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Warship Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023: Battlebarge Unimaktica

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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places. – Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023: Battlebarge Unimaktica

Above we see the 5″/38 DP Mk 12 forward mount of the 311-foot Casco-class high endurance cutter Unimak (WHEC-379) going loud sometime between 1982 and 1985. A WWII Battle of the Atlantic veteran, at the time of the above snapshot she was the last of her class in U.S. maritime service, four decades after joining the fleet, and still had a couple more years to go. The mighty Unimak began her journey 80 years ago this month.

The Barnegats

Back in the days before helicopters, the fleets of the world used seaplanes and floatplanes for search and rescue, scouting, long-distance naval gunfire artillery spotting, and general duties such as running mail and high-value passengers from ship to shore. Large seaplanes such as PBYs and PBMs could be forward deployed to any shallow water calm bay or atoll where a tender would support them.

Originally seaplane tenders were converted destroyers or large transport-type ships, but in 1938 the Navy sought out a purpose-built “small seaplane tender” (AVP) class, the Barnegats, who could support a squadron of flying boats while forward deployed and provide fuel (storage for 80,000 gallons of Avgas), bombs, depth charges, repairs, and general depot tasks for both the planes and their crews while being capable of surviving in a mildly hostile environment.

The United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender USS Timbalier (AVP-54) with two Martin PBM-3D Mariner flying boats from the Pelicans of Patrol Squadron 45 in the late 1948. Timbaler´s quadruple 40mm gun mount on the fantail was added in around 1948. National Archives #80-G-483681

The United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender USS Timbalier (AVP-54) with two Martin PBM-3D Mariner flying boats from the Pelicans of Patrol Squadron 45 in late 1948. Timber’s quadruple 40mm gun mount on the fantail was added around 1948. National Archives #80-G-483681

The 41 planned Barnegats were 2,500-ton, 311-foot long-legged auxiliaries capable of floating in 12 feet of water. They had room for not only seaplane stores but also 150 aviators and aircrew. Their diesel suite wasn’t fast, but they could travel 8,000 miles at 15.6 knots.

Barnegat class tender plans

Originally designed for two 5-inch/38-caliber guns, this could be doubled if needed (and often was) which complemented a decent AAA armament helped out by radar and even depth charges and sonar for busting subs.

All pretty sweet for an auxiliary.

We’ve covered them in the past including the horse-trading and gun-running USS Orca, the former “Queen of the Little White Fleet” USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38), and the 60-year career of USS Chincoteague (AVP-24), but don’t worry, they have lots of great stories.

Meet Unimak

Laid down on 15 February 1942 at Harbor Island, near Seattle by Associated Shipbuilders (one of at least four of her class constructed at the yard), our tender would carry on the “Bay” naming convention of the rest of the Barnegats by being the first U.S. Navy ship named in honor of the bay on the southern side of windswept volcanic Unimak Island, in the Aleutians.

Unimak Island, Shishaldin Volcano. Part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Vernon Barnes, USFWS.

The future USS Unimak was christened at Seattle, Washington, on 29 May 1942. The sponsor was Mrs. H. B. Berry. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. NHHC 19-N-58542

USS Unimak (AVP-31) was commissioned on 31 December 1943, CDR Hilfort Craft Owen, USN (USNA 1927), in command.

USS Unimak (AVP-31) At Seattle, Washington, on 31 January 1944 shortly after her delivery. Note her camouflage, two forward 5-inch mounts, and radar fit although it does seem as if some of her gun directors have been airbrushed out. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Catalog #: 19-N-61152

War!

Although built in the Pacific Northwest, it was deemed Unimak was needed in the Atlantic and, following shakedown and running supplies to seaplane bases on the Pacific coast of Central America including Santa Elena Bay, Ecuador, and at Aeolian Bay, Battra Island, in Galapagos group, she crossed the Ditch into the Caribbean in April 1944.

Following a trip carrying men and supplies to Barranquilla, Colombia, she escorted the converted Lykes steamer SS Genevieve Lykes— then USS Valencia (AKA-81) — to Panama, from where she would continue west to take part in the invasion of Okinawa.

Unimak then spent the rest of 1944 at the disposal of Fleet Air Wing Three (FAW-3) out of NAS Coco Solo in the Canal Zone which at the time included PBM-3 Mariner flying boats of VPB-74, VPB-201, VPB-206, VPB-207, VPB-209, and VPB-215 and the PB2Y-3 Coronados of VPB-1 and VPB-15, PV-1 Ventura of VB-141, and the PBY-5A Catalinas of VPB-84.

Notable incidents during this period included three in July 1944– coming to the aid of the torpedoed T2-SE-A2 tanker SS Kittanning (which had been hit by U-539 under Kplt Hans-Jürgen Lauterbach-Emden), the search for lost Navy blimp K-53, and the recovery of a crewman from a lost FAW-3 aircraft. She helped nurse the still-afloat Kittanning into Panama, collected nine crew from K-53 and sank her floating wreckage with 40mm shells, and recovered the severely burned FAW-3 aviator, photographing his remains for further possible identification, and consigning him to the deep with full honors.

After being relieved on duty to FAW-3 by one of her sisters in December 1944, Unimak shipped up the East Coast and spent Christmas at Boston Navy Yard under refit. She would remain there until April 1945 when she crossed the Atlantic to bring back men and equipment from England.

On a second trip post-VE-Day, VPB-103 and VP-105, after flying their PB4Y-1s across the Atlantic from Europe, had their ground staff and cargo sent across aboard the Unimak, sailing from Bristol, England on 4 June 1945 and arriving at Norfolk on the 14th.

Then came Pacific service, Unimak chopped to the authority of FAW-4 out of Adak, Alaska– passing her namesake bay– on 13 September 1945 after a trip to pick up military personnel from the outposts at far-flung Palmyra (22 August) and Johnston Island (25 August) then dropping them at Pearl Harbor (27 August) where she observed VJ-Day. While serving with the frozen flying boats of FAW-4, she called at Massacre Bay on Attu (21 September), the Soviet Pacific Fleet base at Petropavlovsk in Siberia (25 September) and back to U.S. waters at Kodiak (30 September), shuttling aircrews and ground personnel back home.

Wrapping up her post-war clean-ups, Unimak was decommissioned on 26 July 1946. Records do not indicate she was eligible for any battlestars. A shame.

Likewise, her sisters were lucky, and none of the 35 completed (30 as seaplane tenders, four as PT boat tenders, and one as a catapult training ship) were lost in WWII.

Jane’s 1946 listing for the Barnegat class, note Unimak.

White Hull Days

With the Coast Guard losing many of their large pre-war cutters during the conflict (the 10 Lake class 240-foot vessels given as part of the “Destroyers for Bases” deal, the new 327-foot Treasury-class cutter Alexander Hamilton sunk by U-132 while patrolling the Icelandic coast in 1942, and the USCGC Escanaba blown up on convoy duty in 1943), and a new series of Ocean Stations established immediately following the war, the service needed more big hulls. The Lakes were meant to be replaced by the downright roly-poly 255-foot Oswego class gunboat/cutters, but it was thought that the Navy’s excess 311-foot Barnegats could help on Ocean Station duty at least for a while.

