USS Topeka (CL-67/CLG-8), a Cleveland-class light cruiser was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the city of Topeka, Kansas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Topeka

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USS Robert A. Owens (DD/DDK/DDE-827) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy, named for USMC Sergeant Robert A. Owens (1920–1943), who was awarded both the Navy Cross and Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay.

Robert A. Owens was laid down on 29 October 1945 by the Bath Iron Works Corp., Bath, Maine; launched on 15 July 1946; sponsored by Miss Patricia Hannegan; reclassified DDK-827 on 28 January 1948; and commissioned at Boston on 5 November 1949, Commander Rexford V. Wheeler, Jr., in command.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Robert_A._Owens_(DD-827)

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 Photos of USS Arkansas (CGN-41)

 

USS Arkansas (CGN-41) 

 Her primary missions were in defending aircraft carrier task forces in air defense (AAW) and antisubmarine warfare (ASW) by using her guided missiles, radar systems, and sonar systems. Since Arkansas had the high speed and unlimited range provided by her nuclear reactors, she usually escorted the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy.^{[citation needed]}

With her Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Tomahawk missiles, and two 5-inch (127 mm) naval guns, USS Arkansas was also capable of attacking enemy surface ships, carrying out shore bombardments, and attacking land targets over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) inland (with her Tomahawk cruise missiles in the latter case).^{[citation needed]}

For her short-range self-defense, especially for defense against enemy anti-ship missiles, Arkansas carried two automated Phalanx radar-directed 20 millimeters (0.79 in) rapid-fire guns. Also, her two 5-inch rapid-fire naval guns had some capability for anti-aircraft defense. Her six torpedo tubes, which fired Mk 46 lightweight torpedoes, were for close-in, last-ditch defense against enemy submarines that had evaded her outer defense line of ASROC missiles, and the long-range ASW aircraft of her task force.^{[citation needed]}

After USS Arkansas was decommissioned and all of her weapons, computers, sensors, communication equipment and other complex components, removed, her hulk was sent into the Navy’s nuclear ship recycling program for the removal, recycling, and disposal of all of her fuel and other radioactive equipment, and this task was completed in Washington state on 1 November 1999, with the rest of her hulk sold as scrap metal.

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Ship history

Elrod was built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine, and was commissioned on 18 May 1985. The ship was originally home ported in Charleston, SC and shifted to Norfolk, VA in March 1995. Elrod has completed five deployments to the Persian Gulf, three to the Mediterranean Sea, and one to the Adriatic Sea, and has participated in numerous operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Caribbean Sea.

Elrod’s third Persian Gulf deployment followed Operation Desert Storm and supported aggressive air and surface surveillance operations. Elrod conducted naval exercises with units of Gulf Cooperation Council nations to strengthen and further develop the bonds that were forged during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The ship participated in TEAMWORK ’92, NATO’s Arctic Ocean anti-submarine exercise, and Operation Sharp Guard, in support of multi-national enforcement of United Nations sanctions and embargoing war materials to the Balkans. Elrod demonstrated America’s commitment to her NATO allies by providing a presence among the Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean (SNFM) and Standing Naval Forces Atlantic (SNFL) during Operation Enduring Freedom. Recently, Elrod completed another NATO deployment in 2004 in support of Operation Active Endeavor, and helped protect the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, in Operation Distinguished Games.

Elrod crew members have served with pride and distinction as ambassadors of America and spokesmen for the US Navy, hosting official and unofficial visits for foreign military, business and civilian dignitaries throughout the world, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Spain, Bulgaria, Turkey, Israel, Greece, Italy, France, England, Scotland, and Croatia. Elrod has sailed the major oceans of the world, transited the Panama and Suez canals, crossed the equator and the Arctic Circle.

In addition to a reputation for operational readiness and fighting skills, Elrod has earned a reputation for community support and participation in charitable projects. The ship has been recognized for the crew’s contributions by designation as a Presidential “Point of Light”.[clarification needed] Elrod has also earned numerous awards during her commissioned service, including the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, several Battle Efficiency Excellence Awards, Secretary of the Navy Energy Conservation Award, Armed Forces Recreation Society Award and various departmental and mission-specific awards for excellence. The current captain of the Elrod is Commander Jackie L. Killman.

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USS Windham Bay (CVE-92) was the thirty-eighth of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Windham Bay, within Tongass National Forest, of the Territory of Alaska. The ship was launched in March 1944, commissioned in May, and served as a replenishment and transport carrier throughout the Invasion of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. Postwar, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. servicemen from throughout the Pacific. She was decommissioned in August 1946, when she was mothballed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. With the outbreak of the Korean War, however, she was called back to service, continuing to serve as a transport and utility carrier until 1959, when she was once again decommissioned. Ultimately, she was broken up in February 1961.

