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USS Kitty Hawk (AKV-1)
Encyclopedia
USS Kitty Hawk (APV-1/AKV-1), formerly SS Seatrain New York, was built in 1932 by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Corporation of Chester, Pennsylvania
for Seatrain Lines
, Inc.
She was acquired by the United States Navy
on 25 June 1941; and renamed Kitty Hawk on 8 July. She was named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
where the Wright brothers
made the world's first powered heavier than air flight on 17 December 1903. She was converted to an aircraft transport by Tietjin & Land Dry Dock Corporation, Hoboken, New Jersey
and commissioned on 26 November 1941, at New York Navy Yard, with Commander
E. C. Rogers in command.
on 16 December 1941, for Hawaii
via the Panama Canal
with aircraft to replace U.S. losses in the Japanese attack
, and arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 8 February 1942. She unloaded her aircraft at Hickam Field
and returned to the mainland on 25 February. Kitty Hawk returned to Pearl Harbor on 17 May. Intelligence reports arrived indicating that a Japanese fleet was approaching the Hawaiian Islands
. Immediately, Kitty Hawk loaded the men, armament, and equipment of the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion
and aircraft of Marine Air Groups 21 and 45 and sailed at top speed to reinforce Midway
, escorted by the destroyer
. En route, a PBY Catalina
reported a submarine in the area which Gwin drove off with a heavy barrage of depth charges, enabling Kitty Hawk to deliver her vital fighting men and aircraft to Midway on 26 May.
Escorted by destroyers Gwin and , Kitty Hawk departed Midway on 29 May and arrived Honolulu on 1 June. On 5 June, she learned of the American victory in the Battle of Midway
, which turned back a Japanese offensive with disastrous results to the Japanese carrier attack force. That same day, she sailed for the West Coast
, arriving San Diego on 13 June.
Kitty Hawk returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 July; loaded men, equipment and aircraft of the 2nd Echelon of the 23rd Marine Air Group; and set course for Port Vila
, Efate
, New Hebrides
, arriving on 28 August. She moored alongside the escort carrier transferring 40 aircraft which were immediately catapulted by Long Island and flown directly into combat on bitterly-contested Guadalcanal
.
She sailed on 4 October for San Francisco, discharged and loaded cargo, then headed for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 20 October. Loading badly needed aircraft for the United States Army
, she steamed to Palmyra Atoll
, arriving on 30 October. There, under hazardous conditions, she embarked more aircraft, cargo and passengers. Sailing on 2 November, she arrived Dumbea Bay
, Nouméa
on 10 November, where she picked up men from the air group of the fleet carrier
after their carrier had been sunk at the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
. Arriving at Espiritu Santo
, New Hebrides on 13 November, she discharged army aviators and aircraft. Kitty Hawk sailed from Espiritu Santo on 22 November for home with 359 passengers, arriving San Diego on 7 December.
From 20 February 1943-25 June 1944, Kitty Hawk made seven voyages to Hawaii and seven to the Southwest Pacific
carrying vital aircraft, fighting men and munitions to be used in pressing forward toward Japan
. The ship was reclassified AKV-1 on 15 September 1943. She returned to the West Coast and arrived at San Francisco for overhaul on 5 August 1944.
Kitty Hawk loaded passengers, aircraft, and cargo at San Diego and sailed 29 August for Finschhafen
, New Guinea
; Seeadler Harbor
, Manus
, Admiralty Islands
; Guadalcanal; and Espiritu Santo, returning San Diego on 12 October 1944.
Kitty Hawk sailed directly from San Francisco to Manus, arriving on 12 November. From Manus, she steamed to the Solomon Islands
to pick up men of a radio control drone unit: called at Guadalcanal on 26 November, Espiritu Santo on 30 November: then sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 December. Two days later, she sailed to Maui Island
, where she debarked the radar control unit.
Kitty Hawk received news of the end of hostilities on 13 August 1945, while at Pearl Harbor. Basing from Pearl Harbor, she carried military cargo to the Marshall Islands
, the Mariana Islands
, and the Philippines
. She departed Pearl Harbor on 24 November for the East Coast
. Kitty Hawk arrived Bayonne, New Jersey
on 15 December; visited Norfolk, Virginia
: decommissioned at New York on 24 January 1946; and was returned to her owner, Seatrain Lines, Inc., the same day.
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
for Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines was a shipping company most responsible for the introduction of the standard international intermodal container, most commonly high by 8 feet wide by long...
, Inc.
