USS Prairie (AD-15)
Encyclopedia
USS Prairie (AD–15) was a built just before the start of 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...
for the U.S. Navy. Prior to U.S. entry into 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...
, Prairie cruised between Atlantic ports from Colon, C.Z. to Argentia
Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...
, Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. She was docked at Argentia
Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...
, tending Allied ships, on 7 December 1941 as the first direct blows of 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...
struck the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
She was laid down 7 December 1938 by New York Shipbuilding
New York Shipbuilding
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900. Located in Camden, New Jersey on the east shore of the Delaware River, New York Ship built more than 500 vessels for the U.S...
, Camden
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
; launched 9 December 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Samuel M. Robinson
Samuel Murray Robinson
Admiral Samuel Murray Robinson was a United States Navy four-star admiral who directed Navy procurement during World War II.-Early career:...
; and commissioned 5 August 1940, Capt. J. B. W. Waller in command.
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
A floating workshop for American and other Allied destroyers, Prairie was “mother ship” to a squadron of destroyers at Argentia, the Atlantic terminus of the transatlantic convoy route. A fire from , secured astern of Prairie, spread to the tender 29 May 1942 and caused extensive damage. After repairing at Boston, Prairie returned to Argentia. On 22 February 1943, U.S. Coast Guard cutter was rammed during an engagement with a German submarine; complete overhaul was provided by Prairie, and Campbell sailed to the United States 27 May.Departing Argentia 23 September, Prairie steamed to Boston, and on to Pearl Harbor in November, to remain until February 1944. She departed Pearl Harbor 7 February to move with advancing forces in operations against the Marshall Islands. Lying in sheltered waters, Prairie tended destroyers throughout the remainder of the war. Majuro Atoll had been secured 7 February, and Prairie arrived there the 13th, to remain at this advantageous point for mobile supply during the costly campaign for Tarawa. Departing Majuro 3 June, she steamed to Eniwetok, where she was while fighting progressed in the Marianas and Carolines. Reporting to Ulithi 8 October, Prairie was there at war’s end and remained until 1 October 1945, when she steamed to Tokyo Bay. On 30 November she steamed home to San Francisco.
Korean War operations
Prairie steamed to San Diego, destroyer force headquarters, 16 February 1946 and remained there until 11 August 1947. The Korean WarKorean 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...
demanded more hurried operations from Prairie, and she sailed to provide tending services for U.N. forces from 2 February to 3 August 1951 and again from 6 April to 10 September 1952, and from late August 1953 to 11 April 1954.
Post-Korean War operations
After this period of increased activity, Prairie continued to provide repair, supply, and medical services to ships of the 7th Fleet. In March 1956, the tender returned to San Diego after completing an around-the-world cruise, a rarity for a destroyer tender. In 1958, Prairie steamed to Yokohama 8 May for the ceremonies at which Yokohama and San Diego became sister cities. In October 1959, she steamed to Taiwan for the “10–10 Day” festival, a day similar to U.S. Independence Day for the Nationalist Chinese.In Spring 1961, the tender participated in the “Pony Express” exercises held by SEATO forces. She returned to Pearl Harbor 15 July 1966 for her first visit in over 20 years; she repaired over 100 vessels there before departing the area 6 December. During a 6 month tour at Pearl Harbor beginning in July 1967, Prairie rescued survivors from the yacht Anobell in turbulent waters 600 miles off 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 December and transported them to San Diego.
In 1968, Prairie added a People-to-People program to her schedule of duties while at Taiwan. As part of that program, her crew painted a new orphanage and provided dental care to remote areas of the island.
The Prairie was decommissioned on 26 March 1993 at 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...
, and was later towed to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and sold for scrap.