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USS Pocomoke (AV-9)
Encyclopedia
USS Pocomoke (AV-9) was a , originally built as the and acquired by the U.S. Navy as the military build-up occurred in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
just prior to 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...
. She operated principally in the Pacific Theatre of the war and serviced military seaplanes. At war’s end, she returned to the States proudly with two battle stars.
She was built on 14 August 1939 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, for the Maritime Commission; launched 8 June 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Max O. Truitt; acquired by the Navy 16 October 1940; and following conversion commissioned 18 July 1941, Comdr. L. T. Hundt in command.
Initial Atlantic Ocean operations
When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Pocomoke was attached to Task GroupTask force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
4.3 of the Support Force, Atlantic Fleet
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...
, stationed at Argentia, Newfoundland. She tended two patrol planes which scouted waters approaching the harbor searching for German U-boats which threatened convoys carrying desperately needed war material to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. On 9 January 1942 she departed Argentia en route to 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....
, where she entered the yard
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...
for alterations.
Following training and exercises she departed Boston, Massachusetts, 21 May for Argentia to act as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for Commander, Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
24, and tender for Commander, Patrol Wing 7. Returning to Boston 15 August, she proceeded via Norfolk to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
. She discharged cargo there and at Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, and steamed back to Norfolk 8 October.
World War II Pacific Theater operations
On 30 October Pocomoke got underway, transited the Panama CanalPanama 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...
, and proceeded via Seymour Bay, Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, 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...
, 27 November. Then steaming to San Francisco, California
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...
, she sailed 2 December 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...
where she discharged 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 and supplies.
After returning to the U.S. West Coast for additional supplies, Pocomoke sailed to Pearl Harbor 4 January 1943, then, escorted by , proceeded to the Fiji Islands where she unloaded cargo. Following her return to the United States via Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
and Pearl Harbor, she carried supplies and spare parts to Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
23 February to 11 March, and returned to San Francisco for repairs at Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, until 6 May.
The next day she weighed anchor 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...
where she took on supplies and equipment at Pearl Harbor, and pushed on to Noumea
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,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. On 6 June she embarked men of Patrol Bombing Squadrons 15 and 23 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....
and provided vital tender services in the area until sailing for Pearl Harbor 18 September. There she loaded cargo for Fleet Air Photograph Squadron 3 and sailed 1 October for Canton Island. She returned to San Diego 21 October. One week later she steamed with cargo and passengers for Pearl Harbor and continued on to Palmyra Island, Tutuila
Tutuila
Tutuila is the largest and the main island of American Samoa in the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Australia and over northeast of Fiji. It contains a large, natural harbor,...
, Efate Island, and 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....
, off-loading much needed parts and supplies at these points before returning to Alameda, California
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...
, 14 December.
Making the rounds over vast distances
Pocomoke continued her vital services, taking on Marine Night Fighter Squadron 532 (VMF(N)-532) with planes, rolling stockRolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
and equipment and sailed via Pearl Harbor to Funafuti Atoll, anchoring there 11 January 1944. With she steamed for Tarawa and returned to Hawaii 25 January. Another brief return to the West Coast was followed by a stopover at Pearl Harbor to take on troops and ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
destined for 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....
. Shuttling cargo and fighting men between Espiritu Santo and 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...
consumed Pocomoke’s efforts until she sailed 4 April among the islands of the Solomons group, dispensing needed services, and back to Espiritu Santo. She tended seaplanes at 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...
and Eniwetok before anchoring off 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...
15 June to begin operations for Patrol Squadron 16 which were continued until 12 September. She departed for Kossol Passage, Palau Islands where she continued her repair and supply functions until 23 November. She finally sailed via 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...
, Eniwetok, and Pearl Harbor for San Francisco, arriving 15 December.
Philippine Islands support
Late January 1945, saw Pocomoke again underway for Pearl Harbor and Manus IslandManus 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...
to report for duty with Commander, Air Force, U.S. 7th Fleet 18 February. She returned to the task of ferrying supplies and passengers, getting underway for San Pedro Bay
San 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 Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
, and Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
Island. She then tended seaplanes at Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
Island and Tawitawi Island, for the duration of the active fighting war in the Pacific.
On 28 August 1945 administrative command changed to Commander Philippine Sea Frontier
Philippine Sea Frontier
The Philippine Sea Frontier was a United States Navy Sea Frontier active in 1941, and reformed in 1944.On 8 December 1941 it was part of the 16th Naval District, a component of the United States Asiatic Fleet....
, and 9 September Pocomoke set course for Sangley Point, Manila Bay
Manila Bay
Manila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
. From 11 September 1945 through 1 February 1946, she steamed among the various islands in the Philippine group, dispensing her services, providing supplies, ferrying troops, and operating search patrols wherever needed.
Post-war inactivation and decommissioning
Pocomoke returned to San Diego 28 February 1946 and transited the Panama CanalPanama 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...
11 March to report for duty to Commander, Air Force, Atlantic. She was ordered to Norfolk, unloaded her ammunition and steamed into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, where she was placed in the reserve group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Pocomoke decommissioned 10 July 1946 her name was 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....
1 June 1961, she was ordered disposed 20 September 1961, and was sold 12 December 1961 to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corp.