USS Aroostook (CM-3)
Encyclopedia
The USS Aroostook (ID-1256/CM-3/AK-44) — a 3800 LT (3,861 t) minelayer
— was built in 1907 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, as the coastal passenger steamer SS Bunker Hill. She was acquired by the U.S. Navy in November 1917, and then renamed within a few days. Placed in commission in December as the ID-1256, she was converted to a "mine planter" at the Boston Navy Yard
during the next several months, for duty laying naval mine
s in the ocean.
World War I
After a brief shakedown cruise in mid-June 1918, Aroostook took on board a load of mines
and then began a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean
in the company of her sister minelayer, the USS Shawmut
. This voyage, aided by the novel technique of refueling at sea, took her to Scotland
, where in July she began laying thousands of mines across the mouth of the North Sea
in order to create a barrier for German U-boat
s trying to depart from German seaports to the open Atlantic. This effort, nearly completed, was the major operation of the U.S. Navy in European waters during World War I, and it came to an end on 11 November 1918 with the Armistice with Germany
and the end of fighting in World War I. The USS Aroostook steamed home to the East Coast in December 1918
s to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, which has never been done before, in three slow Curtiss NC
floatplane
s. The route for this attempt used southeastern Newfoundland and the Portuguese Azores Islands as stopping-off points for refueling and maintenance work on the planes, and for rest and mess periods for their aviator
s.
During the first half of May, 1919, the Aroostook was waiting at the port of Trepassey, Newfoundland, to serve as a floating base for the three medium-sized Curtiss NC
floatplane
s that took off from the New York City
area on the 16th. After taking care of the Curtiss NCs and their crews, and seeing them off towards the Azores, the Aroostook next steamed to England, where she rendezvoused with the NC-4
, the only airplane to complete the transatlantic flight, at the end of May. The crewmen of the Aroostook then disassembled the NC-4 and loaded her onto the ship for the voyage back to United States.
In August and early September, the Aroostook carried a cargo of naval mine
s and supplies to California
via the Panama Canal
. She spent the rest of the year on the West Coast
carrying out transportation missions and also as the aviation flagship for the Pacific Fleet.
Though she continued to be classified as a "minelayer", and she received the warship designation CM-3 (minelayer) in mid-1920, the Aroostooks remaining active service was as an aircraft tender. Throughout the 1920s, she mainly served on the Eastern Pacific Ocean, but she made occasional voyages to the Caribbean Sea
and the Atlantic Seaboard
to take part in the annual, massive "fleet problem" exercises.
The Aroostook also steamed to Hawaii
and back in 1925 and 1928, including on the first occasion as the support aircraft tender for a pioneering attempt to fly two patrol planes from the West Coast to Hawaii.
, the Aroostook was laid up on reserve for the entire next decade. With World War II
raging in Europe
, and the war threatening to spread worldwide soon, she was considered for reactivation as a cargo ship
, and in May 1941, she was redesignated the AK-44. However, her age and her limited capabilities kept her inactive. In February 1943, the Aroostook was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
and then transferred to the War Shipping Administration
. Regaining the name Bunker Hill, she stayed in port for the rest of the war. Although she was sold in 1947 to a firm that planned to use her as a floating casino, those plans fell through, and the old ship was next seized by the U.S. Government, which sold her for scrapping in October 1947.
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
— was built in 1907 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, as the coastal passenger steamer SS Bunker Hill. She was acquired by the U.S. Navy in November 1917, and then renamed within a few days. Placed in commission in December as the ID-1256, she was converted to a "mine planter" at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
during the next several months, for duty laying naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s in the ocean.
World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
for the USS Aroostook - 1918
After a brief shakedown cruise in mid-June 1918, Aroostook took on board a load of minesNaval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
and then began a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in the company of her sister minelayer, the USS Shawmut
USS Oglala (CM-4)
USS Oglala was a minelayer in the United States Navy. Commissioned as Massachusetts, she was renamed Shawmut a month later, and in 1928 was renamed for the Oglala, a sub-tribe of the Lakota, residing in the Black Hills of South Dakota.She was originally built as Eastern Steamship Company's SS...