Between April 1946 and November 1949, the Navy would transfer no less than 18 surplus Barnegats to its eternally cash-strapped sister service. In USCG parlance, they became known as the “311” class after their overall length, or the Casco-class, after USS Casco (AVP-12), which was loaned to the U.S. Coast Guard on 19 April 1949.

As noted by the USCG Historian’s Office:

The fact that the class was very seaworthy, had good habitability, and long-range made them well suited to ocean-station duty. In fact, an assessment made by the Coast Guard on the suitability of these vessels for Coast Guard service noted:

“The workmanship on the vessel is generally quite superior to that observed on other vessels constructed during the war. The vessel has ample space for stores, living accommodations, ships, offices, and recreational facilities. The main engine system is excellent. The performance of the vessel in moderate to heavy seas is definitely superior to that of any other cutter. This vessel can be operated at higher speed without storm damage than other Coast Guard vessels.” [Memo, CDR W. C. Hogan, Commanding Officer, CGC MC CULLOCH to Commandant “SUBJ; CGC MC CULLOCH, Suitability [sic] for use as CG Cutter.,” 12 February 1947; copy in 311-Class Cutter File, USCG Historian’s Office.]

Once they were accepted into Coast Guard service, a number of changes were made in these ships to prepare them for ocean-station duty. A balloon shelter was added aft; there were spaces devoted to oceanographic equipment and a hydrographic winch as well as an oceanographic winch were added.

They would (eventually) land most of their wartime armament and sensors, retaining just the forward 5″38 DP single, but pick up a Mk 11 Mousetrap ASW device, SQS-1 sonar, and SPS-23 (later SPS-29A/B/D) radar in case they were needed for convoy escorts in a war with the Russians. Some also later gained a pair of Mk 32 Mod 5 ASW torpedo tubes.

In Coast Guard service, they became WAVPs at first– although the service did not typically operate their seaplanes in an expeditionary fashion, starting with hull number 370 to not step on any existing USCG pennant numbers. Also, in most cases, the former Navy name was retained. However, three (USS Wachapreague, USS Biscayne, and USS Willoughby) would inherit the name of traditional past cutters (becoming USCGC McCollough, USCGC Dexter, and USCGC Gresham, respectively).

Thus, the decommissioned USS Unimak (AVP-31) became USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379) on 3 January 1949. Likewise, her 18 now-Casco-class sisters all carried hull numbers ranging between WAVP-370 and WAVP-387.

For the Coast Guard, at the time the name Unimak was very symbolic. The service had lost five men at the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on the island to a tsunami in 1946 when a freak 130-foot wave struck the lighthouse. Scotch Cap had been the location of the first manned U.S. lighthouse along the Bering Sea in 1903.

Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island. It was wiped out by a Tsunami, on April 1, 1946, killing 5 USCG members

“From ocean stations to drug busts, the 311-foot ships were among the most popular large cutters in the Coast Guard,” wrote Dr. Robert L. Scheina, the former USCG Historian in 1990. “Their reputation as fine sea boats was probably exceeded only by the 327-foot cutters.”

USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379). Note her installed Mousetrap ASW device behind her forward mount, open and ready to go. Courtesy of the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum

Speaking of ocean stations, Unimak was very busy on these, stationed out of Boston from January 1949 to September 1956, she served during this period twice each on OS Easy, OS Delta, and OS Coca in the North Atlantic.

Coast Guardsmen work on breaking the ice that coats the deck of USCG Unimak in February 1955, while on Ocean Station Coca in the North Atlantic

Then came a shift to New Jersey.

Unimak, Coast Guard Photo Number 5771, July 1957. [CDR William Wilson provided the following information regarding the cutter and the photo: “It was taken in July 1957 when she was homeported in Cape May. Where it was taken, I cannot remember, possibly off Wildwood, NJ as we did a lot of day ops just offshore. FYI, I am the sailor standing alone just forward of the three men on the starboard side of the 5″-38. I was in charge of the anchor detail when taken. I was a DC-2 at the time.”

Shifting to Cape May, New Jersey– home of the USCG’s basic training center– from September 1956 until August 1972, during this period Unimak often embarked young enlistees and strikers on training cruises ranging from Brazil and Nova Scotia. While at sea on these, the school ship was still very much a working cutter.

As noted by the USCG Historian, her rescues while working out of Cape May included:

  • 7 March 1967: rescued six Cuban refugees in the Yucatan Channel.
  • 10 March 1967: rescued survivors from F/V Bunkie III in Florida waters.
  • 15 March 1967: rescued 12 Cuban refugees who were stranded on an island.
  • 29 May 1969: towed the disabled F/V Sirocco 35 miles east of Fort Pierce, FL, to safety.
  • 3 April 1970: stood by the grounded M/V Vassiliki near Mayaguana Island until a commercial tug arrived.

Unimak and her kind were largely redesignated as high endurance cutters (with Unimak becoming WHEC-379) on 1 May 1966. Unimak was then re-rated to a training cutter (WTR-379 in 1969).

While most of her sisters in Coast Guard service were soon sent to Vietnam waters (with seven transferred to the South Vietnam Navy in 1972) she was reassigned from Cape May on 7 August 1972 to Reserve Training Center Yorktown, Virginia, to serve as a school ship for Coast Guard reservists.

Unimak at sea, Sept 1970

Guantanamo 1971. 311-foot Casco class cutter likely USCGC Unimak (although I’m not sure about the aft mast radar fit), passing Bibb

In this, she was the first cutter to take female officer candidates to sea.

Original caption: “9 May 1973 Boston — COMING INTO PORT aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Unimak are five women officer candidates training for the first time alongside their male counterparts. The stopover in Boston is part of a two-week training cruise designed to give students at the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in Yorktown, Virginia, a taste of life at sea. Shown are Officer Candidates (from left to right) Lynn W. Smith, Sue E. Jennings, Bonnijill McGhee, Sheila E. Denison, and Margaret R. Riley.” USCG photo 210429-G-G0000

By early 1973, all 18 of the Cascos save for two– including Unimak— had been either returned to the Navy or given to the doomed Saigon regime.

Unimak and sistership Gresham (ex-USS Willoughby) in the 1973 Jane’s. At this point, Gresham was an unarmed weather ship (WAGW) while Unimak was still a WTR assigned to Yorktown.

After Gresham was formally decommissioned on 25 April 1973 and sold for scrap to a Dutch breaker that fall, Unimak was the last of her type in U.S. service.

Finally, her number came up and Unimak was decommissioned on 29 May 1975 and laid up at the USCG Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland.

However, after just 28 months in mothballs, the operational needs to stem the time of Cuban refugees and drugs heading across the Caribbean left the Coast Guard pressing everything from old icebreakers to tugboats in service on the southern line.

This left Unimak ready for her second recommissioning, on 22 August 1977, returning once again as a high endurance cutter (WHEC-379).

Unimak 311 Casco/Barnegat WHEC 379, wearing her glad rags

While her Mousetrap had long been removed, her 5-incher still worked. Added to this were six mounts for M2 .50 cal Brownings, and two M29 81mm mortars on the 01 deck forward of the bridge for use in firing illumination rounds.

