USS Coos Bay (AVP-25)
Encyclopedia
USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) 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
Barnegat class seaplane tender
|The Barnegat class was a large class of United States Navy small seaplane tenders built during World War II. Thirty were completed as seaplane tenders, four as motor torpedo boat tenders, and one as a catapult training ship.-Design:...
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 1943 to 1946.
Construction and commissioning
Coos Bay (AVP-25) was laid down on 15 August 1941 by Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WashingtonHoughton, 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...
, and was launched on 15 May 1942, sponsored by Mrs. L. E. Geheres. She was 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...
on 15 May 1943 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...
W. Miller in command.
First tour 1943-1944
Coos Bay cleared San DiegoSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, 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 22 July 1943 for 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...
, Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
, and Cavutu, where she established a seadrome for Patrol Squadron 71 (VP-71) from 13 October 1943 until 23 November 1943. She was based successively at Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
, at Blanche Harbor
Blanche Harbor
Blanche Harbor is a natural harbour between Mono and Stirling Islands of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at .-External links:*...
in the Treasury Islands
Treasury Islands
Treasury Islands are a small group of islands a few kilometers to the south of Bougainville and 24 kilometers from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries are Mono Island and the smaller Stirling Island...
, and at Green Island
Nissan Island
Nissan Island is the largest of the Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. It is located at , about 200 km east of Rabaul on New Britain and about 200 km northwest of Bougainville....
until 16 June 1944.
After carrying men and equipment of Fleet Air Wing 1 (FAW-1) from New Georgia
New Georgia
New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...
to Espiritu Santo, Coos Bay sailed on 21 August 1944 for Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
, where she unloaded aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
equipment. From 8 September 1944 to 9 December 1944 she served at 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...
as station tender, then returned to San Pedro, 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...
, for an overhaul.
Damaged in collision at sea
Coos Bay returned to Pearl Harbor on 17 March 1945. On 21 March 1945 she departed for Ulithi Atoll. During her passage, on March 31, 1945, she collided with an oceangoing tug - M/V Matagorda, which took her in tow for emergency repairs at Eniwetok. Coos Bay proceeded to San Pedro for repairs and overhaul. Returning to Pearl Harbor, Coos Bay remained there until 1 September 1945. Meanwhile, hostilities with JapanJapan
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...
ended on 15 August 1945.
Military awards and honors
Coos Bay received two battle stars for World War IIWorld 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...
service.
Post-World War II U.S. Navy service
On 1 September 1945, Coos Bay departed Pearl Harbor for Ominato Ko, HonshūHonshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, 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...
. The formal Japanese surrendered to the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
took place the followinbg day. Arriving at Ominato Ko on 13 September 1945 for station tender duty, Coos Bay remained there until 2 December 1945, when she proceeded to Orange
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where she arrived on 11 January 1946 for inactivation.
Decommissioning
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....
and placed in reserve in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange on 30 April 1946.
On loan to the United States Coast Guard
Coos Bay was loaned to the United States Coast GuardUnited 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 5 January 1949 and commissioned as USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376)
USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376)
USCGC Coos Bay , later WHEC-376, was a Casco-class United States Coast Guard cutter in service from 1949 to 1966.-Construction and U.S. Navy service:...
on 4 May 1949. She was 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-376 on 1 May 1966. Throughout her Coast Guard career, she served in the North Atlantic, based at Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. Her primary duty was to patrol ocean stations to collect 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...
data and conduct search-and-rescue and law-enforcement
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
operations.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The Coast Guard returned her to the Navy on 2 September 1967.
Sunk as target
Coos Bay was struck from the Naval Register. The Navy towed her from Curtis Bay to a point 120 nautical miles (222.2 km) off the coast of VirginiaVirginia
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...
, where on 9 January 1968 guided missile destroyer
Guided missile destroyer
A guided missile destroyer is a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. Many are also equipped to carry out anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface operations. In the U.S...
USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5)
USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5)
USS Claude V. Ricketts , previously Biddle and DD-955, was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy....
, one other Navy ship, and 35 aircraft sank her as a target.