USS ''Oyster Bay'' (AGP-6), originally and later AVP-28, was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
motor torpedo boat tender
Motor torpedo boat tender is a type of ship used by the U.S. Navy during World War II and Vietnam War. The motor torpedo boat tender's task was to act as a tender in remote areas for patrol boats ( PT-boats) and to provide the necessary fuel and ...
in commission from 1943 to 1946. She saw service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
From 1957 to 1993, the former ''Oyster Bay'' served in the
Italian Navy
"Fatherland and Honour"
, patron =
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
as the
special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
tender ''
Pietro Cavezzale (A 5301)''.
Construction, commissioning, and shakedown
''Oyster Bay'' was laid down as a
''Barnegat''-class small
seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
designated AVP-28 at
Lake Washington Shipyard,
Houghton Houghton may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide
* Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland
* Houghton Island (Queensland)
Canada
* Houghton Townshi ...
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, on April 17, 1942, and was launched on September 7, 1942, sponsored by Mrs. William K. Harrill. On May 1, 1943, she was reclassified as a motor torpedo tender and redesignated AGP–6 and, accordingly, completed to a modified design to allow her to fulfill this new role. She was
commissioned on November 17, 1943.
''Oyster Bay'' departed
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington, on December 7, 1943, for
shakedown
Shakedown may refer to:
* Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation
* Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational
* Extortion, ...
at San Diego, California, which lasted for the remainder of 1943.
World War II service
New Guinea campaign
''Oyster Bay'' got underway from San Diego on January 2, 1944, steaming to
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Australia, en route
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...
,
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
, for motor torpedo boat tender operations in support of the
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 Jan ...
. She serviced two squadrons of motor torpedo boats beginning on February 28, 1944, and, on March 9, 1944, got underway escorting 15
patrol torpedo boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...
s (PT boats) to
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German colonial activity between 1884 an ...
in the
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-co ...
.
The spring of 1944 was an active one for ''Oyster Bay''. On March 14, 1944, she bombarded the Japanese shore installations on
Pityilu Island
Map Pityilu Island with air base 1944
Pityilu Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and part of the Admiralty Islands. It is off the northern coast of Manus Island and is nearly 4.8 km long and varies in width from ...
in support of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. On March 20, 1944, she was underway for
Langemak, New Guinea, with 42 wounded soldiers for evacuation to Base Hospital,
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U.S ...
, New Guinea. After returning to Seeadler Harbor on March 31, 1944, she bombarded
Ndrilo Island to the east of Seeadler Harbor preparatory to the landing there by U.S. Army ground forces.
''Oyster Bay'' shifted to
Dreger Harbor on April 19, 1944.
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces moved on
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 18,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the ...
on April 22, 1944, and on April 24, 1944, two days after the landings at Aitape, ''Oyster Bay'' departed for the area with 15 PT boats. Japanese planes attacked the
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
on April 27, 1944, but, while one PT boat was hit, ''Oyster Bay'' escaped damage.
In May 1944, ''Oyster Bay'' proceeded to
Hollandia, an area of heated Allied action. Air raid alerts were frequent, but no Japanese attacks ensued. ''Oyster Bay'' got underway to
Wakde Island
Wakde is an island group in Sarmi Regency, Papua, Indonesia, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas. It comprises two islands, Insumuar (the larger) and Insumanai (much smaller).
History
Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, th ...
on June 5, 1944, with two squadrons of PT boats. After Allied forces had invaded Wakde Island on May 17, 1944, to capture a major Japanese air base there, the Japanese continued to hammer away at the newly acquired
airstrip
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
. Later in June 1944, ''Oyster Bay'' bombarded shore installations on the
Wicki River and at
Samar Village, preparatory to U.S. Army attacks.
Leaving
Mios Woendi
Mios Woendi island is an island in the Schouten Islands
of Papua province, eastern Indonesia. It lies in Cenderawasih Bay (or Geelvink Bay) off the northwestern coast of the island nation of Papua New Guinea.
Description
The island is in a ...
Island on July 12, 1944, ''Oyster Bay'' reported to Brisbane for
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
availability. A British
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
plane struck the top of the ship's mast, carried away her
antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
e and damaged her
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
lights on July 22, 1944, but hasty repairs permitted ''Oyster Bay'' to depart for Mios Woendi on August 16, 1944.
