USS Tacoma (C-18/PG-32/CL-20)

Figure 1: USS Tacoma (Cruiser No. 18) at anchor, circa 1907-1909. From the collection of Chief Quartermaster John Harold. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: Port side view of USS Tacoma (Cruiser No. 18), date unknown. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: Color postcard showing starboard side view of USS Tacoma (Cruiser No. 18), circa 1910. Courtesy Chuck Munson. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Black-and-white postcard of USS Tacoma (C-18). The sailor wrote home to his mother and brother and mailed the card aboard ship, as there is a postmark for USS Tacoma dated January 6, 1911. Courtesy Robert M. Cieri. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Port side view of USS Tacoma (C-18) in 1912, location unknown. Courtesy Robert M. Cieri. Click on photograph for larger image.


Named after a city in Washington, the 3,200-ton USS Tacoma (Cruiser No. 18) was the fifth of six Denver class “protected cruisers,” which were ships that possessed armor protection on their main decks but not on their sides. Also known as “Peace Cruisers,” these slow, lightly-armed and armored ships were never meant for fleet actions. They were used as gunboats with the Asiatic Fleet and in the waters off Central America and South America, as well as in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Because they were needed to patrol distant waters with little support, the Denver class ships were furnished with sails to extend their cruising range while economizing on coal, but they also had large coal bunkers, which increased their range and endurance. Their steel hulls were sheathed with pine and coppered for long service in tropical waters and they possessed roomy, well-ventilated quarters for their crews to ease the discomfort of sailing in hot climates. Each Denver class warship had a two-and-one-half-inch-thick armored deck and was armed with ten 5-inch rapid-fire guns. USS Tacoma was built by the Union Iron Works at Mare Island, California, and was commissioned 30 January 1904. She was approximately 308 feet long and 44 feet wide, had a top speed of 16 knots, and had a crew of 309 officers and men.

After making a brief trip to her namesake city, Tacoma, Washington, USS Tacoma steamed to Hawaii and remained there from April to May 1904. She returned to San Francisco, California, on 2 June and one month later left for Cape Horn to sail around the tip of South America. During the trip, Tacoma joined the search for the merchant ship SS Conemaugh, which disappeared after leaving Valparaiso, Chile. After giving up the search for the lost ship, Tacoma resumed her journey and rounded Cape Horn. She then headed north along the Atlantic coast of South and North America until she arrived at New York on 5 November. Tacoma was assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet on 1 January 1905.

At the end of January 1905, Tacoma steamed to the troubled island of Hispaniola, where severe political and civil unrest were threatening American lives and property. Although a cruiser, Tacoma was used as a large gunboat and she succeeded in restoring order to and protecting American interests on Hispaniola. After participating in some naval exercises off the coast of Florida between 27 March and 25 April, Tacoma returned to New York on 19 May.

On 18 June 1905, Tacoma steamed to France and arrived at Cherbourg on 30 June. Some of her crew participated in the ceremonies honoring the remains of John Paul Jones, which were being returned to the United States. Tacoma left Cherbourg on 8 July as part of the US task force that brought the remains of the American hero to its final resting place at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. After the ships returned to the United States, Tacoma went to Tompkinsville, New York. On 5 August 1905, Japanese diplomats boarded Tacoma at New York City and she then transported them to Sagamore Hill, President Theodore Roosevelt’s summer home at Oyster Bay, New York. Once there, the Japanese diplomats made their initial contact with their Russian counterparts for the peace negotiations that were to later take place at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. These peace negotiations, brokered by Roosevelt, eventually ended the Russo-Japanese War and earned the President a Nobel Peace Prize. Tacoma left for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 8 August and was used as a training ship for the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts naval militias before returning to the North Atlantic Fleet for patrol duties in the Caribbean.

For the first five months of 1906, Tacoma was assigned to the Mediterranean. She visited Tangiers, Morocco; Algiers, Algeria; Naples and Genoa in Italy; and Alexandria and Port Said in Egypt. Tacoma also made a visit to Grand Canary Island before returning to the United States in June 1906.

