USS Bering Strait (AVP-34) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

USS Bering Strait (AVP-34) was a 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...

Barnegat-class small seaplane tender

Seaplane tender

A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

in commission from 1944 to 1946. She tended seaplanes 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...

in the Pacific

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

in combat areas and earned three battle stars by war’s end.

Construction, commissioning, and shakedown

Bering Strait was laid down on June 7, 1943 at Houghton

Houghton, Washington

Houghton is one of the lakeside neighborhoods of the city of Kirkland, Washington. Consisting mostly of upscale, single-family homes, Houghton overlooks Lake Washington and is one of the wealthier districts of the Eastside suburbs of Seattle. The village was named for Willard Houghton, a local...

, Washington, by Lake Washington Shipyard

Lake Washington Shipyard

Lake Washington Shipyards was a shipyard in Houghton, Washington on the shore of Lake Washington. Today the shipyards are the site of the lakeside Carillon Point business park...

. She was launched on January 15, 1944, sponsored by Mrs. George F. Cornwall, and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

at her builder’s yard on July 19, 1944 with Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

Walter D. Innis in command.

After fitting out and conducting her initial sea trials in Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

, Bering Strait departed Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, Washington, on August 10, 1944. She reached Naval Air Station Alameda

Naval Air Station Alameda

Naval Air Station Alameda was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay.NAS Alameda had two runways: 07-25 and 13-31...

at Alameda

Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...

, 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...

, on August 13, 1944. From August 17, 1944 to September 13, 1944, she conducted her 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...

, covering areas such as ship control, communications, general drills, engineering and damage control instruction, gunnery training, and antiaircraft and antisubmarine work. Proceeding to Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, California, upon completion of that training, Bering Strait underwent two weeks of repairs and alterations at Terminal Island Naval Drydocks at Terminal Island

Terminal Island

Terminal Island is an island located in Los Angeles County, California between Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach Harbor. Originally a mudflat known to the Spanish as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, and later called Rattlesnake Island, it has officially been Terminal Island since 1918...

, California.

Training operations in Hawaii

Reporting for duty with the United States Pacific Fleet

United States Pacific Fleet

The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...

on October 2, 1944, Bering Strait sailed for the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

on October 3, 1944. She arrived at 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...

, 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...

, on October 9, 1944, and on October 13, 1944 sailed for Hilo, Hawaii. Arriving there on October 14, 1944, she established a seaplane base at Kuhio Bay and, until November 5, 1944, carried out training with successive detachments of Glenn L. Martin Company

Glenn L. Martin Company

The Glenn L. Martin Company was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company that was founded by the aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin. The Martin Company produced many important aircraft for the defense of the United States and its allies, especially during World War II and the Cold War...

PBM Mariner

The Martin PBM Mariner was a patrol bomber flying boat of World War II and the early Cold War period. It was designed to complement the PBY Catalina in service. A total of 1,366 were built, with the first example flying on 18 February 1939 and the type entering service in September 1940.-Design and...

flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

s. She tended six Martin PBM-3Ds from Patrol Bombing

Patrol bomber

A maritime patrol aircraft , also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles - in particular anti-submarine, anti-ship and search and...

Squadron

Squadron (aviation)

A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

25 (VPB-25) from October 14, 1944 to October 19, 1944 and a second detachment of six PBM-3Ds from the same squadron between October 19, 1944 and October 29, 1944, after which time she tended six Mariners from Patrol Bombing Squadron 26 (VPB-26). Concluding those advanced base activities on November 5, 1944, she sailed for Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay at Kaneohe, Hawaii, the same day.

Arriving at her destination on the 6th, Bering Strait received orders to organize and train an air-sea rescue

Air-sea rescue

Air-sea rescue is the coordinated search and rescue of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships...

task group made up of herself and the seaplane detachment of Rescue Squadron 2 (VH-2), an assignment that required her to exchange her aviation spare part

Spare part

Spare Parts may also refer to:* Spare Parts , by Status Quo* Spare Parts is a Doctor Who audio drama.* Spare Parts , by Servotron* "Spare Parts" , by Bruce Springsteen* "Spare Parts"...

s allowance for PBM-3D Mariner patrol bombers for spares for PBM-3R Mariner rescue aircraft. Returning to Pearl Harbor on November 23, 1944, Bering Strait underwent a shipyard

Shipyard

Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

availability and then loaded the equipment of Rescue Squadron 3 (VH-3), which had been substituted for VH-2.

