Ships History

AD-2          AD-27          AD-41 

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Saying Goodbye to a Victim of Success

Despite their title, destroyer tenders service a variety of ships besides destroyers. The Yellowstone, Gompers and Dixie class destroyer tenders can provide battle damage repair, maintenance and logistics support to ships at anchor or moored to a pier, in a wartime environment. The Gompers class can accommodate ships up to and including the highly complex nuclear-powered missile cruisers. The crews are formed mainly of technicians and repair crews. These Destroyer Tenders have a helicopter platform and hangar, and are equipped with two 30 ton and two 6 ton cranes. They can provide simultaneous services to as many as five ships moored along side.

These ships, so vital to fleet operations, range in age from the Dixie class ship Prairie (AD 15), commissioned in 1940, to the new Shenandoah (AD 44), commissioned in late 1983. Because of the advent of nuclear power and the phenomenal advancement in electronics and weaponry, AD capabilities have had to be vastly increased. The Gompers and Yellowstone classes are the first of post-World War II design; however, more than 15 years elapsed between the launching of the second of the Gompers class, Puget Sound (AD 38), and Yellowstone (AD 41).

First Yellowstone (AD-2)

Builder: Moore and Scott Shipbuilding
Power Plant:
Length: Overall Length: 416.5 ft
Waterline Length:
Beam: 53 ft
Draft: 26.3 ft (mean); DPH: 34.5 ft
Displacement: 12,570 tons
Dead Weight:
Speed: 10 knots ( mph)
Crew: 791

The first YELLOWSTONE (originally named War Boy) was a steel hulled, single screw freighter, launched on December 9, 1917 and commissioned September 21, 1918 at Cramps' Shipbuilding Co. yard, Lt. Cmdr. Lawrence Dodd, USNRF Commanding. Inspected by the Navy in the 12th Naval District, with an eye towards utilizing the ship as a depot collier, and assigned Id # 2657, the freighter sailed from west coast to the eastern seaboard, and was taken over by the Navy at Philadelphia for operations with the Naval Overseas Transportation Services (NOTS). She was commissioned September 21, 1918 at Cramps' Shipbuilding Co. yard, Lt. Cmdr. Lawrence Dodd, USNRF Commanding.

Soon thereafter,YELLOWSTONE was moved to New York (24/Sept.) where she underwent repairs at the Morse Dry-dock and Repair Co. yards, Brooklyn, and suffered damage in a minor sideswiping collision with the British-Registry ship "Moorish Prince" (13/Oct.). Shifting to Pier 5, Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, on the morning of the 15th after repairs from her brush with the "Moorish Prince", the vessel took on board 6,672 tons of general cargo -- including automobiles and locomotives -- earmarked for American forces in France. On 27 Oct. YELLOWSTONE got underway, in convoy, for France, "proceeding under confidential order on Army transport duty to port of debarkation". St. Nazaire.

The war ended on 11 Nov. while YELLOWSTONE was enroute to France and, three days later, the ship arrived at Quiberon Bay. She remained at anchor there until she received onward routing to St. Nazaire. There, she discarded her cargo and began taking on "return" cargo for transport to the United States. That load included "aeroplane" parts. After shifting briefly to the St. Nazaire roadstead, YELLOWSTONE departed the French coast, proceeding independently, on 27 Nov. .

On 15 Dec., and when only two days from New York, YELLOWSTONE sighted a derelict three-masted schooner and altered course to close. She discovered the water-logged "Joseph P. Cooper" of Mobile Ala., abandoned with her decks and cabins awash, the forerigging gone and the forecastle smashed in. She looked like she had been adrift from 6 to 8 weeks.

After leaving the derelict, YELLOWSTONE continued her passage and arrived at Pier 5, Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, N.Y., on the 17th. Shifting to Pier 1 at the end of December she spent a week at anchor off the Statue of Liberty before returning to Bush Terminal, and later, shifting to the Army docks at Brooklyn. There from 17 to 25 Jan., the cargo vessel took on board 5,150 tons of supplies and, on the latter day, got underway for France.

During the crossing, she ran into a heavy gale on 4 Feb. . The ship rolled considerably at the onset, shipping water and spray amidships, and labored heavily in the raging tempest. Five days later, with the storm still giving no sign of abating, YELLOWSTONE's steering gear went out of commission. Soon both auxiliary systems -- steam and hand-powered -- also did likewise. Pumping oil through waste pipes in an attempt to break the force of the waves, YELLOWSTONE wallowed through the storm while her engineers worked mightily to repair the casualty. By the 12th, the situation was well in hand, and the ship was once again able to utilize her steering gear effectively; The YELLOWSTONE anchored in Quiberon Bay at 0935 on 14 Feb. .

