- USS Estes (AGC-12)
USS "Estes" (AGC-12) was a "Mount McKinley"-class amphibious force command ship,, officially named after "A
mountain peak andnational park inColorado ." [Since there is no mountain peak nor national park in Colorado named "Estes", this is unlikely, although official (http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e5/estes.htm). An alternative source of the name is "for the mountain range in Colorado near Estes Park", found at http://www.ussestes.org/ShipInfo/History.htm . However, the range nearEstes Park is theFront Range ; there is no mountain range named "Estes" in Colorado either.] .She was designed as an amphibious force
flagship , a floating command post with advanced communications equipment and extensive combat information spaces to be used by the amphibious forces commander and landing force commander during large-scale operations.Commissioning and 1944
"Estes" was launched on
1 November 1943 at theNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Company inWilmington, North Carolina , as "Morning Star"; acquired by the Navy on22 February 1944 ; and commissioned on9 October 1944 , withCommander R. O. Mathews in command. On20 November 1944 , "Estes" arrived atPearl Harbor fromNaval Station Norfolk , and after training, broke the flag ofRear Admiral William H. P. Blandy , Commander,Amphibious Group One . She sailed fromPearl Harbor on10 January 1945 for rehearsal landings in theMarianas , and on16 February arrived offIwo Jima . Asflagship for TF 52, "Estes" served as control center for the pre-invasionbombardment , and the work of underwater demolition teams preparing the beaches for the assault. She remained off the island through the landings of19 February , receivingwounded and supplying and repairingsmall craft . She arrived atUlithi on11 March to make final preparations for the Okinawa assault.1945
Again
flagship for TF 52, the amphibious support force, "Estes" was off Okinawa on24 March 1945 . She landed an underwater demolition group, then sailed with the bombardment group, directing the pre-invasion pounding of the beaches andJapan ese strong points. Using information gained from her contacts with the radar picketdestroyer s, she controlledaircraft carrier planes protecting the vast concentration of shipping assembled for the assault on1 April . After almost a month off the bitterly contested island, she sailed on20 April to replenish atSaipan and carry Admiral Blandy toPearl Harbor , where he and his staff disembarked on19 May . "Estes" continued toSan Francisco foroverhaul , and equipment installation designed to make her even more effective. On20 July , she embarked Rear AdmiralR. O. Davis , Commander,Amphibious Group 13 , and on8 August sailed for thePhilippines . She arrived at Leyte on28 August for occupation duty, coordinating the lifting of troops from thePhilippines toJapan . After cruising widely in thePhilippines on this duty, "Estes" sailed forShanghai , and upon her arrival on7 November , broke the flag of AdmiralThomas C. Kinkaid , Commander,7th Fleet . Before she had completed her tour of occupation duty along the Chinese coast, for part of which she was homeported at Tsingtao, she served asflagship for three succeeding commanders of the 7th Fleet,Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey , AdmiralCharles M. Cooke , and AdmiralOscar C. Badger .1946
In June 1946, "Estes" became
flagship for Naval Forces, Western Pacific, and continued to cruise between Tsingtao andHong Kong , aside from a 1947 overhaul atBremerton , until29 January 1948 , when she departed Tsingtao forSan Francisco . Arriving on16 February , she lay atSan Francisco andSan Diego until her decommissioning and being placed in reserve on30 June 1949 .1950s
"Estes" was recommissioned on
31 January 1951 , and after training offSan Diego , sailed on20 June forYokosuka andInchon , where from25 July to6 August , she served asflagship for Vice AdmiralI. N. Kiland , Commander, Amphibious Force, Pacific. She carried successive Commanders, Amphibious Group One, through the remainder of this tour of duty in theFar East , during which she operated offKorea and in exercises offJapan . Returning toSan Diego on19 April 1952 , "Estes" carried high-ranking observers to theMarshall Islands for nuclear weapons tests in the fall of 1952, and in the summer of 1953, served asflagship for an expedition to supply Government activities in theArctic . Between January and May 1954, she again sailed for atomic weapons tests atEniwetok , and on6 July cleared for theFar East . As control ship for Operation "Passage to Freedom," the evacuation of refugees from CommunistNorth Vietnam , "Estes" operated fromHaiphong from18 August to29 October . Between6 February and11 February ,1955 she aided the evacuation of theTachen Islands resulting from the Taiwan Strait Crisis. "Estes" returned toSan Diego on22 May 1955 . She operated out of there for the next year. Between March and July 1956, she was again in the Marshalls for weapons tests, and on31 January 1957 sailed forYokosuka , where she provided quarters and communications facilities until April, sailing then to visitHong Kong . She returned to stateside duty on15 May , voyaging toPearl Harbor in July and August. The next year found "Estes" sailing north in July to ports inBritish Columbia , and again in August to call atSeattle . During her 1959 tour of duty in theFar East she directed important amphibious operations offJapan , Okinawa, andKorea , and exercises offBorneo with ships of theRoyal Navy andRoyal New Zealand Navy .1960s
She returned to Long Beach in August, and through 1962 operated along the west coast, twice visiting the
Pacific Northwest .On 31 October 1969, "Estes" was decommissioned for the final time. "Estes" received two
battle star s forWorld War II service, and two forKorean war service.References
External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e5/estes.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Estes"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/01/0112.htm navsource.org: USS "Estes"]
* [http://www.ussestes.org/ USS Estes Association Home Page]
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