Operations in the Marshall Islands

Bering Strait sailed for the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

on December 1, 1944. During the passage to Kwajalein Atoll, the ship served as antisubmarine screen for seaplane tender USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17)

USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17)

USS Cumberland Sound was a in the United States Navy.Cumberland Sound was launched 23 February 1944 by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Washington; sponsored by Mrs. O. A. Tucker; and commissioned 21 August 1944, Captain E...

.

After pausing at Kwajalein from December 9, 1944 to December 12, 1944, Bering Strait returned to sea again with Cumberland Sound and steamed to Eniwetok, arriving there on December 13, 1944 to carry out air-sea rescue training, which began after VH-3 arrived from Kaneohe on December 15, 1944. She conducted nine days of training with VH-3 before that squadron transferred to Cumberland Sound on December 24, 1944.

Bering Strait, along with patrol craft USS PC-1082 and USS PC-572, then escorted 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...

USS Situla (AK-140)

USS Situla (AK-140)

USS Situla was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the United States Navy in World War II. It was the only ship of the Navy to have borne this name...

and six merchant ships from Eniwetok to 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...

in the Mariana Islands

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

, departing on December 24, 1944.

Operations in the Mariana Islands

Bering Strait and her convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

arrived on December 28, 1944 at Garapan

Garapan

Garapan is the largest village and the center of the tourism industry on the island of Saipan, which is a part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands ....

Harbor on Saipan. Shifting on December 29, 1944 to Tanapag

Tanapag

Tanapag is a settlement on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is located close to Tanapag Beach on the northwest coast, just to the north of Capital Hill, the island group's centre of government...

Harbor, 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...

, she received VH-3 on board that day.

On January 1, 1945, however, Bering Strait transferred her aviation maintenance unit to VH-3 for temporary duty and sent her aviation officer, aviation storekeepers, all aviation spare parts, and three of her boats to the naval air base at Tanapag, so that the organization could be maintained intact ashore. That day, she reported to Commander, Marianas Patrol and Escort Force, for temporary operational control for radar picket

Radar picket

A radar picket is a radar-equipped ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a force to protect it from surprise attack. Often several detached radar units encircle a force to provide increased cover in all directions.-World War II:Radar picket ships...

and air-sea rescue duty. She departed Tanapag Harbor on January 5, 1945 to take up her new task.

From January 6, 1945 to January 15, 1945, Bering Strait operated 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) west of Sarigan

Sarigan

Sarigan is a small island in the Northern Mariana Island chain. It is the result of a Holocene Era stratovolcano with no known historic eruptions, although a swarm of volcano-tectonic earthquakes took place here in the summer of 2005....

and Guguan

Guguan

Guguan is an island in the Northern Marianas island chain and is 130 miles north of Saipan. It measures only 3.87 km² but contains two volcanoes, one of which is active. A major eruption in 1883 produced pyroclastic flows as well as lava flows. The coast is bordered by steep basaltic rock with...

Islands, on radar picket station to warn Saipan

Saipan

of approaching Japanese

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

planes. Returning to Saipan for logistics on January 16, 1945, she embarked a fighter-director officer from a United States Marine Corps

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...

aircraft group on January 18, 1945, and departed later that day to assume radar picket duties as fighter-director ship in Operation Michigan

Operation Michigan (1945)

Operation Michigan was a 1945 U.S. Navy operation conducted during World War II. Its purpose was intercept Japanese planes operating between Iwo Jima and Truk....

to intercept Japanese planes operating between Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...

and Truk.