Design and description[edit]

Windham Bay was a Casablanca-class escort carrier, the most numerous type of aircraft carriers ever built,^[2] and designed specifically to be mass-produced using prefabricated sections, in order to replace heavy early war losses. Standardized with her sister ships, she was 512 ft 3 in (156.13 m) long overall; at the waterline, she was 490 ft (150 m) long. She had a beam of 65 ft 2 in (19.86 m), at her widest point, this was 108 ft (33 m). She also had a draft of 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m). She displaced 8,188 long tons (8,319 t) standard, 10,902 long tons (11,077 t) with a full load. She had a 257 ft (78 m) long hangar deck and a 477 ft (145 m) long flight deck. She was powered with two Skinner Unaflow reciprocating steam engines, which drove two shafts, providing 9,000 shaft horsepower (6,700 kW), thus enabling her to make 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 10,240 nautical miles (18,960 km; 11,780 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Power was provided by four Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers. Her compact size necessitated the installation of an aircraft catapult at her bow, and there were two aircraft elevators to facilitate movement of aircraft between the flight and hangar deck: one each fore and aft.^[2][3][4]

One 5-inch (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose gun was mounted on the stern. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by eight Bofors 40-millimeter (1.6 in) anti-aircraft guns in single mounts, as well as 12 Oerlikon 20-millimeter (0.79 in) cannons, which were mounted around the perimeter of the deck. By the end of the war, Casablanca-class carriers had been modified to carry thirty 20 mm cannons, and the amount of 40 mm guns had been doubled to sixteen, by putting them into twin mounts. These modifications were in response to increasing casualties due to kamikaze attacks. Although Casablanca-class escort carriers were designed to function with a crew of 860 and an embarked squadron of 50 to 56, the exigencies of wartime often necessitated the inflation of the crew count. Casablanca-class escort carriers were designed to carry 27 aircraft, but the hangar deck could accommodate more, which was often necessary during transport or replenishment missions.^[4][5]

Construction[edit]

Her construction was awarded to Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, Vancouver, Washington under a Maritime Commission contract, on 18 June 1942. The escort carrier was laid down on 5 January 1944 under the name Windham Bay, as part of a tradition which named escort carriers after bays or sounds in Alaska.^[6] She was laid down as MC hull 1129, the thirty-eighth of a series of fifty Casablanca-class escort carriers. She therefore received the classification symbol CVE-92, indicating that she was the ninety-second escort carrier to be commissioned into the United States Navy. She was launched on 29 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Henry M. Cooper; transferred to the Navy and commissioned on 3 May 1944, with Captain Charles William Oexle in command.^[1][7]

Service history[edit]

World War II[edit]

Upon being commissioned, Windham Bay underwent a shakedown cruise down the West Coast to San Diego, arriving on 6 June. She then briefly conducted air qualifications and catapult trials off the southern California coast, before taking on a load of aircraft and passengers bound for Hawaii. On 12 June, she left port, arriving within Pearl Harbor on 19 June, trading her cargo for another load, this time bound for the Marshall Islands. She left Pearl Harbor on 25 June, arriving at Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands on 2 July. She then sailed westwards to Kwajalein Atoll, also within the Marshalls. There, she took on the aircraft and personnel of Marine Night Fighter Squadron 532 (VMF(N)-532), and steamed for the Mariana Islands. The squadron arrived on Saipan, which had recently been secured, by flying off of her flight deck, and she put into Garapan anchorage to unload the squadron’s gear.^[7]

Whilst in anchorage, Windham Bay loaded up a squadron of captured Japanese aircraft, and proceeded back to Hawaii. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 10 July, and remained in port for fifteen days, before departing for the West Coast on 25 July. She returned to port in San Diego on 31 July, and she began overhaul at San Pedro, where additional anti-aircraft armaments were retrofitted.^[7]

This process took up the entire month of August, and Windham Bay returned to sea on 1 September, with a load of aircraft bound for Emirau and Manus, of the Admiralty Islands. She arrived at Emirau in mid-September, and at Manus on 18 September. After unloading her aircraft, she took on a load of passengers and steamed for Espiritu Santo, of the New Hebrides, and upon completing this task, she took on another load of aircraft, returning to Manus on 5 October. She then visited Guadalcanal, of the Solomon Islands, before heading back to the West Coast. Proceeding via Espiritu Santo, she arrived back in San Diego on 20 October. She then made another transport mission to the South Pacific in November, transporting aircraft to Manus and collecting about 350 casualties from the Palau campaign at Guadalcanal on 24 November for transport back to San Diego.^[7]