The ships trouble was not over, however, as she grazed the jetty wall while entering the locks at St. Nazaire. At 0545, the engineering officers reported to the captain that two boilers were under water and the steam was cut off. As the ship moored alongside the nearby quay, YELLOWSTONE's crew broke out a tarpaulin and collision mat. Soon thereafter, the freighter, still with way on, nudged into the bridge walk of the lock. By 0630, under tow by a French tug, YELLOWSTONE reached a safe basin, where she dropped both anchors and began to take stock of the situation.

Divers examining the damage reported that a hole six inches in width, had been opened up in the ships side, extending from a point 10 feet beneath the waterline and about six feet in length. Dry-docked on 11 Mar., YELLOWSTONE grazed the "SS Alesia" that morning causing minor damage to that vessel's railing on her promenade and boat decks.

Undocked upon completion of hull repairs on 6 Apr., YELLOWSTONE loaded a return cargo of structural iron (Ballast), barbed wire, and 6-inch artillery pieces. On 19 Apr., the ship shifted from St. Nazaire to Brest and got underway the next day for the United States.

Mooring at Pier 3, Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, on 7 May, Yellowstone unloaded through mid-month. At noon on 24 May, a Shipping Board crew reported on board; and at 1247, YELLOWSTONE was decommissioned. Simultaneously struck from the Navy list and returned to the shipping board, YELLOWSTONE's subsequent tour was short lived due to running aground December 10, 1920 at St. Michael's in the Azores. Although listed as "stranded" and a total loss, all 45 of her crew were saved.

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Second Yellowstone (AD-27)

Builder: Todd-Pacific Shipyards\Seattle Division
Power Plant:
Length: Overall Length: 492 ft
Waterline Length:
Beam: 70 ft
Draft: 28 ft
Displacement: Full Displacement: 16,880 tons
Dead Weight:
Speed: 18 knots ( mph)
Crew: 962

The second YELLOWSTONE (AD-27) was layed down on Oct. 19, 1944 at Tacoma, Wash.,by the Seattle Division of the Todd-Pacific Shipyards,Inc.; Launched on 12 Apr. 1945; Sponsored by Mrs. A. A. Zeusler, the wife of Capt. F. A. Zeusler, USCG, the District Coast Gaurd Officer of the 13th naval District; and Commissioned on 16 Jan. 1946, Capt. A. J. Ferrall, Jr. in command.

After shakedown training out of San Diego and repairs at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to correct minor deficiencies which appeared during her initial cruise, YELLOWSTONE operated in the Seattle area into March 1946. She departed Seattle on the last day of the month transited to Panama Canal on 11 April, arrived at Newport, RI, on the 20th to take up her duties tending destroyers of the Atlantic Fleet.

YELLOWSTONE performed faithful service to the Fleet for the next 28 years, providing repair, supply, and auxiliary services (power and fresh water, etc.) not only to destroyers (the purpose for which she was designed) but also to aircraft carriers and submarines. In time, this valuable adjunct to the fleet earned a reputation for reliability and dependability that caused some to nickname her "Old Faithful", after the famous geyser in YELLOWSTONE National Park. The destroyer tender also earned the coveted battle efficiency "E" award 10 times.

YELLOWSTONE was deployed to the Mediterranean 11 times between 1947 and 1968. Her ports of operation ranged from Izmir, Turkey, to Naples, Italy; from Vinice to Taranto; from Suda Bay, Crete to Gibraltar; and included cities in Spain, France, Italy and Greece. In between her deployments with the 6th Fleet, the destroyer tender operated out of Boston, Newport, Norfolk, or Bermuda.

Her tasks were performed mostly unheralded and from the public eye but were necessarily to maintain the ships of the Fleet in operational trim. In October 1969, she performed a noteworthy repair job when she replaced 1,162 tubes in the number one propulsion boiler of Forrest Royal (DD-872) as the ship was preparing to deploy to the Mediterranean. Working against the destroyer's deadline, YELLOWSTONE's skilled artisans accomplished the task in only 12 days and thus allowed her to get underway on time.

