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USS Current (ARS-22)
Encyclopedia
USS Current (ARS-22) was an Diver-class
rescue and salvage ship
commissioned by the U.S. Navy during World War II
. Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels.
Current (ARS-22) was launched 25 September 1943 by Basalt Rock Company
in Napa, California
; sponsored by Mrs. E. R. Booker; and commissioned 14 June 1944, Lieutenant Commander J. B. Duff, Jr., USNR, in command.
, 6 August 1944, Current sailed on towing duty to Ulithi
, arriving 14 October. She carried out local towing and salvage operations from this port until 19 May 1945. Among her most important repair operations were the emergency salvage work performed on (CL-81) and (CA-70) from 19 October to 14 December 1944, and the valiant fire fighting on (CV-15) 11 March 1945.
, Leyte
, Current arrived off Okinawa 2 June 1945 for salvage operations aiding the many ships damaged by Japanese
air attack, and those sailing in the U.S. 3rd Fleet and the U.S. 5th Fleet raids on the Japanese homeland. She served ships of the occupation forces at Okinawa until 5 January 1946 when she sailed by way of Sasebo
, Japan to San Francisco, arriving 27 February.
, the atomic weapons tests
in the Marshall Islands
. She returned to San Diego, California
, 23 August 1947 and was placed out of commission in reserve 9 February 1948.
7 December and arrived at Pearl Harbor
a week later. Following a 1952 tour of duty in the Far East
during the Korean War
, she carried out an extensive salvage operation on the merchant ship SS Quartette off Midway Island, saving approximately 2,000 tons of grain between 23 December 1952 and 6 March 1953. During her 1953 tour of duty off Korea
, Current refloated the stranded LST-578 at Cheju
and in a lengthy and difficult operation salvaged the stern half of SS Cornhusker Mariner which had gone aground off Pusan. Her next Far Eastern tour in 1954 and 1955 included duty with the Taiwan
Patrol, visits to Japanese ports, and participation in the Operation Passage to Freedom
evacuation of refugees from North Vietnam
.
, Current arrived at Seattle, Washington
, 25 June 1955. She carried construction equipment and materials into the poorly charted waters along the northern coast of Canada
and Alaska
from 15 July to 30 September, when she returned to Pearl Harbor
for repairs. She voyaged to Kwajalein
to inspect the work on mooring buoys between 16 January and 22 February 1956, then arrived in Seattle 29 June to join a convoy
carrying supplies to stations of the Distant Early Warning line
from 15 July to 10 September, returning to Pearl Harbor for local operations.
in the South China Sea
; salvaged aircraft and vessels off Japan; and performed a mercy mission by treating a Japanese diver stricken with the bends off Honshū
. After local operations at Pearl Harbor, she returned to the Far East to operate with destroyers off Japan and with the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Taiwan Straits from October 1957 to February 1958.
and salvaged several vessels and aircraft in Japanese waters. In March and April 1959, she carried passengers to Samoa
where her divers worked on a sunken hulk, and in November returned to the Far East for duty until March 1960, when she put back to Pearl Harbor
for duty in the Hawaii
an group for the remainder of the year.
, for $78,000 to Valor Navigation Co., New York, New York.
Diver class rescue and salvage ship
The Diver class of rescue and salvage ship were operated by the United States Navy....
rescue and salvage ship
Rescue and salvage ship
Rescue and salvage ships in the United States Navy were common during World War II. Their purpose was to come to the rescue of stricken ships, usually because of their towing ability, and to tow away ships damaged because of enemy action or engine failure....
commissioned by the U.S. Navy 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...
. Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels.
Current (ARS-22) was launched 25 September 1943 by Basalt Rock Company
Basalt Rock Company
Basalt Rock Company was a multifaceted industrial operation that was founded in 1920. The company started as a rock quarrying operation located a few miles south of Napa, California near the Napa River. It later branched out into the ship building business in 1941 when it started building ships...
in Napa, California
Napa, California
-History:The name Napa was probably derived from the name given to a southern Nappan village whose people shared the area with elk, deer, grizzlies and cougars for many centuries, according to Napa historian Kami Santiago. At the time of the first recorded exploration into Napa Valley in 1823, the...
; sponsored by Mrs. E. R. Booker; and commissioned 14 June 1944, Lieutenant Commander J. B. Duff, Jr., USNR, in command.