Upon returning to port in San Diego on 10 December, Windham Bay remained inactive until 27 December, when she resumed transporting aircraft. During this stay, Lieutenant (temporarily promoted to Commander) Theophilus Horner Moore assumed temporary command of the carrier until it arrived at Pearl Harbor. Proceeding westwards, she transported a load of aircraft to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 2 January 1945 before taking on a load of F4U Corsairs. There, Captain Maxwell Franklin Leslie took over permanent command of Windham Bay. Leaving port on 5 January, she headed to Midway Atoll in the Hawaiian Islands, arriving on 9 January, where she unloaded her cargo. The following day, she left Midway, returning to Pearl Harbor on 13 January. She left port on 1 February, this time as a replenishment carrier, providing replacement aircraft, parts, and supplies for the frontline Fast Carrier Task Force of the Third Fleet, which at the time was preparing to provide support for the planned invasion of Iwo Jima. On her way out towards the Central Pacific, Windham Bay stopped at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands, before steaming for Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands.^[7]

Upon taking on board the cargo required to sustain her replenishment duties, Windham Bay took to sea, as a part of Task Unit 50.8.4, the CVE Plane Transport Unit, along with her sister ships Admiralty Islands, Bougainville, and Attu. As a part of Task Group 50.8, the Logistics Support Group, the replenishment carriers were under the command of Rear Admiral Donald B. Beary. En route, the carriers were screened by the destroyer escorts Greiner, Sanders, and Wyman.^[8] She arrived off Iwo Jima on 19 February, whereupon she began delivering replacement aircraft and crews to the fleet carriers conducting operations over the island, with the transferring aircraft being screened by the fighter contingents of Makassar Strait and Shamrock Bay. Task Unit 50.8.4 first conducted deliveries to Task Groups 58.1, 58.4, and 58.5 on 19 February, conducted deliveries to Task Groups 58.2 and 58.3 the following day, and then deliveries to all the Task Groups excepting 58.5 on 21 February. Her main duties finished, Windham Bay continued delivering a trickle of planes until 1 March, when her Task Group returned to replenish at Ulithi. In total, the four escort carriers had delivered 254 aircraft and 65 plane crews to the fleet carriers, the majority of which were transferred on the first three days.^[9][7]

Later, upon having replenished, Task Group 50.8.4. took to sea again, and beginning on 1 April, in addition to resupplying the Fast Carrier Task Force, the escort carriers also shouldered the burden of providing replacement aircraft and supplies for the CVEs providing air cover for the landings on Okinawa. Taking advantage of the Kerama Islands, which had been recently captured on 26 March, the escort carriers were able to quickly replenish on bombs and ammunition, minimizing the amount of time spent away from the frontline carriers.^[10][7]

By the early morning of 5 June, Windham Bay, along with the ships of Task Group 38.1 and Task Group 30.8, was trapped in the path of Typhoon Connie, which was proceeding northwards, and on a course to the east of Okinawa. Admiral William Halsey Jr., which had already led the Third Fleet into the deadly Typhoon Cobra in December 1944, now managed to lead the Third Fleet yet again into the eyewall of another deadly storm, ignoring reports by Rear Admiral Beary, who was convinced that Halsey’s eastwardly course would put his carriers into the storm. By the time this had become evident, the replenishment carriers had already found themselves navigating independently of each other. As Windham Bay neared the center of the storm, at around 3:00, her crew began to witness the aircraft stored upon the flight deck work free of their restraints and slip into the sea.^[11]

A few minutes later, Windham Bay entered the eyewall. The carrier’s wind-measuring system was quickly blown away by the gusts, but the crew estimated the winds to be gusting at around 127 kn (235 km/h; 146 mph). In addition, waves estimated as towering some 75 ft (23 m) high broke over the carrier. Despite the fact that her forward aircraft elevator was up, water seeped through the edges of the elevator, flooding the elevator well with 4 ft (1.2 m) of water and temporarily taking it out of commission. At 3:55, as the carrier crested over a particularly high swell, the two forwardmost 40 mm Bofors guns, along with the forward lookout platform, were ejected off the ship. Simultaneously, the forwardmost 20 ft (6.1 m) of her flight deck collapsed onto her forecastle, damaging both her hangar deck and aircraft elevator.^[12][7]

The damage sustained during the typhoon necessitated repairs, and Windham Bay was therefore relieved of her replenishment duties. Heading eastwards, she stopped at the Marianas on 16 June on her way to Oahu, where quick repairs were made. In addition, she took on a load of F4U-2 Corsairs for transport. Stopping at Pearl Harbor from 25 June to 27 June, she entered port at San Diego on 11 July for extensive repairs, which took until late August to finish, after the Japanese surrender had been announced.^[7]