Returning to Saipan

Saipan

on January 28, 1945 for logistics

Logistics

Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...

and to disembark the U.S. Marine Corps fighter-direction officer, Bering Strait commenced a six days of voyage repairs. On February 4, 1945, she sailed to relieve USS Fanning (DD-385)

USS Fanning (DD-385)

USS Fanning , a Mahan-class destroyer, was the 2nd ship of the United States Navy to be named for Nathaniel Fanning. She first saw action during World War II immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor. She continued to serve in the Pacific Theatre throughout the war, and was decommissioned...

on air-sea rescue lifeguard

Lifeguard

A lifeguard supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, or beach. Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on...

station.

Rescuing crew of a ditched B-29

At 23:00 hours on February 10, 1945, Bering Strait made contact with a homeward-bound Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

, first by radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

and then visually. The ship switched on her lights and stood by for a landing, illuminating the sea and then indicating the wind direction with searchlights. The B-29, named Deacons Delight, accomplished “an almost perfect ditching,” and Bering Straits motor whaleboat

Whaleboat

A whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...

took the entire 12-man crew on board and brought them to the ship. Then, after collecting floating debris and gear, and riddling the Superfortress with gunfire in a vain effort to sink it, Bering Strait rammed and sank the hardy bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

Rescuing crew of a second ditched B-29

An hour earlier, Bering Strait had picked up a report that another B-29, named Homing Bird, had ditched. After completing the rescue of Deacon’s Delights crew, the ship headed for the scene of Homing Birds crash. Guided to the scene by a “Dumbo”

Dumbo (air-sea rescue)

Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as...

air-sea rescue

Air-sea rescue

aircraft the ship arrived there by 16:05 hours on February 11, 1945 and picked up the entire 11-man crew immediately.

A third B-29 crew rescue

Work still remained to be done, however, for soon after winding up the rescue of Homing Birds crew, Bering Strait received orders to rendezvous with the high-speed minelayer

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...

USS Robert H. Smith (DM-23)

USS Robert H. Smith (DM-23)

USS Robert H. Smith was the lead ship of her class of destroyer minelayers in the United States Navy. She was named for naval officer Robert H. Smith.-Construction:...

, to pick up the crew of a Superfortress that had ditched around 22:30 hours on February 10, 1945. The violent landing had claimed the lives of four of the B-29s crew. A patrolling “Dumbo” spotted the men the next morning, dropped survival gear, and covered them until Robert H. Smith picked them up that afternoon. On the morning of February 12, 1945, Bering Strait embarked the seven survivors of the third B-29. Returning to Saipan on February 15, 1945, the ship disembarked the airmen the same day.

A fourth B-29 crew saved by blinking lights

On the night of Bering Straits return to her station, on February 19, 1945, a B-29 had ditched at 21:00, 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) north of Pagan Island

Pagan Island

Pagan is an island of the Northern Mariana Islands chain,located at , approximately 320 kilometers northof Saipan.Pagan has an area of 47.23 km² , making it the fourth largest island of the Northern Marianas, and consists of two stratovolcanoes joined by a narrow strip of land.The...

, but broke up and sank upon landing; five men, trapped in the wreckage, had drowned. Unable to extract all of the life rafts -- one man had the use of only a partially inflated rubber boat -- the crew lay at the mercy of the sea. Directed to the scene by a “Dumbo,” Bering Strait sighted the survivors and hove to in their midst. She picked up five men, one of whom had been swimming without a life jacket for two hours, and sighted two bodies but could not recover them. Fortunately, the airmen had been spotted in the darkness because of tiny lights pinned to their life jackets, lights that had been “stolen” from the Navy “on personal initiative.” Bering Strait disembarked those survivors at Saipan on February 21, 1945, and got underway later the same day to relieve destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

USS Cummings (DD-365)

USS Cummings (DD-365)

The second USS Cummings was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Andrew Boyd Cummings.-History:...

on lifeguard station.

Saving two more B-29 crews

Returning to Saipan on March 3, 1945, Bering Strait spent the next six days in a shipyard availability before setting out to resume her lifeguard work on March 9, 1945.

