- USS Ajax (AR-6)
USS "Ajax" (AR-6) was the second "Vulcan"-class repair ship and the fourth ship in the
United States Navy to bear the name.1941-1945
"Ajax" was laid down on
7 May 1941 at San Pedro, Calif., by theLos Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp. , launched on22 August 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs.Isaac C. Johnson commissioned on30 October 1943 , Comdr.John L. Brown in command.The repair ship departed San Pedro on
9 December , arrived atPearl Harbor on16 December , and began preparing small craft to be used as control vessels in theMarshall Islands campaign by installing radar, sound detection equipment, and antiaircraft guns. On8 January 1944 , an oil fire in her blacksmith shop threatened the entire ship, but was extinguished. Nevertheless, "Ajax" spent part of January repairing her own damage.On
25 January , "Ajax" was ordered to proceed in company with USS|Wadleigh|DD-689|3 to theEllice Islands ; but, two days after reachingFunafuti , she moved toMakin Atoll ,Gilbert Islands , to work on the ships that would occupyMajuro in the Marshall Islands. Upon completing that mission, the ship returned to Funafuti on26 February , only to sail three days later for Majuro.While she was serving there, Service Squadron (ServRon) 4 was absorbed by ServRon 10. There, she and USS|Vestal|AR-4|3 repaired combatant ships through the Hollandia strikes and during preparations for the Marianas campaign. On
13 June , she sailed forEniwetok to help set up an advance repair base where she labored through August, at one time working extensive jobs on 19 cruisers and nine battleships.Late in August, bacillary
dysentery broke out among the crew and soon reached epidemic proportions. The ship was quarantined on1 September and detached on9 September to proceed toKwajalein to combat the epidemic. Quarantine ended on10 October , and "Ajax" steamed toUlithi to resume repair work and to handle her first major battle damage job. Severely damaged during a torpedo attack off Formosa, USS|Canberra|CA-70|3 received sufficient temporary repairs alongside "Ajax" to enable the cruiser to continue on to Manus. The repair ship continued her work at Ulithi in support of operations in thePhilippines ,Iwo Jima , andOkinawa .On
25 May 1945 , "Ajax" headed for San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf, to help prepare for the final assault on Japan, spending July repairing typhoon-battered USS|Bennington|CV-20|3. The job consisted of rebuilding the forward section of her flight deck and required assistance from USS|Basilan|AG-68|3, USS|Baham|AK-122|3, and USS|Jason|ARH-1|3.Upon learning of Japan's capitulation on
15 August , "Ajax" began readying amphibious and transport ships to carry occupation forces to the Japanese home islands. On20 September , she sailed forGuinan ,Samar ; embarked troops for passage to Okinawa; and once there, repaired other typhoon-damaged snips. Ironically, while she was carrying out this task, typhoons forced her to go to sea herself on28 September and on7 October . But for these two incidents, her work at Okinawa was uninterrupted until28 November , when she sailed for the United States with 800 passengers. She arrived at San Diego on18 December and, three days later, entered theSan Francisco Naval Shipyard for a six-week overhaul.1946-1953
The yard work ended on
23 February 1946 , and "Ajax" sailed via Pearl Harbor for theBikini Atoll to participate in the atomic bomb tests to be held there in July. Following the tests, she returned to San Diego on8 October . For the next few years, she tended ships primarily at San Diego.The repair ship got underway on
2 April 1951 for the first of many postwar cruises to Japan and arrived atYokosuka on the 18th. She headed for Sasebo on1 May and spent the rest of the year and early 1952 engaged in repair services in those two ports."Ajax" returned to San Diego on
26 April and devoted the next four and one-half months to operations in various shipyards and ports along the coast of California. She made five more cruises to Japan before 1960, each time operating out of Sasebo and Yokosuka and in every instance returning to San Diego.1960-1964
"Ajax" returned from the United States to Japan in February 1960 and in June received orders changing her home port from San Diego to Sasebo. She then became the permanent flagship of SeryRon 3 in the Far East. She moved to Yokosuka in August to begin her first yard overhaul in the Orient. Among her alterations was the installation of flag office spaces for ServRon 3 staff. Following refresher training, underway replenishment, and towing exercises with USS|Castor|AKS-1|3, "Ajax" returned to Sasebo on
17 December .Early in 1961, she became an ambassador of goodwill on a cruise in which she entertained local dignitaries as well as the local populace during visits to Kure, Beppu, Kagoshima, Iwakuni, and Kobe, Japan;
Hong Kong ; Keelung and Kaoshiung, Taiwan; Subic Bay; and Buckner Bay, Okinawa. A scheduled two-day visit to the last port became a three-week stay in March and April when "Ajax" remained there as backup repair ship in the event that PresidentJohn F. Kennedy 's strong diplomatic resistance to communist aggression inLaos would involve the American Navy in hostilities.When USS|Seadragon|SSN-584|3, the first nuclear submarine to put into a Japanese port, arrived at Sasebo on
12 November 1964 , "Ajax" served as a press platform for radio and television reporters who came to report the event.1968-1976
On