Philippines campaign
''Oyster Bay'' then steamed on to
Morotai
Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands.
Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...
, needed as a staging area for the
Philippines campaign. As the Allies assaulted the beaches of
Leyte Island
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in October 1944, ''Oyster Bay'' set out for
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...
. Japanese planes counterattacked, but U.S. Navy planes and
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
fire took a heavy toll of them. In November 1944, ''Oyster Bay'' went to
general quarters
General quarters, battle stations, or action stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed ...
221 times, but was not attacked. She shifted to
San Juanico Strait
San Juanico Strait ( war, Sulang han San Juanico) is a narrow strait in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. It separates the islands of Samar and Leyte and connects the Carigara Bay ( Samar Sea) with the San Pedro Bay (Leyte Gulf). ...
on November 21, 1944, and on November 24, 1944, while taking on gasoline, she was attacked by two
Nakajima B5N
The Nakajima B5N ( ja, 中島 B5N, Allied reporting name "Kate") was the standard carrier-based torpedo bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for much of World War II.
Although the B5N was substantially faster and more capable than its Al ...
"Kate"
torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
s that were driven off by heavy antiaircraft fire. Two
Mitsubishi A6M
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was ...
"Zeke"
fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
dived on ''Oyster Bay'' on the November 26, 1944, but intense antiaircraft fire shot them both down.
In January 1945, ''Oyster Bay'' got underway for Hollandia, then returned to Leyte Gulf for motor torpedo boat tender operations on February 8, 1945. Departing for the invasion of
Zamboanga on March 6, 1945, she arrived two days before the invasion and remained with the bombardment group until the landings. ''Oyster Bay'' next rendezvoused with PT boats in
Sarangani Bay
Sarangani Bay is a bay located on the southern tip of Mindanao in the Philippines. It opens up to the Celebes Sea on the Pacific Ocean. General Santos City
General Santos, officially the City of General Santos,; hil, Dakbanwa sang Heneral ...
at
Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...
on April 24, 1945, and supported them during night raids against the Japanese positions in
Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf is a gulf situated in the southeastern portion of Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of or about 520,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from the Philippine Sea. It is surrounded by all five provinces in ...
. In May 1945, ''Oyster Bay'' reported to Leyte Gulf, thence steaming to
Samar
Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
. She departed on May 18, 1945, for
Tawi Tawi
Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( tl, Lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi; Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim ...
, where she continued motor torpedo boat tender operations until she returned to
Guinan Harbor on August 6, 1945.
Awards
''Oyster Bay'' received five
battle star
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
s for World War II service.
Post-World War II service
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended with the
cessation of hostilities
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
with Japan on August 15, 1945. ''Oyster Bay'' turned toward the United States on November 10, 1945, and steamed into
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
, California, on November 29, 1945.
Decommissioning, reserve, and disposal
Decommissioned on March 26, 1946, ''Oyster Bay'' was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
on April 12, 1946, and transferred to the
Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...
on August 12, 1946.
Transferred back to the U.S. Navy on January 3, 1949, ''Oyster Bay'' was reclassified as a small seaplane tender and redesignated AVP–28 on March 16, 1949. She was berthed at
Stockton, California, where she remained in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...
until 1957, seeing no active service as a seaplane tender.
''Pietro Cavezzale'' (A 5301)
''Oyster Bay'' was transferred to the
Government of Italy
The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President.
The Italian Constitutio ...
on 23 October 1957. She then served in the
Italian Navy
"Fatherland and Honour"
, patron =
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
as the
special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
tender ''Pietro Cavezzale'' (A 5301).
The Italian Navy decommissioned ''Pietro Cavezzale'' in October 1993 and she was stricken by the Italian Navy on 31 March 1994. She was sold for scrapping in February 1996.
References
*
Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Oyster Bay'' (AGP-6, originally & later AVP-28), 1943–1957* Chesneau, Roger. ''Conways All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946''. New York: Mayflower Books, Inc., 1980. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyster Bay
Barnegat-class motor torpedo boat tenders
1942 ships
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
Barnegat-class seaplane tenders
Ships built at Lake Washington Shipyard