USS Seattle (AOE-3)

The second USS "Seattle" (AOE-3), a Sclass|Sacramento|fast combat support ship, was laid down on 1 October 1965 at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington; launched on 2 March 1968; sponsored by Mrs. William M. Allen, Chairman of the Board of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital Association, Seattle; and commissioned on 5 April 1969, Capt. Bruce Keener III in command.

After fitting out, "Seattle" departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 24 September 1969 en route to Norfolk. "Seattle" visited Long Beach, San Diego, Acapulco, the Panama Canal, and New Orleans, arriving at Norfolk, her designated home port, on 22 November.

"Seattle" left home port on 2 January 1970 for Guantanamo Bay and shakedown training. On 13 January, "Seattle" took attack carrier, USS|America|CV-66|2, alongside for refueling. She departed again on 19 January for more exercises and a visit to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, before returning to Guantanamo on 26 January.

Following additional exercises and battle problems, "Seattle" steamed for Mayport, Florida, and thence proceeded to Norfolk, arriving on 12 February.

On 26 February, "Seattle" was struck by a yard tug, puncturing a tank, and spilling black oil for almost two hours. The oil was quickly skimmed off the water, and no adverse reaction resulted from the mishap.

"Seattle" departed Norfolk on 27 August for her first overseas deployment. She entered her first European port, Lisbon, Portugal, on 6 September. On 8 September, she anchored off Rota, Spain. Passing through the Straits of Gibraltar the next day, "Seattle" loaded cargo onto USS|Concord|AFS-5|2 and then proceeded to the eastern Mediterranean Sea via Augusta, Sicily. The Jordanian Crisis had brought matters close to a boil, and "Seattle" served as the primary logistic support ship for USS|Saratoga|CV-60|2 and her escorts. Toward the end of the month, "Seattle" was one of 12 ships reviewed by President Richard Nixon.

"Seattle" continued her support of "Saratoga" in the eastern Mediterranean until 20 October, when she arrived in Athens, Greece.

Leaving Athens on 29 October, "Seattle" replenished ships until 9 November, when she pulled into Augusta, Sicily, for another one-day fuel lift. She then proceeded to Taranto, the Italian Navy's largest base, arriving on 12 November.

"Seattle" departed Taranto on 16 November and continued replenishment of 6th Fleet ships. She spent from 25 November to 1 December in Naples. From 8 December to 14 December, she was anchored in Barcelona, Spain; and ended the year at Villefranche, France.

"Seattle" got underway on 6 January 1971 for operations in the vicinity of southeast Sicily. On 17 January, she anchored in Naples, remaining there until 22 January. She operated in the Ionian Sea, the Algiers-Provencal Basin, and off Barcelona until 20 February, when she got underway for operations en route to Norfolk, arriving on 1 March.

On 10 August, "Seattle" departed for Puerto Rico, arriving at Roosevelt Roads on 13 August. She operated around Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guantanamo, and Haiti before returning to Norfolk on 11 October.

On 1 December, "Seattle" steamed out of Craney Island, Virginia, for a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean. The fast combat support ship arrived at Rota, Spain, on 9 December, and got underway on the following day for Augusta, Sicily, arriving on 16 December. On 19 December, she was en route to Naples, where she spent Christmas in port. On 28 December, "Seattle" ended her stay in Naples and was underway to Barcelona, arriving on New Year's Eve. At the completion of a seven-month Mediterranean cruise, "Seattle" returned to Norfolk on 29 June 1972. She operated out of Norfolk for four months, then departed, on 24 October, for an unscheduled deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet. She participated in "Bystander" operations in the western Mediterranean and in exercise "National Week XIV" before returning to Norfolk on 19 December.

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"Seattle" accompanied the USS|John F. Kennedy|CV-67|2 carrier battle group on deployment to the Persian Gulf in June 2004. On 12 August 2004, "Seattle" rescued twelve crew of the Indonesian flagged cargo ship "Edha II" - delivering the survivors to Umm Qasr, Iraq. On 14 December 2004, she returned to Norfolk.

"Seattle" decommissioned on 15 March 2005.

External links

* [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/AOE3.htm Naval Vessel Register entry for "Seattle"]
* [http://www.combatindex.com/hardware/detail/sea/aoe03_detail.html combatindex.com: USS "Seattle"]
* [http://www.united-states-navy.com/ships/aoe3.htm united-states-navy.com: USS "Seattle"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/5903.htm navsource.org: USS "Seattle"]