. This voyage, aided by the novel technique of refueling at sea, took her to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where in July she began laying thousands of mines across the mouth of the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
in order to create a barrier for German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s trying to depart from German seaports to the open Atlantic. This effort, nearly completed, was the major operation of the U.S. Navy in European waters during World War I, and it came to an end on 11 November 1918 with the Armistice with Germany
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
and the end of fighting in World War I. The USS Aroostook steamed home to the East Coast in December 1918
An aircraft tender, 1919 - 31
During the spring of 1919, the USS Aroostook was refitted as an "aircraft tender" to support the attempt by U.S. Navy naval aviatorNaval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
s to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, which has never been done before, in three slow Curtiss NC
Curtiss NC
-References:NotesBibliography* Holmes, Tony. Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. London: Harper Collins, 2005. ISBN 0-0071-9292-4.* Steirman, Hy and Glenn D. Kittler. The First Transatlantic Flight, 1919, . New York: Richardson & Sterman, 1986. ISBN 0-931933-19-0.* Wagner, Ray. American...
floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
s. The route for this attempt used southeastern Newfoundland and the Portuguese Azores Islands as stopping-off points for refueling and maintenance work on the planes, and for rest and mess periods for their aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
s.
Curtiss NC
-References:NotesBibliography* Holmes, Tony. Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. London: Harper Collins, 2005. ISBN 0-0071-9292-4.* Steirman, Hy and Glenn D. Kittler. The First Transatlantic Flight, 1919, . New York: Richardson & Sterman, 1986. ISBN 0-931933-19-0.* Wagner, Ray. American...
floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
s that took off from the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area on the 16th. After taking care of the Curtiss NCs and their crews, and seeing them off towards the Azores, the Aroostook next steamed to England, where she rendezvoused with the NC-4
NC-4
The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat which was designed by Glenn Curtiss and his team, and manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. In May 1919, the NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in the United States and making the crossing as far as Lisbon,...
, the only airplane to complete the transatlantic flight, at the end of May. The crewmen of the Aroostook then disassembled the NC-4 and loaded her onto the ship for the voyage back to United States.
In August and early September, the Aroostook carried a cargo of naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s and supplies to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. She spent the rest of the year on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
carrying out transportation missions and also as the aviation flagship for the Pacific Fleet.
Though she continued to be classified as a "minelayer", and she received the warship designation CM-3 (minelayer) in mid-1920, the Aroostooks remaining active service was as an aircraft tender. Throughout the 1920s, she mainly served on the Eastern Pacific Ocean, but she made occasional voyages to the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
and the Atlantic Seaboard
Atlantic Seaboard
The Atlantic seaboard watershed is a watershed of North America along both*the Atlantic Canada coast south of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Watershed &*the East Coast of the United States north of the watershed of the Okeechobee Waterway....
to take part in the annual, massive "fleet problem" exercises.
The Aroostook also steamed to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and back in 1925 and 1928, including on the first occasion as the support aircraft tender for a pioneering attempt to fly two patrol planes from the West Coast to Hawaii.
Decommissioning and sale, 1931 - 47
Taken out of commission in March 1931 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WashingtonBremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
, the Aroostook was laid up on reserve for the entire next decade. With World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
raging in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the war threatening to spread worldwide soon, she was considered for reactivation as a cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
, and in May 1941, she was redesignated the AK-44. However, her age and her limited capabilities kept her inactive. In February 1943, the Aroostook was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
and then transferred to the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
. Regaining the name Bunker Hill, she stayed in port for the rest of the war. Although she was sold in 1947 to a firm that planned to use her as a floating casino, those plans fell through, and the old ship was next seized by the U.S. Government, which sold her for scrapping in October 1947.