For the next ten years, except for a brief period when she was in reserve at Philadelphia from 1911 to 1912, Tacoma divided her time between America’s east coast, the Caribbean, and the West Indies. From late 1906 to mid 1907, there was a large amount of civil and political unrest in Cuba. As a result, Tacoma was ordered to visit ports throughout Cuba to help control the situation there. She patrolled the West Indies during the spring of 1908 and from the second half of 1908 to the middle of 1909, Tacoma monitored political conditions in Haiti and Honduras. From July to September 1909, Tacoma patrolled off the coasts of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and then returned to Honduras. All of these missions not only protected American lives and property, but they helped to maintain political stability in these troubled nations.

From January to March 1910, Tacoma patrolled off the coast of Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. After a brief visit to the United States, Tacoma returned to Central America, adding Honduras and Guatemala to the list of countries she visited that year. In January 1911, part of Tacoma’s crew landed at Puerto Cortez, Honduras, to protect American citizens there. In February, the ship and its officers assisted in negotiations that brought the revolution in Honduras to an end. Tacoma returned to New York that summer and remained there until November, when she was placed in reserve in Philadelphia.

Tacoma was taken out of reserve in July 1912 and was sent to the Gulf of Mexico. That same month, a revolution broke out in Nicaragua that lasted until November. Tacoma spent most of her time off the coast of Nicaragua from 3 August to 25 October. In November, she traveled to Boston where she stayed until February 1913. But by 22 February, Tacoma was back off the coast of Central America, this time monitoring events in Honduras and Guatemala. She returned to New York in July and then began patrolling off the coast of Mexico. Tacoma kept a watchful eye on Tampico and Vera Cruz, Mexico, until January 1914, when she returned to the east coast of the United States for an overhaul.

Tacoma was sent back to Mexico in May 1914 because of the explosive “Tampico Incident,” which allowed the US Navy to seize the customs house at Vera Cruz, Mexico. The Tampico Incident, which was actually a minor confrontation between US sailors and Mexican troops under the command of the dictator General Victoriano Huerta, basically gave the Woodrow Wilson Administration a pretext for invading Mexico. Wilson did this in hopes of overthrowing Huerta, whom he despised, but the subsequent invasion of Vera Cruz was a costly endeavor and, in the end, did not achieve its goal. However, the US Navy remained in and near Vera Cruz for a number of months and Tacoma supported military operations there until September. Later that month, Tacoma left Mexico and sailed to Haiti and remained there until December. After a brief visit to Panama, Tacoma returned to Haiti in February 1915 and then steamed on to Santo Domingo in March. She arrived at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire, on 21 March for an overhaul.

While at Portsmouth, Tacoma was again placed in reserve. On 19 May 1916, she went to Boston and became the receiving ship there. Tacoma was fully re-commissioned on 1 December and was again sent to Mexico. She remained there from January to April 1917. After America entered World War I, Tacoma returned to America’s east coast and was assigned to convoy escort duty. Tacoma completed five round-trip voyages to and from Europe, escorting troop ships and merchant ships. While returning to the United States after her third trip to Europe, Tacoma steamed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, right after a disastrous ammunition-ship explosion occurred in Halifax harbor, destroying most of the city. Tacoma assisted relief operations and for three days the ship’s officers and men worked to help the survivors of that shattered city.

After the war, Tacoma was assigned to the Pacific Squadron and remained there until 1920. She spent the bulk of her time patrolling the waters of the Caribbean and Latin America. On 7 July 1920, Tacoma was re-designated PG-32 and classified as a gunboat. But on 8 August 1921, she was re-designated CL-20 and classified, this time, as a light cruiser. For the next few years Tacoma continued her patrol duties off the coast of Latin America, especially Mexico. But during a major storm on 16 January 1924, Tacoma ran aground and was severely damaged on Blanquilla Reef near Vera Cruz. Despite gallant efforts to re-float the ship (in which the captain and three crewmen drowned), USS Tacoma evidently was beyond repair. The cruiser was struck from the navy list on 7 February 1924 and what was left of her was sold for scrapping on 5 September of that same year.