On 26 August, with her repairs having concluded, Windham Bay left San Diego harbor, with Marine Fighter Squadron 312 (VMF-312) on board, bound for Guam. Stopping briefly at Pearl Harbor, she arrived in Apra Harbor on 15 September. Having unloaded her passengers and cargo, she steamed for Samar and Leyte, within the Philippines, arriving on 19 September, taking on passengers, planes, and equipment for transport back to Hawaii. She departed Leyte on 24 September, stopped at Guam on 27 September, and arrived back at Oahu on 7 October. She left port on 8 October, and arrived back in San Diego harbor on 14 October.^[7]

Whilst in port, Windham Bay joined the Operation Magic Carpet fleet, which repatriated U.S. servicemen from around the Pacific. On 19 October, the carrier left on her first run, a voyage which ended at San Pedro. She left for another run on 13 November, arriving at Samar on 26 November, leaving on 28 November. Pausing at Pearl Harbor, she arrived in Port Hueneme, California on 17 December. She then proceeded a short ways southward back to San Pedro port, where she remained until the New Year.^[7]

On 8 January 1946, Windham Bay departed San Pedro again, making a round trip to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 14 January. Leaving port on 15 January, she returned to California on 21 January. She then sailed north to Tacoma, Washington, arriving on 25 January, where she was to be mothballed as part of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Inactivation work began as soon as she arrived, and she was decommissioned on 23 August.^[7]

Korean War[edit]

Windham Bay continued to be mothballed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet until the Korean War broke out during the summer of 1950. With the United States intervening in the war, under the auspices of the United Nations, Windham Bay was recommissioned and reclassified as an aircraft transport with the hull symbol T-CVE-92 on 28 October 1950 at Bremerton, Washington, with Captain Charles E. Brunton in command. As an aircraft transport, she was operated by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) with a civilian crew, but with a military command. On 20 November, she steamed south to California, stopping at San Francisco on her way to San Diego, arriving on 2 December. She then sailed northwards, back to San Francisco, arriving on 13 December. There, she headed to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 19 December. Returning to California, she sailed into Alameda, California on 2 January 1951, before heading back into the Pacific on 7 January, this time with a load of aircraft bound for Korea. She arrived at Yokohama, Japan on 24 January, where she unloaded her cargo. She left Yokohama harbor on 26 January, proceeding southwards, where she visited Saigon in French Indochina. In doing this visit, Windham Bay became the first large vessel to enter the Long Gam River since 1925. Whilst she was docked in Saigon, Vietnamese rebels tossed seventeen hand grenades at the carrier, albeit none exploded.^[13] After completing her visit, she headed to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, before heading back to the West Coast. Windham Bay sailed into the San Francisco Bay on 24 February.^[7]

For the next twenty months, Windham Bay made nine round-trip transpacific resupply voyages, loading up at either San Francisco or San Diego, always unloading at Yokosuka, and always returning to San Francisco. She broke this routine in October and November 1952, when she visited Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Bangkok, Thailand, before returning via Japan to Alameda on 9 December. Windham Bay continued her transpacific resupply voyages between the West Coast and Japan throughout 1953. As the Korean War wound down to an armistice, her transport missions began to involve more stops and side trips, notably to Hawaii, the Philippines, and to other Japanese ports besides Yokosuka. French Indochina became a frequent destination, with Windham Bay stopping at the capital of Saigon in May 1954, February 1955, and in March 1955, which by then had become part of the Republic of Vietnam. On 12 June 1955, she was reclassified as a utility carrier, with the hull symbol CVU-92. On 4 August 1956, she was severely damaged by a fire which broke out whilst she was docked in Alameda.^[14] In May 1957, she added Naha, Okinawa to her list of ports of call, and in December 1957, she made another stop to Saigon. In all other respects, Windham Bay‘s career as a transport carrier during this period consisted solely of missions resupplying aircraft from the West Coast to Japan, conducted in support of the fast carriers assigned to cover the western Pacific.^[7]

Windham Bay‘s career as a transport carrier lasted until the end of 1958, during a time in which the navy evaluated the Casablanca-class escort carriers to be less economical and less desirable as transport carriers as compared to the older Bogue-class escort carriers. Therefore, she was yet again decommissioned and mothballed in January 1959, this time as part of the San Francisco Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Navy list on 1 February 1959, and subsequently sold for scrapping to the Hugo Neu Steel Products Corp., of New York City. The ship was ultimately scrapped in Japan throughout February 1961.^[4] Windham Bay received three battle stars for her World War II service.^[

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She was designed as an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.

Construction and career[edit]

Estes was launched on 1 November 1943 at the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, North Carolina, as Morning Star. The ship was acquired by the Navy on 22 February 1944 and commissioned on 9 October 1944.

