USS Wantuck
_in_port,_circa_in_1952.jpg) USS Wantuck (APD-125) in 1952–1953
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Wantuck |
| Namesake | Navy Cross for his actions on New Georgia in July 1943 |
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Laid down | 17 August 1944 |
| Launched | 25 September 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Mary Wantuck |
| Commissioned | 30 December 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 15 November 1957 |
| Reclassified | From destroyer escort DE-692 to high-speed transport APD-125 prior to construction |
| Stricken | 4 March 1958 |
| Nickname(s) | The Fighting Wantuck |
| Honors and awards |
|
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 27 October 1958 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Crosley-class high-speed transport |
| Displacement | 1,650 tons |
| Length | 306 ft 0 in (93.27 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft 7 in (3.84 m) |
| Installed power | 12,000 shaft horsepower (8.96 MW) |
| Propulsion | 2 Combustion Engineering DR boilers, 2 General Electric turbines, turbo-electric drive, 2 shafts |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 kilometers) at 12 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 x landing craft vehicle and personnel (LCVP)s |
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 162 |
| Complement | 204 |
| Armament |
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USS Wantuck (APD-125) was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1944 to 1957.
Namesake
John Joseph Wantuck was born on 23 November 1923 in Elmira, New York. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on 6 January 1942. After basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, he served at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from 30 June 1942 until late in 1942.
By 5 December 1942, Private Wantuck was serving in the Solomon Islands where, on 30 June 1943, he went ashore with other Marines at Zanana beach on the island of New Georgia. For two weeks, the troops tried to dislodge the Japanese defenders farther inland near Munda while Wantuck served with the beachhead and supply depot antiaircraft defense unit.
On 17 July 1943, the Japanese mounted a major offensive on American forces. Though eventually stymied in their attempt, they managed to reach the perimeter of the beachhead and Wantuck's position. Using a light
Construction and commissioning
Originally projected as a
World War II
Wantuck conducted
However, after seeing them safely out of the Ryukyus, she returned to Okinawa and resumed her duty screening the ships remaining at Kerama Retto. On 4 May 1945, she helped repulse an enemy air attack but claimed no kills or assists for herself. Later that day, when a
World War II honors and awards
Wantuck earned one
Post-World War II
With the war over, Wantuck embarked troops for the planned
Wantuck arrived at Guam on 5 October 1945 and remained there until 19 October 1945 when she headed back to Yokosuka, Japan. She reached Yokosuka on 22 October 1945, but got underway again on 30 October 1945. Steaming via Guam, she arrived at Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands on 8 November 1945 but that same day headed for Rabaul. where she arrived on 9 November 1945. On 18 November 1945 she began a circuitous voyage back to the United States.
After stops at Manus, Guam, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor, Wantuck reached
On 3 January 1946, Wantuck entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, for an overhaul which she completed on 10 March 1946. That same day, she sailed for her new home port, San Diego. For almost a year, she operated out of San Diego, primarily conducting amphibious warfare exercises at San Clemente Island.
On 24 February 1947, Wantuck departed San Diego for a three-month voyage to the Western Pacific. Her ports of call included Pearl Harbor,
On 15 January 1948, Wantuck again stood out of San Diego for a voyage to the Western Pacific. After stops at Pearl Harbor, Kwajalein, and Guam, she arrived in
Early in 1950, Wantuck made a round-trip voyage to Alaskan waters and back to San Diego before departing San Diego on 1 May 1950 to deploy overseas once more. She stopped at Pearl Harbor from 9 May 1950 to 12 May 1950 and then continued her voyage west. After stops in the Mariana and Philippine Islands, Wantuck arrived at Hong Kong on 7 June 1950.
Korean War
While Wantuck was at Hong Kong, war erupted in Korea when communist North Korean troops invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, beginning the Korean War. Whether or not this event prompted Wantuck's unusually long stay – three months – in a liberty port for a warship is not clear, but she did not leave Hong Kong until 6 September 1950. From there, the ship moved to Sasebo, Japan, where she arrived on 8 September 1950.
On 10 September 1950, Wantuck was in the Korean combat zone at the port of
Wantuck returned to Korea early in October 1950 with
Wantuck did not arrive back in Korean waters again until 20 October 1950, once again at Wonsan. By that time, however, United Nations efforts to reopen the port of Wonsan were well advanced, and Wantuck saw no further combat duty during that deployment. She returned to Yokosuka on 25 November 1950 and, on 28 November 1950, headed back to the United States. After stops at Midway Atoll and Pearl Harbor, she arrived in San Diego on 15 December 1950.