HMS Barham

Figure 1: HMS Barham at Scapa Flow, Scotland, in 1917, with other battleships and cruisers of the Grand Fleet. Note triangular fabric pieces fitted to her masts and funnels as anti range-finding camouflage. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: HMS Barham in heavy seas, while participating in exercises of the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets near the Balearic Islands, circa the later 1920s, as seen from HMS Rodney. Barham is followed by the battleship Malaya and the aircraft carrier Argus. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: British Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleet exercises with battleships Barham and Malaya and aircraft carrier Argus at sea near the Balearic Islands, circa the later 1920s. Photographed from HMS Rodney, whose "White Ensign" is in the foreground. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: HMS Barham photographed during the mid-1930s, following her 1931-34 reconstruction. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: HMS Barham at Valetta, Malta, in August 1936. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: HMS Barham sinking after being hit by three torpedoes from the German submarine U-331 on 25 November 1941. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: HMS Barham rolling over on her port side after being hit by three torpedoes from German submarine U-331 on 25 November 1941. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: HMS Barham now fully on her port side after being hit by three torpedoes from German submarine U-331 on 25 November 1941. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: The after magazines of HMS Barham explode as the ship capsizes after being hit by three torpedoes from German submarine U-331 on 25 November 1941. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: The after magazines of HMS Barham explode as the ship capsizes after being hit by three torpedoes from German submarine U-331 on 25 November 1941. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: What is left of HMS Barham disappears beneath the waves as smoke and steam covers the area on 25 November 1941. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: Survivors of HMS Barham being rescued after she was sunk on 25 November 1941. Over two-thirds of her crew was lost in the disaster. Royal Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


The 29,150-ton HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the Royal Navy that was built by John Brown & Company at Clydebank, Scotland. She was named after noted British naval officer and politician Admiral Charles Middleton, First Baron Barham, and was commissioned on 19 October 1915. Barham was approximately 643 feet long and 104 feet wide, had a top speed of 25 knots, and had a crew of 1,184 officers and men. The ship was armed initially with eight 15-inch guns, 14 6-inch guns, two 3-inch guns, and four 3-pounders. However, Barham underwent a major conversion and refit from 1931 to 1934, after which her armament consisted of eight 15-inch guns, eight 6-inch guns, and eight 4-inch anti-aircraft guns.

During World War I, Barham was Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas’ flagship of the Fifth Battle Squadron and was temporarily attached to Admiral David Beatty’s Battlecruiser Fleet during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Barham was hit five times during the battle but still managed to fire 337 shells at the oncoming German fleet. After the war ended, Barham was an active unit in the Royal Navy and sailed all over the world. From 1931 to 1934, the ship underwent a major modernization and conversion; her two smokestacks were combined into a single smokestack; additional armor was added to protect against long-range gunfire, bombs, and torpedoes; anti-aircraft guns were installed; and a floatplane and catapult were placed on board the ship.

After the start of World War II, Barham served in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. On 28 December 1939, Barham was hit by a torpedo on her port side by the German submarine U-30 (commanded by U-boat ace Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp ) while on patrol north of the British Isles. Four men were killed in the blast, but the ship was able to steam under her own power to Liverpool for repairs. Barham was out of action for six months while the repairs were made at Birkenhead, England, by Cammel Laird Shipyards. Barham returned to active duty on 30 June 1940.

