- USS Great Sitkin (AE-17)
USS "Great Sitkin" (AE-17) was launched under Maritime Commission contract by
North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. ,Wilmington, N.C. , 20 January 1945; sponsored by Miss Anne L. Dimon; and commissioned at Charleston. S.C., 11 August 1945, Lt. Comdr.William F. Smith in command.After shakedown out of Norfolk, "Great Sitkin" sailed to
New York 25 November to begin dumping condemned ammunition in an assigned area offSandy Hook, N.J. She continued this duty for nearly a year, returning to Norfolk in November 1946. "Great Sitkin's" pattern of operations for the next few years took her to theCaribbean and the Canal Zone on ammunition replenishment trips, as well as twice toGibraltar . In addition, she participated in local operations.From 1951 "Great Sitkin" served as a mobile ready reserve source of ammunition for the Fleet. She regularly deployed to the
Mediterranean to support the 6th Fleet, a bulwark of freedom in the region, and served the Fleet during crises in trouble spots such asLebanon andSuez . When not deployed in the Mediterranean, she operated out of New York, participating in various fleet maneuvers in theAtlantic and the Caribbean.During the
Cuban missile crisis in 1962, she sailed for the Caribbean 23 October, following President Kennedy's announcement of a naval quarantine around theCommunist island. She cruised the Caribbean during the next several weeks carrying reserve ammunition for American ships on quarantine duty off Cuba. Departing the Caribbean 16 December, she returned to New York and resumed her pattern of operations in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.Between August 1963 and July 1966 "Great Sitkin" deployed three times with the 6th Fleet, and during these tours she has participated in several Fleet and
NATO exercises. After a 3-month overhaul Great Sitkin leftBethlehem Steel Shipyard ,Hoboken, N.J. , in December 1966 for training exercises off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She continued to support American ships in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and stood ready to supply ammunition necessary for the continuing task of keeping the peace.The ship was struck from the
Naval Register in 1973.References
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External links
* [http://www.greatsitkin.org/USSGreatSitkinAssn.html USS Great Sitkin Association]
* [http://www.usnavylinks.com/AE-17 AE-17 Internet Links]
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