York, Albemarle returned to Norfolk on 27 July, and worked in the local operating areas into September. Further operations late in the summer and early fall of 1949 took the ship to Newport, New York, and the Norfolk local operating areas.[4]
1950–1956
Standing out of Lynnhaven Roads on 2 March 1950, Albemarle subsequently worked out of
1956–1960
Shifted to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in February 1956, Albemarle was earmarked for conversion to tend Martin
Proceeding thence back to Guantanamo, concluding her shakedown on 21 January, Albemarle steamed thence to San Juan and Trinidad, carrying out tending operations with four squadrons of Martin
Albemarle continued to operate out of Norfolk through 1959 and into 1960, although the cancellation of the "Seamaster" program meant that the ship would never service the aircraft for which she had been reconfigured. Her ports and places visited in 1959 encompassed the naval air facility at
Unloading ammunition at the
USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1), 1965–1973
Sgt. John Francis Sullivan had served with the 107th Quartermaster Company, 126th Infantry,
On 7 August 1964, MARAD transferred the ship – earmarked for conversion to a floating aeronautical maintenance facility for helicopters – back to the Navy. On 27 March 1965, the ship was reinstated on the Navy Vessel Register and received the new name and classification USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1), named for Corpus Christi Bay in the southern Texas Coastal Bend; the ship was transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) on 11 January 1966. Converted at the Charleston Naval Shipyard to an Aircraft Repair Ship, Helicopter, Corpus Christi Bay emerged from the yard only faintly resembling her former self. Gone was the prominent seaplane ramp, aft, replaced by a built-up superstructure topped by a helicopter landing pad measuring 50 ft (15 m) by 150 ft (46 m). Previously, damaged helicopters had to be transported back to the U.S. for refit; with the advent of this "new" ship type, repairs could be accomplished near the forward areas, damaged "helos" barged out to the ship and lifted on board by two 20 short tons (18 t) capacity cranes.[8]
Accepted by MSC in January 1966, Corpus Christi Bay's first commander was Captain Harry Anderson, who had a crew of 129 men, a fraction of the ship's original complement, under him. In Vietnam, The ship was run by civilians under the Military Sea Transport Service but the aircraft maintenance facilities aboard the ship were manned by Army Material Command's 1st Transportation Corps Battalion (Aircraft Maintenance Depot [seaborne]). The unit included 308 aircraft technicians and specialists under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harry O. Davis, USA.[9]
The Floating Aircraft Maintenance Facility allowed the Army to repair and return helicopters to service much more quickly. It provided depot-level maintenance to Army aircraft components including engines, avionics, and armament that previously was only available in the United States. The ship also provided laboratory and calibration support and conducted a limited fabrication program, including some non-aviation items.[9]
The ship operated out of Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, during 1966. During the Vietnam War Corpus Christi Bay participated in several campaigns from 1966 to 1969. Last anchored off Vung Tau, the ship left for the US in late 1972, stopping at Guam, Hawaii, and going through the Panama Canal up to its home base of Corpus Christi, Texas, arriving in December, 1972. Ultimately determined by MSC to be "in excess of current and future requirements", Corpus Christi Bay was taken out of service in 1973 and berthed in ready reserve status at Corpus Christi, Texas.
Corpus Christi Bay was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 December 1974. On 17 July 1975, the ship was sold to Brownsville (Texas) Steel and Salvage, Inc. for scrapping.
Honors and awards
As USS Albemarle (AV-5)
- "A" device
- American Campaign Medal
- European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal- World War II Victory Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
As USNS Corpus Christi Bay (T-ARVH-1)
- National Defense Service Medal
- battle star for Vietnam WarserviceRepublic of Vietnam)
References
- ^ "AV-5 Albemarle / T-ARVH-1 Corpus Christi Bay". Service Ship Photo Archive. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
- ^ "WARSHIP WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1ST, 2021: FORTUNATE SON, THE ARMY FLAT TOP EDITION". laststandonzombieisland. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Hollmann, Martin. "Radar Development In America". www.radarworld.org. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Albemarle". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-595-36608-8. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Army. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Association of the United States Army. 1964. p. 10.
- ^ Olsen, Ken. "'NOTHING WE COULDN'T BUILD'". The American Legion. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ ARMY AVIATION Magazine - Back Issues
- ^ a b THE EARLY YEARS OF AMC — 1962-1975 Army Material Command
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links