In September 1940, Barham participated in “Operation Menace,” the Royal Navy attack on Dakar, Senegal, prior to an attempted landing by Free French forces there. The French battleship Richelieu hit Barham with a single shell during the attack, causing some damage, but the ship remained in operation and the assault eventually was canceled by the Royal Navy. After the attack, Barham was attached to “Force H” at Gibraltar and took part in several convoys to reinforce the besieged British island of Malta. By the end of 1940, Barham was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and took part in the British naval victory at the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. But the ship was attacked by German aircraft and damaged by a bomb hit off the island of Crete in May.

On 25 November 1941, Barham, now based at Alexandria, Egypt, was assigned to “Force A” of the Mediterranean fleet and was escorting British cruisers that were searching for Italian naval convoys heading for Libya. At 16:29 hours, Barham suddenly was hit on her port side by three torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-331 (commanded by Lieutenant Hans-Dietrich von Tiesenhausen ). The torpedoes were fired from a range of only 750 yards, so there was no time for the battleship to take any evasive action. As Barham rolled over to port, her after magazines exploded and what was left of the ship quickly sank. Out of a crew of approximately 1,184 officers and men, 841 were killed. The survivors were rescued by the other British ships that were sailing with Barham.

The loss of HMS Barham was a major blow to the Royal Navy. Barham was one of three British battleships lost during the war (the other two were HMS Royal Oak and HMS Prince of Wales) and all three of the ships sank with a heavy loss of life. Barham was unusual in that her loss was actually captured on film by the Royal Navy. The horrific footage of this large ship turning over onto her port side and then blowing up was so chilling that the Royal Navy decided to keep the film a secret until the war ended in 1945. The Royal Navy thought that releasing the film during the war would have had a terrible effect on public morale and would have been devastating to the families who lost loved ones on board the ship. But what also seemed clear was that the heyday of the battleship was coming quickly to an end. Submarines, torpedoes, and aircraft were all making battleships an endangered species and the event that occurred only a few days later on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, seemed to reinforce the notion that the era of the big gun warship was almost over.

USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38)

Figure 1: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) being christened by Mrs. Ross E. Torkelson during launching ceremonies on 2 October 1944. The ship was built by the Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) being launched at the Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington, on 2 October 1944. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed off the Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington, on 28 December 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 33 Design 1F. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed off the Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington, on 28 December 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 33 Design 1F. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed off the Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington, on 28 December 1944. Her camouflage is Measure 33 Design 1F. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed during the decade following World War II. She lost her 5-inch gun around 1956. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed during the decade following World War II. She lost her 5-inch gun around 1956. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) refueling an HU-16 Albatross seaplane in the Red Sea after passing through the Suez Canal in 1952. Courtesy Carl Musselman via SteelNavy web site. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) refueling an HU-16 Albatross seaplane in the Red Sea after passing through the Suez Canal in 1952. Courtesy Carl Musselman via SteelNavy web site. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed in Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 3 October 1957. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed during the late 1950s. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed circa 1959 as Middle East Force flagship. She still displays the naval aviation star on her bow. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed in the Shatt-al-Arab off Basra, Iraq, during her visit there 12-14 December 1961 as Middle East Force flagship. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed illuminated at night during a two-day visit to Basra, Iraq, as Middle East Force flagship. Her last two visits to Basra were 6-8 December 1960 and 12-14 December 1961. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) photographed circa 1965 as Middle East Force flagship in her final configuration. She received a new mast and air search radar and a deck house extension during her last shipyard overhaul in the summer of 1962. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Named after a bay on the coast of Massachusetts, USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) was a 1,766-ton Barnegat class small seaplane tender that was built by the Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton, Washington, and was commissioned on 31 December 1944. The ship was approximately 310 feet long and 41 feet wide, had a top speed of 18 knots, and had a crew of 215 officers and men. Duxbury Bay initially was armed with one 5-inch gun, one quad 40-mm gun mount, two dual 40-mm gun mounts, and four dual 20-mm gun mounts, but most of this armament was removed later on in her career.