On 20 November 1944, Estes arrived at Pearl Harbor from Naval Station Norfolk, and after training, broke the flag of Rear Admiral William H. P. Blandy, Commander, Amphibious Group One. She sailed from Pearl Harbor on 10 January 1945 for rehearsal landings in the Marianas, and on 16 February arrived off Iwo Jima. As flagship for TF 52, Estes served as control center for the pre-invasion bombardment and the work of underwater demolition teams preparing the beaches for the assault. It remained off the island through the landings of 19 February, receiving wounded and supplying and repairing small craft. It arrived at Ulithi on 11 March to make final preparations for the Okinawa assault.

1945[edit]

Again flagship for TF 52, the amphibious support force, Estes was off Okinawa on 24 March 1945. It landed an underwater demolition group, then sailed with the bombardment group, directing the pre-invasion pounding of the beaches and Japanese strong points. Using information gained from its contacts with the radar picket destroyers, its controlled aircraft carrier planes protecting the vast concentration of shipping assembled for the assault on 1 April. After almost a month off the bitterly contested island, it sailed on 20 April to replenish at Saipan and carry Admiral Blandy to Pearl Harbor, where he and his staff disembarked on 19 May.

Estes continued to San Francisco for overhaul, and equipment installation designed to make the ship even more effective. On 20 July, it embarked Rear Admiral R. O. Davis, Commander, Amphibious Group 13, and on 8 August sailed for the Philippines. It arrived at Leyte on 28 August for occupation duty, coordinating the lifting of troops from the Philippines to Japan. After cruising widely in the Philippines on this duty, Estes sailed for Shanghai, and upon its arrival on 7 November, broke the flag of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, Commander, 7th Fleet. Before its had completed its tour of occupation duty along the Chinese coast, for part of which it was homeported at Tsingtao, the ship served as flagship for three succeeding commanders of the 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey, Admiral Charles M. Cooke, and Admiral Oscar C. Badger.

1946[edit]

In June 1946, Estes became flagship for Naval Forces, Western Pacific, and continued to cruise between Tsingtao and Hong Kong, aside from a 1947 overhaul at Bremerton, until 29 January 1949, when it departed Tsingtao for San Francisco. Arriving on 16 February, it lay at San Francisco and San Diego until its decommissioning at Hunter’s Point, San Francisco and being placed in reserve on 30 June 1949.

1950s[edit]

Estes was recommissioned on 31 January 1951, and after training off San Diego, sailed on 20 June for Yokosuka and Inchon, where from 25 July to 6 August, it served as flagship for Vice Admiral I. N. Kiland, Commander, Amphibious Force, Pacific. The ship carried successive Commanders, Amphibious Group One, through the remainder of this tour of duty in the Far East, during which it operated off Korea and in exercises off Japan.

Returning to San Diego on 19 April 1952, Estes carried high-ranking observers to the Marshall Islands for nuclear weapons tests in the fall of 1952.

With Rear Admiral F.S. Withington, USN, Commander Amphibious Group 3 and Commander Task Force 9, embarked, Estes left San Diego on 6 July 1953, setting course for Kodiak, Alaska. This time, the purpose of “Operation Blue Nose,” as it was called, was to resupply government installations—the “DEW Line“—in the far north. Estes arrived at Kodiak one week out of San Diego. Proceeding north, the personnel of TF 9 were officially inducted into the “Honorary Order of the Arctic” as “Blue Noses” when the force crossed the Arctic Circle on 19 July. While at anchor at Icy Cape, Estes received news that a truce had been signed in Korea. Continuing north to Wainwright on 31 July, Estes pressed on to Point Barrow the following day. At anchor off Point Barrow, Estes fell temporary victim to a shift in the wind which allowed pack ice to move inshore, immobilizing the ship for the better part of a week. The icebreaker USCGC Northwind freed Estes, and the transports Electra and Skagit, from the icy confines of the anchorage. The resupply mission complete, Estes set course for its home port of San Diego on 9 August.

Between January and May 1954, it again sailed for atomic weapons tests at Eniwetok, and on 6 July cleared for the Far East. As control ship for “Operation Passage to Freedom“, the evacuation of refugees from Communist North Vietnam, Estes operated from Haiphong from 18 August to 29 October. Between 6 and 11 February 1955 it aided the evacuation of the Tachen Islands resulting from the Taiwan Strait Crisis.

Estes returned to San Diego on 22 May 1955, operating out of there for the next year. Between March and July 1956, it was again in the Marshalls for weapons tests, and on 31 January 1957 sailed for Yokosuka, where it provided quarters and communications facilities until April, sailing then to visit Hong Kong. It returned to stateside duty on 15 May, voyaging to Pearl Harbor in July and August.

