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USS Requisite (AM-109)
Encyclopedia
USS Requisite (AM-109) was an 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...
for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
Requisite was laid down 12 November 1941 by the Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company
Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company
Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard that operated from 1903 until 1959 on Bainbridge Island, Washington.The shipyard was built as an expansion of Hall Bros. Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company of Port Blakely, Washington, on near the village of Madrone, later renamed...
, 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...
; launched 25 July 1942; and commissioned 7 June 1943, Lt. Robert W. Graham, USNR, in command.
World War II Pacific operations
Following shakedownShakedown (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...
off southern 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...
, Requisite proceeded to 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...
. Thence on 1 August, she escorted 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...
to Honolulu. Attached to Service Squadron 6, she trained in 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 waters into October. On the 25th, she cleared 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...
and headed for the 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...
to prepare for her first amphibious operation, the invasion of Tarawa Atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
, in the Gilberts
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
.
Departing 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...
on 13 November, she took up her position as listening vessel at the lagoon entrance off Betio
Betio
Betio is an island and a town at the extreme southwest of South Tarawa in Kiribati. The main port of Tarawa Atoll is located there.-Overview:...
early on the morning of the 20th. While pre-invasion bombardment was in progress, she and swept a channel from the transport area into the lagoon. Just prior to the landings, she took up duties as assistant control and survey ship and began marking the channel and searching out possible anchorages in the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
. On the 21st, she returned to the transport area and resumed screening duties.
As Tarawa was being secured, Requisite shifted to Abemama
Abemama
Abemama is an atoll in the central part of the Kiribati Group located 152 kilometres southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator.- Geography :...
and assisted in the offloading of equipment and supplies for the garrison group. She then remained in the area until 12 December when she got underway for Pearl Harbor.
Operating with Task Force 52
On 22 January 1944, she sortied with Task ForceTask 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...
TF 52 for the invasion of the Marshalls
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...
. In the antisubmarine screen of the Southern Attack Force, en route, she arrived off 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...
Atoll on the 31st. She continued her antisubmarine activities until 3 February, then began sweeping operations off Kwajalein and other islands in the southern part of the atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
. On the 6th, she planted navigational aids, and on the 15th, sortied with Task Group TG 51.11 for the Eniwetok assault.
Two days later, she entered Eniwetok lagoon between Japtan and Parry Islands. Sweeping and survey duties followed. On the 24th, she returned to Kwajalein and, through March escorted reconnaissance parties in LSTs and LCI
Landing Craft Infantry
The Landing craft, Infantry or LCI were several classes of sea-going amphibious assault ships of the Second World War utilized to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches. They were developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially...
s to Wotho
Wotho Atoll
Wotho Atoll is a coral atoll of 13 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of...
, Ujae
Ujae Atoll
Ujae Atoll is a coral atoll of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of...
, Lae
Lae Atoll
Lae Atoll is a coral atoll of 20 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area of...
, Ailinglapalap
Ailinglaplap Atoll
Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap is a coral atoll of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain in the Marshall Islands. It is located northwest of Jaluit Atoll. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of...
, Namorik
Namdrik Atoll
Namdrik Atoll or Namorik Atoll is a coral atoll of two islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area of .Namdrik Atoll is located approximately west-southwest of...
and other minor atolls and islands of the Marshalls.
On 10 April, she departed those islands and headed east with an LST convoy. On the 24th, she escorted her charges into Pearl Harbor and 2 days later continued on to San Francisco and overhaul.
On 16 July she returned to Hawaii. An escort run to Eniwetok and inter-island escort duty in Hawaii took her into September. Then, on the 23rd, she headed west for her next invasion target, 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...
.
Operations with the Seventh Fleet
Moving across the PacificPacific 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...
via Eniwetok, she joined the 7th Fleet
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is the United States Navy's permanent forward projection force based in Yokosuka, Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea. It is a component fleet force under the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with...
at 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...
on 10 October, and seven days later she commenced sweeping the approaches to 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...
. She continued her sweeping operations until the 24th, when she anchored in 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...
. Three days later, she began a five-day search for survivors of the battles for Leyte Gulf.
During November she swept in waters near Homonhon, Suluan
Suluan Island
Suluan Island is a small island in the Philippines, in the province of Eastern Samar. It lies east of Leyte Gulf, near Homonhon Island and Calicoan Island....
, Calicoan
Calicoan Island
Calicoan Island is a Philippine island, and is part of the town of Guiuan, in the province of Eastern Samar. It lies east of Leyte Gulf, off the southeast point of Samar.The island can be reached from Tacloban City by a two-hour bus ride.-External links:*...
, and Dinagat. In early December, she and Pursuit swept the Canigao Channel
Canigao Channel
Canigao Channel is a body of water in the Philippines that connects the Bohol Sea with the Camotes Sea. It lies between Bohol Island and Leyte Island....
, West Passage, to provide a second access to the Camotes Sea
Camotes Sea
The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, between the Eastern Visayas and the Central Visayas. It is bordered by the islands of Leyte to the north and east, Bohol to the south, and Cebu to the west. The sea is connected to the Visayan Sea to the northwest, and to the Bohol...
. On the 6th, 7th, and 8th, Requisite participated in the Ormoc Bay assault
Battle of Ormoc Bay
The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines between 11 November and 21 December 1944, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The battles resulted from Japanese operations to...