Duxbury Bay left San Diego, California, on 12 March 1945 and made a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She then tended to sea planes at Eniwetok and Ulithi before going to Kerama Retto near Okinawa in April. For the rest of the war, Duxbury Bay was assigned to the US Third Fleet and functioned as a seaplane tender, mail carrier, and gasoline tanker for small ships. Once the war in the Pacific ended, Duxbury Bay was stationed off the coast of China, assisting sea plane patrol squadrons at Shanghai and Tsingtao. She also visited Jinsen, Korea, and Hong Kong before returning to San Francisco, California, in October 1946. Duxbury Bay returned to the Far East in 1947 and 1948 before being ordered back to the west coast. In March 1949, Duxbury Bay left Long Beach, California, and went on a round-the-world cruise during which she served as flagship for the Commander, Persian Gulf, for one month. Duxbury Bay arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, in July 1949 and participated in a cold weather naval exercise off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in November.

From January 1950 to early 1966, Duxbury Bay completed 15 tours of duty in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean as flagship for the Commander, Middle East Force. She completed roughly one cruise per year and spent the rest of her time either being overhauled at her home port of Norfolk or on training exercises at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Duxbury Bay rotated her assignment as Middle East Force flagship with two other seaplane tenders, USS Greenwich Bay (AVP-41) and USS Valcour (AVP-55). All three of the ships were painted white and were specially equipped for this mission (with additional electronic and communications gear). Much of their offensive armament also was removed, making the ships look more like Coast Guard cutters than active-duty naval warships.

Duxbury Bay completed many “good will” missions on behalf of the United States as well. For example, in February 1953, the “Emperor” Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was transported to French Somaliland on board this ship. But, most of Duxbury Bay’s duties as Middle East Force flagship required her to visit numerous ports in the region while spending some time at her base in Bahrain.

USS Duxbury Bay was decommissioned in April 1966, only a few months after returning from her last deployment. She was sold for scrapping in July 1967.

USS Curtiss (AV-4)

PLEASE NOTE: Due to a major conflict in my schedule, the ship that was to be posted on Tuesday, April 6, will be posted today, April 3. The next new ship will be posted on Tuesday, April 13.