On March 10, 1945, Bering Strait established contact with a B-29, nicknamed Hopeful Devil, that radioed a distress call during its return from a bombing mission over the Japanese home islands. The Superfortress ditched alongside at 12:38 hours, and Bering Strait picked up the nine-man crew in short order. Almost immediately, Bering Strait picked up a position report on another ditched B-29, and steered a course to the rescue. Although the position reports provided the ship proved incorrect because a “Dumbo” pilot mistook Guguan Island for Alamagan

Alamagan

The Northern Marianas island of Alamagan is located north from Saipan and is 11.12 km² in area. The island's volcano has a large caldera at the summit. The volcano last erupted around 870 AD, with an error bar of 100 years. It involved pyroclastic flows, and had a VEI of 4...

, Bering Strait spotted a “Dumbo” orbiting ten nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) southwest of Guguan

Guguan

and altered course to investigate. She picked up the 11-man crew of that ditched B-29 and then shaped a course for her lifeguard station.

Bering Strait remained at sea, 28 nautical miles (51.9 km) from Pagan Island, from March 11, 1944 to March 14, 1944, at which time she relieved her sister ship, seaplane tender USS Cook Inlet (AVP-36)

USS Cook Inlet (AVP-36)

USS Cook Inlet was a United States Navy Barnegat-class small seaplane tender in commission from 1944 to 1946. She tended seaplanes during World War II in the Pacific in combat areas and earned one battle star for her service....

, at another air-sea rescue station. Returning to Saipan

Saipan

for logistics on March 16, 1945, Bering Strait disembarked the 20 airmen taken on board since March 10, 1945 before sailing for Guam

Guam

Honored for her life saving performances

Bering Straits performance of her rescue function earned her accolades from the Commanding General of the United States Army Air Force's 313th Bombardment Wing who, upon the ship’s detachment from lifeguard duties, sent her a message: “Since you have been our guardian angel of the seas you have returned safely to us 50 combat crewmen. Many of them are flying against the enemy again. We are grateful for the splendid work you have done and wish you all the best of luck.”

Supporting the invasion of Okinawa

On March 18, 1945, Bering Strait began preparations for Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa. Underway on March 19, 1945, she escorted seaplane tender USS Hamlin (AV-15)

USS Hamlin (AV-15)

USS Hamlin was a in the United States Navy.Hamlin was launched by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, Washington on 11 January 1944; sponsored by Miss Constance Taffinder, daughter of Rear Admiral S. A. Taffinder; and commissioned on 26 June 1944, Captain G. A...

to Saipan and completed the preparations for “Iceberg” by loading VH-3 equipment between March 20, 1945 and March 23, 1945. This work accomplished, she sailed for Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....

on March 23, 1945 in company with three large seaplane tenders and three of her sister ships, as Task Group (TG) 51.20.

Reaching her destination on March 28, 1945, Bering Strait anchored in the Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

passage, and TG 51.20 established a seaplane base that day. The next day, VH-3 arrived and flew its first “Dumbo” mission.

On "L-day," April 1, 1945, the invasion of Okinawa commenced. The first "Dumbo" mission of the invasion for VH-3 proved successful, as the squadron commander, Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

W. H. Bonvillian, rescued the three-man crew of a Grumman TBF Avenger

TBF Avenger

The Grumman TBF Avenger was a torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air or naval arms around the world....

torpedo bomber

Torpedo bomber

A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...

from Torpedo Squadron 29 (VT-29). Antiaircraft fire had brought the plane down in a rice paddy, and the three crewmen deemed it prudent to take to their rubber boat and head out to sea where Lieutenant Commander Bonvillian's Mariner picked them up.

Acting as control tender at Kerama Retto

For the next three months, Bering Strait served as the coordinating control tender at Kerama Retto

Kerama Retto

, not only tending seaplanes but also conducting sonar

Sonar

Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

searches to guard against midget submarine

Midget submarine

A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...

incursions. Planes under her direction carried out 268 missions during April, May and June 1945, rescuing 105 men, who represented 39 different squadrons - 26 U.S. Navy, ten U.S. Marine Corps, two U.S. Army Air Force and one British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. The aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

-based squadrons among that number came from 23 ships, including the British fleet carrier HMS Formidable.

