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USS Yosemite (AD-19)
Encyclopedia
USS Yosemite (AD-19) was a destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
which served with the United States 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...
through to the 1990s.
The third USN ship to bear the name, Yosemite was laid down on 19 January 1942 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company
Tampa Shipbuilding Company
Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was a shipyard in Tampa, Florida. Started in 1917, it had three shipways in the years before World War II. It grew larger because of its involvement in the United States Maritime Commission's pre-war long-range shipbuilding program. During the war it...
at Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
; launched on 16 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Melville W. Powers; and commissioned on 25 March 1944, Capt. George C. Towner in command.
World War II
Between late March and mid-June, the destroyer tenderDestroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
was fitted out at Tampa. On 21 June, she got underway for the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
, steamed via Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
, and arrived at Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
on the 26th. For the next 10 days, the destroyer tender conducted shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and then put into Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
for additional outfitting and some modifications to her below-deck spaces.
Early in August, she made a voyage to Fort Pond Bay, New York
Fort Pond Bay
Fort Pond Bay is a bay off Long Island Sound at Montauk, New York that was site of the first port on the end of Long Island. The bay has a long naval and civilian history.-New-York Province and the American Revolution:...
, to load torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es. On the 6th, she headed south to Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
and thence proceeded to the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, transited the Panama Canal, and arrived at Balboa
Balboa, Panama
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...
on the 13th. From there, the ship continued her voyage west 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 arrived in 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...
on 29 August.
Pacific Theatre
As soon as she moored, Yosemite went to work. For the next six months, the ship's company made repairs on over 200 ships. She remained at OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
until February 1945. On the 15th, she exited the harbor and set a course for Eniwetok Atoll
Enewetak
Enewetak Atoll is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area totals less than , surrounding a deep central lagoon, in circumference...
in the Caroline Islands
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...
. She arrived there on the 22d but remained for only five days before moving farther westward to the forward base at Ulithi Atoll
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
. She entered the Ulithi anchorage on 3 March, and her crew set again to work repairing the veteran ships of the war in the Pacific.
On 25 May, Yosemite departed Ulithi in a convoy bound for Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She arrived in San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
on the 28th and resumed her work supporting the Fleet in its march toward 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...
. She remained at Leyte through the end of the war but, soon thereafter, got underway for Japan.
After hostilities
The destroyer tender arrived in SaseboSasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
on 22 September and began tending ships assigned to the occupation forces in the Far East. That assignment lasted until March 1946. On the 15th, she stood out of Yokosuka
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 419,067 and a population density of 4,160 people per km². It covered an area of 100.62 km²...
on her way home. Yosemite transited the Panama Canal in mid-April and arrived in New York
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...
on the 22nd.
Postwar service
Soon after her arrival back in the United States, Yosemite became the flagshipFlagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for the Commander, Destroyers, Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
. Except for several brief interruptions for shipyard overhauls, she served in that capacity from 17 June 1946 until the spring of 1962. During that 16-year period, she spent most of her time in port at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, though on occasion she did make voyages to the West Indies.
In addition, near the end of that stretch of time, the destroyer tender made two overseas deployments. In June 1958, she voyaged to northern Europe for the purpose of tending ships engaged in an exercise in the North Atlantic. Later, on 17 March 1959, she again departed Newport for a brief tour of duty tending the ships of the United States Sixth Fleet. She concluded that assignment when she returned to Newport on 24 July and resumed duty as tender to the Atlantic Fleet destroyers and as flagship for their type commander.
Cuban missile crisis
On 1 April 1962, Yosemite's role changed somewhat when the Atlantic Fleet cruisers and destroyers were brought together into a single type command. At that time, she became flagship for the new command, Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. Late that fall, during the Cuban missile crisisCuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
and the American quarantine of the island, Yosemite departed Newport for a time and headed south via Norfolk to Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, where she tended the ships engaged in that operation. In December, she returned to Newport and resumed her normal schedule.
Over the next six years, the destroyer tender remained at Newport except for occasional overhauls and for short voyages to the West Indies early each year to tend Atlantic Fleet ships participating in the annual "Springboard" exercise.
Resumption of overseas deployments
In 1969, the complexion of her operations changed somewhat. In April, she resumed overseas deployments after a hiatus of 10 years. She departed Newport on 7 April and arrived in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on the 19th. During that tour of duty in the Mediterranean, she served as flagship for the Commander, Service Force, 6th Fleet. Grand Canyon (AR-28) relieved her of tender duties on 14 August, the Service Force commander shifted his flag to Mississinewa (AO-144), and Yosemite sailed for the United States on the 15th.
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
seaman from SS Sinclair Venezuela and transported him to the naval hospital at Newport. On 24 October, Yosemite's home port was changed from Newport, R.I., to Mayport, Florida
Naval Station Mayport
Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a military airfield with one asphalt paved runway measuring 8,001 x 200 ft. ....
; and the destroyer tender got underway for that city three days later. The ship arrived at Mayport on the 30th and began tending ships.
Yosemite was then based at Mayport, serving as flagship for various units of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet—notably Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 2 and Cruiser Destroyer Group 12
Carrier Strike Group Fourteen
Carrier Strike Group Fourteen, designated CSG-14 or CARSTRKGRU 14, is one of five U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned the United States Fleet Forces Command....
. She made two additional deployments to the Mediterranean, one from July to December 1974 and the second from September 1977 to March 1978. She resumed tender duties at Mayport on 12 March 1978 and, as of October 1978, was engaged in those duties.
Decommission
Yosemite was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 27 January 1994, and from December 1999, was at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance FacilityNaval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate...
(NISMF) at Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
awaiting sale to a foreign government.
On 18 November 2003, Yosemite was expended as a target, sunk at a depth of 2340 fathoms.