The next year found Estes sailing north in July to ports in British Columbia, and again in August to call at Seattle. During its 1959 tour of duty in the Far East it directed important amphibious operations off Japan, Okinawa, and Korea, and exercises off Borneo with ships of the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy.

1960s[edit]

It returned to San Diego in August, and through 1962 operated along the west coast, twice visiting the Pacific Northwest.

Estes was deployed to South Vietnam between June and October 1965, August 1966 to January 1967, February to July 1968 and, finally, from August to September 1969. It received the Meritorious Unit Commendation for operations in Vietnam in January 1967. The USS Estes Commanding Officer was Captain Edward Rogers. The XO was CDR Gus Cheatham, and Navigator LCDR Edward McCarthy.

On 31 October 1969, Estes was decommissioned for the final time.

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USS Bainbridge (DD-246) In New York Harbor, 19 August 1943, with the Manhattan skyline in the right distance. Note that the ship carries a Hedgehog launcher just aft of her forward 3/50 gun

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge (DD-246) refueling from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) in the Atlantic Ocean, in 1944.

Construction and commissioning

Bainbridge was launched on 12 June 1920 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey, sponsored by Miss Juliet Edith Greene, great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Bainbridge. Bainbridge was commissioned on 9 February 1921 with Lieutenant Commander Leo H. Thebaud in command.

Service history

1921–1930

Afer commissioning, Bainbridge reported to the United States Atlantic Fleet. She operated along the United States East Coast and in the Caribbean with the fleet, carrying out tactical exercises and maneuvers until October 1922. She departed for Constantinople to join the Naval Detachment in Turkish waters. On 16 December 1922 she rescued approximately 500 survivors of the burning French military transport Vinh-Long about 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) off Constantinople. For extraordinary heroism during the rescue Lieutenant Commander Walter A. Edwards received the Medal of Honor.

In 1923, at Newport, Rhode Island, Bainbridge served temporarily as flagship of Commander, Scouting Fleet. She then joined Squadron 14, Scouting Fleet, in the Atlantic Fleet.

Between 1923 and 1928 Bainbridge participated in annual fleet concentrations, tactical and joint maneuvers, and fleet and destroyer competitions. In 1927 she was assigned temporary duty with the Special Service Squadron for patrol duty off Nicaragua during internal disturbances there. During several summers Bainbridge participated in the training program of the Scouting Fleet, making summer cruises with reservists. On 23 December 1930 she was placed out of commission in reserve at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1932–1937

On 9 March 1932 Bainbridge was placed in reduced commission and attached to Rotating Reserve Division 19, taking part in United States Naval Reserve training cruises. She was placed in full commission on 5 September 1933 and assigned to Destroyer Division 8, Scouting Force. For a short period she served with the Special Service Squadron in the Florida Keys and at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and later was assigned to the Pacific, arriving at San Diego, California, on 5 November 1934. While serving on the United States West Coast, Bainbridge made cruises to British Columbia in Canada, the Alaska, and Hawaii. She was placed out of commission in reserve at San Diego on 20 November 1937.

1939–1941

Recommissioned on 26 September 1939 Bainbridge was as signed to Division 62 and operated on the Neutrality Patrol in the Panama Canal Zone until the summer of 1940 when she reported to Key West, Florida, for patrol duty. During the early part of 1941 she cruised along the northeast coast and between May and November 1941 made three convoy escort voyages to Newfoundland and Iceland.

Bainbridge refueling from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19) in 1944.

World War II

The United States entered World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Between December 1941 and July 1945 Bainbridge operated as a convoy escort in the waters off the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and in the Caribbean with the exception of five trans-Atlantic escort crossings to North Africa between February and December 1943.

Convoys escorted

Convoy Escort Group Dates Notes

HX 155 18–25 October 1941[1] 52 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland prior to US declaration of war

ON 31 4–15 November 1941[2] 37 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland prior to US declaration of war

HX 168 4–10 January 1942[1] 36 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland

ON 57 24 January-7 February 1942[2] 15 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland

AT 33 6 January 1943[3] escorted Empress of Scotland out of New York City with 4,191 troops bound for England

UGS 5A 18–21 February 1943[4] 16 ships escorted without loss from Chesapeake Bay to Mediterranean Sea

GUS 9 9–15 July 1943[5] 43 ships escorted without loss from Mediterranean Sea to Chesapeake Bay

UGS 16 27 August-7 September 1943[4] 79 ships escorted without loss from Chesapeake Bay to Mediterranean Sea

GUS 15 21–27 September 1943[5] 37 ships escorted without loss from Mediterranean Sea to Chesapeake Bay

UGS 22 25–30 October 1943[4] 64 ships escorted without loss from Chesapeake Bay to Mediterranean Sea

Decommissioning and disposal

World War II ended in Europe on 8 May 1945. Commencing her inactivation on 1 July 1945, Bainbridge was decommissioned on 21 July 1945 at Philadelphia and sold on 30 November 1945.