She was acquired by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
on 25 June 1941; and renamed Kitty Hawk on 8 July. She was named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....
where the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
made the world's first powered heavier than air flight on 17 December 1903. She was converted to an aircraft transport by Tietjin & Land Dry Dock Corporation, Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
and commissioned on 26 November 1941, at New York Navy Yard, with Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
E. C. Rogers in command.
1941-1942
After shakedown, Kitty Hawk departed New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 16 December 1941, for 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...
via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
with aircraft to replace U.S. losses in the Japanese attack
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, 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...
on 8 February 1942. She unloaded her aircraft at Hickam Field
Hickam Air Force Base
Hickam Field, re-named Hickam Air Force Base in 1948, was a United States Air Force facility now part of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lt Col Horace Meek Hickam.- History :...
and returned to the mainland on 25 February. Kitty Hawk returned to Pearl Harbor on 17 May. Intelligence reports arrived indicating that a Japanese fleet was approaching 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...
. Immediately, Kitty Hawk loaded the men, armament, and equipment of the 3rd Marine Defense Battalion
Marine defense battalions
Marine defense battalions were United States Marine Corps battalions charged with coastal defense of various naval bases in the Pacific during World War II...
and aircraft of Marine Air Groups 21 and 45 and sailed at top speed to reinforce Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, escorted by the 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...
. En route, a PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
reported a submarine in the area which Gwin drove off with a heavy barrage of depth charges, enabling Kitty Hawk to deliver her vital fighting men and aircraft to Midway on 26 May.
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
, which turned back a Japanese offensive with disastrous results to the Japanese carrier attack force. That same day, she sailed for the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, arriving San Diego on 13 June.
Kitty Hawk returned to Pearl Harbor on 31 July; loaded men, equipment and aircraft of the 2nd Echelon of the 23rd Marine Air Group; and set course for Port Vila
Port Vila
Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...
, Efate
Éfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
, New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
, arriving on 28 August. She moored alongside the escort carrier transferring 40 aircraft which were immediately catapulted by Long Island and flown directly into combat on bitterly-contested 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...
.
She sailed on 4 October for San Francisco, discharged and loaded cargo, then headed for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 20 October. Loading badly needed aircraft for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, she steamed to Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government...
, arriving on 30 October. There, under hazardous conditions, she embarked more aircraft, cargo and passengers. Sailing on 2 November, she arrived Dumbea Bay
Dumbéa Bay
Dumbéa Bay or Baie de la Dumbéa is a bay in southwestern New Caledonia. It lies to the northwest of Noumea.To the north is Gadji Bay. This bay has major historical importance related to the naval history of New Caledonia and the Pacific, especially during World War II...
, Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
on 10 November, where she picked up men from the air group of the fleet 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...
after their carrier had been sunk at the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or in Japanese sources as the , was the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the fourth major naval engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial...
. Arriving at 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....
, New Hebrides on 13 November, she discharged army aviators and aircraft. Kitty Hawk sailed from Espiritu Santo on 22 November for home with 359 passengers, arriving San Diego on 7 December.
1943-1944
Carrying men and equipment of Marine Air Group 12, she got underway on 4 January 1943, for the New Hebrides, arriving at Espiritu Santo on 22 January; but, as enemy air raids prevented unloading, she sailed on to Pallikulo Bay, a safer place; then departed for Undine Bay, Efate, where she finished unloading men, munitions and aircraft of Marine Air Group 12. Kitty Hawk returned to San Diego on 20 February.From 20 February 1943-25 June 1944, Kitty Hawk made seven voyages to Hawaii and seven to the Southwest Pacific
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
carrying vital aircraft, fighting men and munitions to be used in pressing forward toward Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The ship was reclassified AKV-1 on 15 September 1943. She returned to the West Coast and arrived at San Francisco for overhaul on 5 August 1944.
Kitty Hawk loaded passengers, aircraft, and cargo at San Diego and sailed 29 August for Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
; Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II...
, Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
, Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
; Guadalcanal; and Espiritu Santo, returning San Diego on 12 October 1944.
Kitty Hawk sailed directly from San Francisco to Manus, arriving on 12 November. From Manus, she steamed to the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
to pick up men of a radio control drone unit: called at Guadalcanal on 26 November, Espiritu Santo on 30 November: then sailed for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 9 December. Two days later, she sailed to Maui Island
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, where she debarked the radar control unit.
1945-1946
After minor repairs at San Diego, Kitty Hawk sailed on 7 January 1945, to various ports in the South Pacific; returned to San Francisco on 17 February; made a quick turn about; and steamed back to the forward area, returning to the West Coast on 12 June.Kitty Hawk received news of the end of hostilities on 13 August 1945, while at Pearl Harbor. Basing from Pearl Harbor, she carried military cargo to 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...
, 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...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. She departed Pearl Harbor on 24 November for the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Kitty Hawk arrived Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
on 15 December; visited Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
: decommissioned at New York on 24 January 1946; and was returned to her owner, Seatrain Lines, Inc., the same day.