USCGC UNIMAK somewhere in the York River 1979

USCG Base Boston UNIMAK and the larger 378-foot USCGC CHASE Circa 1979

USCGC 379 UNIMAK Cutter

UNIMAK at RTC Yorktown Circa 1980

Unimak, WHEC-379 8 June 1987, USCG Historians Office

Stationed out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, it was intended that she be used for fisheries patrol, freeing up more modern cutters for the trip down to Florida.

However, she did make her LE patrols down to the Straits, scoring some notable counter-drug busts:

  • 6 October 1980: seized M/V Janeth 340 miles southeast of Miami carrying 500 bales of marijuana.
  • 14 October 1980: seized P/C Rescue carrying 500 bales of marijuana and P/C Snail with two tons of marijuana in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • 17 October 1980: seized M/V Amalaka southwest of Key West with 1,000 bales of marijuana.
  • 19 October 1980: seized F/V Wright’s Pride southwest of Key West, carrying 30 tons of marijuana.
  • March 1981: intercepted M/V Mayo with 40 tons of marijuana.
  • 30 November 1984: seized the sailboat Lola 100 miles north of Barranquilla carrying 1.5 tons of marijuana.
  • 2 November 1985: seized tugboat Zeus 3 and a barge 200 miles south of the Dominican Republic carrying 40 tons of marijuana.

And of course, she came to more rescues in her second stint with the Coast Guard:

  • 9 December 1982: towed the disabled F/V Sacred Heart away from Daid Banks, 45 miles east of Cape Cod, in 30-foot seas. As noted by QMCM Ronald D. Meyer, USGC, ret: “It was horrific, seas over 30 feet, constantly, wind extremely strong. Ever seen a 300-foot ship tossed like a play toy until the steel hull cracks the ladders outside bend. I thought we were ALL going to die, no exaggeration. I was the one guy on board who knew for real because I knew where we were, and it was what I thought. Truth is the Captain struggled with the same thought as well. Only a handful of men were even capable of doing their jobs, which were critically needed. A handful of over 100 men were even able to function.”
  • 27/28 February 1983: she towed the dismasted Wandering Star to Mathew Town, Great Iguana.
  • 3 March 1983: towed the disabled M/V Yadrina to Mathew Town.

During her long USCG service, Unimak was nicknamed at one time or another:

“The Lone Ranger”; “Battlebarge Unimaktica”; “Unibarge”; “Unisub”; “RONC The Long Ranger”; “Uni-rust”; “Fast Attack Missile Sponge” (coined from the numerous missile hit drills from REFTRE in Gtmo); “New Bedford’s Virgin Girl” (based on her call sign NBVG); “Runamuck”; and the “Big Mac Attack.”

This was largely due to the practice of Coast Guard cutters that were assigned to or visited Nantucket playing the “Ring Game” with the famed Nantucket Angler’s Club for “ownership” of the cutter. Should the skipper lose, the NAC becomes the cutter’s “owner,” and a RONC (“Republic of Nantucket Cutter”) moniker is assigned. Key West has a similar and much better-publicized relationship with the Coast Guard and the whole Conch Republic thing.

Finally, with the new 270-foot Bear class cutters entering service, the Coast Guard no longer needed the 45-year-old Unimak, and she was decommissioned for the third and final time on 29 April 1988. Returned to the U.S. Navy for disposal, she was eventually stripped and sunk for use as a reef off the Virginia coast.

She had been commanded by three Navy officers in WWII and 23 Coast Guard officers between 1949-75 and 1977-88.

Epilogue

I cannot find any details about the location of the Unimak reef.

A veteran’s group was online between 2005 and 2018 but has since gone dormant. Some reunion videos and pictures are still on YT.

Unimak’s Coast Guard and Navy deck logs are in the National Archives as are her plans. 

Neither service has commissioned a second Unimak.

There are some period postcards that remain in circulation of her service, showing her shifting Coast Guard livery over the years. 

When it comes to the Barnegat class, they have all gone on to the breakers or been reefed with the final class member afloat, ex-Chincoteague (AVP-24/WHEC-375)/Ly Thuong Kiet (HQ-16)/Andres Bonifacio (PF-7) scrapped in the Philippines in 2003. None remain above water.

Ships are more than steel
and wood
And heart of burning coal,
For those who sail upon
them know
That some ships have a
soul.

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Acquit yourselves like men

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Some 80 years ago this month, No. 489 Squadron RNZAF, part of RAF Coastal Command at Langham, finished the transition from their lumbering Handley Page Hampden medium bombers to an aggressive new type, the Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter TF Mk.X.

This image hails from the Air Force Museum of New Zealand Photograph Collection, as are all from this post.

Torpedo armed Beaufighter and crew of No. 489 Squadron. Note the firing ports for her nose-mounted 20mm cannons. PR9035

Capable of carrying a 1,500-pound 18-inch torpedo Mark XII aerial torpedo (or a similar weight of bombs and rockets) as well as four nose-mounted Hispano Mark II 20mm cannons, a rear gunner in a bubble turret upstairs, and a six-pack of .303 Brownings in the wings, the big twin-engined attack plane could hit speeds of 320 mph and had an armed range of 1,700 miles.

The Beau was meant to take the fight to the enemy.

No. 489 would finish their conversion this month– which was made easy as they cut their teeth on the similar but slower Bristol Beaufort when formed in 1941– the Kiwis would soon be off to attack German shipping in occupied Norway (as well as off Holland and over the Channel as needed, for instance during Overlord).

30 June 1944: A great air-to-air view of a torpedo-armed No. 489 Squadron RNZAF Beaufighter No. P6-S, being flown by Pilot Officer Burrowes, making its first trip to Norway, escorted by a No. 315 Squadron RAF (Polish) Mustang No. PK-Whisky was piloted by Flying Officer T Haczkiewics, on a five-and-a-half-hour sortie. Note the “invasion stripes” on both aircraft. Photo PR10329

Image from the No. 489 Squadron unofficial diary. No. 489 Squadron aircraft attacking a ship that had eight Beaufighters painted on the bridge as claims. The ship was destroyed. PR10353

Aerial oblique, taken during an attack by No. 489 Squadron, on German Merchant shipping in Norwegian Fjord, Vindsfjord (Vindspol).

Image from the DH Mann personal album collection. No. 489 Squadron attack on “M” Class Minesweepers Burning After Straffing.”

Image from the DH Mann personal album collection. No. 489 Squadron “Attack On Convoy. Aug 29th 1944. Position 54° 10′ North. 08° 04′ East.”

No. 489 Squadron Beaufighters attacking ships off The Naze. There are 12 crews listed in the No. 489 Squadron unofficial diary.

No. 489 Squadron Beaufighter fires a salvo of rockets at an enemy ship. Unknown location.

Aerial oblique taken during an attack by No. 489 Squadron on German Merchant shipping in Norwegian Fjord, Orstenfiord (Orsta Fiord)

Joint Wing attack on shipping, off Den Helder. Copied from the No. 489 Squadron unofficial Unit History.

Their last operational sortie was 21 May 1945, and, while they would transition to Mosqutos post-VE-Day in preparation to head to the Pacific, it turned out the Emperor would throw in the towel before they arrived and they were disbanded.

During WWII, No. 489 flew 2,380 sorties across 9,773 hours on operations and lost 33 brave lads.

Their motto, in Moari, is Whakatanagata kia kaha (“Acquit yourselves like men, be strong”).

