USS Kittiwake (ASR-13)
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USS Kittiwake (ASR-13)
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| History | |
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| Namesake: | The kittiwake, any of several gulls of the genus Rissa, found along the coast of North America |
| Launched: | 10 July 1945 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Howard S. Rue, Jr. |
| Commissioned: | 18 July 1946 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 September 1994 |
| Struck: | 30 September 1994 |
| Fate: | Sunk as artificial reef in January 2011 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Chanticleer-class submarine rescue vessel |
| Displacement: | 1,780 tons |
| Length: | 251 ft 4 in (76.61 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m) |
| Speed: | 16 knots |
| Complement: | 102 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | N/A -Rescue Ship |
USS Kittiwake (ASR-13) was a United States Navy Chanticleer-class submarine rescue vessel in commission from 1946 to 1994.
Kittiwake was launched 10 July 1945, by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co., Savannah, Georgia; sponsored by Mrs. Howard S. Rue, Jr.; and commissioned 18 July 1946, Lt. L. H. Collier in command.
After shakedown, Kittiwake departed Charleston, South Carolina, 3 October for Balboa, Canal Zone, arriving 8 October. Assigned to support and rescue duty with Submarine Squadron 6, the submarine rescue ship accompanied submarines during sea trials and maneuvers to monitor diving operations; to practice underwater rescue procedures; and to recover practice torpedoes. While based at Balboa, her operations carried her to the Virgin Islands, to Puerto Rico, and along the Atlantic coast to the Davis Strait.
Departing Balboa 31 May 1949, Kittiwake arrived Norfolk, Virginia 6 June to continue duty with SUBRON 6. From 17 January to 1 February 1950 she provided divers and equipment during salvage operations to free the battleship Missouri, grounded in tidal banks off Thimble Shoals, Virginia. During the 1950s she cruised the Atlantic from New England to the Caribbean while supporting ships of Submarine Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet with a trained and highly skilled crew. While on station off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, 20 July 1960, she stood ready to assist the fleet ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington (SSBN-598) as George Washington successfully launched the first two Polaris ballistic missiles ever fired from a submarine beneath the sea.
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