USS Tangier (AV-8)
Tangier in April 1942.
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name |
|
Namesake | Tangier Island in Virginia and Tangier Sound in Maryland |
Builder | Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California |
Yard number | 195 |
Laid down | 18 March 1939 |
Launched | 15 September 1939 |
Acquired | 8 July 1940 |
Commissioned | 25 August 1941 |
Decommissioned | c. January 1947 |
Stricken | 1 June 1961 |
Honors and awards | 3 Battle Stars |
Fate | Sold to Union Minerals & Alloys Corporation, 17 November 1961 |
United States | |
Name | Detroit (1962—1974) |
Operator | Sea-Land Service |
Acquired | 15 May 1962 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1974 |
General characteristics Sea Arrow (as built)[1] | |
Type | MC type C-3 cargo |
Tonnage | |
Length |
|
Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
Draft | 28 ft 7.5 in (8.7 m) (full load) |
Depth | 33 ft 6 in (10.2 m) |
Capacity |
|
Crew | 43 |
General characteristics as Tangier[2] | |
Type | After conversion to Seaplane tender |
Displacement | 11,760 long tons (11,950 t) |
Length | 492 ft 1 in (149.99 m) |
Beam | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
Draft | 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) |
Speed | 18.4 kn (21.2 mph; 34.1 km/h) |
Complement | 1,075 officers and men |
Armament |
|
The second USS Tangier (AV-8) was a Maritime Commission
Tangier was present during the
, Spain.Pacific Coast C-3s
Sea Arrow was the first C-3 type and first vessel with high pressure steam plant installation, fireproof construction, and over half the hull welded construction to be built on the Pacific coast. Successful construction of the first ship answered questions raised about whether Pacific coast shipyards could find enough skilled labor, particularly mechanics to install high pressure engineering plants, to compete.[1] Moore was contracted to build four ships, yard hulls 195 through 198, Maritime Commission hulls 51–52 and then 136–137 with the intervening MC hulls being built in the east. The prospect of war caused rapid changes in the destiny of these vessels with name changes during construction that are confusing.[3][4][5]
Sea Arrow was immediately acquired by the Navy and renamed with the other three hulls being designated after launch or still under construction for
Pacific coast interests had been pressing the Maritime Commission to begin awarding contracts for new shipbuilding programs to Pacific yards. The launch of Sea Arrow was seen as the beginning of a revival of the industry. As a result, the launch drew considerable attention and presence of business figures speaking and among the 680 invited guests.[6]
Construction
The ship was laid down under a
Sea Arrow completed trials with almost no problems even though the geared turbines had been delayed with a rushed installation and had been the yard's first high pressure steam installation. Sea Arrow, renamed Tangier designated AV-8 on 3 June 1940, was delivered to the Maritime Commission 8 July 1940 and immediately purchased by the Navy, commissioned in ordinary, and put back into the Moore Dry Dock yard for the extensive modifications required for Navy purposes.[5]
Service history
Tangier, under the command of
Pearl Harbor and Wake Island
At 07:55 on the morning of 7 December 1941, the first of two waves of Japanese carrier-based aircraft swooped in on the Pacific Fleet, moored at Pearl Harbor. Tangier at berth F-10 and commanded by Commander Sprague was in the fight from the beginning. Her klaxon sounded general quarters three minutes later, and by 08:00 her anti-aircraft batteries opened up on the Japanese.[2] At 0803 torpedoes hit Utah and a minute later USS Raleigh (CL-7) at berth F-12 was hit by a bomb. At 0811 Utah rolled over. By 0830 Tangier was ready for getting underway and lines were singled by 0850 but the ship did not get underway.[8] During the ensuing melee, Tangier's gunners claimed three enemy aircraft and hits on a midget submarine which had penetrated the harbor's defenses. She and another seaplane tender—Curtiss—shelled the submarine, but the destroyer Monaghan finished it off with a two-pronged attack, subjecting it to a ramming and following up with a cascade of depth charges. By 09:20, the skies were clear of aircraft, and only the smoke from the burning ships and shore installations remained. Tangier began rescuing survivors from the capsized Utah.[2]
In the air were aircraft from Tangier, among them a PBY-5 Catalina aircraft that was conducting an assigned search mission on 7 December 1941. This aircraft was attacked by a formation of approximately nine enemy aircraft and succeeded in defeating the surprise attack and landing safely, only to discover the devastation on land after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.[2]