Twice during April 1945, one of Bering Straits planes was forced down by friendly fire and compelled to taxi back to base. On April 23, 1945, one of her PBMs transferred a severely wounded U.S. Marine to the seaplane tender USS St. George (AV-16)

USS St. George (AV-16)

USS St. George was a in the United States Navy.St. George was laid down on 4 August 1943 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, Tacoma, Washington, launched on 14 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Alfred E. Montgomery; and commissioned on 24 July 1944, Capt. Robert G. Armstrong in...

for medical treatment. A little over a month later, on May 24, 1945, her PBMs rescued a pilot from the waters at the mouth of Ariake Bay, on southern Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

. Similar rescues took place on June 2, 1945, when Bering Strait-based PBMs rescued the crew of a crashed Consolidated

Consolidated Aircraft

The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was being closed by its parent corporation, General Motors. Consolidated became...

PB2Y Coronado

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Andrews, Hal. "" Naval Aviation News, Vol. 72, Issue no. 1, November-December 1989. ISSN 0028-1417.* Bridgeman, Leonard. “The Consolidated Vultee Model 29 Coronado.” Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.* Green, William. War...

from inside Kagoshima Bay

Kagoshima Bay

is a deep inlet on the coast of Japan.Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island of Kyūshū. The port city of Kagoshima and its well-protected harbor lie on the bays western coast....

, as well as a pilot from the fleet carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)

USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)

USS Ticonderoga was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for historic Fort Ticonderoga, which played a role in the American Revolutionary War...

. Later that month, on June 14, 1945, Bering Strait-based Mariners rescued pilots

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...

under fire from Japanese guns at Kikai Shima in the northern Ryukyu Islands

Ryukyu Islands

The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

Rescuing crews of kamikaze-damaged ships

Pilots and aircrew proved not the only beneficiaries of Bering Straits controlled rescue missions. On May 27, 1945, two kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

suicide aircraft crashed destroyer USS Braine (DD-630)

USS Braine (DD-630)

USS Braine , a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Rear Admiral Daniel L. Braine , who served in the Civil War and explored the Arctic....

. One Bering Strait-based PBM rescued ten men from the ship while a second stood by in case the need arose to fly critically hurt sailor

Sailor

A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...

s to medical treatment. On other occasions, Bering Straits planes escorted damaged aircraft to safety, or directed ships to the assistance of survivors in the water.

Under constant attack by kamikaze planes

The ship’s stay at Kerama Retto likewise proved eventful, as, during that three-month period the ship went to general quarters

General quarters

General Quarters or Battle Stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the crew to prepare for battle or imminent damage....

154 times; there was one day, June 6, 1945, on which the ship stood to battle stations six times. On May 5, 1945, two of her men suffered injuries when hit by shrapnel from friendly fire bursting too close to the ship during an attack by Japanese planes; she herself then fired on a Japanese plane attempting to crash on the nearby St. George. On June 21, 1945, Bering Straits guns shot down a Nakajima E4N Type 00 “Jake”

Nakajima E4N

|-See also:-References:*Francillon, Réne J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970 . ISBN 0-370-30251-6...

reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

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...

. During that same raid, just after one kamikaze had crashed seaplane tender USS Curtiss (AV-4)

USS Curtiss (AV-4)

USS Curtiss was a seaplane tender of the United States Navy. The ship was launched on 20 April 1940 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, sponsored by Mrs. H. S. Wheeler, and commissioned on 15 November 1940, Commander S. P...

, a second overflew Bering Strait and headed for seaplane tender USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14)

USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14)

USS Kenneth Whiting was the lead ship of her class of seaplane tenders in the United States Navy.- Captain Kenneth Whiting, USN :...

. Bering Strait took the suicider under fire and shot it down short of its target.

