- USS Grand Canyon (AD-28)
USS Grand Canyon (AD-28) was a USS|Shenandoah|AD-26|2-class
destroyer tender built at the tail end ofWorld War II , and named for theGrand Canyon on theColorado River ."Grand Canyon" was laid down
16 November 1944 as a Maritime Commission type (C3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 206) at Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc. out ofTacoma, Washington , launched27 April 1945 , sponsored by Mrs. W. L. Mann, and commissioned5 April 1946 with Captain W.D. Hoover in command. After brief shakedown off the coast ofSouthern California , "Grand Canyon" departedPort Townsend, Washington on26 June 1946 en route toNewport, Rhode Island via thePanama Canal Zone . She arrived in Newport on20 July . Assigned the task of keepingUnited States Navy destroyers in operation, "Grand Canyon" cleared Newport on17 September 1946 for her first tour with the 6th Fleet in theMediterranean Sea . After a visit toPalermo ,Sicily , and a 4½-month stay atNaples she returned to the States, arriving back in Norfolk on1 March 1947 .Between
1 November 1947 and12 November 1954 "Grand Canyon" continued her support of 6th Fleet destroyers, making six Mediterranean deployments. During this time she participated in some of the largest peacetime service operations ever undertaken. "Grand Canyon" continued her tender duties in the U.S. until24 September 1956 when she again departed for the Mediterranean for her eighth tour. By20 October theSuez Crisis had reached the serious stage and the majority of the 6th Fleet proceeded into the Eastern Mediterranean. During this period the "Grand Canyon", as flagship, took part in fleet exercises and visited the ports ofAugusta, Sicily Messina, Sicily andTaranto, Italy . As the Suez problem subsided she sailed forCannes, France on20 December in time for the Christmas holidays. "Grand Canyon" returned toFall River, Massachusetts on13 March 1957 .The third of September 1957 found "Grand Canyon" underway with other units of the Atlantic Fleet, this time to participate in
NATO fall exercises. By the 16th she had crossed theArctic Circle operating west ofNorway . After visits toTrosmo, Norway and theIsle of Portland ,England "Grand Canyon" once again returned to Newport, arriving on21 October . "Grand Canyon" continued her tender duties out of Fall River until1 August 1958 when she sailed forSouda Bay on the Island ofCrete to support the 6th Fleet in operations offLebanon . For the next 4 months she supported destroyers and other types while helping to stabilize the situation and block aggression inAsia Minor . Besides Souda Bay, "Grand Canyon" visitedIzmir, Turkey ,Athens, Greece ,Naples, Italy andBarcelona, Spain before returning home in December."Grand Canyon" spent most of 1959 with tender duties at Newport except for duty at
Charleston, South Carolina between29 August 1959 and11 January 1960 . She cleared Charleston11 January 1960 to participate in Operation "Springboard," returning to Newport on7 February ; thence toBermuda andNew York before returning to Newport. Between October, 1960 and August, 1961 "Grand Canyon" tended ships at Newport,Boston , andNorfolk . After her ninth Mediterranean tour August, 1961 to March, 1962 "Grand Canyon" returned to Newport and again took up her duties there until the fall. She proceeded toSan Juan, Puerto Rico , arriving3 November 1961 to start tending ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Fleet during theCuban Missile Crisis and subsequent quarantine. "Grand Canyon" again helped demonstrate the mobility and versatility of sea power. She returned to Newport on5 December . "Grand Canyon" made her tenth deployment to the Mediterranean between6 February and27 June 1963 . The ship enteredBethlehem Steel Yards in East Boston for modernization and refitting. With the completion of modernization on3 January 1964 , "Grand Canyon" sailed for Guantanamo Bay and San Juan on training cruises. Returning toMayport, Florida on11 May , she tended destroyers there until her departure for Newport on20 June for similar duties at that station.On
27 November "Grand Canyon" departed Newport for her llth Mediterranean cruise, relieving the USS "Shenandoah" (AD-26) as 6th Fleet tender. She reachedPalma de Mallorca in December and until16 April 1965 tended ships in French, Italian, and Spanish ports. After returning to Newport on27 April she served there and at Norfolk during the next 11 months. Between29 March 1966 and12 August she again served ships of the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. During the remainder of the year she operated out of Newport. Into 1967 "Grand Canyon" continued to provide tender and repair facilities for destroyer-type ships of the Atlantic Fleet and the 6th Fleet."Grand Canyon" was reclassified Repair Ship (AR-28) on
11 March 1971 , and was decommissioned and struck from theNaval Vessel Register 1 September 1978 . "Grand Canyon" was sold for scrapping in June, 1980 to Union Minerals and Alloy Corporation of New York.References
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