USS Canopus (AS-9)
USS Canopus (AS-9) off Shanghai, China, prior to World War II.
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Canopus |
Namesake | Canopus |
Builder | New York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey |
Launched | 19 December 1918 |
Acquired | 22 November 1921 |
Commissioned | 24 January 1922 |
Honors and awards | 1 battle star (World War II) |
Fate | Scuttled, 10 April 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Submarine tender |
Displacement | 5,975 long tons (6,071 t) |
Length | 373 ft 8 in (113.89 m) |
Beam | 51 ft 6 in (15.70 m) |
Draft | 16 ft 4 in (4.98 m) |
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
Complement | 554 |
Armament |
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USS Canopus (ID-4352-A/AS-9) was a submarine tender in the United States Navy, named for the star Canopus.
Canopus was launched in 1919 by
The ship was reacquired by the Navy from the Shipping Board on 22 November 1921. The ship was converted to a submarine tender, and commissioned at Boston on 24 January 1922.
Service history
1922–1941
Canopus reported to Submarine Force,
Sailing to Pearl Harbor, Canopus tended Submarine Division 17 of the
Canopus deployed to China three times in 1937, 1938 and 1939 respectively.
World War II, 1941–1942
On 7 December 1941, Canopus, aging but able, lay at
Disguised as a bombed out, listing, abandoned hulk, smoke pots were placed around the ship and gave the appearance of an abandoned hulk by day, while the ship was active at night.[2] Her crew worked and repaired the smaller ships also left behind and keeping the submarines in action. Just before the New Year, the last of the submarines left Canopus.
The crew continued to care for small craft and equipment of the Army and Navy, or were attached to the improvised naval battalion which fought on Bataan. The ship's launches were converted into miniature gunboats dubbed Mickey Mouse Battleships, and attacked the Japanese moving south near the shore.[2] Upon the surrender of Bataan on the night of 8–9 April 1942, Canopus was ordered scuttled in Mariveles Bay, Bataan, to deny her use to the enemy. On 9 April, she was backed off into deep water under her own power and the crew scuttled the ship and abandoned ship.
Of the Canopus' crew, 221 were evacuated to Corregidor on 28 February 1942 and served with the Marines' 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions on beach defenses. The final 327 crewmen were also evacuated to Corregidor and served in the 4th Marine Regiment's 4th Battalion Reserves (Provisional) which fought during the final battle for the island fortress. Nearly all Canopus crewmen were captured at the fall of Corregidor and spent the rest of the war in Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camps in the Philippines and the Asian mainland. Some of the captured crew were killed on 14 December 1944 in the Palawan massacre.
A total of 212 crewmen were declared killed or
Awards
- Combat Action Ribbon
- Yangtze Service Medal
- China Service Medal
- American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET" clasp
- battle star
- World War II Victory Medal
- Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation
- Philippine Defense Medal
References
- ^ "USN Ships – USS Canopus (AS-9). Originally USS Santa Leonora (ID # 4352-A)". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0870528777.
- ^ Toda, Gengoro S. "Other Naval Vessels > Kyunansen (Requisitioned Salvage Ships) > Kamikaze Maru No.5 第五神風丸の船歴 (Kamikaze Maru No. 5 – Ship History)". Imperial Japanese Navy – Ippan Choyosen (Kyunansen) – Salvage Ships (in Japanese).
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Canopus at NavSource Naval History
- On Eternal Patrol USS Canopus Crew list
- USS Canopus Association
- "Captain Sackett's history of USS Canopus (AS-9)"
- USS Canopus