USS Kittiwake

Coordinates: 19°21′43″N 81°24′04″W / 19.361972°N 81.401023°W / 19.361972; -81.401023
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USS Kittiwake (ASR-13)
)
For the fishery patrol vessel, see
USFS Kittiwake
.

USS Kittiwake (ASR-13)
USS Kittiwake (ASR-13)
History
United States
NamesakeThe kittiwake, any of several gulls of the genus Rissa, found along the coast of North America
Launched10 July 1945
Sponsored byMrs. Howard S. Rue, Jr.
Commissioned18 July 1946
Decommissioned30 September 1994
Stricken30 September 1994
FateSunk as artificial reef in January 2011
General characteristics
Class and type
submarine rescue vessel
Displacement1,780 tons
Length251 ft 4 in (76.61 m)
Draught14 ft 3 in (4.34 m)
Speed16 knots
Complement102 officers and enlisted
Armament.50 caliber machine gun

USS Kittiwake (ASR-13) was a

submarine rescue vessel
in commission from 1946 to 1994.

Construction and commissioning

Kittiwake was launched 10 July 1945, by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Georgia; sponsored by Mrs. Howard S. Rue, Jr.; and commissioned 18 July 1946.

Service history

After shakedown, Kittiwake departed Charleston, South Carolina, 3 October for Balboa, Canal Zone, arriving 8 October. Assigned to support and rescue duty with Submarine Squadron 6, the submarine rescue ship accompanied submarines during sea trials and maneuvers to monitor diving operations, practice underwater rescue procedures, and recover practice torpedoes. While based at Balboa, her operations carried her to the Virgin Islands, to Puerto Rico, and along the Atlantic coast to the Davis Strait.

Departing Balboa 31 May 1949, Kittiwake arrived at

fleet ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington (SSBN-598) as George Washington successfully launched the first two Polaris ballistic missiles
ever fired from a submerged submarine.

Kittiwake continued operating from Norfolk until 1 August 1961, when she departed for the Mediterranean. Arriving at

Rota, Spain, on 15 August, she cruised the Mediterranean from Spain to Greece while deployed with the United States Sixth Fleet. After supporting submarine maneuvers from Piraeus, Greece, from 20 September to 9 October, she departed the Mediterranean on 8 November and arrived in Norfolk on 18 November. She then conducted operations from Norfolk for the next 18 months. While on duty off Key West 2 February 1963, she sighted a Cuban
boat, Jose Maria Perez and took on board 12 refugees (including three children) fleeing Cuba; they were carried to safety at Key West.

Departing Charleston, South Carolina, 16 April, Kittiwake arrived at

United States East Coast shipyards for sea trials, standing ready to come to their rescue should difficulties arise. Constant exercise in using weapons by submarines was furnished by Kittiwake, such as running as a target and recovering exercise torpedoes and mines. The operations ranged from the Virginia Capes to the Atlantic missile range
off Florida. On 6 April 1965, she departed Norfolk with submarines for exercises off the coast of Spain, thence to the Mediterranean Sea.

Kittiwake departed Toulon 31 May 1965, to operate from Rota, Spain, in support of the fleet ballistic missile submarines of Submarine Squadron 16: USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619), USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624), USS James Madison (SSBN-627), and USS Nathan Hale (SSBN-623). Following torpedo recovery and training off the coast of Spain, she sailed for Holy Loch, Scotland 30 June 1965, to give support to Submarine Squadron 14 there. She recovered torpedoes for the fleet ballistic missile submarines USS James Monroe (SSBN-622) and USS John Adams (SSBN-620), provided underway training for men of the submarine tender USS Hunley (AS-31), then sailed 20 July for Norfolk, arriving 30 July 1965. During the autumn months, Kittiwake guarded new Polaris submarines, USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644) and USS Simon Bolivar (SSBN-641), during their builder's sea trials prior to commissioning.

Kittiwake operated on the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean until sailing for the Mediterranean 8 July 1966. She reached the

Hai (S-171).
She reached the scene of the tragedy on 17 September and remained on hand assisting salvage operations until the 20th. She continued to operate off Western Europe until returning to Norfolk on 13 November. Kittiwake operated on the U.S. East Coast into 1967.

In May 1968, USS Kittiwake was sent to the mid-Atlantic as part of the fleet searching for the missing attack submarine USS Scorpion (SSN-589). Kittiwake was assigned to the search until August 1968.

On 23 April 1984, Kittiwake collided with the attack submarine USS Bergall (SSN-667) at Norfolk, Virginia, while Bergall was moored to the pier astern of her. Kittiwake was getting underway for the first time since she had undergone maintenance, during which her main drive motor was re-wired improperly, causing it and the screw it drove to rotate in the opposite direction from that ordered by personnel on Kittiwake's bridge. This was unknown to Kittiwake's bridge personnel, who found that Kittiwake started to move astern when they were expecting her to move forward. Noting the backward motion, they ordered an increase in the motor drive speed to correct it and get Kittiwake moving forward. However, they unwittingly caused Kittiwake to move farther astern and at a higher speed. Still not realizing that Kittiwake's main drive motor was operating in reverse of what they expected, Kittiwake's bridge personnel then ordered another increase in Kittiwake's forward speed, which served only to increase her speed astern. This continued until Kittiwake's stern backed into Bergall's sonar dome, causing damage to the Bergall's sonar dome and the USS Kittiwake's propeller.

In 1986, the Kittiwake recovered the black box from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.[1]

On 5 December 1989, the USS Kittiwake provided surface support during a Navy Trident missile test in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenpeace had found out about the testing and had sent ships to protest this exercise. Greenpeace attacked the USS Kittiwake by hitting her aft port side with the bow of the Greenpeace ship. The USS Kittiwake returned the aggression by ramming the Greenpeace ship and disabling the engines by shooting water down the engine stack of the Greenpeace ship, making her dead in the water.

Decommissioning and disposal

Kittiwake was

decommissioned on 30 September 1994 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day. Her title was transferred in November 2008 for an undisclosed amount to the government of the Cayman Islands for the purpose of using Kittiwake to form a new artificial reef.[2] Originally intended to be sunk in June 2009,[3] she was finally sunk off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, on 5 January 2011 in Marine Park.[4]
The wreck has since become one of the most popular dive and snorkel sites in Grand Cayman, with its moorings often in constant daily use by local dive operators.

A 2011 episode of the documentary television series

Tropical Storm Nate. The wreck is now approximately 20 ft (6.1 m) deeper at its most shallow.[5]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Taylor, Jeremy (28 January 2011). "Sink and Swim". Financial Times.
  2. ^ "Diving to Become More Exciting". Cayman Islands Government. [permanent dead link]
  3. PA News. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original
    on 4 July 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Kittiwake, A Diver's Treasure Chest". Cayman Islands. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Kittiwake toppled onto natural reef". Cayman News Service. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.

External links

19°21′43″N 81°24′04″W / 19.361972°N 81.401023°W / 19.361972; -81.401023

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