USS Courtney (DE-1021)

USS "Courtney" (DE-1021), a sclass|Dealey|destroyer escort, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Marine Major Henry A. Courtney, Jr. (1916–1945), who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroism in the Battle of Okinawa.

"Courtney" was launched 2 November 1955 by Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Mich., sponsored by Mrs. H.A. Courtney; commissioned 24 September 1956, Lieutenant Commander C.W. Coe in command; and reported to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

Joining Escort Squadron 10 (CortRon 10) at Naval Station Newport, R.I., 26 April 1957, Courtney operated from that port exercising in antisubmarine warfare and Convoy escort techniques in the British West Indies until 3 September. She arrived at Milford Haven, Wales, 14 September for maneuvers with ships of other NATO navies in the Irish Sea, visiting Plymouth, England, and Brest, France, before returning to Newport 21 October 1957 to resume local operations. She took part in hunter-killer exercises off North Carolina and in convoy exercises extending into the waters off Florida.

"Courtney" sailed from Newport 1 April 1958 and called at Reykjavík, Iceland, on the way to Bodø, Norway, to conduct exercises with ships of the Royal Norwegian Navy. She put in to Antwerp, Belgium, and NS Argentia, Newfoundland, and returned to Newport 14 May.

From 7 August to 30 September she was involved in Operation Argus, conducting nuclear tests in the high atmosphere as part of "Navy Task Force 88". After completion of the tests, she cruised to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 15 to 19 September. Again cruising to South American waters from February through March 1959, she called at ports in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, and exercised with ships of the Colombian and Peruvian navies.

NATO exercises in August and September 1959 found her calling in Newfoundland, Northern Ireland, England, and Portugal. Through the first half of 1960, she cruised along the east coast on a variety of exercises, including an amphibious operation with Marines on the coast of North Carolina.

From August through December 1960, "Courtney" participated in Operation "Unitas", the combined antisubmarine training cruise of the American nations.

: ["1960-1973"]

"Courtney" was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 14 December 1973. She was sold for scrapping 17 June 1974.

Dubious Distinction: In 1970, while homeported in Newport, R.I., "Courtney" underwent refit in Boston Naval Shipyard, during which time ITASS (Interim Towed Array Sonar system) was installed. She, along with other similarly outfitted DEs changed homeports to Naples, Italy. While here, these ships, evaluated the new submarine-detecting gear, operating frequently independently while attached to the Sixth Fleet. During one at sea period, "Courtney" was proceeding northbound along the eastern side of Crete en route to Souda Bay for refueling. It was after midnight, shortly after she turned west around the northwestern coast of the island, that she lost fuel suction in her tanks and went dead in the water - out of fuel. The ship's engineers were forced to bucket brigade the dregs of fuel from one tank to another in order to reach a level satisfactory enough to regain suction. The ship, however, was without any power whatsoever. It was determined that there was a slow set to the south toward the coast of Crete. Navigation, with the benefit of electronics, was very iffy. While the crew was transferring fuel by the bucket, the captain, LCDR Robert T. Reimann, decided it was probably prudent to lower the ships anchor, even though it couldn't be hauled back in without power, so that should the ship drift into shallow water, the anchor would catch on the bottom before the ships ran aground. After several attempts to light off the ship's emergency generator without success, it was determined that its fuel was probably contaminated. Nor was there power to force air by fans to the boilers to permit a light-off after enough fuel was transferred to reach a level to permit suction. All ship's doors and hatches which could assist in providing enough draft air to the boiler room were opened. Eventually, at the morning's first light, the boilers were relit and the ship proceeded under power into Souda Bay, arriving basically on fumes. Captain Reimann, suspecting that a member of the ship's crew might have been responsible for this unwanted notoriety, directed Courtney's Engineering Department officers to maintain watch in the boiler and fire rooms wearing sidearms.

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c14/courtney.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Courtney"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021021.htm navsource.org: USS "Courtney"]
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/escorts/de1021.htm hazegray.org: USS "Courtney"]

* [http://newportdealeys.com/DE1021-Ship.htm USS "Courtney" website]