Wantuck spent almost eight months conducting normal operations along the United States West Coast out of San Diego. Then on 23 July 1951, she headed westward once again for the Far East. Following calls at Pearl Harbor and at Midway Atoll, she arrived in Yokosuka on 22 August 1951. By the time of Wantuck's return to Korea, the war had degenerated into a stalemate on land with the principals locked in armistice negotiations and jockeying for military advantage at the bargaining table. At sea, the naval war had become almost purely one of aircraft carrier operations with planes interdicting communist supply routes and hitting strategic targets in North Korea. Wantuck resumed duty with Task Force 90, the Amphibious Force, and consequently took little active part in the conflict from that point. In fact, during her 1951-1952 deployment, she did not even qualify for the Korean Service Medal, though she did visit Korean ports on occasion, particularly Inchon and Pusan. She departed Yokosuka late in March 1952 and, after a stop at Oahu along the way, reentered San Diego on 19 April 1952.
Wantuck remained on the U.S. West Coast for almost a year. A paucity of movements on her part – limited to one move to San Francisco in September 1952 for a three-month stay before returning to San Diego in December 1952 – suggests a period of extensive repairs probably including an overhaul. In any event, she departed San Diego again on 7 March 1953 and steamed via Pearl Harbor to the Far East. She arrived in Yokosuka on 30 March 1953 and, though she patrolled extensively in Korean waters, her operations were essentially as peaceful as they had been during the previous deployment. In July 1953, the signing of the armistice made those peaceful conditions permanent.
Korean War honors and awards
Wantuck earned seven battle stars during the Korean War, for the following campaigns:
- North Korean Aggression, 9 September 1950 – 14 September 1950 and 18 September 1950 – 2 November 1950
- Communist China Aggression, 3 November 1950 – 21 November 1950
- Inchon Landing. 15 September 1950 – 17 September 1950
- United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive, 6 September 1951 – 10 September 1951 and 24 September 1951 – 8 October 1951
- Second Korean Winter, 5 December 1951 – 6 December 1951, 17 December 1951 – 18 December 1951, 28 December 1951 – 30 December 1951, 21 January 1952 – 27 January 1952, and 19 March 1952 – 27 March 1952
- Third Korean Winter, 8 April 1953 – 20 April 1953
- Korean Summer-Fall 1953, 1 June 1953 – 11 June 1953, 15 June 1953 – 19 June 1953, and 27 July 1953
Post-Korean War
Wantuck conducted patrols, training exercises, and port visits for the remainder of her 1953 Korean deployment. On 9 November 1953, she departed Yokosuka to return to the United States. En route she stopped at Midway and Pearl Harbor before arriving in San Diego on 25 November 1953.
Over the remaining four years of her active career, Wantuck made two more cruises to the Far East, one in 1954—during which she operated out of Hong Kong—and another in 1955. In 1956 and the first half of 1957, her zone of operations centered in two areas, the California coast and the waters around Alaska.
Collision with USS Lenawee
In mid-August 1957, Wantuck got underway from San Diego for Hawaii on the first leg of a voyage to Japan. She was about 180 nautical miles (333 kilometers) from San Diego on a moonless and starless night when at 0318 hours on 15 August 1957 the
Wantuck arrived in San Diego under tow on the evening of 16 August 1957.
Decommissioning and disposal
Deemed not worth repairing, Wantuck was
Notes
- ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- ^ Interview with Catherine Murphy, wife of Lt Commander Jack Murphy
- ^ See http://www.desausa.org/de_photo_library/uss_wantuck_apd125_collision.htm for photographs from newspaper clippings showing severe damage to Wantuck's port side provided by a crewman who served aboard her from 1955 to 1957 and was aboard her at the time of the collision.
- ^ This account is from http://www.kmike.com/Wantuck/Jerrel1.htm. See http://www.kmike.com/Wantuck/CollisionOne.htm for additional newspaper clippings.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- APD-125 Wantuck
- Hyperwar Ships of the U.S. Navy 1940-1945 APD-125 USS Wantuck
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- USS Wantuck Collision
- Jerrel W. Jones, Sun, 29 Dec 2002
External links
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