USS Mount Baker (AE-4)

USS Mount Baker (AE-4)

USS "Mount Baker" (AE‑4), originally named USS "Kilauea" (AE-4), was acquired by the Navy 14 November 1940 while building by Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, Fla., as SS "Surprise"; delivered to Alabama Drydock & Shipbuilding Co., for conversion to Type C2; and commissioned 16 May 1941, Capt. W. I. Causey in command.

"Kilauea"’s dangerous, difficult, and vital service during World War II was to carry ammunition to ships and bases and to issue it to the users. She began operating 17 June 1941 out of Norfolk, serving combatants on the east coast, in the Caribbean, and building up the base at NS Argentia, Newfoundland. Aside from necessary overhaul, and a period as station ammunition ship in the Norfolk area October 1942‑January 1943, she continued American theater duty into 1943.

"Kilauea" was renamed "Mount Baker" 17 March 1943 to avoid confusion with a similarly named ship. On 8 June, she sailed with ammunition for the Mediterranean, and until 6 November supplied ships in Oran, Algiers, Arzeu, Bizerte, and Palermo. Returning to Norfolk for local duty, "Mount Baker" then sailed 29 April to arm ships in the British Isles ports from which the Normandy invasion was to be staged. Returning to Norfolk 23 June, "Mount Baker" prepared for another mission to the Mediterranean, and upon its completion 30 September sailed directly for the Panama Canal and Ulithi, where she served as station ammunition ship from December 1944 to June 1945. During this time she conducted experiments in at‑sea replenishment with a battleship, a cruiser, and a destroyer.

"Mount Baker" departed Ulithi 3 June for overhaul at San Francisco, still in progress at the close of the year. She sailed in time to bring Christmas mail to occupation forces in the Philippines, then began the long task of bringing back to the United States unused ammunition that had been stockpiled at the various Pacific bases in anticipation of the planned invasion of Japan. She decommissioned in January 1947 and was placed in reserve at San Diego, Calif.

With the rapid expansion of the fleet required by the Korean conflict, "Mount Baker" recommissioned 5 December 1951, Capt. Richard Mueller Nixon in command. She sailed 18 February 1952 to supply ammunition to U.S. and other U.N. forces fighting the North Korean Communists, serving in the war zone from 9 March to 8 November, and then returning to San Diego. On 12 January 1953, she sortied from San Francisco with a cruiser‑destroyer force for the largest, to that time, postwar training operation in the Pacific. Early in February she sailed for Sasebo, Japan, to resume combat duty. From March until the Armistice in July, "Mount Baker" gave efficient and essential service in the cause of a free Korea. Returning to San Diego early in the fall, she provided the fleet primarily with training ammunition, was overhauled, and 10 March 1954 sailed to support the 7th Fleet in operations off Japan and the Philippines.

In 1955, and almost every year thereafter, "Mount Baker" made similar deployments to the Far East, usually of 8 months duration. Stateside periods between were given to necessary overhaul and training, as well as providing training in underway replenishment to other ships of the fleet. When she left San Diego 28 October 1964, she was bound for duty replenishing 7th Fleet ships operating off the coast of Vietnam in the struggle against North Vietnamese communism. She also brought ammunition to ships of the Taiwan patrol and bases in Japan and the Philippines during this and her other recent deployments.

Returning to Port Chicago, Calif., in the spring of 1965, "Mount Baker" prepared for a year‑long deployment for which she sailed 5 January 1966. During much of this tour in the Far East, "Mount Baker" was on station with carriers off Vietnam, providing ammunition for aircraft flying strikes on North Vietnam, and against enemy concentrations in South Vietnam. After overhaul at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, "Mount Baker" sailed once more for the Far East 28 September 1967 to aid the United States fleet well into 1968. As 1969 began, she once again prepared to give service whose precision and quality denies her age as the oldest ammunition ship in the Navy.

"Mount Baker" received four battle stars for Korean service.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m15/mount_baker.htm


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • USS Mount Baker — may refer to:*, a Type C2 ship originally commissioned as Kilauea in May 1941 and renamed Mount Baker , March 1943. She was decommissioned and struck in 1969*USNS|Mount Baker|T AE 34, is a sclass|Kilauea|ammunition ship commissioned July 1972 as… …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Baker (disambiguation) — Mount Baker may refer to: Mount Baker, a volcano located in Washington, United States Mt. Baker Ski Area located outside of Bellingham, Washington Mount Baker, Seattle, a neighborhood in Seattle Either of two ships named after this mountain: USS… …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Baker — For other uses, see Mount Baker (disambiguation). Mount Baker Mount Baker as seen from the Southeast at Boulder Creek …   Wikipedia

  • USNS Mount Baker (T-AE-34) — is the seventh of eight sclass|Kilauea|ammunition ships, currently in service with the Military Sealift Command. It is the second US Navy ship to bear the name, and is named for Mount Baker, a volcano in the Cascade Range of Washington.… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Bordelon (DD-881) — USS Bordelon (DD/DDR 881) was a Sclass|Gearing|destroyer of the United States Navy, named for Marine Staff Sergeant William J. Bordelon (1920 ndash;1943), who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Battle of Tarawa.… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Barrow (APA-61) — was a Gilliam class attack transport serving in the United States Navy during World War II. The unnamed attack transport APA 61 was laid down on 28 January 1944 at Wilmington, California, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation, under a Maritime… …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Constitution — View of Mount Baker from the summit of Mount Constitution Elevation …   Wikipedia

  • USS Spruance (DD-963) — was the lead ship of the Spruance class of destroyers in the United States Navy. She was named for Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Spruance was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi, and launched… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Kilauea — may refer to:*USS|Kilauea|AE 4, was acquired by the US Navy 14 November 1940 and renamed Mount Baker on 17 March 1943*USNS|Kilauea|T AE 26, was launched in 1967 and is currently in service …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Hood — This article is about the tallest mountain in Oregon. For the mountain in California, see Hood Mountain. For the community named Mount Hood, see Mount Hood, Oregon. Mount Hood Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”