USS Haven (AH-12), was the lead ship of her class

Haven class hospital ship

The Haven class of hospital ships was built for the United States Navy during World War II. Haven-class ships also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War...

 of hospital ships built for the U.S. Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during 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...

. Laid down as SS Marine Hawk, she was transferred from the Maritime Commission

United States Maritime Commission

The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...

 for conversion to a hospital ship, and served in that capacity through the end of the war. She was redesignated APH-112 (evacuation transport) in June 1946 for participation in Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...

, returning to her original AP-12 in October 1946. Haven participated in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 and eventually ending her military career acting as a floating hospital in Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

. She was later converted to a chemical carrier and scrapped in 1987.

World War II

Initially named SS Marine Hawk, Haven was launched under Maritime Commission contract by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Corp., Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

, 24 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E. Lang; acquired and placed in service 15 June to 19 June 1944 for transportation to her conversion yard, Todd-Erie Shipyard, Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

. Upon completion of her conversion to Navy use, she commissioned 5 May 1945, Captain T. T. Patterson in command.

Following shakedown training, the hospital ship sailed 14 June 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...

 for the Pacific Theater, where the war was reaching its climax. Reaching Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 6 July the ship brought patients on board for return to San Francisco. After returning 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...

 11 August, just prior to the Japanese surrender, Haven sailed to Okinawa and Nagasaki. She arrived off the destroyed Japanese city 11 September and brought on board a group of allied ex-prisoners of war, some of them suffering from the effects of the atomic blast. During the remainder of 1945 the ship was engaged in transporting patients from Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

, and Pearl Harbor to San Francisco, arriving after her second long voyage 31 January 1946.

At San Francisco Haven took on radiological equipment and scientific researchers in preparation for the forthcoming atomic tests in the Pacific, Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...

. She sailed 29 May for Pearl Harbor and arrived Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....

 12 June 1946, temporarily re-designated APH-112. The ship remained in the test area supervising the medical aspects of the experiments throughout the operation, and arrived Kwajalein

Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...

 26 August to assist in the inspection of the test ships.

Haven departed 10 October for Pearl Harbor and the United States, and upon her arrival and decontamination was assigned once again to transport troops from the Pacific outposts 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...

 as AH-12. This important duty occupied her until February 1947, when she reported to San Diego and decommissioned 1 July. Haven entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego group.

Korean War

With the outbreak of the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, hospital ships were desperately needed. Following the sinking of sister ship off fog-bound San Francisco in August 1950, Haven was taken out of reserve and commissioned 15 September 1950. She sailed 25 September via Pearl Harbor for Inchon, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, site of one of the most audacious and skillful amphibious operations in history. The hospital ship remained off Inchon caring for casualties until 6 January 1951, when the attacking Chinese Communists forced her to move further south. She steamed via Pusan to Sasebo, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.Haven returned to Pusan- 5 February to care for battle casualties, and after another voyage to Inchon remained at Pusan until she sailed for the United States arriving San Francisco 30 October 1951. Eager to get back into action, however, she began her second tour of Korean duty 7 January 1952. She operated off Inchon and Pusan during the months that followed, receiving many of her patients by helicopter directly from the front lines. Haven sailed again for the United States 16 September 1952, and, after the installation of a new flight deck to facilitate helicopter evacuation of patients, once more steamed out of San Diego 24 January 1953. She returned to her regular station in Inchon harbor where during the next 7 months she treated almost 3,000 patients.

The veteran hospital ship sailed for the United States 20 August 1953, and, after her arrival at San Francisco 3 September, operated off the coast of California. She began her fourth tour of duty in Korea 4 January 1954, arriving Inchon 7 February to provide regular medical care for troops. Haven also made occasional visits to Japan; and on 1 September with Korea in a state of uneasy truce, she was ordered to French Indochina

French Indochina

French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

, arriving Saigon 9 September. There she brought French troops on board as Viet Nam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 was partitioned and the French army withdrawn. Haven sailed to Oran

Oran

Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...

 and Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 in October to disembark the soldiers, and completing her round-the-world voyage arrived Long Beach

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

 via the Panama Canal 1 November 1954.

Korean War campaigns

Haven won nine battle stars for its part in the Korean war, participating in the following campaigns:
North Korean Aggression

17 October to 2 November 1950

Second Korean Winter

30 January to 20 March 1952

Communist China Aggression

3 November 1959 to 9 January 1951

Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952

1 May to 28 June 1952

19 July to 24 August 1952

First UN Counter Offensive

5 February to 2 April 1951

Third Korean Winter

10 February to 6 April 1953

26 April to 30 April 1953

Communist China Spring Offensive

26 April to 8 July 1951

Korea Summer-Fall 1953

1 May to 17 June 1953

9 July to 27 July 1953

UN Summer-Fall Offensive

9 July to 22 August 1951

9 September to 7 October 1951

Later career

Haven took part in fleet maneuvers and provided hospital services for sailors through 1955 and 1956 and decommissioned at Long Beach 30 June 1957. She was placed in an "In Reserve, In Service" status, and remained moored at Long Beach acting as a floating hospital. During this time she served as a backdrop for the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 television series Hennesey

Hennesey

Hennesey is an American military sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1962. The series, which aired for three seasons, stars Jackie Cooper in the title role.-Synopsis:...

.

She was struck from the Navy List on 1 March 1967. Haven was returned to the Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet on 5 June 1967.

Type C4 ship

Type C4 ship

The Type C4 class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The design was originally developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941, but in late 1941 the plans were taken over by the MARCOM.Seventy-five ships were built as cargo and...

s of like Haven were then in demand for commercial service because of their relatively large size and engines-aft configuration. Haven was sold by the Maritime Administration in 1968, lengthened by 145 feet (44.2 m), and converted into the chemical carrier Clendenin. Renamed Alaskan upon completion of conversion, she served with Union Carbide

Union Carbide

Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...

 until sold for scrap in 1987.

External links

• Homepage of the Haven reunion association
• Photo gallery of USS Haven at the U.S. Navy Historical Center
• Entry in 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...
  
  
• General Service Record
• USS Haven's Korean War Service Captured by Nurse's Photos
• Star Trek fan group from Orlando, Florida
  Orlando, Florida
  Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
  
  named in memory of USS Haven (AH-12)