An oil painting saluting the squadron and its “Beautiful Beaus” is in the RNZAF Museum. 

Copy of an acrylic painting by RM Conly “489 Squadron Beaufighter”. Shows a No. 489 Squadron Beaufighter with a No. 315 Squadron Mustang escort over burning ships. See PR10329 for the original photograph this was painted from.

Scorpion vs Trawler

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In news out of Chile, the country’s very professional (if somewhat outdated) navy has been keeping tabs on a foreign fishing fleet of 8 large trawlers crossing through the Juan Fernández Archipelago National Park and then into the Strait of Magellan to make sure they don’t illegally drop nets or lines in Chile’s EEZ.

While aerial observation occurred– conducted by AS365 Dauphin 2s, at least one submarine kept an eye on the Chinese fishing fleet as well, a great example of how modern sea power is meshing with roaming international IUU concerns.

These images were released by the Chilean Navy on 16 December, as part of Operación de Fiscalización Pesquera Oceánica (OFPO) (and you know how much of a sucker I am for periscope shots!):

The submarine looks to be a French-made Scorpène-class SSK, two of which — Carrera (SS-22) and O’Higgins (SS-23)— were delivered in 2005-06. The country’s fleet also runs an older pair of German HDW-made Type 209-1400s– Thomson (SS-20) and Simpson (SS-21)— which were delivered in the early 1980s during tensions with Argentina and today serve more of a training role.

While the Chileans aren’t saying, odds are the above images show Carrera, who just returned on 22 December to her homeport at Talcahuano following four months in San Diego as an OPFOR in the 2023 Diesel-Electric Submarine Initiative (DESI) and would have been transiting the area just in time to give a good flex. DESI 2023 saw the Colombian Navy submarine ARC Pijao’s deployment (the country’s 13th DESI) at Naval Station Mayport, Florida for training with Atlantic forces while Carrera did the same on the West Coast under the control of Submarine Squadron 11. This was Chile’s 10th DESI deployment since the program was established in 2001.

Submarine “Carrera” returned to Chile after participating in the DESI 2023 exercise (PHOTO: Chilean Navy)

Chile has been in the submarine biz since 1917.

For reference, before their current boats, the Chileans ran a pair of British-built Oberon-class submarines (O’Brien and Hyatt) for three decades.

Going even further back, Santiago picked up two non-GUPPY Snorkel conversion Balao-class boats– USS Spot (SS-413)/Simpson and USS Springer (SS-414)/Thomson in 1962.

They began their submarine arm with a six-pack of American-built British Holland 602/H-class-class boats put into service starting in 1917 as the Guacolda-class followed by three Odin class boats (Almirante Simpson, Capitan O’Brien, Capitan Thompson) in 1928.

Chile Guacolda class H-class submarines Holland 602, via Jane’s 1946

A 6-inch Christmas Eve off Buka

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80 Years Ago Today: Cleveland-class light cruiser USS Columbia (CL-56) 6″/47 Mark 16 expended powder casings from Turrets 3 & 4 lying on the main deck aft of the ship during bombardment of Buka Island in the Solomons by CruDiv 12. December 24, 1943.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-299039

Columbia fired 863 6-inch shells that night-– over a third of the Cleveland-class magazine capacity of 200 rounds for each of their 12 main guns. She also fired 1141 5″/38 shells.

It was a role she played often, in addition to taking on Japanese surface assets and swatting away kamikazes. 

After 6/47 gun turrets of USS Columbia (CL-56) firing, during the night bombardment of Japanese facilities in the Shortlands that covered landings on Bougainville, 1 November 1943. Official U.S. Navy photo 80-G-44058

Columbia, dubbed “the Gem of the Ocean” by her crew, earned 10 battlestars and two Naval Unit Commendations during her short career. Decommissioned in 1947 after just over four years of service, with a good portion of that in reserve, she was sold for scrap in 1959.

Minehunters, ahoy

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Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1, moving about Scandinavia in April 2023, with Norwegian coast guard cutter HNoMS Nordkapp (A531) trailing, preceded by FGS Rottweil (M1061), FS Céphée (M652), HNoMS Otra (M351), BNS Bellis (M916) and EML Sakala (M314). Foto Mediacentrum Defensie

Lots of interesting news coming from the world of sea mines.

First, from the Baltic, comes news that Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One has been very busy over the late summer and fall. In just one recent nine-day operation in Estonian territorial waters, seven minesweepers/hunters covered an area of more than 22 square nautical miles and classified 228 items as “mine-like” objects.

Of those, 16 were positively identified as historical mines left over from WWI and WWII and neutralized.

“The Baltic Sea was heavily mined during the World Wars, however, some areas more densely than others,” Commander, SNMCMG1 Polish Navy Commander Piotr Bartosewicz said. “Estonian waters are one of the most mined areas in the world and provide a valuable opportunity to train and to increase SNMCMG1’s combat readiness.”

Bartosewicz took charge of SNMCMG1 on behalf of the Polish Navy in July 2023. He leads the group from its flagship Polish Navy ORP Czernicki (511) along with an international staff on board. In addition, the group comprises minehunters: Belgian Navy BNS Crocus (M917), German Navy FGS Bad Bevensen (M1063), Royal Netherlands Navy HNLMS Vlaardingen (M863), and two Polish Navy minesweepers ORP Drużno (641) and ORP Hańcza (642). The group was further strengthened by Allied minehunters from Estonia and Lithuania – ENS Ugandi (M315) and LNS Skalvis (M53), respectfully, during the HODOPS.

Earlier in the summer, as Operation Reassurance (OpRe) assets assigned to SNMCMG1, Royal Canadian Navy Clearance Divers accounted for six mines out of 10 neutralized in waters off Latvia.

They were operating from two of Canada’s venerable Kingston class “coastal defense vessels” — HMCS Summerside and HMCS Shawinigan— which are basically offshore patrol assets that can be pressed into service as mine hunters.

MCDV HMCS Shawinigan (MM704) set up for MCM with SNMCMG1 Baltic October 2023. These 181-foot diesel-electric steel-hulled OPVs have done it all since they entered service in the early 1990s. Note the .50 cal M2 in front of her wheelhouse, a weapon not normally mounted. RCN photo

SNMCMG1 rafting in the Baltic in September. The largest ship is the 2,300-ton/242-foot mine defense command ship ORP Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki (511) in center alongside 540-ton/168-foot Dutch minehunter Zr.Ms. Vlaardingen (M 863), with the Polish 216-ton/126-foot Gardno/207P-class harbor minesweepers ORP Hańcza (642) and ORP Drużno (641) at the top. At the bottom is the 650-ton/178-foot German Frankenthal-Class mine hunter Bad Bevensen (M 1063). The Canadian Kingston class sisters HMCS Summerside and HMCS Shawinigan are sandwiched between Bad Bevensen and Czernicki.

Lacking direct sweep gear, the combination of divers and REMUS ROVs proved a decent substitute on the 30-year-old Kingstons.

Tell me again how LCS can’t get it done?

 

Meanwhile, in the Black Sea…

NATO allies Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, plan to sign an agreement on 11 January to work together to sweep the Black Sea of mines.