10 January 1968 , "Ajax" sailed forSubic Bay where she remained until mid-March, before returning to her home port. On3 June , the repair ship headed forVietnam and arrived atVung Tau on9 June . Although that port was a rest and recreation center for the allied forces, "Ajax" worked without break for 13 days making badly needed repairs and providing services to ships and small craft operating in theMekong Delta , as well as to various Army and Air Force equipment ashore. The repair ship got underway for Subic Bay on22 June , arrived on25 June , and undertook a repair job of considerable significance—the regunning of 4 × convert|5|in|mm|0|adj=on mounts on USS|Boston|CAG-1|3. The repair ship's technicians worked around the clock for seven days to complete the job and return "Boston" to her ready status. After her arrival in Sasebo on23 July , "Ajax" provided routine repairs and service support for ships there and in Yokosuka for the remainder of the year and the beginning of 1969."Ajax" continued her usual routine of servicing ships in Sasebo, Yokosuka, and Subic Bay during 1969, including a two-week stay in Vung Tau from
27 September to10 October . As 1970 began, she received word that her home port would revert to San Diego effective1 June . Prior to that date, "Ajax" continued servicing Vung Tau from13 April to9 May in support of the American offensive inCambodia . Hector relieved "Ajax" as flagship on10 July ; and, on the 15th, the latter headed for San Diego where she arrived on6 August .On
14 June 1971 , following a year's service on the California coast, the ship once again steamed toward Japan and arrived in Sasebo on5 July . Commander, Service Group (ComServGru) 3, embarked; and "Ajax" commenced business as usual. The ship spent September in Vung Tau, but her month of hard work there was followed by five days of "rest and relaxation" in Hong Kong before she returned to Sasebo on1 October . However, the vessel soon again proceeded to Vung Tau and worked diligently for the first three weeks in November. Next came a three-day rest in Keelung and Taipei, Taiwan, before a run back to Sasebo to prepare for the voyage home. On27 January 1972 , ComServGru 3 shifted his flag to Hector; and "Ajax" steamed via Pearl Harbor to San Diego where she arrived on16 February and served for the remainder of the year."Ajax" again got underway westward on
16 January and stopped at Pearl Harbor before arriving in Sasebo on6 February to relieve Jason as flagship. The repair ship made two "rest and relaxation" cruises, one in April to Keelung and the other in July to Hong Kong. Typhoon "Dot" complicated the second "pleasure cruise" by closing Hong Kong harbor and causing "Ajax" to circle in rough waters for two extra days before pulling into port. Her return to Sasebo on25 July was uneventful; and, after being relieved by Hector on7 August , the ship headed home, arrived at San Diego on29 August , and remained in California for the rest of the year and the first six months of 1974. On6 July of that year, she got underway in company with USS|Tolovana|AO-64|3 and steamed for Yokosuka which she reached on27 July . She operated there until8 November when she headed for Subic Bay to provide fleet repair services. She labored in the Philippines for a month before proceeding to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where she ended the year."Ajax" returned to San Diego on
15 February 1975 . On5 October , she got underway for a two-month visit to Pearl Harbor to provide repair support in the middle Pacific. She departed Hawaii on8 December and arrived in her home port on the 15th in time for a holiday in a leave and upkeep period. "Ajax" remained in or near San Diego for the entire year 1976.1977-1986
During the first half of 1977, "Ajax" made ready for another deployment. The ship departed San Diego with USS|Blue Ridge|LCC-19|3 on
24 August and arrived at Pearl Harbor on31 August . The following morning, "Ajax" got underway for Japan and six months in Yokosuka. A series of labor strikes by Japanese employees gave the repair ship's crew members the opportunity to prove their expertise and capabilities. Besides carrying out their normal duties, they helped run the base utilities and acted as firemen, bus drivers, and skilled practitioners of many other occupations to aid the naval activity. She visited Taipei, Taiwan, in December and spent four days in January 1978 in Pusan, Korea. On5 February , she headed via Pearl Harbor for San Diego, where she arrived on24 February .Except for two days of sea trials in April, "Ajax" remained at San Diego until mid-1980. During this period she received an overhaul there by the
National Steel and Ship Building Co. which lasted from21 September 1978 to21 July 1979 .On
20 May , she sailed for the Orient and reached Subic Bay on17 June . Three days later, the ship got underway and steamed viaSri Lanka to Diego Garcia where she arrived and relieved USS|L. Y. Spear|AS-38|3 on6 July . During her busy three months in the Indian Ocean servicing 31 ships, "Ajax" made a brief visit to Port Louis, Mauritius, for recreation. On12 October , after being relieved by USS|Emory S. Land|AS-39|3, "Ajax" sailed eastward; stopped in Bunbury and Sydney, Australia; Pearl Harbor; and finally reached San Diego on20 November .With the exception of two three-day visits to San Francisco and two days of training in the local operating area, "Ajax" remained in San Diego throughout 1981. One notable occurrence during the year was the reporting on board for duty of the ship's first 30 enlisted women. While the women became accustomed to shipboard routine, "Ajax" underwent inspections and training. On
