VESUVIUS

An Italian volcano located on the western side of the

Bay of Naples. Its most famous eruption, on 24 August 79

A.D., completely destroyed the city of Pompeii and the town

of Herculaneum.

AE-15

Displacement: 5,504 t.

Length: 459’

Beam: 63’

Draft: 29’

Speed: 16 k.

Complement: 255

Armament: 1 5”; 4 3”; 2 40mm

Class: WRANGELL

The fourth VESUVIUS (AE-15) was laid down under a

Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1381) by the North

Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, N C.; launched on

26 May 1944; acquired by the United States Navy on 4 July

1944; and commissioned on 16 January 1945, Comdr. Flavius J.

George in command.

The ship underwent builder's trials out of Brooklyn

N.Y., and then began shakedown out of Hampton Roads, Va., in

the Chesapeake Bay. On 17 February, she sailed to Earle,

N.J., to onload ammunition. She then headed for the island

of Ulithi, via the Panama Canal, on 5 March. She reached

her destination on 5 April and promptly unloaded and took on

more cargo. VESUVIUS departed for Okinawa on 10 April where

she became part of Service Squadron 6. In this role, she

replenished ammunition to the Fleet in the waters around

Okinawa. In July 1945, VESUVIUS joined a rearming group off

Honshu, Japan, to support raids on Japan by the 3d Fleet.

She detached on 2 August and set sail for Leyte Gulf,

Philippines. While there, word of the Japanese capitulation

was received on 15 August 1945. The ship remained in the

Philippines until 28 October, when she left for the United

States. After transiting the Panama Canal, VESUVIUS joined

the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet. The ship arrived at

Yorktown, Va., on 14 December 1945.

VESUVIUS departed Yorktown on 10 January 1946, bound

for Leonardo, N.J., to discharge her cargo and ship's

ammunition to the Naval Ammunition Depot. On 7 February,

she headed for Orange, Tex., arriving there on 13 February

to commence her pre-inactivation overhaul. VESUVIUS was

placed out of commission, in reserve at Orange on 20 August

1946.

In response to the needs imposed by the Korean

conflict, VESUVIUS was recommissioned on 15 November 1951.

She remained at Orange and Beaumont, Tex., for outfitting

and readying for sea until 7 January 1952, when she departed

for San Diego. Having arrived on 14 February, the ship

conducted exercises and loaded ammunition at Port Chicago,

Calif., before sailing on 22 March for Sasebo, Japan.

She arrived at Sasebo on 3 May 1952 and, after voyage

repairs, began supplying ammunition to the ships of Task

Force (TF) 77 on patrol off the east coast of Korea. On

1 December, VESUVIUS headed for the United States, arriving

at San Francisco on 18 December for overhaul.

Over the next decade, VESUVIUS was to make 11 more

extended deployments to the western Pacific where she

serviced units of the 7th Fleet. These operations were

interspersed with port visits to Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, the

Philippines, and Hong Kong. Periods on the west coast of

the United States were spent in overhaul and in the conduct

of underway training.

On 24 June 1963, VESUVIUS commenced her 13th post-World

War II deployment to the western Pacific, making stops at

Pearl Harbor and at Guam for repairs and arriving at

Yokosuka on 4 August. She serviced the 7th Fleet throughout

August. In October, she visited Sasebo and Kagoshima,

Japan; Subic Bay, Philippines; and Buckner Bay, Okinawa. In

November, she visited Hong Kong and spent the entire month

of December 1963 in and out of Yokosuka, Japan.

VESUVIUS began the year 1964 in Yokosuka making final

preparations for her homeward passage. On 7 January, she

got underway for San Francisco via the great circle route.

She arrived on 31 January and spent February and March

moored to the pier at Port Chicago. A brief trip to San

Diego and participation in an exercise with other units of

the 1st Fleet occupied April, and VESUVIUS spent May in an

upkeep status at Concord. On 6 July, she was underway for

coastal operations. August and September saw the ship in

and out of port, training and providing services to the

Fleet Training Group. In October, she participated in

operations with members of the 1st Fleet. On 20 November

1964, VESUVIUS returned to Concord for upkeep and a holiday

leave period. She got underway on 18 December for the Mare

Island Annex, where she spent the holiday season.

The ship made a brief trip to San Diego beginning on

4 January 1965 before returning to Concord on 15 January.

She began reloading cargo in preparation for deployment and

got underway for the Far East on 1 February. VESUVIUS

reached Subic Bay, via Pearl Harbor and Guam, on

28 February. She then began operations in the South China

Sea interrupted by brief returns for the onload of cargo in

Subic Bay. In July 1965, she received a well-earned respite

from her duties in Hong Kong. After a week there, she

resumed operations. Having made 182 underway replenishments

during the deployment, VESUVIUS returned to Concord, Calif.,

on 28 November.