Besides historical mines and UXO left over from the 20th Century, the ancient sea has seen numerous floating mines wandering around due to the more recent dust-up in Ukraine, with most being small but still dangerous shallow water (inshore/river) contact mines.

Most of the devices encountered so far have been Soviet M1943 MyaM-type shallow water (inshore/river) contact mines of the type licensed to both Iran (SADAF-01 type) and Iraq (Al Mara type) back in the 1980s, typically seen with very fresh Ukrainian naval markings and contact horns covered.

Last September, the Romanian minesweeper Lt. Dimitrie Nicolescu (DM-29) survived the detonation of a mine some 25 miles off Constanţa.

Enter the Houthi

Finally, it should be remembered that the Yemen Houthi have their own domestically made KS-2 Mersad (trans: Ambush), a High-Explosive (HE), moored, contact-initiated, blast seamine, of which lots of images are making their rounds these days.

First fielded in 2017, the Mersad reportedly contains just 46 pounds of HE and is armed via four simple contact horns connected to an electric detonator powered by 16 AA batteries.

Many have wondered if they were made from repurposed Chinese freon tanks popular in the region.

Welcome to the 21st Century.

Up the Hatch with the Pudding!

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80 years ago today. Official caption: “Christmas With The Trawlers. 21 December 1943, Harwich. members of the Escort Trawler HMS Turquoise (T45) prepare to make the most of Christmas afloat.”

“The cook emerges from the galley bearing the ship’s Christmas pudding, as members of the crew crowd round the hatch to welcome him.” Photo by LT J.E. Russell, Admiralty Collection, Imperial War Museum Catalog No. A 21071

“All set for a Merry Christmas, with pudding, a cigar, and a bottle.” Same as the above, Imperial War Museum Catalog No. A 21072

Same as the above IWM A 21073

“A leading seaman climbing the shrouds to fix a Christmas tree to the mast-head in accordance with custom,” IWM A 21070

The crew had much to celebrate.

Built at Southbank-on-Tees by Smith’s Dock (Yard No. 986) for the Warwickshire Fishing Co of Grimsby, the 460-ton trawler was instead purchased on the ways in November 1935 by the Royal Navy for conversion to a “Gem” class Anti Submarine Escort.

When war came, His Majesty’s Trawler Turquoise was based in Harwich, as seen above, for North Sea convoy escort duties, armed with depth charges and a single 4-inch deck gun forward and Lewis gun aft.

During her full service, for the duration from 1939 through VE Day, she sailed 72,000 miles underway and was an escort in part for something like 215 convoys comprising 6,400 ships totaling over 15 million tons.

Adopted by Gwmbren UD Wales during the war, she fought in at least two clashes with German E-boats, carried BEF troops home from Dunkirk, and helped salvage 11 naval and merchant ships, pulling 150 survivors from the water.

An account of her E-boat fight in 1942, via “Trawlers Go to War”:

Seaman Davies:

‘Each of our convoy trips had its moments of excitement with the usual attacks by aircraft, but this one was really special. Our charge numbered 72 ships, including tankers, the largest convoy to date. It had been a balmy sunny day and the second dog­watch came round with one of those glorious sunsets travel agents speak of, on a calm, oily sea. It all seemed rather unreal, until shortly after my arrival on duty at the twin point‑five aft the alarm went, and over on the far side of the convoy the fire­work display of tracers etched their wonderful pattern in the evening dusk. The tine was 6 p.m. It wasn’t long before we were engaging enemy aircraft, Heinkel 113s, and the sky now seemed full of these roaring, bar‑like messengers of death. Our entire ship was shrouded in gunsmoke and the pungent smell of burnt cordite hung in the still air. One lost all sense of time and between the frantic bursts of firing, of near misses, it seemed that an unearthly, ghost‑like silence descended over the area of the sea with Turquoise appearing motionless. The moon was now shining and suddenly the four‑inch crew shouted “E‑boat ‑Green 10, sir!”

‘At this time the angle was too acute for us to see the German, but our forward guns were letting fly. In the starboard wing, manning the Lewis gun was the steward, a Cockney veteran of World War 1. He was a four‑foot‑nothing man and had a beer crate to stand on, and we could see him up on his crate blazing away. Now the E‑boat was in sight at 80 yards, the whine of bullets was loud in the air and the thud of them finding a home in the padding round the bridge sounded clear above the tur­moil. Our little steward raked the German gunners at their guns and, doll‑like; they fell over and firing ceased from her. She was now running broadside on to us and our guns methodically raked her, then as she sheered away from us one had the impression that she was finished. But before we had time to collect scattered thoughts a cool voice ordered “Shift target ‑aircraft bearing Green 90, angle of sight 20 degrees”.

‘The rest of the night wore on ‑ “Load, open fire, shift target” ‑ until the sun came up over the horizon, bathing the sea with its shimmering yellow light. “Stand down ‑ tea up!” Blessed relief. Now was the time to feel scared. Later the Rich­mond came over and congratulated us on defeating the E‑boat, which had sunk some hours after the action. Some of the Germans had been rescued.

‘On our return to Harwich we were given twenty‑four hours excused duty and a bottle of beer each. Later our CO (Lieu­tenant C. M. Newns, RNVR) received the DSC, and there were four Mentions in Despatches. One of these was for the steward, who had been more instrumental than anyone in saving casualties among our ship’s company. My wife sent me a telegram: “Heard news on wireless ‑‑ write ‑ worried.” The news item she had heard stated that a large‑scale air and sea attack on a big East Coast convoy had been repulsed with the loss of only seven ships … HMT Turquoise pursued and sank an E‑boat. “Pursued” be damned with a 7‑knot trawler!”

Post-war, she was sold into mercantile service first with St Andrews Steam Fisheries of Hull as F/V St.Oswald, then in 1948 to Grimsby Merchants’ Amalgamated as Woolton, and finally to Wyre Trawlers, eventually renamed Wyre Woolton.

She was broken up in 1957 at Preston.

Just three weeks after the above photos were snapped, Turquoise was back on escort duty.

“The trawler HMS Turquoise is an ‘E-boat Alley’ veteran. 14 January 1944, Harwich. The anti-submarine escort trawler HMS Turquoise has just completed 4 years of service on the East Coast.” Photo by LT J.E. Russell, Admiralty Collection, Imperial War Museum Catalog No. A 21378

Of the 800 odd trawlers from the Hull and Grimsby fishing fleets in 1939, about a quarter remained in commercial service harvesting the ocean while the rest were requisitioned by the Admiralty and eventually over 2,000 fishing boats became HMTs. Most retained their former crews with the captain given the previously unknown rank of Skipper, Royal Navy Reserve, with the highest rank available being Skipper Lieutenant, RNR.

Nearly a quarter of the British trawling fleet perished in WWII, with no less than 260 HMTs lost in the conflict. 

Some 2,385 officers and men of the Royal Naval Patrol Service aged from sixteen to the late sixties, fathers, sons, brothers, and cousins, who died in the service of their country and found ‘no grave but the sea’.

Warship Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023: Old Lovely

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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023: Old Lovely

Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976. Naval History and Heritage Command Catalog #: NH 84879

Above we see the 542-class tank landing ship USS Meeker County (LST-980) arriving at San Diego, California, on 6 September 1970, capping a four-year stint in Vietnam where she, just a few months before, had survived an attempted mining by a VC dive team. Note that her guns– including WWII-era Bofors– are covered and she is carrying much topside cargo to include vehicles and cranes.

