USS ''Pocono'' (AGC-16) was an ''Adirondack''-class amphibious force command ship named after a range of mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania. 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. An amphibious force

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

, ''Pocono''s

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 30 November 1944 and the vessel was launched on 25 January 1945 by the

North Carolina Shipbuilding Company North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all ...

, of Wilmington, North Carolina, sponsored by Miss Mary V. Carmines of Messick. The ship was acquired by the Navy on 15 February 1945, towed to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

for fitting out and commissioned on 29 December 1945.

Service history

1946–1949

''Pocono'' departed

on 18 March 1946 for

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, Florida, en route to Guantanamo Bay 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, ...

. The ship then proceeded to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, via

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and arrived in the US capital on 7 May. During the next few years, she operated off the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. Early in 1948, she was

of Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, Commander Atlantic Fleet. ''Pocono'' decommissioned at Norfolk on 19 June 1949 and moved to

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...

, where she entered the

Atlantic 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 s ...

1951–1959

''Pocono'' was recommissioned on 18 August 1951 to serve as flagship for Commander, Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet. She operated in this capacity in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the U.S. until 1956. On 31 October 1956, during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, the Commander-in-Chief, Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, embarked in ''Pocono'', and remained on board until 13 December. In September 1957 ''Pocono'' served as flagship for a 38-ship amphibious task force in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

exercise "Deepwater" off the coast of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. In early 1958 ''Pocono'' served as flagship for operation "Packard X", an Atlantic Fleet amphibious exercise at Onslow Beach, North Carolina. On 23 June 1958 she departed the U.S. bound for the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. She was diverted to

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

, where she controlled the landing that assisted that nation. During her three-month stay in Beirut, she performed such functions as air control and command communications. Because of the

Lebanon Crisis The 1958 Lebanon crisis (also known as the Lebanese Civil War of 1958) was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included a United States military intervention. The intervention lasted for aro ...

the regular six-month Mediterranean deployment was extended to nine months, with ''Pocono'' returning to Norfolk on 20 March 1959.

1960–1971

On 11 January 1960 ''Pocono'' again departed Norfolk for the Mediterranean where she participated in four amphibious landing exercises, including a joint NATO landing at Porto Scudo,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, before returning to Norfolk on 14 June. She participated in

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

landing exercises in July 1960 and February 1961. On 11 April 1961 she departed for the Mediterranean, and participated in several amphibious landings, including a joint NATO landing at the

Gulf of Saros Saros Bay or Gulf of Saros ( tr, Saros Körfezi; el, κόλπος του Σάρρου) is a gulf in the Dardanelles, Turkey. Ancient Greeks called it the Gulf of Melas (), before it was renamed. The bay is long and wide. Far from industrial ...

, before returning to Norfolk on 12 October. After an extensive overhaul she departed 10 April 1962 for the Caribbean, and 23 July for the Mediterranean. When the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

arose, ''Pocono'' was recalled to the United States. She carried the flag of Commander, Amphibious Forces, Atlantic, and remained in operational readiness in Norfolk. For the rest of 1962, 1963, and through most of 1964 ''Pocono'' remained in the U.S. In early 1964 she participated in two landing exercises at Onslow Beach. On 11 October she deployed for "Steelpike I", which included an assault with helicopter landings at Huelva Bay,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She returned to Norfolk on 25 November. ''Pocono'' departed Norfolk on 21 May 1965 en route to

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

to aid in the peace-keeping operation there. She provided the platform from which Vice Admiral John S. McCain directed the naval forces' support of this operation. From late 1965 through early 1968 ''Pocono'' participated in further operations in the Caribbean and off the east coast of the U.S., returning to Norfolk on 24 February 1968. Decommissioned on 16 September 1971, she 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 1 December 1976. ''Pocono'' was sold for non-transportation use 3 December 1981 to Union Minerals & Alloys of New York, New York and scrapped.

References

External links

USS ''Pocono'' Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocono (AGC-16) Adirondack-class command ships Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina 1945 ships Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States