Honors and awards

 Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal

 American Defense Service Medal

Bronze star European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one battle star

 World War II Victory Medal

Bainbridge received one battle star for her service as a convoy escort between 13 June and August 1943.

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The Oklahoma, commissioned in 1916, served in World War I as a member of BatDiv 6,[4] protecting Allied convoys on their way across the Atlantic. After the war, she served in both the United States Battle Fleet and Scouting Fleet. Oklahoma was modernized between 1927 and 1929. In 1936, she rescued American citizens and refugees from the Spanish Civil War. On returning to the West coast in August of the same year, Oklahoma spent the rest of her service in the Pacific.

On 7 December 1941, Oklahoma was sunk by several bombs and torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A total of 429 crew died when she capsized in Battleship Row. In 1943 Oklahoma was righted and salvaged. However, unlike most of the other battleships that were recovered following Pearl Harbor, the Oklahoma was too damaged to return to duty. She was eventually stripped of her remaining armaments and superstructure before being sold for scrap in 1946. She sank in a storm while being towed from Oahu in Hawaii to a breakers yard in San Francisco Bay in 1947.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oklahoma_(BB-37)

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Namesake

Elphege Alfred Mailliot Gendreau was born on 29 June 1888 in Canada. He was commissioned Assistant Surgeon, Medical Reserve Corps, with the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) on 20 August 1915. He served on USS Glacier in Mexican waters during political unrest in that country and on USS Charleston during World War I.

After service in a number of assignments afloat and ashore, he was commissioned Captain on 20 September 1939. During the years 1940 and 1941, he served as Force Surgeon of Battle Force and subsequently on the staff of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. In the summer of 1943, he was on temporary duty in the South Pacific inspecting medical facilities to improve treatment and care of battle casualties. He voluntarily embarked in USS LST-343 to assist in the evacuation of the sick and wounded from Rendova. He was killed in a dive-bombing attack on the LST-343 on 21 July 1943. His dedicated service prompted Admiral Nimitz to recommend that a destroyer be named for him.

Construction and commissioning

Gendreau was laid down on 1 August 1943 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., San Francisco; launched on 12 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Josephine Gendreau, widow of Captain E. A. M. Gendreau, with Mrs. Chester W. Nimitz, wife of the Commander in Chief of Pacific Fleet, as matron of honor. Gendreau was commissioned on 17 March 1944.

Service history

Convoy escort

After shakedown off the California coast, Gendreau departed San Francisco, California, on 23 May 1944 escorting a convoy to Pearl Harbor, arriving six days later. She trained in Hawaiian waters and got underway on 18 June 1944 on the first of two voyages, escorting convoys between Hawaii and the Marshalls. Convoy duty brought her to Eniwetok again and on 26 July 1944. Gendreau returned to Oahu from the second voyage in time to help welcome President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Hawaii. During an ensuing anti-submarine patrol out of Pearl Harbor, the destroyer escort rescued the pilot and crew of an aircraft which had ditched at sea on 31 July 1944; and nine days later in heavy seas saved a downed fighter pilot.

Gendreau departed Pearl Harbor on 8 September 1944, with a convoy for Emirau. On 13 September 1944, she collided with escort carrier Breton (CVE-23) while fueling from her in heavy seas; but efficient emergency repairs allowed Gendreau to proceed with the convoy to Emirau before steaming into Manus on 19 September 1944 for repairs. She sailed from the Admiralties on 1 October 1944 and arrived at Port Purvis on Florida Island, in the Solomons, on 4 October 1944. Following intensive training with PT boats at Tulagi, she sailed on 27 October 1944 for the Russell Islands and rendezvoused with a convoy of landing craft bound for New Georgia Island. Departing on 29 October 1944, the group proceeded to Cape Torokina, Bougainville, where the landing craft debarked troops. Gendreau escorted the landing craft back to the Russells on 1 November 1944, and returned to Port Purvis the next day.

From 17 February through 20 February 1945, Gendreau was in dry dock, being repaired by its seamen and members of the repair ship Tutuila (ARG-4). Lieutenant Martin Victor became captain of Gendreau at this time.[1]

In March 1945, following three months of escort and ASW duty shuttling between islands of the South Pacific, Gendreau rehearsed for the coming Okinawa invasion after which she escorted landing craft to the Russell Islands and Port Purvis, arriving at Port Purvis on 7 March 1945, and returning to the Russells four days later. Underway from the Russells on 12 March 1945, she called at Ulithi on 21 March 1945 for final staging and sortied four days later with a task force for the Ryukyus.