The Normandy veteran was laid down 80 years ago this month, saw lots of service in a few different wars, and was among the very last of her class in U.S. Naval service.

The 542s

A revolutionary concept that, by and large, went a long way to win WWII (and later turn the tables in Korea) was the LST. Designed to beach their bows at the surf line and pull themselves back off via a combination of rear anchor winching and reverse prop work, they were big and slow, earning them the invariable nicknames of “Large Slow Target” or “Last Ship (to) Tokyo.”

While a few early designs were built by the British (the Maracaibo and Boxer classes) it wasn’t until the Royal Navy placed a wish list with the U.S. for 200 LST (2) type vessels that the Americans got into the landing tank ship design in a big way.

This general 1,800-ton, 327-foot vessel, powered (eventually) by two easily maintained GM EMD locomotive diesels, was ultimately built in a whopping 1,052 examples between 1942 and 1945. They could carry around 120 troops, which could be landed by as many as a half-dozen davit-carried Higgins boats, but their main claim to fame was in being able to tote almost 1,500 tons of cargo and vehicles on their tank deck for landing ashore.

Built across three different subclasses (390 LST-1 type, 51 LST-491 type, and 611 LST-542) in nine different yards spread across the country– including five “cornfield shipyards” in the Midwest, then shipped via river to the coast– our humble “gator” was of the latter type.

The 542s, while using the same general hull and engineering plant, were equipped with an enclosed navigation bridge, a large 4,000 gal per day saltwater distilling plant, and a heavier armament (1 3″/50 DP open mount, 2 twin 40mm Bofors w/Mk.51 directors, 4 single Bofors, and 12 20mm Oerlikon) than previous members of the class. This, however, dropped their maximum cargo load from 2,100 tons as carried by previous sisters, down to “only” 1,900.

LST-542 type, cutaway model. Note the extensive 40mm and 20mm gun tubs, six LCVPs in davits, and tank deck. The 542s and some late 491s used a simple ramp rather than an elevator to move vehicles from the topside to the tank deck and vice versa. NMUSN-4950

The first to enter service, LST-542, was commissioned on 29 February 1944, while the last completed was LST-1152, commissioned on 30 June 1945. Now that is production, baby!

Meet LST-980

Laid down on 9 December 1943, at Boston Navy Yard, LST-980 was constructed in just 79 days to be commissioned on 26 February 1944. T

hen came two months of shakedown and post-delivery refits before she left, packed with equipment, bound for England where “the big show” was soon to start.

Touring Beachside France

After leaving Southend on the afternoon of 5 June, on D-Day, LST-980, along with sisters LST-543, 981, 982, and 983, made up Flotilla 17, Group 52, Division 103, under CDR William J. Whiteside as commodore.

The group brought their loads, elements of the British Army, successfully to Juno Beach in the afternoon of the 6th.

Part of L Force, they carried the British 7 Armoured Division and 51 Division along with parts of both I Corps and XXX Corps.

Mitchell Jamieson, “Morning of D-Day from LST” NHHC 88-193-hi

LST in Channel Convoy June 1944 Drawing, Ink and Wash on Paper; by Mitchell Jamieson; 1944; Framed Dimensions 30H X 25W Accession #88-193-HK

After reloading, on 7 June, while carrying elements of the 1st British Army Corps to the No. 102 Beach area on Sword Beach, LST-980 was the subject of several low-level German air attacks, one of which hit the gator with two small (125 pound) (SC50?) bombs, neither of which seemed to have had enough time/distance to arm. The second passed through the main deck and continued into the water. The first, however, likewise passed through the main deck but came to rest in a truck parked on the tank deck.

This problem was carefully addressed by four engineers (LT JHB Monday, SGT H. Charnley, CPL J. McAninly, LCPL F. Crick) of 1 Electrical & Mechanical Section, 282 General Transport Company, who gingerly picked it up, placed it on a field stretcher, carried it to the opened bow doors, and deep-sixed it. While DANFS reports one killed in this incident, other sources note there were no personnel casualties and only minor damage.

Several of her sisters would not be as lucky.

LST-376 was sunk by German E-boats off Normandy on 9 June 1944, LST-499, LST-496, and LST-523 were lost to German mines between 8 June and 19 June; and LST-921 was torpedoed by U-764 on 14 August.

Speaking of August, look at this report from LST-980 filed in September, covering her continued operations on the England to France cross-channel run. Among the more interesting spots are narrowly avoiding German coastal batteries on occupied Gurnsey Island while loaded with artillery shells, shipping 167 U.S. Army vehicles (including 25 tanks and two batteries of field artillery) and 521 soldiers to the Continent while returning to England with 1,106 captured German personnel (guarded at a ratio of 200 EPOWs to 9 MPs) including 30 female nurses.

By February 1945, with the prospect of further amphibious landings in the European Theatre unlikely, LST-980 was sent back to the East Coast to serve as a training ship at Little Creek for troops headed to the Pacific for the ongoing push on Tokyo and the Navy/Coast Guardsmen that would carry them. Our gator was there on VE-Day and VJ-Day.

Naval Gun Factory, Navy Day, October 27 October 1945. Visitors are shown to the U.S. Navy ships at the waterfront. Shown right to left: USS Meeker County (LST 980); USS Dyson (DD 572); USS Claxton (DD 571); USS Converse (DD 509); and USS Charles Ausburne (DD 570). Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph, Navy Subject Files, WNY Box 7, Folder 1.

In April 1949, just three weeks after NATO was formed, LST-980 sailed for a six-month stint with the 6th Fleet in the Med at a time when Europe was still very much in a post-war recovery, with the Cold War dawning.

Records indicate her crew was eligible for a battle star for the Invasion of Normandy from 6 June to 25 June 1944 and later a Navy Occupation Medal for service in Europe from 19 May to 19 September 1949.

When it came to her sisters, no less than 41 were lost during the conflict including six in the so-called West Loch Disaster, two at Slapton Sands to German E-boats during Exercise Tiger, seven to Japanese aircraft and kamikaze, six to Japanese and German submarines, and one (LST-282) to a German glider bomb

Post-war service

In the period immediately following VJ-Day, the Navy rapidly shed their huge LST fleet, giving ships away to allies, selling others on the commercial market (they proved a hit for ferry conversions, as coasters in remote areas, and use in the logging industry), and laying up most of the remainder. More than 100 vessels that were still under contract but not completed were canceled. 

By August 1946, only 480 of the 1,011 survivors were still in some sort of active U.S. Navy service with many of those slated for conversion, mothballs, or disposal.

Many had been reclassified to auxiliary roles as diverse as PT-boat tenders (AGP), repair ships (ARL), battle damage repair ships (ARB), self-propelled barracks ships (APB), cargo ships (AKS), electronic parts supply ships (AG), and salvage craft tenders (ARST). Others, like LST-822, were transferred to the civilian mariner-run Military Sea Transportation Service and traded their USS for USNS. Heck, some had even served during the war as mini-aircraft carriers, toting Army Grasshoppers.

Jane’s 1946 listing, covering a thumbnail of the U.S. Navy’s LST classes.

