USS Windlass
![]() USS Windlass ARS(D)-4 at anchor
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Name | USS Windlass |
Ordered | 1945, as LSM-552 |
Builder | Houston, Texas |
Launched | 7 December 1945 |
Commissioned | 9 April 1946 |
Decommissioned | 23 November 1965 |
Renamed | USS Windlass, 1 May 1945 |
Reclassified |
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Stricken | 1 August 1972 |
Fate | Sold for scrapping, 6 March 1973 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessel |
Displacement | 816 long tons (829 t) |
Length | 224 ft 9 in (68.50 m) |
Beam | 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m) |
Draft | 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) |
Propulsion | 2 × Fairbanks-Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 bhp (1,074 kW) each at 720 rpm, twin screws |
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
Range | 4,900 nmi (9,100 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) (928 tons displacement) |
Complement | 65 officers and enlisted |
Armament | None |
USS Windlass (ARS(D)-4), a Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessel of the
1945–1948
Following further alterations and trials, Windlass shifted to Galveston, Texas, on 13 December, en route to her home port, Charleston, South Carolina. The salvage ship operated locally out of Charleston into May 1947 when she shifted to Norfolk, Virginia in May to conduct a towing exercise with her sister ship, Salvager (ARS(D)-3). The two ships departed the tidewater area for Bayonne, New Jersey, on 18 June, before they shifted to Narragansett Bay to salvage the tug One Wolf (YTB-179) — sunk in a collision in December 1946. Windlass and Salvager pooled their efforts to lift the sunken yard tug from 130 feet of water. One body still on board the sunken tug was recovered and taken ashore for burial.
Windlass and her sister ship returned to
On 10 September, Windlass, in company with Salvager, began searching for the sunken patrol craft YP-387. She located the wreck and began salvage operations while Salvager returned to Bayonne, apparently to get necessary equipment. Windlass apparently shifted briefly to Norfolk, for the same reason before both heavy-lifting salvage vessels returned to the site of the sunken YP off Hereford, New Jersey, on 1 October. Two days later, they placed demolition charges in the sunken "
Later that month, though, Windlass and Salvager again went to sea via Charleston, this time to 31°19'N/80°58'W, to search for
Windlass underwent a regular overhaul at the Charleston Naval Shipyard in April 1948, during which time she received additional radio and electronic gear and heavier anchors. The yard also reinforced the hull and added various engineering features. Upon completion of those alterations, Windlass returned to her home berth at Bayonne in June and remained there until 5 August, when she and Salvager sailed for Norfolk.
U-1105
Windlass and Salvager assisted in a four-point moor over
Again in company with Salvager, Windlass moved to Newport, Rhode Island, in early February 1949, for a period of upkeep alongside Vulcan (AR-5). Later that month, Windlass shifted to Newport and trained there before she returned to Bayonne on 23 March.
Windlass conducted mooring operations with
, in late May before returning to Bayonne on 1 June. She remained in port there until the 28th. When she got underway for Norfolk, again in company with Salvager. Windlass remained at Norfolk until 8 July, when she headed for Piney Point, the scene of her earlier experimental salvage evolutions on U-1105. From 11 July to 26 September, Windlass and Salvager assisted in the shifting of moorings of U-1105 while salvage tests were being conducted upon the ship. During that time, a heavy storm with winds up to 80 knots passed through the area, forcing Windlass to shift her mooring to deeper water where her anchors would hold.For the remainder of 1949, Windlass operated in company with Salvager, at Norfolk, Bayonne, and in the Little Creek, Delaware area, before both ships underwent availability alongside Amphion (AR-13) at Charleston. From there, the longstanding partners returned to Bayonne to await their next assignment.
USS Missouri
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Grounded_Missouri.jpg/300px-Grounded_Missouri.jpg)
In January 1950, Missouri (BB-63) ran aground off the Thimble Shoal Light Station in Chesapeake Bay. Windlass and all other available salvage vessels were called to the scene to assist in one of the largest single salvage efforts since World War II. Various attempts to float the battleship off the shoal proved unsuccessful. That included running a division of destroyers by at high speed (an attempt to dislodge the ship by the wave force from the wakes of the ships) and the off-loading of fuel and ammunition. Still, the big battlewagon refused to budge.
Finally, however, a solution was worked out. With Windlass and Salvager in keystone positions, the various tugs, salvage ships, and submarine rescue vessels were utilized so as to maximize their pulling power. As a result of that combined effort, Missouri finally slid free but nearly ran down several of the salvage ships, including Windlass. For her part in that operation, Windlass received a commendation.
1950–1952
For the remainder of 1950, Windlass performed various salvage tasks off the eastern seaboard and in the British West Indies. She investigated the wreck of SS Chile off Cape Henry, ascertaining whether or not the wreck was of sufficient danger to be a hazard to navigation; recovered practice mines; raised an LCVP off Wolf Trap Lighthouse; and planted moorings at Bermuda. Early in 1951, the ship continued planting moorings, this time in Lynnhaven Roads. Windlass' divers cleared a fouled tug propeller and removed several objects from Norfolk harbor.
