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USS Traverse County (LST-1160)
Encyclopedia
USS Traverse County (LST-1160), previously USS LST-1160, 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...
landing ship tank (LST) in commission from 1953 to 1970, and which then saw non-commissioned Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...
service as USNS Traverse County (T-LST-1160) from 1972 to 1973.
Construction and commissioning
USS LST-1160 was laid down on 18 December 1952 at BathBath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...
, 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...
, by the Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...
. She was launched on 3 October 1953, sponsored by Mrs. Omar R. King, and 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 19 December 1953 with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
James W. Perkins in command.
Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean service
Late in January 1954, LST-1160 moved, from Boston, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, where she had completed outfitting, to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet. The base comprises four locations in three states, including almost 12,000 acres of real estate. Its Little Creek location in Virginia Beach, Virginia totals...
at Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
, Virginia
Virginia
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...
. On 26 March 1954, after seven weeks of shakedown training in the Virginia Capes
Virginia Capes
The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America....
operating area and three weeks of post-shakedown availability, LST-1160 became an active unit of the United States Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force. Between the spring of 1954 and the summer of 1955, she completed seven training exercises to sharpen her skill as an amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
ship. Those drills frequently took her south to the West Indies, most often to Vieques Island near Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, where embarked United States Marines practiced amphibious landings.
On 1 July 1955, LST-1160 was named USS Traverse County (LST-1160). Not long thereafter, she was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" as the outstanding ship of Landing Ship Tank Flotilla 4.
Late in 1955, Traverse County entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
at Philadelphia
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,...
, 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...
, for a four-month overhaul. She exited the shipyard
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...
in April 1956 and, following a month of refresher training, resumed operations out of Little Creek. The remainder of 1956 saw her periodically embarking Marines at Morehead City
Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and putting them ashore at Little Creek and at nearby Camp Pendleton
Camp Pendleton (Virginia)
Camp Pendleton is a state military reservation in Virginia Beach, Virginia, named after Brigadier General William N. Pendleton, who served as Robert E. Lee's chief of artillery during the Civil War. It lies on the Atlantic coast adjoining Naval Air Station Oceana.-History:The facility was created...
.
At the beginning of 1957, Traverse County completed preparations for her first deployment with the United States Sixth Fleet. From 1957 through 1968, Traverse County performed eight tours of duty in the Mediterranean. Most often, her operations with the Sixth Fleet included visits to ports in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and 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...
, and along the North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n coast. She often conducted training exercises with units of friendly foreign navies. However, during her 1958 deployment, a crisis erupted in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
at the far eastern end of the Mediterranean, and in July 1958 Traverse County joined other Sixth Fleet units and Amphibious Squadron 6 landing ships tank in landing Marines at Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
to help stabilize the situation. The remainder of her Mediterranean assignments proved to be more routine in nature.
When not attached to the Sixth Fleet, Traverse County operated out of Little Creek in Virginia. Her western Atlantic duties frequently took her to the West Indies and 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...
where, in addition to the usual amphibious exercises, she performed supply missions to various American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bases in the area under the auspices of the 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...
, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet. Such was her assignment in the fall of 1962 when American surveillance of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
uncovered the siting of offensive ballistic missile
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
s on that island by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. When the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
occurred, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
invoked a successful blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
, or quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
, of Cuba to secure the removal of the missiles. During that operation, Traverse County provided support as a combat-ready unit. However, the Soviet Union withdrew the missiles and the tension abated, enabling Traverse County to resume her normal routine early in 1963. She returned to supplying Caribbean bases and conducting amphibious exercises at Little Creek, at Onslow Beach, North Carolina, and at Vieques Island near Puerto Rico.
The Cuban Missile Crisis proved to be Traverse Countys last internationally significant operation. After 1962, she resumed her routine, alternating Mediterranean deployments with United States East Coast operations. She completed her eighth and last Sixth Fleet assignment in December 1968. During 1969, she conducted another series of amphibious exercises at her old haunts, Little Creek, Onslow Beach, and Vieques Island. Similar operations carried her into 1970.
Latin American operations
On 7 March 1970 she headed for 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 a tour of special duty. After transporting the 8th Marine Engineering Battalion from Morehead City, North Carolina, to Vieques Island, she arrived at Colon
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, on 12 March 1970. She transited the Panama Canal and embarked scientists and equipment of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
for research operations in the vicinity of the Secas Islands of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. That duty lasted until 3 April 1970 when she returned to Rodman Naval Station in the Canal Zone.
Between the 3 April 1970 and 24 April 1970, Traverse County transported United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
troops and their equipment between Rio Hato
Río Hato
Río Hato is a town in the Coclé province of Panama.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
and Rodman Naval Station and carried Operation Handclasp
Operation Handclasp
Operation Handclasp was a 1958 joint Air Force-Navy operation conducted with the U.S. Navy's U.S. 7th Fleet to demonstrate military weapons for Asian political and military leaders.- Example of use :...
supplies to Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. On 27 April 1970, she reembarked the Smithsonian scientists for another week of research operations. Upon her return to Rodman Naval Station early in May 1870, she entered the Panama Canal Company's Mount Hope Shipyard for repairs. She exited the shipyard on 11 June 1970, retransited the canal, and joined the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Group for a day before returning to Rodman Naval Station for further orders. Late in June 1970, she transported more Army reservists between Rio Hato and Rodman Naval Station.
Decommissioning
On 7 July 1970, Traverse County headed back to the United States for inactivation. She reached Little Creek on 15 July 1970. Later that autumn, Traverse County was decommissionedShip 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....
. Sometime thereafter, she was moved to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet berthing area at 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...
.
Military Sealift Command service
Traverse County was reactivated on 7 June 1973 to serve as a cargo shipCargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in a non-commissioned status with a civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
crew with the Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...
, being designated the United States Naval Ship
United States Naval Ship
United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.-Overview:...
USNS Traverse County (T-LST-1160). This service continued until she was stricken 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....
on 1 November 1973. At that time, she was transferred to the Maritime Administration for layup in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
at Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
, Benecia, California.
Transfer to Peru
On 7 August 1984, Traverse County and three of her sister ships -- USS Waldo County (LST-1163)USS Waldo County (LST-1163)
USS Waldo County , previously USS LST-1163, was a United States Navy landing ship tank in commission from 1953 to 1970, and which then saw non-commissioned Military Sealift Command service as USNS Waldo County from 1972 to 1973.-Construction and commissioning:Waldo County was laid down as USS...
, USS Walworth County (LST-1164)
USS Walworth County (LST-1164)
USS Walworth County , previously USS LST-1164, was a United States Navy landing ship tank in commission from 1953 to 1971, and which then saw non-commissioned Military Sealift Command service as USNS Walworth County from 1972 to 1973.-Construction and commissioning:Walworth County was laid down...
, and USS Washoe County (LST-1165)
USS Washoe County (LST-1165)
USS Washoe County , previously USS LST-1165, was a United States Navy landing ship tank in commission from 1953 to 1971, and which then saw non-commissioned Military Sealift Command service as USNS Washoe County in 1973.-Construction and commissioning:USS LST-1165 was laid down on 1 December 1952...
-- were leased to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and Traverse County was commissioned into service in the Peruvian Navy
Peruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
as BAP Eten (DT-144) on 4 March 1985. Peru renewed the lease on all four ships in August 1989 and August 1994, and the United States sold all four outright to Peru under the Security Assistance Program on 26 April 1999; all four were struck from the U.S. Naval Register on the day of the sale.