However, LST-980 remained on active service through the Korean conflict, where she was semi-exiled to support the Army and Air Force’s polar basing efforts in Greenland, carrying supplies through the barely thawed Baffin Bay in the summers of 1951, 1952, and 1953, earning a trifecta of Blue Noses for her crew.

USS LST-980 working her way through the Baffin Bay icepack en route to U.S. Air Force Base Thule, Greenland in the summer of 1953. USS LST-980 sailed in August from NAB Little Creek, VA. to Thule Air Force Base, Greenland. LST-980’s load was construction equipment. The ship moved through the icepack behind the Icebreaker USS Northwind (AGB-5). Despite careful sounding of the landing route to the beach at Thule, LST-980 settled on a huge underwater boulder puncturing two of the ship’s fuel tanks and disabling two of the three ship’s generators. After unloading, divers from the seagoing tug in our company patched the punctures and LST-980 proceeded back to Portsmouth, VA. at reduced speed, in the company of the tug. At Portsmouth, the ship was hauled out onto a marine railway for repairs. LST-980 was not able to pump out the damaged fuel tanks, consequently, thousands of gallons of diesel fuel drained into the James River. Repairs were made and LST-980 was back in the fleet in a couple of months. Photo from Alvin Taub, Engineering Officer USS LST-980, via Navsource.

As something of a reward, LST-980 would spend the winters during the same period schlepping Marines around the sunny Caribbean on exercises, typically out of Gtmo and Vieques/Rosy Roads.

LST-980 photographed circa 1950s. Courtesy of William H. Davis, 1976 NH 84878

In July 1955, the 158 LSTs remaining on the Naval List (including the two post-WWII era LST-1153 class and the 54 Korean War-era LST 1156 class vessels) were given county names to go with the hull numbers. Thus, our LST-980 became USS Meeker County, the only ship named in honor of the rural south-central Minnesota county with Litchfield as its seat.

By this time, with over a decade of good service on her hull and most of her class either under a different flag or rusting away in mothballs, the ax came for our girl.

On 16 December 1955, the newly named Meeker County was decommissioned and placed in reserve status, first in Green Cove Springs, Florida, and then in Philly.

Reactivation, and headed to China Beach

With the problems in Southeast Asia suddenly coming to a head in 1965, and the Marines of Battalion Landing Team 3/9 wading ashore at Red Beach Two, north of Da Nang, on 8 March, the Navy suddenly found itself needing more gators.

“Coming Ashore: Marines of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines [BLT 3/9] wade ashore from landing craft at Red Beach 2, just north of Da Nang on March 8, 1965.” From the Jonathan F. Abel Collection (COLL/3611) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

Several mothballed LSTs were inspected and those found to be in better condition were modernized and reactivated for West Pac service.

The retrofit saw modern (ish) radars and commo gear installed on a new mast to the rear of the wheelhouse, the four forward Higgins boat davits removed while two aft were retained for 36-foot LCVPs, the armament reduced, and a helicopter deck installed on the top deck between Frames 16 and 26.

Observed the changes as shown on sister USS Hamilton County (LST-802) click to big up:

Meeker County was towed to Baltimore, modernized, and recommissioned on 23 September 1966.

A much cleaner Meeker County. Note the helicopter pad and large rear mast but retained 40mm and 20mm guns

Four months later she shipped out for Guam, her official “home port” although she would be bound for semi-permanent service with Landing Ship Squadron Three in Danang. LSRON3 was composed of a dozen modernized WWII LSTs (LST-344, 509, 525, 603, 819, 839, 901, 980, 1077, 1082, 1123, and 1150).

Meeker County, nicknamed at this point “Old Lovely” by her crew, would spend most of the next four years deployed to the South Vietnam littoral, with the gaps between the below periods generally seeing the LST in Subic Bay, Guam, Hong Kong, or Pearl Harbor undergoing maintenance, rotating crewmembers, or getting some much-needed R&R. 

In country: 

  • April-June; September-December 1967
  • February-May; June-October, and December 1968 (including the Tet Offensive)
  • January; March-April 1969
  • January-March, June-July 1970

Beautiful color footage exists from this period. 

Check out this great two-pager, “Shuttle Run,” covering Meeker County‘s role in moving the Army’s 5th Cavalry Division from Danang to Cua Viet in the I Corps area of Vietnam, just a hair south of the DMZ, by JOC Dick Benjamin in the July 1968 issue of All Hands.

Two snippets:

These are not milk runs. Meeker County and her sister LSTs are often shelled by enemy mortar and artillery fire.

And, as the LST was almost done unloading:

Just a few trailers were left to unload when mortar rounds started coming in, hitting 200 yards from the ship. Before the enemy could correct their range, the unloading was completed and LT [Frank Elwood] Clark backed the ship away. As Meeker County started toward the narrow inlet, heavier artillery rounds began hitting the ramp. More rounds followed the ship as she made her way to the open sea; each succeeding round hit where the ship had been only a few seconds before.

Besides shells and mortar bombs, American ships were subject to repeated attacks by swimmers carrying improvised limpet mines.

These crack Binh chủng Đặc công sappers mounted at least 88 successful attacks against shipping in Vietnamese waters between January 1962 and June 1969 which killed more than 210 personnel and wounded 325. The worst of these was on a gator, USS Westchester County (LST-1167), which resulted in the U.S. Navy’s greatest single-incident combat loss of life during the entire Vietnam War: 25 killed and 27 wounded.

At a camp in the jungle, Viet Cong (VC) swimmer sappers raise their right arms in salute at the completion of a briefing for a demolition attack on a bridge in the province. The original photograph was captured from the VC. AWM P01003.010

To counter such attacks, ships inshore would mount extensive topside sentries with grenades and rifles and occasionally spin up their props to scare away sneaky swimmers.

Note this passage from Meeker’s deck log:

Meeker, in a repeat of her Normandy bombing, was once again lucky when the sappers came paddling through.

At 0220 on 28 June 1970, while berthed at the De Long Pier in Vung Tau with 14 feet of muddy water under her keel, a sentry on Meeker County spotted a nylon line secured to the pier, and soon after a swimmer was spotted in the area.

Coming to her assistance were EOD divers of the Royal Australian Navy’s Clearance Diving Team 3. LT Ross Blue, Petty Officer John Kershler, and Able Seaman Gerald Kingston.

As described by the Australian War Memorial:

Kershler dove into the water to discover explosives wrapped in black plastic, and four fishing floats secured to the nylon line.

The bundle was drawn clear of the ship and Blue towed it away using a small craft, so it didn’t touch the bottom of the harbour. It was secured to an empty barge a kilometer from the Meeker County and away from the main shipping channel. The plan was to move it to a nearby mud bank at high tide to inspect it more closely.

A few hours before that could occur, the package exploded, shooting water ten metres into the air. Fortunately, no one was near the package at the time, and there were no injuries or damage from the blast.

Meeker County’s deck log for the day:

CDT 3 7th Team 1970: Rear: ABCD Jock Kingston, LSCD John Aldenhoven, (Inset ABCD Bob Wojcik, Killed 21 June 1970). Front: CPOCD Dollar, LT Ross Blue, and POCD John Kershler. Photo via the Military Operations Analysis Team (MOAT) at the University of New South Wales (Canberra)/AWM P01620.003

All told, Meeker County would earn 10 battle stars, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Navy Unit Commendation for Vietnam service, adding to her WWII battle star from Normandy and her Occupation Medal.