Operations at Chimu Bay

Relieved of her duties as coordinating control tender on June 30, 1945, Bering Strait shifted to Chimu Bay, Okinawa, on July 15, 1945. She tended four PBMs from VH-3 until August 7, 1945, when she transferred them to another seaplane tender and assumed duties tending six planes from Rescue Squadron 1 (VH-1). Twice during her first months at Chimu Bay weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

compelled her to undertake typhoon evasion, once from July 19, 1945 to July 20, 1945 and again between August 1, 1945 and August 3, 1945.

Hostilities with Japan ended on August 15, 1945, bringing World War II

World War II

to a close, while Bering Strait was operating at Chimu Bay.

Military honors and awards

Bering Strait was awarded three battle stars for her World War II service.

Post-World War U.S. Navy service

Departing Okinawa on September 26, 1945, Bering Strait headed for 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...

to support the occupation of that country. Reaching Sasebo

Sasebo, 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...

, Japan, soon thereafter, she remained at that port until her sister ship Cook Inlet relieved her on December 30, 1945, then departed for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Proceeding via Pearl Harbor, Bering Strait reached San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, California, on January 21, 1946 and commenced pre-inactivation overhaul.

Decommissioning

Bering Strait was decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

at Naval Air Station Alameda, California, on June 21, 1946, and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

United States Coast Guard service

The U.S. Navy loaned Bering Strait to the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

on September 14, 1948, and struck 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....

and transferred her permanently to the Coast Guard on September 26, 1966. Commissioned in 1949 as USCGC Bering Strait (WAVP-382)

USCGC Bering Strait (WAVP-382)

USCGC Bering Strait , later WHEC-382, was a Casco-class United States Coast Guard cutter in service from 1948 to 1971.-Construction and U.S. Navy service:...

and reclassified as a high endurance cutter

High endurance cutter

The designation of High endurance cutter was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompassed its largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as Coast Guard gunboats , Coast Guard destroyer escorts , and...

and redesignated WHEC-382 in 1966, she served as a Coast Guard cutter

United States Coast Guard Cutter

Cutter is the term used by the United States Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. A Cutter is or greater in length, has a permanently assigned crew, and has accommodations for the crew to live aboard...

until the beginning of 1971. For nearly 22 years, she patrolled ocean stations in the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, first based at Seattle, Washington, and, later, at Honolulu

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

, Hawaii, reporting weather

Weather

data and engaging in search-and-rescue and law-enforcement

Law enforcement agency

In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...

operations. During the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, Bering Strait participated in Operation Market Time

Operation Market Time

Operation Market Time was the United States Navy’s effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing by sea from North Vietnam to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...

coastal surveillance operations off Vietnam

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 –...

, serving two tours (in 1967-1968 and in 1970).

South Vietnamese service

The Coast Guard decommissioned Bering Srait in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

on January 1, 1971, and she was commissioned in the Republic of Vietnam Navy

Republic of Vietnam Navy

The Republic of Vietnam Navy was the naval force of the former Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats from France. After 1955 and the transfer of the armed forces to Vietnamese control, the fleet was supplied from the United States...

as patrol vessel RVNS Tran Quang Khai (HQ-02)

RVNS Tran Quang Khai (HQ-02)

RVNS Tran Quang Khai was a South Vietnamese frigate of the Republic of Vietnam Navy in commission from 1971 to 1975. She and her six sister ships were the largest South Vietnamese naval ships of their time....

.

After the collapse of South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, Tran Quang Khai fled to Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

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...

Philippine Navy service

The Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

took her over in 1975, and she was formally acquired by the Republic of the Philippines on April 5, 1976. Commissioned as frigate BRP Diego Silang (PF-9)

BRP Diego Silang (PF-9)

BRP Diego Silang was an Andres Bonifacio class frigate of the Philippine Navy in commission from 1976 to 1990. She and her three sister ships were the largest Philippine Navy ships of their time....

, she served in the Philippine Navy decommissioned in June 1985. She was discarded in July 1990 and probably scrapped.

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