Figure 1: USS Curtiss (AV-4) soon after her launching on 20 April 1940 at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey. New York Shipbuilding Corporation photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 2: USS Curtiss (AV-4) photographed soon after her completion in 1940. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 3: USS Curtiss (AV-4) on her trials off Rockland, Maine, 8 October 1940. Of her four 5-inch guns, only the forward one was in an enclosed mount. US National Archives photo # 19-N-22647, RG-19-LCM a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 4: Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. USS Curtiss (AV-4) on fire after being hit by a Japanese dive bomber that crashed into her. Photographed from USS Tangier (AV-8). USS Medusa (AR-1) is at right. Timbers floating in the water (foreground) may be from USS Utah (AG-16), which had been sunk at her berth, astern of Tangier. Note weathered paintwork on Curtiss and Medusa. The original photograph was in the CinCPac report of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 15 February 1942, Volume 3, in 1990. Official US Navy Photograph, NHHC Collection. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 5: Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941. The damaged USS Curtiss (AV-4), at left, and USS Medusa (AR-1), at right, at their moorings soon after the Japanese raid. Note that Curtiss has been fitted with air search radar. Official US Navy Photograph, National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 6: An officer and crewman on board USS Curtiss (AV-4) with the wreckage of a Japanese Navy type 99 carrier bomber ("Val") that crashed into the ship's forward crane, on the starboard side of the boat deck atop the hangar, during the Pearl Harbor raid, 7 December 1941. This shows the tail of the aircraft, resting atop some of Curtiss' boats. It was plane # "A1-225," from the carrier Akagi. Photographed on the ship's Boat Deck, 7 December 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection, National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 7: Wreckage of a Japanese Navy type 99 carrier bomber ("Val") that crashed into USS Curtiss’ (AV-4) forward crane, on the starboard side of the boat deck atop the hangar, during the Pearl Harbor raid, 7 December 1941. This was plane # "A1-225," from the carrier Akagi. Photographed on the ship's Boat Deck, 7 December 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection, National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 8: Hole in the main deck of USS Curtiss (AV-4) made by a Japanese 250-kilogram bomb that struck the ship during the Pearl Harbor raid, 7 December 1941. The bomb initially struck atop Curtiss' boat deck near the starboard side amidships and penetrated three decks to explode at main deck level at the site of this hole. The hole was about eight feet in diameter. View looks toward the port side at the forward end of the hangar, with the wreckage of the battery shop in the background. Photographed on 7 December 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection, National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 9: Wreckage of a burned-out OS2U-2 floatplane on the after deck of USS Curtiss (AV-4), photographed soon after the Japanese raid. Curtiss had been hit in the hangar area by a Japanese plane and by a bomb during the Japanese raid, and near-missed off the stern by another bomb. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 10: View on the main deck, looking aft from the hangar doors area. Burned-out plane on deck is an OS2U-2 floatplane that was destroyed on board USS Curtiss (AV-4) during the Pearl Harbor raid, 7 December 1941. Photographed on the day of the attack, shortly after fires were put out on board the ship. Note fire extinguisher on deck in the foreground. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection, National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 11: View on the main deck, looking forward and to port, showing blast damage to the hangar doors resulting from a Japanese 250-kilogram bomb that exploded inside the hangar during the Pearl Harbor raid, 7 December 1941. In the foreground is the wreckage of an OS2U-2 floatplane that was destroyed on board USS Curtiss (AV-4) during the attack. Photographed on 7 December 1941. Note ventilator head in the right foreground and shuffleboard court painted on the deck near the OS2U wreckage. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection, National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 12: Broadside view of USS Curtiss (AV-4) off San Francisco, 11 October 1943. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 7031-43. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 13: Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox (center) meets with Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson, USMC, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (at right), on board USS Curtiss (AV-4) at "Button" Naval Base, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 20 January 1943. Secretary Knox was then touring the Guadalcanal campaign area. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 14: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Commander in Chief Pacific and Pacific Ocean Areas (left), and Admiral William F. Halsey, USN, Commander, South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force, confer on board USS Curtiss (AV-4) at "Button" Naval Base, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 20 January 1943. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 15: Broadside view of USS Curtiss (AV-4) off Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 31 October 1945. File name: AV 4 6885-45, Navy Photo, 10/31/45. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 16: USS Curtiss (AV-4) at anchor off Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, 31 October 1945. US National Archives photo # 19-N-91663, RG-19-LCM a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 17: USS Curtiss (AV-4) off San Diego, California, during the later 1940s or early 1950s. She is flying a Vice Admiral's flag from her mainmast. A pilot boat is at right and USS LSM-462 is in the left distance. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 18: USS Curtiss (AV-4) underway at sea, 1954. Note large number of boats stowed on board. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image. Please Note: The caption as provided by the Navy for this photograph may be in error as a helicopter deck was installed in the fall of 1953, according to Walter J. Handelman, who served as Deck Officer from 1953 to 1955 on board USS Curtiss.


Figure 19: Martin PBM-5 "Mariner" Patrol Bomber (with the nickname "HOTOGO" painted on its bow) is hoisted on board USS Curtiss (AV-4) in the Korean War zone, 8 November 1950. At that time this plane, and others from Fleet Air Wing 6, were engaged in anti-mine patrols off the Korean coast. Note twin .50-caliber machine-gun turret fully trained to starboard, with guns depressed. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Aviation History Branch, Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.


Figure 20: USS Curtiss (AV-4) underway at San Diego, California, en route to sea, circa 1956. US Navy photograph, courtesy David Buell from his father Benton E. Buell, ENC, USN (later CWO4), USS Curtiss. Click on photograph for larger image.