Soon thereafter, YELLOWSTONE deployed to the Mediterranean for the 12th and last time. She arrived at Naples on 9 December 1969 and before3 long found herself with another difficult, major repair task ahead of her. She replaced the starboard propeller of Sampson (DDG-10) - a job that normally required a dry docking. Repair, supply and deck divisions of both ships participated in the evolution that earned YELLOWSTONE's commendation.

A little more than a month later, the tender's talent was once again subjected to a rigorous test. On 10 February 1970 at Naples, the Greek registry freighter Mautric collided with YELLOWSTONE and the tender's nest of destroyers. Semmes (DDG-18), Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823), and Charles F. Adams (DDG-2) all suffered extensive hull structural damage, but YELLOWSTONE worked nearly 24 hour shifts from 13 to 22 February and effected the necessary repairs. Capt. R. D. Wood, commanding YELLOWSTONE, and Senior Chief Ship Fitter William S. Burman received Navy commendation medals for heading the exemplary repair work that soon had all ships back in operational condition.

After a brief in-port period at Piraeus, Greece, from 18 March to 5 April, YELLOWSTONE returned to Naples, where she subsequently performed her second underwater propeller replacement of the deployment - on Correy (DD-817). The repair ship sailed for home in mid-May and arrived at Mayport, Florida, on 1 June. One month later, on 1 July, the ship's home port was changed from Mayport to Charleston, S. C..

The destroyer tender provided services to ships of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla (CruDesFlot) 6 into January of 1971. At the end of that month she sailed for Puerto Rico and took part in "Springboard" exercises before returning to Charleston on 16 February. That spring, when "Commander, CruDesFlot 6, embarked in America (CVA-66) to deploy to the 6th Fleet, YELLOWSTONE's commanding officer became the administrative deputy to the Charleston representative of Commander, CruDesFlot 6. In that role, he coordinated local pier assignments; arranged for tug and tow services; made military guardship and pier sentry assignment; scheduled ship tours; provided information and assistance to dependents; and represented the destroyer force at meeting of numerous navel station, base, and district advisory boards and committees.

YELLOWSTONE remained in port at Charleston into 1972. Among the noteworthy events that occurred that year was the ship's nomination to receive the Ney award, recognizing the ship's outstanding food service mess, as the nominee of the Commander, Cruiser Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet.

After 28 years of continuous service to the Fleet - the last few years of which were spent along the eastern seaboard of the United States - YELLOWSTONE was decommissioned on 11 September 1974. Struck from the Navy list the next day and subsequently transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal, the veteran auxiliary was sold in September 1975.

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Third Yellowstone(AD-41)

Builder: National Steel and Shipbuilding
Power Plant: Two boilers, steam turbines, one shaft, 20,000 shaft horsepower
Length: Overall Length: 642 ft
Waterline Length: 620 ft
Beam: Extreme Beam: 85 ft ; Waterline Beam: 67 ft
Draft: Maximum Navigational Draft: 27 ft ; Draft Limit: 25 ft
Displacement: Light Displacement: 13315 tons ; Full Displacement: 20263 tons
Dead Weight: 6948 tons
Speed: 20 knots ( mph)
Crew: 1,400
Aircraft: None

USS YELLOWSTONE (AD-41) was layed down on June 2, 1977 at San Diego, Calf., by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Co.; launched on January 27, 1979 and sponsored by Mrs. Donald C. Davis, the wife of Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet. YELLOWSTONE was commissioned on June 28, 1980.

She was the first tender to be equipped with a destroyer refueling rig capable of sending refueling probe, robb, and NATO refueling couplings to other ships. YELLOWSTONE participated in several multi-national naval exercises, providing mobile repair and logistics support.

During the NATO exercise Ocean Venture "81", the Repair Department, under simulated wartime conditions, completed over 100 jobs during a three day anchorage in Scapaflow, Scotland. During United Effort-Teamwork "84", YELLOWSTONE completed over 300 jobs, sending Tiger Teams of repair personnel to other ships and providing logistic support by transferring repair parts and supplies and pumping fuel and water to ships of the task force.

USS YELLOWSTONE (AD-41) was decommissioned February 1, 1996.

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I will be writing a lot more about these ships and all of there accomplishments. Not only do I wish to share all of the fond memories I have of the YELLOWSTONE, but I also hope to learn more about this ship and the adventures that she was a part of. More statistics on all three ships will be made available as soon as I obtain them. As I have said before, any and all information will be appreciated and posted as soon as received.

JEFFREY CROY IM3

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