USS Great Sitkin

USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) was a Mount Hood class ammunition ship, which served in the United States Navy from 1945 to 1973.[1] USS Great Sitkin supported USN operations in several major theatres, including the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, Cuban Missile Blockade, Guantanamo Bay, and the Vietnam War. In the tradition of naming ammunition ships after volcanos, AE-17 was named after the Great Sitkin Volcano in Alaska.

USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway
USS Great Sitkin (AE-17)
History
United States
NameUSS Great Sitkin
NamesakeGreat Sitkin Volcano in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska
BuilderNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Company
Launched20 January 1945
Commissioned11 August 1945
Stricken2 July 1973
MottoAlways Ready
Honors and
awards		2 stars for Vietnam War service
FateScrapped 1974
General characteristics
Class and typeMount Hood class ammunition ship
Displacement15,295 t.(fl)
Length459 feet 2 inches
Beam63 feet
Draft28 ft 3 in (8.6 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 General Electric geared turbine engine
  • 2 Combustion Engineering "header-type" boilers, 450psi 750°
  • 2 General Electric Main Reduction Gears
  • 3 300kW 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
  • 1 propeller, 6,000shp
Speed16 knots
Capacity7,700 long tons (7,800 t) deadweight
Complement267 Officers and Enlisted
Armament
  • 1 single 5"/38 cal gun mount
  • 4 single 3"/50 cal gun mounts
  • 2 twin 40mm AA gun mounts
  • 8 twin 20mm AA gun mounts

Early service

USS Great Sitkin was launched under Maritime Commission contract by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N.C., 20 January 1945, sponsored by Miss Anne L. Dimond, daughter of Judge Anthony J. Dimond, then congressional representative for Alaska, and commissioned at Charleston, South Carolina.

After shakedown out of Norfolk, Great Sitkin sailed to New York 25 November 1945 to begin dumping condemned ammunition in an assigned area off Sandy Hook, N.J. Great Sitkin continued this duty for a year, returning to Norfolk in November 1946. Great Sitkin's pattern of operations for the next few years took her to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal Zone on ammunition replenishment trips, as well as twice to Gibraltar. In addition, she participated in local operations.

Great Sitkin Challenge Coin

Mediterranean service

From 1951 Great Sitkin served as a mobile ready reserve source of ammunition. Great Sitkin regularly deployed to the Mediterranean to support regional operations of the Sixth Fleet, and served the fleet during crises in trouble spots such as Lebanon and Suez. When not deployed in the Mediterranean, she operated out of New York, participating in various fleet maneuvers in the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea.

Cuban Missile blockade

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, she sailed for the Caribbean Sea on 23 October 1962, following President Kennedy's announcement of a naval quarantine around Cuba. USS Great Sitkin cruised the Caribbean during the next several weeks carrying reserve ammunition for American ships on quarantine duty off Cuba.

Atlantic and Mediterranean service

Departing the Caribbean 16 December 1962, USS Great Sitkin returned to New York and resumed her pattern of operations in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. On 5 April 1963, Great Sitkin suffered slight damage during a fire of unknown origin while tied up at the Main Ship Repair Corporation in Brooklyn, New York.[2]

Between August 1963 and July 1966 Great Sitkin deployed three times with the 6th Fleet, participating in several Fleet and NATO exercises. After a 3-month overhaul in the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Hoboken, N.J., in December 1966 USS Great Sitkin participated in training exercises off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Great Sitkin continued to support American ships in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean theaters.

Vietnam War service

In 1968, Great Sitkin supported the Seventh Fleet during U.S. Naval operations in the Vietnam War.[3] USS Great Sitkin participated in the Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV and Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V, from May to October 1968.[4] Great Sitkin was awarded 2 campaign stars for Vietnam War service.

Final disposition

USS Great Sitkin was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register on 2 July 1973. The ship was sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for scrapping, 1 March 1974 to US Ship Co., Camden, New Jersey. for $152,666.60. USS Great Sitkin was dismantled from March to October 1974.[5]

Awards

Navy Occupation Service Medal w/ Europe clasp

Commanding officers
  • CDR. Smith, William F., USNR 11 August 1945 - 21 February 1946
  • CAPT. Perry, Emil Bates, USN 21 February 1946 - 23 July 1946
  • CAPT. Catterton, Max Lee 23 July 1946 - July 1947
  • CAPT. Hindman, Joseph Aloysius Esten July 1947 - June 1948
  • CAPT. Busck, Vilhelm Klein, June 1948 - July 1949
  • CAPT. Watson Jr., William Henry, July 1949 - July 1950
  • CAPT. King, George Edward, July 1950 - July 1951
  • CAPT. Butler Jr., William Clayton, RADM July 1951 - January 1952
  • CAPT. Phillips, George Lincoln, January 1952 - 10 January 1953
  • CAPT. Whitfield Jr., James Dickson, 10 January 1953 - 14 December 1953
  • CAPT. Wolseiffer, Frederick, USN 14 December 1953 - July 1955
  • CAPT. Gage, Norman Dwight, July 1955 - 28 June 1956
  • CAPT. Brock, James Ward, RADM 28 June 1956 - 9 August 1957
  • CAPT. Hahn, Harry Barrett, 9 August 1957 - 21 September 1958
  • CAPT. Schlech Jr., Walter Frederick, RADM 21 September 1958 - 9 September 1959
  • CAPT. Stebbins, Edgar Erwin, 9 September 1959 - 15 August 1960
  • CAPT. Manning, William James, 15 August 1960 - 21 July 1961
  • CAPT. Weinel, John Philip, ADM 21 July 1961 - 18 July 1962
  • CAPT. Burley Jr., Thomas Grover, USN (USNA 1941) 18 July 1962 - 12 July 1963
  • CAPT. Boyle Jr., John Earl, 12 July 07.1963 - 14 July 1964
  • CAPT. English Jr., Elbert Hartwell 14 July 1964 - 16 July 1965
  • CAPT. Esler Jr., Clifford Myers, USN (USNA 1942) 16 July 1965 - 27 July 1966
  • CAPT. Boice, Grant 27 July 1966 - 14 September 1967
  • CAPT. Riehl Jr., Julian William, 14 September 1967 - 23 December 1968
  • CAPT. Hermann, Edward Paul, 23 December 1968 - 30 January 1970
  • CAPT. Gerhard Jr., Harry E. RADM 30 January 1970 - 26 October 1970
  • CAPT. Rohrer, Paul W. :RADM 26 October 1970 - 16 July 1972
  • CAPT. Buchwald, Robert Dale 16 July 1972 - 23 March 1973
  • LCDR. La Pean Sr., James W. 23 March 1973 - 2 July 1973

References
  1. "Ammunition Ship Photo Index".
  2. https://fas.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/NavalAccidents1945-1988.pdf
  3. Excerpts from log of USS Great Sitkin
  4. "Ammunition Ship Photo Index".
  5. "Ammunition Ship Photo Index".


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