USS Curtiss (AV-4) was named after Glenn Hammond Curtiss, the famous aviation pioneer and manufacturer who built several types of aircraft for the US Navy. The 8,671-ton USS Curtiss was the lead ship of a class of two seaplane tenders and was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation at Camden, New Jersey. Commissioned on 15 November 1940, the ship was approximately 527 feet long and 69 feet wide, had a top speed of 20 knots, and had a crew of 1,195 officers and men. Curtiss was armed with only four 5-inch guns, although some anti-aircraft guns were added after the start of the war in the Pacific.

Curtiss initially served in the Atlantic but was transferred to the Pacific in May 1941. For the next several months, Curtiss supported seaplane operations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She also made one trip to Wake Island carrying aviators, air crewmen, and cargo to reinforce the garrison there.

On the morning of 7 December 1941, Curtiss was at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack. She got underway immediately and began firing at the enemy aircraft. At 0836, crewmen on board the ship spotted a periscope and opened fire with their 5-inch guns. The periscope belonged to a Japanese midget submarine that had entered the harbor. The small submarine fired a torpedo, but it missed Curtiss and hit a dock at Pearl City. Four minutes later, the submarine surfaced and was damaged by gunfire before diving. The destroyer USS Monaghan (DD-354) made a depth-charge attack on the submarine and evidently sank it. At least two near bomb misses sprayed Curtiss with shrapnel fragments as she continued firing her guns at the attacking Japanese aircraft. At 0905, Curtiss managed to hit one of the enemy planes. After being hit, the plane dove for Curtiss and crashed into her No. 1 crane and started a fire. Three minutes later, gunners on board Curtiss shot down another plane and then began firing at a dive bomber. Unfortunately, the dive bomber released a bomb that hit right next to the damaged No. 1 crane. The bomb sliced deep into the ship and exploded below her main deck. The explosion started a major fire that destroyed the ship’s hangar. Although 19 men were killed and many more were wounded, the rest of the crew sprang into action and, after a major effort, managed to put out the fire.

Temporary repairs were made to Curtiss after the attack. On 28 December, Curtiss left Pearl Harbor for San Diego, California, where more permanent repairs were made to the ship in only four days. Sent back to Pearl Harbor on 13 January 1942, she ferried men and equipment to forward US Naval bases at Samoa, Suva, and Noumea.

For the remainder of 1942 and for part of 1943, Curtiss was based at Noumea, New Caledonia, and Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. She served as a flagship, supported seaplanes, and assisted in repairing warships that were damaged off the coast of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. In November 1943, Curtiss operated in the central Pacific and served at various forward bases throughout the rest of the war. She participated in the amphibious assaults on Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Saipan, and Guam. After a brief overhaul in San Francisco, Curtiss arrived off Okinawa on 22 May 1945 and became the flagship for Commander, Fleet Air Wing 1. But on 21 June 1945, a Japanese kamikaze crashed into Curtiss and exploded (with its bomb load) three decks down in the ship. The explosion killed 35 men and wounded 21 others. Excellent damage control, though, kept the ship afloat and four days later, Curtiss was on her way to California. The ship was fully repaired at the Mare Island Navy Yard.

After the war in the Pacific ended, Curtiss returned to the Far East and operated off the coasts of both Japan and China as a flagship and, at times, as a cargo ship. Curtiss remained in the Far East until 1947 and then returned to California for a major overhaul.

For the balance of the 1940s and well into the 1950s, Curtiss was used to support scientific projects as well as amphibious operations. In 1950, she also served during the Korean War by tending to patrol seaplanes off the coast of Japan. From 1951 to 1956, Curtiss attended a series of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons tests in the central Pacific. In early 1957, she participated in Operation “Deep Freeze,” a major scientific study of the Antarctic continent.

USS Curtiss was decommissioned on 24 September 1957 and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in July 1963. She eventually was sold for scrapping in February 1972. USS Curtiss received seven battle stars for her service during World War II, proving that even seaplane tenders can have very active war records.