16 October , the ship reached another milestone in theWomen at Sea program when Ens.Dale Norris became the first woman officer on board "Ajax" to become surface warfare qualified.On
22 January 1982 , "Ajax" got underway for training and a brief port visit to Mazatlan, Mexico, and arrived back home on the last day of the month. Pre-overseas movement preparations throughout the next few months ensured that the repair ship was ready for her2 April departure for the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. After a four-day stopover in Pearl Harbor, the ship headed for Subic Bay, where she arrived on1 May and spent three weeks providing fleet repair services before continuing on to Diego Garcia where she arrived on1 June . During that deployment, "Ajax" visited Berbera in Somalia, Singapore, and Pattaya in Thailand, before she returned—via Pearl Harbor—to San Diego. The repair ship entered San Diego on21 October and commenced post-deployment standdown.Her leave and upkeep period came to an end in November, and "Ajax" set about her repair work once again. Over the next seven months, the ship provided repair services for units of the Pacific Fleet at San Diego, served as a training facility for naval reserve detachments undergoing their annual two weeks of active duty, and made preparations for a regular overhaul. She also put to sea infrequently for trials and, on one occasion in May and June 1983, to carry her repair services to Bremerton, Wash. "Ajax" returned to San Diego from that mission on
10 June 1983 and, the next day, began a month of final preparations for overhaul. On11 July , her crew moved to living spaces on board a non-self-propelled barracks ship, and the overhaul began in earnest.Receiving repair services, rather than extending them to others, occupied her time for the rest of 1983 and during the first two months of 1984. On
1 March and2 March , she put to sea to conduct post-overhaul trials and, on the 3d, resumed repair services to other units of the Pacific Fleet. During the last week in March, she was frequently at sea in the local operating area carrying out independent ship's exercises. From the beginning of April to late June, "Ajax" performed repair missions at San Diego. On27 June , the repair ship stood out of San Diego and, after a day of independent ship's exercises in the local operating area, shaped a course for the Naval Air Station, Alameda, where she moored on29 June . "Ajax" carried out repair assignments at Alameda until the third week in September. On16 September , she got underway to conduct exercises and then head back to San Diego. The repair ship tied up at pierside at the Naval Station, San Diego, on19 September . Except for two periods at sea in October for refresher training, "Ajax" spent the rest of 1984 in port repairing ships of the Pacific Fleet.She continued so engaged into January 1985, though she interrupted those efforts from the 19th to the 21st to carry out sea trials in the southern California operating area. The first three weeks of February brought more repair work; however, on the 22nd, she put to sea again bound for Long Beach. "Ajax" reached her destination on
27 February and set about her work almost immediately. She spent the next five months—save for five days underway locally in May—performing repairs at Long Beach. On31 July , the repair ship embarked upon the final overseas assignment of her Navy career.Her last deployment afforded "Ajax" a real opportunity to carry out the function for which she had been designed and built. Continually moving, she performed repairs at widely separated locations. Steaming by way of Hawaii and Guam, she arrived in the Philippines at Subic Bay on
31 August . From Subic Bay, she voyaged to Singapore where she stopped between24 September and3 October . Leaving Singapore, "Ajax" headed through the Malacca Strait into the Indian Ocean. She arrived at isolated Diego Garcia Island on11 October but resumed her voyage again on the 13th. The repair ship dropped anchor atAl Masirah , an island in theArabian Sea just off the east coast ofOman , on the 19th and carried out repair work there until the beginning of November. On the 2d, she headed back to Diego Garcia where she arrived on the 9th. Her crew performed repairs on USS|Mars|AFS-1|3 and USS|Shasta|AE-33|3 before "Ajax" put to sea to return to Al Masirah. After conducting availabilities for ships of the Middle East Force at Al Masirah from22 November to5 December , she put to sea to avoid a large dust storm. While still underway, she laid in a course for Singapore on7 December . The ship reached her destination on20 December . Following repairs on USS|Jesse L. Brown|FF-1089|3, "Ajax" set sail once again on31 December bound for Diego Garcia Island. She arrived at Diego Garcia on7 January 1986 and provided repair services there for a fortnight. On22 January , the ship left Diego Garcia in her wake and set course for Pattaya, Thailand, where she spent most of the first week in February. On12 February , "Ajax" stood into Subic Bay where she was relieved by Hector.The repair ship embarked upon the long voyage across the Pacific Ocean on
21 February . She stopped at Pearl Harbor between8 March and10 March and arrived back in San Diego on the 18th. Following the usual leave and upkeep period, "Ajax" resumed her repair services. That activity lasted until the second week in September when she began preparations to go out of service. "Ajax" was decommissioned at San Diego on31 December 1986 ."Ajax" (AR-6) received five battle stars for service in the Vietnam conflict.
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