Meeker County was decommissioned, in December 1970, at Bremerton and laid up there. She joined 15 remaining WWII LSTs in U.S. service in mothballs while the last of the type on active duty, USS Pitkin County (LST-1082), was decommissioned the following September.

The 1973 Jane’s listing for what was left of the class, all of which were laid up.

By 1975, with Saigon fallen, the Navy moved to dispose of the last of its WWII LSTs, and they were stricken from the Naval Register. The hulls would be transferred overseas, some scrapped, and others sold on the commercial market. The last to go was USS Duval County (LST-758), sold by MARAD in 1981.

Our Meeker County struck on April Fool’s Day 1975, was sold that December to Max Rouse & Sons, Beverly Hills, and soon was resold to fly a Singapore flag as MV LST 3. By 1978, she was operated by a Panama-owned Greek-flagged firm as MV Petrola 143 (IMO 7629893). Out of service by 1996, she was sold to a breaker in Turkey.

Epilogue

When it comes to enduring relics of our humble LST, little remains.

Some of her deck logs have been digitized in the National Archives.

The Admiral Benson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2818 in Litchfield, Minnesota is a dedicated Navy Club that remembers USS Meeker County.

Further, the LST Memorial has several photos of LST-980 and her crew digitized and preserved. 

One curious relic, the simple handmade snorkel that was left behind by Viet Cong saboteurs who tried to blow up Meeker County in 1970 was recovered by the Australian divers of CDT3 and is cataloged as part of the AWM’s collection.

“Improvised snorkel with plastic tube connected to a rubber mouthpiece, made from a tyre. Tied around the tube is a piece of khaki green lanyard, to be worn around the neck. A piece of roughly woven string is also attached to the snorkel. It divides at the other end into two piece of string, to which are attached two small balls for insertion in the nose while in use.” AWM RELAWM40821

As for the Ozzies of CDT 3, in the four years (February 1967 – May 1971) they were in Vietnam, they performed over 7,000 ship inspections and safely removed no less than 78 devices from allied hulls.

When it comes to Meeker County’s vast collection of over 1,000 sisters and near-sisters, 11 remain in some sort of service including Mexico, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines– where one, BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57), ex USS Harnett County (LST-821/AGP-281)/RVNS My Tho (HQ-800,) is famously grounded as an outpost on Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

Meanwhile, two WWII LSTs, none 542 types, are preserved as museum ships in the States. They are USS LST-325 in Evansville, Indiana, and LST-393 in Muskegon, Michigan. Please visit them if you have a chance.

And please visit and join the United States LST Association, a group that remembers them all.

Ships are more than steel
and wood
And heart of burning coal,
For those who sail upon
them know
That some ships have a
soul.

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval study, images, and fellowship you can find. http://www.warship.org/membership.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

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Fidem Servo

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Some 80 years ago this month.

Original caption: “Christmas tree and Howitzers form the holiday theme of Battery C, 599th Field Artillery Battalion, Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas, Dec 1943.

“We guarantee Christmas spirit American style.” From left to right: Pvt. Lewis Cox, Pvt. Charles Dunnings, Cpl. Alfonso Swain, Pvt. Homer Lee Johnson, Pvt. Frank Black, Pvt. Alexander Jones, Sgt. Willie Wright, Pvt. Dumas E. Bennett, Pvt. Amos Smith, Pvt. Henry Bowman, Pvt. David Swayze, Pvt. John Coles, Pvt. Wesley Douglas, Sgt. Albert Sawyer.”

Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-167469. National Archives Identifier 148727112.

Note their M1 (M116) 75mm pack howitzers, a fine light gun that only weighed 1,400 pounds and remained in service through Grenada.

The “red legs” are outfitted in heavy M1939 wool greatcoats, M1 helmets sans covers, and M38 field leggings (spats). Besides the howitzers and a tripod-mounted M1919 under the tree, the cannon-cockers are armed with Great War vintage 30-06 caliber M1917 “American Enfields.”

Note the potbellied appearance and distinctive sights of the M1917s on this inset.

For reference, the 599th Field Artillery Battalion was part of the organization of the segregated “Buffalo Soldiers” of the 92nd Infantry Division.

Shipped overseas in September 1944, nine months after the above image was snapped, the 92nd fought in Italy in the North Apennines and Po Valley campaigns, frequently against crack German and Italian mountain troops, and are remembered in the book and film Miracle at St. Anna.

In all, the 92nd suffered no less than 2,997 battle casualties during its eight months in the ETO. At least 50 of them are still unaccounted for somewhere in the Italian countryside.

The 599th’s motto is Fidem Servo (“I keep the faith”)

Kicking around the Tisas Raider

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So I’ve spent the past couple of months putting 500 rounds through the SDS Imports Tisas-made Raider B45 M1911A1 railgun, which strives to emulate the Colt M45A1 CQBP used by the Marines until just very recently.

In a nutshell, the Raider looks good, shoots good, and faithfully recreates the aesthetic railgun used by the Marines in recent years without just slaughtering your bank account. I’d personally like some better sights and a trigger job to remove the “bounce” in the trigger, or a swap out for a shorter aluminum trigger but then again that would start cutting into that aesthetic that it so clearly strives to meet. It is ready for the range or for home defense but beware that, if carrying, holster fits could be funny due to the rail. 

The wonderful thing about the price is that you can use that saved cash to buy more ammo, a Kabar, and contribute the Toys for Tots program.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Meet Prosperity Guardian

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(Oct. 14, 2023) Chief Fire Controlman (Aegis) Kenneth Krull, from Jacksonville, Florida, assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), mans the combat systems coordinator console in the combat information center (CIC) during a general quarters drill, October 14, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo 231014-N-GF955-1022 by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau)

Well, it’s official.

With the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), having shot down something like 36 Houthi (proxy Iranian) drones and missiles in the Red Sea since late  October, and the British and French navies likewise splashing one each in recent days, the Pentagon has established Task Force 153, Operation Prosperity Guardian, with contributing countries including United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, “to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.”

While you can expect to see some grey hulls from the USN, RN, and “La Royale,” as well as possibly a random visiting frigate from Canada, Italy, Holland, Spain, and Norway, to be sure the only reason that Bahrain and Seychelles are mentioned are for basing reasons, with the latter being exceptionally sticky as of late.

Notably absent are forces from regional players Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who have very capable Western-style navies that are already in the area. Of course, with sky-high tensions over Palestine right now, that is not surprising.

Also not mentioned is the Chinese Navy whose anti-piracy 37th Naval Escort Task Force has been living at a $600 million base in Djibouti since 2016, or the Japanese who have had a small naval base in the same Horn of Africa country since 2011.

To get a handle on just how many attacks have occurred in the Dab El Mandeb chokepoint in the past two months, note this chart via Damien Symon (Detresfa).

According to DOD, Houthis thus far have conducted over 100 one-way uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and ballistic missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different nations.

For a wider view of the dust-up and its already-felt effects on global shipping, check out this really good run down by Sal Mercogliano – maritime historian at Campbell University– below:

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