Invasion of Okinawa

On L-Day, 1 April 1945, Gendreau was off the southeast coast of Okinawa protecting amphibious ships. Before dawn a Japanese plane attacked the DE but was shot down and crashed a few yards to starboard. A few hours later she closed the invasion beaches and delivered the landing craft to their assigned positions well in advance of the final bombardment and initial landings. The next day she was in the destroyer screen when another enemy plane attacked her at dawn, but with the aid of other ships she managed to shoot it down. On 3 April 1945, a plane strafed her and then, on its second pass, tried to crash her, but Gendreau’s gunfire blew it out of the air and the plane crashed 25 yards (23 m) away. On 5 April 1945 she joined a hunter-killer group.

On 6 April 1945, a torpedo bomber aimed a torpedo at the DE, but it exploded upon hitting the water. Gendreau shot down the bomber 500 yards (500 m) astern. The following day she destroyed another attacking plane. On 12 April 1945, without warning, a torpedo bomber roared in and released a torpedo which passed just under the bow and exploded some distance beyond. On 16 April 1945, two enemy planes homed in on her, but two American fighters swooped in from behind and shot down the attackers.

Gendreau departed Okinawa on 22 April 1945 with a convoy, touching at Saipan five days later and returning to Okinawa on 2 May 1945. She departed the next day for Ulithi, arriving there on 7 May 1945. Underway again on 23 May 1945 with a mixed convoy, she called at Okinawa on 29 May 1945 and escorted convoys in these waters. On 10 June 1945, while supporting the American troops who were wresting the island from Japan, Gendreau was hit by shellfire from a hidden 150 mm (5.9 in) gun. She lost power and began taking water, but outstanding damage control had her under control in 15 minutes and nearly restored her to normal within two hours. Two men were killed and two others wounded.

East China Sea

After repairs at Kerama Retto and later at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, she joined Vice Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf’s Task Force on 13 July 1945, for training and minesweeping in the East China Sea. On 26 July 1945 she rescued a friendly fighter pilot who had ditched at sea, picking him up only 32 minutes after the crash. At the end of the month a bad typhoon caused her to roll nearly 60° and buckled steel plating. On 31 July 1945 she escorted damaged battleship Pennsylvania (BB-38) to Guam and returned to Okinawa on 12 September 1945, where four days later, another typhoon parted her port anchor chain. She departed on 22 September 1945 to act as courier ship during the Allied occupation of the Japanese homeland.

Thus, after a short but distinguished war career, Gendreau stood out of Tokyo Bay on 4 November 1945 bound home via Pearl Harbor, arriving at Portland, Oregon on 22 November 1945. Around this time, the departing captain of Gendreau, Lieutenant Commander Martin Victor, gave the following farewell address to the crew:[2]

For the men of Gendreau, returning to peaceful ways of life, the past years will fade into memory, but this story will recall valued shipmates and a life strange and uncongenial to many of us, that of the seafaring man. In regarding it in future years, let us consider the cost of failure to live in peace with the world and, in that light, judge the politicians of the day. We may take pride that we were among those who, with our own hands, defended the country in battle, but let us not for that reason ask privileges as civilians. We shall remember the sometimes irksome but always vital role of military leadership, discipline and planning, all directed toward the objective of defeating the enemy.

Now, as citizens, remember the obligation to question, consider and examine both ideas and men, realizing that the objective itself is not always clear. Beware of popular leaders of the moment, being careful not to follow blindly, but to think and act in the interest of the country. Your recent life in the Pacific with its boredom, dangers and absences from the United States will drive home what it means to be an American.

Post-war activities

In February 1946 she proceeded to San Diego for training exercises and then departed the following month on a Far Eastern cruise. Gendreau arrived at Shanghai, China, on 14 April 1946, and sailed to Huludao, Manchuria, and then to Qingdao and Qinghuangdao, China. Further patrols brought her to Okinawa and Shanghai again May to June, and on 1 July 1946 she headed for California, arriving at San Diego on 19 July 1946. After training and repairs, she cast off on her last Far Eastern cruise, calling at Pearl Harbor and Guam en route to Japan.

Gendreau arrived in Japan on 19 March 1947. In the spring and summer of 1947, Gendreau stood patrol duty off the Korean coast, calling at Yokosuka, Japan on 21 May 1947, and thence returning to station. On 1 September 1947, she sailed from Japan for Pearl Harbor and San Diego, putting in at the latter port 19 September 1947.

Decommissioning and sale

Gendreau decommissioned on 13 March 1948 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. Gendreau was stricken on 1 December 1972. Gendreau was sold on 11 September 1973 and broken up for scrap.

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