VESUVIUS began the year 1966 by steaming on 3 January

to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton Wash., to

undergo repairs for six weeks. After leaving Bremerton, the

ship headed south to Concord to onload ammunition. On

5 March, she sailed for San Diego for refresher training.

Shortly after arrival, a 26-inch crack in one of her hull

plates was discovered. She promptly began transferring her

load of ammunition to other ships. By 26 March, the

ammunition had been successfully offloaded; and, on 28 April

1966, VESUVIUS proceeded to the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in

San Francisco. On 14 May, VESUVIUS deployed for the western

Pacific. From 13 June through 27 November 1966, VESUVIUS

conducted replenishment operations between the Philippines

and the South China Sea. In December, she stopped at Pearl

Harbor on her way home, where an unusual cargo was

embarked--$9,700,000 was brought on board for a special

currency lift back to the United States. Shortly before

Christmas, VESUVIUS reached Concord.

The year 1967 found the ship berthed at Mare Island

preparing to undergo her first major overhaul since 1962.

Following completion of overhaul at the Mare Island Naval

Shipyard and underway training, VESUVIUS departed for the

western Pacific on 15 July 1967, bound for Subic Bay.

Except for brief periods in Hong Kong, VESUVIUS came off the

line in the South China Sea only long enough to fill her

hold with more ammunition.

Near the end of January 1968, VESUVIUS sailed to

Yokosuka on her return trip to the United States, only to be

recalled to the seas off Vietnam following the PUEBLO

incident. VESUVIUS finally returned to the San Francisco

Bay area on 17 March 1968, offloaded, proceeded to the Naval

Shipyard at Mare Island and, on 4 April, entered the Triple

A Shipyard in San Francisco for extensive repairs and

upkeep, repairs were completed on 10 May, and the ship began

refresher training in June. Following inspections and

loadout, VESUVIUS deployed again on 31 July 1968. She

reached Subic Bay on 20 August for receipt of ammunition,

then began operations in the Vietnam area. She remained on

line through 3 December, when she left for a period of rest

and recreation in Hong Kong. She departed there on

10 December to return to Vietnam.

VESUVIUS remained on line through January and February

1969. In late February, she sailed into Bangkok, Thailand.

>From Bangkok, the ship went to Subic Bay to commence her

final loadout before heading home. After a brief stop in

Hawaii, VESUVIUS arrived in Concord on 1 April 1969. In

late April, the ship underwent six weeks of restricted

availability at a commercial yard in San Francisco. Late in

June, she steamed for San Diego and refresher training and

exercises. By 23 July, she had returned to San Francisco

and began three weeks of loadout for yet another deployment.

VESUVIUS departed for the western Pacific on 17 September

1969. After stopovers in Pearl Harbor and Yokosuka, she

touched at Subic Bay for a few days before starting her line

period off Vietnam.

During this deployment, VESUVIUS conducted seven line

runs in the South China Sea and the Tonkin Gulf in support

of 7th Fleet operations. On 25 April, she left for home

with stops at Kobe, Japan, and Pearl Harbor. She arrived at

Concord on 23 May 1970. The ship entered a three-month

upkeep in San Francisco from July to October followed by a

predeployment inspection. On 9 November, VESUVIUS departed

the San Francisco area for intensive training in San Diego

and, on 6 December, steamed back to Port Chicago for a

holiday leave period.

VESUVIUS again departed for the western Pacific on

4 January 1971. She arrived at Subic Bay on 25 January,

and, one week later, was underway for her first line run of

the deployment. On 20 February, she pulled into Singapore

and then proceeded shortly thereafter to the Philippines for

a 15-day upkeep period. VESUVIUS then resumed her

assignment of providing ammunition logistics support to the

7th Fleet and Royal Australian Navy units off the coast of

Vietnam. On 2 August 1971, VESUVIUS left Subic Bay for San

Francisco, arriving on 1 September. After offloading

ammunition at Concord Naval Weapons Station, the ship moved

to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard for a month of standdown.

On 4 October, she entered a six-week upkeep. Upon

completion, she returned to Concord on 19 November.

VESUVIUS departed Concord on 29 November for refresher

training off San Diego, returning to Mare Island on

4 December.

VESUVIUS got underway on 3 January 1972 and, on

5 January, commenced refresher training in San Diego. She

returned to Concord on 29 January. Preparations for

deployment began immediately, and the ship left California

on 14 February. Upon arrival at Subic Bay, VESUVIUS again

supported combat operations for the 7th Fleet. On 29 June,

she began upkeep and returned to action on 18 July. Her

duties were interrupted for short trips to Hong Kong and

Bangkok in August and October. In December, she entered

drydock at Subic Bay to replace her propeller, but she

promptly returned to Vietnam and ended the year in the

combat zone.

The ship returned to Concord on 3 March 1973. After

offloading ammunition, the ship moved to Mare Island. The

ship was scheduled for upkeep from April to July. However,

a message was received from the Chief of Naval Operations in

July to prepare the ship for decommissioning. On 14 August

1973, VESUVIUS was decommissioned and transferred to the

Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Mare Island for

further disposition. She was struck from the Navy list on

14 August 1973.

VESUVIUS received two battle stars for World War II,

two battle stars for the Korean War, and 10 battle Stars for

her service in Vietnam.

Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com