After conducting a channel survey at Charleston, in April, Windlass returned to the Hampton Roads area, where she was present when the seaplane tender Valcour (AVP-55) caught fire on 14 May 1951. Windlass rendered fire fighting assistance, pumped necessary compartments dry, and maintained flooding boundaries while rigging temporary gasoline lines and removing the volatile aviation gas from the seaplane tender's storage tanks. Windlass' divers subsequently inspected that ship for underwater damage, and Windlass herself received a commendation for her part in averting a near disaster.
Other operations performed by Windlass during 1951 included removing channel obstructions, raising an
After leaving the shipyard, Windlass conducted diving operations off Cape Charles, Virginia before she proceeded to Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to assist in rigging YC-1060 for technical tests. On 14 February 1952, Windlass, towing YC-1010, got underway for Norfolk. Two days later, while the salvage ship and her charge were en route to their destination, an explosion occurred in Windlass port engine crankcase, injuring one man and starting a fire. After the crew extinguished the blaze with no further damage, Windlass proceeded the remainder of the way to Norfolk on one engine. After arrival, both of Windlass engines were inspected carefully and again overhauled.
In March, April, and May 1952, Windlass operated at
Windlass then sailed to
1953–1955
Returning to the Norfolk area after salvaging YSD-68, Windlass conducted local salvage and diving operations for the remainder of 1952. The salvage vessel remained at Norfolk into February 1953, when she commenced a search for a downed Navy plane on the 5th of the month.
, assisted Windlass in the dragging operations begun that same day and located the plane, minus its tail section, soon thereafter. Windlass raised the plane, brought it on board between the two "horns" forward, and returned to Norfolk where the aircraft was removed by a dockside crane. That salvage effort set a precedent for the new and useful application of ships like Windlass and her sisters.After salvaging a target raft at Newport News, Virginia, Windlass pulled the grounded yacht Boudoin off the south shore of the Potomac River on 18 February before resuming local operations that carried into the summer of 1953. Windlass emerged from her overhaul in early October and proceeded thence to St. Thomas and Roosevelt Roads, where the ship assisted in underwater explosive experiments in November.
Shifting back to Norfolk, Windlass served as standby and duty salvage vessel there into the spring of 1954, recovering several practice mines and anchors during that time. She participated in Project "Caesar" out of Shelburne harbor, Nova Scotia, trenching and blasting in the ocean floor off the Nova Scotia coast. At one point during the mission, Windlass took shelter in Shelburne harbor from Hurricane Edna.
In September, Windlass returned to Norfolk where she resumed her local operations. Two months later, on 8 November 1954, Windlass headed to a point off Cape Henry where she commenced salvage operations trying to raise two sunken planes. One broke up while being raised and could not be recovered. On 13 November, Windlass recovered the body of one aviator that had been lost in one of the downed planes.
Windlass operated locally out of Norfolk into 1955. The following summer, she again participated in Project "Caesar" evolutions—in mid-June off Shelburne; in late July off
USS Basilone
Windlass received a summons to assist in refloating the grounded destroyer
When the weather moderated, Windlass and Salvager returned to the scene of the dual grounding. The former pulled off stranded Seneca, and the latter pulled Basilone free. Windlass remained in the vicinity to pick up beach gear anchors and wires strewn over the bottom, recovering a total of 14 anchors.
1956–1964
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/USS_Baldwin_%28DD-624%29_being_refloated_at_Montauk_Point%2C_New_York_%28USA%29%2C_on_28_April_1961_%28NH_99108%29.jpg/300px-USS_Baldwin_%28DD-624%29_being_refloated_at_Montauk_Point%2C_New_York_%28USA%29%2C_on_28_April_1961_%28NH_99108%29.jpg)
For the next 10 years, Windlass conducted a regular schedule of operations out of Norfolk or Charleston, performing salvage and diving jobs of many different types. In mid-July 1956, the ship again participated in Project "Caesar"; she pulled a target sled off a beach in Chesapeake Bay in November, and finished the year by pulling
Windlass subsequently recovered the wrecks of airplanes, salvaged small landing craft that had sunk during amphibious maneuvers, and participated in other classified projects in locales that ranged from
1965–1973
In July 1965, the ship's home port was changed from Little Creek, to
After salvage operations on Kellar were completed on 11 November, Windlass began preparations for decommissioning. On 23 November 1965, Windlass was decommissioned at New Orleans and converted to a non-self-propelled craft over the ensuing months. Re-classified as a medium salvage craft on 16 October 1967 and given the hull number YMLC-4, Windlass was placed in service with Advanced Bases, Pacific area, but was used minimally in ensuing years. Since replacement craft attained superior lift capability, the need for Windlass' services diminished; she was accordingly struck from the
Awards
USS Windlass has received:
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World War II Victory Medal |
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National Defense Service Medal |
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Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Cuba) |
References
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 Windlass at NavSource Naval History