, then returned to the east coast of 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...
.
On 2 January 1945, Requisite moved north with Task Group TG 77.6. The next day she entered the Sulu Sea
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.Sulu Sea contains a number of...
. She passed 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...
on 5 January, and, on the 6th, she began sweeping operations in Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
which continued until the 14th. She then replenished at Leyte, and returned to Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
on 29 January for pre-invasion sweeps off San Felipe
San Felipe, Zambales
San Felipe is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2007 Philippine census, it has a population of 21,322 people in 4,094 households.-Barangays:San Felipe is politically subdivided into 11 barangays....
in Zambales
Zambales
Zambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...
Province. On the 31st, she anchored in 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 February, Requisite with others of Mine Division 3, moved east to 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...
, whence she continued 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...
. In mid-March she sortied with Mine Group 1 of the Okinawa invasion force.
Okinawa operations
Arriving in the RyūkyūsRyukyu 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...
on the 24th, Requisite swept the approaches to 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....
the same day. On the 25th, she extended operations to Keise Shima. The 26th saw her off southern Okinawa. From the 27th through the 29th, she operated off the Hagushi
Hagushi
Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II. The bay, at the mouth of the Bishi River , was the dividing line between the First and Sixth US Marine divisions, which landed on the Hagushi beaches to the north, and the Seventh...
beaches and on the 30th and 31st she swept off the Motobu Peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
and Ie Shima. She then retired to Kerama Retto.
Requisite remained in the Okinawa area, employed in screening and sweeping operations until 16 April. A month's respite in the Marianas
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...
followed; but by the end of May she was back in the Ryūkyūs. Through June, she continued patrol and sweeping duties off Okinawa. In July she began sweeping in the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
in anticipation of an invasion of the Japanese home islands. Then, in August, she departed for an availability at Leyte. There when hostilities ceased, she returned to Okinawa at the end of the month and in September resumed sweeping operations, this time to clear Japanese waters for the arrival of occupation forces and the resumption of peacetime maritime traffic. Off Shikoku
Shikoku
is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...
during early September, she shifted to 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...
at midmonth and during October operated in the Ise Wan area. On in November, she added the responsibility of communications and operational headquarter, CTG 52.8, to her duties and on 17 December she headed back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Post-War operations
The ship arrived at 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...
on 17 January 1946. The following month, she continued on to the U.S. East Coast arriving at Norfolk
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....
on 21 February. For the next year and a half she operated with the 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...
towing targets for training groups. Then ordered inactivated, she proceeded to Orange, Texas
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...
, where she decommissioned and joined the Reserve Fleet on 23 December 1947.
Operations as a survey ship
Recommissioned 15 February 1950, Requisite was assigned to hydrographic surveyHydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
duties. She reported to the Atlantic Fleet for duty on 1 March and for the next three years she spent the winter survey season operating in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and the warmer months off Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. Reclassified AGS-18 on 18 August 1951, she discontinued her North Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
-Caribbean schedule in the fall of 1954. On 6 October she got underway from Norfolk; and, from 1 November 1954 to 2 February 1955, she conducted surveys from İskenderun
Iskenderun
İskenderun is a city and urban district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The current mayor is Yusuf Hamit Civelek .-Names:...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The following year, Requisite shifted to the northern Pacific. She arrived at her new homeport, Seattle, in late June and before the end of the month had commenced Arctic
Arctic
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...
operations. By mid-September she had surveyed routes from Herschel Island
Herschel Island
Herschel Island is an island in the Beaufort Sea , which lies off the coast of the Yukon Territories in Canada, of which it is administratively a part...
to Shepherd Bay, taking continuous soundings and compiling bathythermograph
Bathythermograph
The bathythermograph, or BT, is a small torpedo-shaped device that holds a temperature sensor and a transducer to detect changes in water temperature versus depth. Lowered into the water from an underway ship, the BT records pressure and temperature changes as it is dropped through the water...
information and gathering core samplings every 20 miles. She continued her operations from Seattle until July 1958. Then homeported at San Francisco, California, she remained in the Pacific, ranging from the Arctic to Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
, to Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
until the spring of 1959.
On 1 May 1959, she got underway for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Arriving on the 23rd, she resumed operations with ServRon
ServRon
A ServRon is a standard United States Navy abbreviation for "Service Squadron."A Service Squadron was a squadron of U.S. Navy ships that served the fleet. The squadron included ships such as tankers, oilers, refrigerator ships, ammunition ships, supply ships, repair ships, and the like...
8, Atlantic Fleet and during the summer operated in the Caribbean. In November, she sailed east for her first survey season in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. During the 1960-61 season she returned to the Persian Gulf, but remained in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and off New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
during the 1961-62 season. On 1 July 1962, she sailed for Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and a return to survey operations of Greenland, completing that mission in November. In January 1963, she sailed to the West Indies, operated there through the summer, and returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in early November.
Decommissioning
Ordered inactivated she reported to the Philadelphia Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, on 23 December. She was decommissioned and struck from the Navy listNavy 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....
on 1 April 1964.
External links
- USS Requisite
- USS Requisite (AM-109, later AGS-18), 1943-1965
- Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 AM-109 USS Requisite
- USS Requisite (AM 109)