USS ''Bushnell'' (AS-15) was a in service with the

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 ...

from 1943 to 1948 and from 1952 to 1970. She was finally sunk as a

target ship A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used as a seaborne target for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing. Targets may be used with the intention of testing effectiveness of specific types of ammunit ...

in 1983.

History

''Bushnell'' launched on 14 September 1942 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

(USA), sponsored by Mrs. Luther Gibson. The tender was commissioned on 10 April 1943.

1943-1948

On 27 June 1943, she departed for

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, arriving on 3 July. While at the Submarine Base,

Submarine Squadron 14 Submarine Squadron 14 (SUBRON 14), was a United States Navy submarine squadron. History During World War II, served as tender and staff headquarters for Submarine Squadron 14's staff and Division Staff in Pearl Harbor from July to September 194 ...

(SubRon 14) was assembled with ''Bushnell'' serving as tender and staff headquarters for the Squadron and Division Staff. ''Bushnell'' remained at Pearl Harbor until September 1943, when she sailed for

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

to deliver provisions and structural materials. Upon returning to Pearl Harbor in December, she resumed her task of refitting submarines until April 1944. ''Bushnell'' weighed anchor on 27 April for Majuro Atoll,

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

, laden with provisions, fuel, and material. Majuro Atoll soon became a regular submarine operating base, although entirely dependent upon the tender. On 5 February 1945, ''Bushnell'' returned to Pearl Harbor. On 29 May, the tender steamed to Midway to refit submarines arriving there from war patrols. She was thus engaged until the cessation of hostilities. From September–December 1945, ''Bushnell'' continued to act as a repair vessel for submarines throughout the period of demobilization and peacetime reorganization of the submarine force in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

area. In January 1946, she sailed to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

to tend submarines engaged in the occupation of Japan. This tour of duty continued until April, at which she was recalled to Pearl Harbor for duty with

Submarine Squadron 1 Submarine Squadron 1 (also known as SUBRON 1) is a squadron of submarines of the United States Navy based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. The submarines that make up SUBRON 1 include: * * * * * * History Strat ...

. ''Bushnell'' operated with SubRon 1 until 24 May 1947. At that time, she sailed to Mare Island for overhaul. Returning to Pearl Harbor on 10 September, she resumed her duties with SubRon 1. In December 1947, ''Bushnell'' returned to Mare Island and reported for inactivation. She was placed out of commission in reserve on 30 April 1948.

1952-1970

''Bushnell'' was recommissioned on 21 February 1952. After intensive training along the west coast, she departed for the Atlantic on 7 May. She transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

on 21 May and proceeded to Key West, Florida for duty with SubRon 12. Since that time, she operated from Key West, tending the boats of SubRon 12 as well as conducting brief periods of service at Norfolk and short cruises in the Caribbean. During that time she appeared in the backdrop of the ending of the comedy film ''

Operation Petticoat ''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, that stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. The film tells in fla ...

''. In 1965, she suffered a serious fire in some electrical generation equipment – and earned the nickname "the burning Bush". There was only one minor injury in that incident which did not affect operations for long. She returned to Key West in 1967 to continue her service to the submarine fleet. In 1968, she celebrated her 25th year of service. She continued to supply services to SubRon 12 as well as support services to other ships in the Caribbean and Gulf Coast regions. She made regular visits to New Orleans, Mobile, Fort Lauderdale and Kingston, Jamaica. In 1969, ''Bushnell'' was the Navy response ship for

Hurricane Camille Hurricane Camille was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The most intense storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille originated as a tropical depression ...

. She and her crew rebuilt

Pilottown, Louisiana Pilottown (or Pilot Town) is an unincorporated community in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. It serves as a base for river pilots to guide ships across the bar and up and down the Mississippi River. "CRPPA: Pilottown" (overview), ...

, so that river traffic could again move on the Mississippi. Unfortunately, however, her nickname came to haunt her when in early 1970 a high pressure air line ruptured in the bilge, atomizing the oil and other liquids resulting in an explosion and fire which damaged the ship beyond repair. Her own crew did all of her own decommissioning work (not in a shipyard) in early 1970. She was replaced in Key West by her sister ship . ''Bushnell'' was placed out of commission on 20 June 1970 and was towed to Norfolk where she was turned over to the Reserve Fleet who used her as their new headquarters. She was struck 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 15 November 1980.

Fate

On 31 May 1983, the USS Edenton ATS-1 towed ''Bushnell'' out to sea approximately to 35° 34.7 North, 73° 18.6 West. On 3 June, she was sunk by two MK-48 torpedoes fired by , with in company.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell (AS-15) Fulton-class submarine tenders Submarine tenders Submarine tenders of the United States Navy

Ships built in Vallejo, California 1942 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1983