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USS Adirondack (AGC-15)
Encyclopedia
The third USS Adirondack (AGC-15) was laid down on 18 November 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all, beginning with the Liberty ship SS Zebulon B....
in Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
; launched on 13 January 1945, sponsored by Mrs. E. L. White; transferred to the 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...
on 4 February 1945; towed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
for conversion; and commissioned on 2 September 1945, the day Japan surrendered on board the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
, with Captain R. O. Myers in command.
1945–1950
The ship was designed as an amphibious force 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...
, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations. After shakedown
Shakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
training in the 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...
from 25 September to 12 October 1945, Adirondack assumed the duties of flagship for Commander, Operational Development Force (CTF 69), and operated out of Norfolk until August 1949, when she was scheduled to participate in an Antarctic expedition. However, that project was cancelled, and Adirondack reported to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for inactivation. On 1 February 1950, she was placed in reserve, in service, as flagship of the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
1951–1953
Over a year later, the command ship returned to the active fleet. Following a recommissioning ceremony in Philadelphia on 4 April 1951, Adirondack reported to the Atlantic Fleet Training Command in Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, 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 inspection and training. She returned to Philadelphia on 3 June to complete final preparations for a tour in the Mediterranean as flagship for the Commander in Chief, Allied Forces in southern Europe (CINCSOUTH), and for the Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets (CINCNELM).
Adirondack steamed to the Mediterranean, and on 18 August, moored in Naples
Naples
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...
, which was to be her home port
Home port
A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...
for almost two years. In addition to her duties as Flagship for CINCSOUTH and CINCNELM, she coordinated activities of units of the 6th Fleet as they arrived and departed and assumed the administrative duties of senior officer present afloat. After 14 June 1952, Adirondack also served as the flagship for Commander, Subordinate Command, Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets, and then for Commander, Fleet Air, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. On 29 May 1953, she departed Naples and returned to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
for overhaul and reassignment.
1954
Following a shakedown and training cruise to Guantanamo BayGuantanamo 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...
, Adirondack headed back to Norfolk, Virginia, and on 28 October, became flagship for Commander, Amphibious Force, 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...
. She sailed from Norfolk on 12 February 1954 to conduct a tour of inspection of amphibious bases in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
area. In a transfer of flags at San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, on 23 March, Commander Amphibious Group Four (COMPHIBGRU FOUR) shifted his flag to Adirondack. One week later, the amphibious command ship participated in Operation "Sentry Box" held off Vieques, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The exercise was the first joint Army-Navy exercise in the Atlantic since the fall of 1952 and employed more than 3,000 native Puerto Rican troops of the Army. This rigorous operation touched off a year of Atlantic Fleet exercises in which Adirondack played a major role.
In April COMPHIBGRU FOUR—still embarked in Adirondack — was designated Commander of the umpire group for LANTAGLEX-54, a full-scale amphibious assault on Onslow Beach
Onslow Beach
Onslow Beach is a 12 km stretch of undeveloped beach at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Onslow County, North Carolina. It has been used at various times for practice amphibious landings by the U.S. Navy. Presently, it is used as a recreational area by the Camp Lejeune community.- External...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The umpire group exercised the participating units, evaluated training, and assessed "damage" inflicted by the "hostile" units. Another exercise, "Packard V," was held in May and consisted of a naval gunfire demonstration in the Chesapeake Bay and a full-scale D-day assault on Onslow Beach, directed from Adirondack by COMPHIBGRU FOUR.
On 20 July, the ship departed Norfolk for Operation Keystone
Operation Keystone
During World War II, Operation Keystone was a Special Air Service patrol consisting of a number of jeep-mounted and airborne teams that operated south of IJsselmeer in the central Netherlands in early April, 1945....
, a combined land, sea, and air maneuver in the Mediterranean involving forces of the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Planning conferences were held in Naples, Italy, and the amphibious task force sortied on 30 August with observers from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
embarked in Adirondack. On 4 September, the task force landed more than 1,500 Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
on the beaches at Dikili
Dikili
Dikili is a coastal town and a district of İzmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. The district is quite picturesque both along its shoreline and in its interior parts, and is a popular summer resort. The center town of Dikili is situated at about north of İzmir, served by a good road...
, Turkey. The flagship arrived back in Norfolk on 27 September and immediately began preparations for the next series of drills.
On 22 October, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with other ships participating in Operation "NORAMEX" off the coast of Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
. A battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of marines landed on the beaches of Hamilton Inlet
Hamilton Inlet
Hamilton Inlet is a fjord-like inlet on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Together with Lake Melville, it forms the province's largest estuary, extending over 140 kilometres inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay and primarily draining the Churchill River and...
on 1 November to test amphibious cold weather doctrine and equipment. After a successful drill, Adirondack sailed on 3 November for Bogue Inlet, North Carolina, for a full-scale assault climaxing the amphibious phases of the Atlantic Fleet training cycle for 1954. She returned to Norfolk on 20 November and leave and upkeep.
1955
During 1955, Adirondack served as umpire for "ANGEX II," a naval gunfire exercise held in February off Vieques and Culebra, Puerto RicoCulebra, Puerto Rico
Isla Culebra is an island-municipality of Puerto Rico originally called Isla Pasaje and Isla de San Ildefonso. It is located approximately east of the Puerto Rican mainland, west of St. Thomas and north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 wards and Culebra Pueblo...
. In early March she observed the "TRAEX 11-55" landing off Vieques as part of the umpire group for the atomic defense exercise phase. She remained in port in Norfolk from 9 March to 11 April and headed south for "TRAEX 111-55" off Vieques. She returned to Norfolk for inactivation; was placed out of commission, in reserve, on 9 November 1955; and transferred to the Maritime Administration for berthing with the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
unit of the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
.
Adirondack was stricken from the Navy list
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 1 June 1961 and sold on 7 November 1972 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation
Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation
Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation is a US corporation that ran a shipbreaking operation. In the 1960s and 1970s it purchased from the United States Maritime Administration many surplus U.S. Navy and U.S...
of New York City for scrap.