World War II service
Clearing San Francisco, CaliforniaSan 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...
, 6 August 1944, Current sailed on towing duty to Ulithi
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...
, arriving 14 October. She carried out local towing and salvage operations from this port until 19 May 1945. Among her most important repair operations were the emergency salvage work performed on (CL-81) and (CA-70) from 19 October to 14 December 1944, and the valiant fire fighting on (CV-15) 11 March 1945.
Okinawa operations
After replenishing in San Pedro BaySan 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...
, Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, Current arrived off Okinawa 2 June 1945 for salvage operations aiding the many ships damaged by 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...
air attack, and those sailing in the U.S. 3rd Fleet and the U.S. 5th Fleet raids on the Japanese homeland. She served ships of the occupation forces at Okinawa until 5 January 1946 when she sailed by way of 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 to San Francisco, arriving 27 February.
Atomic testing
Between 15 April 1946 and 22 July 1947 Current served with JTF-1 on Operation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
, the atomic weapons tests
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
in 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...
. She returned to San Diego, California
San 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...
, 23 August 1947 and was placed out of commission in reserve 9 February 1948.
Recommissioned during Korean War
Recommissioned 10 October 1951, Current sailed from Long Beach, CaliforniaLong 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...
7 December and 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...
a week later. Following a 1952 tour of duty in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
during the Korean War
Korean 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...
, she carried out an extensive salvage operation on the merchant ship SS Quartette off Midway Island, saving approximately 2,000 tons of grain between 23 December 1952 and 6 March 1953. During her 1953 tour of duty off Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Current refloated the stranded LST-578 at Cheju
Jeju-do
Jeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
and in a lengthy and difficult operation salvaged the stern half of SS Cornhusker Mariner which had gone aground off Pusan. Her next Far Eastern tour in 1954 and 1955 included duty with the Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Patrol, visits to Japanese ports, and participation in the Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the United States Navy to describe its transportation in 1954–55 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam...
evacuation of refugees from North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
.
Arctic operations
After alterations to fit her for duty in the ArcticArctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, Current arrived at Seattle, Washington
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...
, 25 June 1955. She carried construction equipment and materials into the poorly charted waters along the northern coast of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
from 15 July to 30 September, when she returned to 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...
for repairs. She voyaged to Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
to inspect the work on mooring buoys between 16 January and 22 February 1956, then arrived in Seattle 29 June to join a 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...
carrying supplies to stations of the Distant Early Warning line
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
from 15 July to 10 September, returning to Pearl Harbor for local operations.
1957 Western Pacific deployment
During her 1957 deployment to the Western Pacific, Current took part in a mine recovery training exercise in the Marianas; surveyed and blasted a channel in Scarborough ShoalScarborough Shoal
Scarborough Shoal or Scarborough Reef , more correctly described as a group of islands and reefs in an atoll shape than a shoal, is located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon, Philippines in the South China Sea. As with most of the landforms in this sea, the sovereignty of the area is disputed...
in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
; salvaged aircraft and vessels off Japan; and performed a mercy mission by treating a Japanese diver stricken with the bends off Honshū
Honshu
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...
. After local operations at Pearl Harbor, she returned to the Far East to operate with destroyers off Japan and with the U.S. 7th Fleet in the Taiwan Straits from October 1957 to February 1958.
Other operations
From July to December 1958 Current operated on diving training duty at Pusan, KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and salvaged several vessels and aircraft in Japanese waters. In March and April 1959, she carried passengers to Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
where her divers worked on a sunken hulk, and in November returned to the Far East for duty until March 1960, when she put back to 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...
for duty in the 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...
an group for the remainder of the year.
Decommissioning
Current was decommissioned 28 April, 1972 and struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1973. Final Disposition: she was sold for scrapping, 27 June 1975, by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing ServiceDefense Reutilization and Marketing Service
DLA Disposition Services is part of the United States Defense Logistics Agency...
, for $78,000 to Valor Navigation Co., New York, New York.
Military awards and honors
USS Current was awarded two battle stars for World War II service, three battle stars for Korean War service, and six campaign stars for Vietnam War service.External links
- USS Current Web Page http://web.archive.org/web/20091027154949/http://geocities.com/jimvasko_94555/index.htm
- http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencysmall/basalt.htm Basalt Rock Compay Shipbuilding History