During the next few days, it became apparent that the Japanese would soon attempt a landing on
Coral Sea
On 11 February 1942, Tangier put to sea again and headed, via
After their rescue operations for survivors of Allied ships lost in the Coral Sea action, Tangier's planes resumed normal search operations. On 30 May, two of her planes were forced down at sea by fuel shortage, and a third crashed near Maré Island in the Loyalty group. Destroyer Meredith went out to aid the two planes. One was refueled and returned safely, but the other could not take off and had to be sunk. The crew of the third plane reached safety at Mare Island. On 20 June, Tangier was relieved by Curtiss and, the following day, got underway for the west coast. She reached Pearl Harbor on Independence Day 1942 and stood out again three days later. On the 15th, she arrived in San Francisco and immediately began overhaul.[2]
1943
Tangier completed overhaul in September and, after loading aviation equipment at the
1944
On 21 February 1944, Tangier again headed west. She reached Espiritu Santo on 8 March and—after a four-day layover—continued on to
Tangier visited Woendi again on 22–23 December then sailed for the
1945
On 24 January 1945, Tangier departed
The seaplane tender exited Cabalitian Bay on 17 June and arrived in Subic Bay the following day. Soon thereafter, she moved to
Tangier earned three battle stars during World War II.[2]
Post-war and fate
On 22 March 1946 Tangier set sail for the U.S. making a brief visit to Pearl Harbor in early April then transiting the Panama Canal in mid-month. She reached Norfolk, Virginia on 29 April and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 1 May. Following a short voyage back to Norfolk and to Yorktown, Virginia, the seaplane tender returned to Philadelphia on 11 May 1946 to prepare for in-activation. By January 1947, Tangier was out of commission, berthed with the Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia. On 1 June 1961, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register.[2]
On 23 January 1962 the ship was formally transferred from the Navy to the
Footnotes
- American President Lines.
- ^ See photos on pages 39 and 40 of the October 1939 reference for the eyes and the crane ready to lay the keel of the second ship as Sea Arrow awaits launch.
- ^ Later Rear Admiral Sprague in command of Task Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy 3"), the escort carriers that turned back the much heavier Japanese forces at the Battle off Samar. There is some additional but uncited information about Tangier in the article about the admiral.
- ^ DANFS is apparently in error with Utah being "abaft" considering the heading, berth and "directly astern" given in the action report. See too List of United States Navy ships present at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
See also
References
- ^ a b Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (July 1940). "Sea Arrow – First Pacific Coast C-3 Delivered". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 32–38. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Naval History And Heritage Command (25 September 2015). "Tangier II (AV-8)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ a b Colton, Tim (12 September 2014). "Moore Dry Dock, Oakland CA". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Colton, Tim (12 April 2008). "C3 Cargo Ships". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (September 1940). "Pacific Coast Proves Shipbuilding Ability". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 33. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (October 1939). "A Ship is Launched – A Keel is Laid". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 38–41. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (November 1939). "Two More C-3s to Moore Dry Dcck". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 49. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Tangier (2 January 1942). "USS Tangier, Report of Pearl Harbor Attack". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Maritime Administration. "Detroit". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Priolo, Gary P. (6 April 2018). "USS Tangier (AV-8)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- Photo: Sea Arrow hull after launch.
- Photo: Sea Arrow port quarter view of hull after launch.
- Sea Arrow – First Pacific Coast C-3 Delivered (Description & photo)
- Tangier (AV-8): Photographs
- Pearl Harbor Mooring and Berthing Plans
- View from Ford Island-USS Utah, capsized, USS Tangier, far left, USS Raleigh listing to port, far right.
- Japanese Mini Submarines at Pearl Harbor – USS Monaghan’s Midget