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 ...
for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
''Requisite'' was laid down 12 November 1941 by the
Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company
Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Puget Sound that operated from 1903 until 1959 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, United States.
The shipyard was built as an expansion of Hall Bros. Marine Railway & Shipbuilding C ...
,
Seattle, Washington
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 region ...
; launched 25 July 1942; and commissioned 7 June 1943.
World War II Pacific operations
Following
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, ...
off southern
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 ...
, ''Requisite'' proceeded to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. Thence on 1 August, she escorted a
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 ...
to
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
an waters into October. On the 25th, she cleared
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 ...
and headed for the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...
to prepare for her first amphibious operation, the invasion of
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
, in the
Gilberts
The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...
.
Departing
Efate
Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.
Geography
It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanu ...
on 13 November, she took up her position as listening vessel at the lagoon entrance off
Betio
Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll.
Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964 ...
early on the morning of the 20th. While pre-invasion bombardment was in progress, she and swept a channel from the transport area into the lagoon. Just prior to the landings, she took up duties as assistant control and survey ship and began marking the channel and searching out possible anchorages in the
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...
. On the 21st, she returned to the transport area and resumed screening duties.
As Tarawa was being secured, ''Requisite'' shifted to
Abemama
Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part o ...
and assisted in the offloading of equipment and supplies for the garrison group. She then remained in the area until 12 December when she got underway for Pearl Harbor.
Operating with Task Force 52
On 22 January 1944, she sortied with Task Force TF 52 for the invasion of the
Marshalls
Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...
. In the
antisubmarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
screen of the Southern Attack Force, en route, she arrived off
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...
Atoll on the 31st. She continued her antisubmarine activities until 3 February, then began sweeping operations off Kwajalein and other islands in the southern part of the
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
. On the 6th, she planted navigational aids, and on the 15th, sortied with Task Group TG 51.11 for the
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...
assault.
Two days later, she entered Eniwetok lagoon between Japtan and Parry Islands. Sweeping and survey duties followed. On the 24th, she returned to Kwajalein and, through March escorted reconnaissance parties in LSTs and LCIs to
Wotho
Wotho Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 13 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of . The name "Wotho" means ei ...
,
Ujae
Ujae Atoll ( Marshallese: or , ) is a coral atoll of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of . It is located about w ...
,
Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
, Ailinglapalap, Namorik and other minor atolls and islands of the Marshalls.
On 10 April, she departed those islands and headed east with an LST convoy. On the 24th, she escorted her charges into Pearl Harbor and 2 days later continued on to San Francisco and overhaul.
On 16 July she returned to Hawaii. An escort run to Eniwetok and inter-island escort duty in Hawaii took her into September. Then, on the 23rd, she headed west for her next invasion target, 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 ...
.
Operations with the Seventh Fleet
Moving across the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
via Eniwetok, she joined the
7th Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of ...
at Manus on 10 October, and seven days later she commenced sweeping the approaches to
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 ...
. She continued her sweeping operations until the 24th, when she anchored in San Pedro Bay. Three days later, she began a five-day search for survivors of the battles for Leyte Gulf.
During November she swept in waters near
Homonhon
Homonhon Island is an island in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines, on the east side of Leyte Gulf. The long island is part of the municipality of Guiuan, encompassing eight barangays: Bitaugan, Cagusu-an, Canawayon, Casuguran, Culasi, ...
Canigao Channel
Canigao Channel is a strait in the Central Visayan and Eastern Visayan regions in the Philippines. This strait separates the islands of Bohol and Leyte, while the Cebu Strait separates Bohol and Cebu. Thus, the Camotes Sea is connected to the ...
, West Passage, to provide a second access to the
Camotes Sea
The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Central Visayan and the Eastern Visayan regions. It separates Cebu from Leyte hence is bordered by Cebu to the west, Leyte to the east and north, and Bohol ...
. On the 6th, 7th, and 8th, ''Requisite'' participated in the Ormoc Bay assault, then returned to the east coast of
Leyte
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 ...
.
On 2 January 1945, ''Requisite'' moved north with Task Group TG 77.6. The next day she entered the Sulu Sea. She passed
Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...
on 5 January, and, on the 6th, she began sweeping operations in Lingayen Gulf which continued until the 14th. She then replenished at Leyte, and returned to
Luzon
Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
on 29 January for pre-invasion sweeps off San Felipe in
Zambales
Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...
Province. On the 31st, she anchored in
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Sub ...
.
In February, ''Requisite'' with others of
Mine Division MinDiv was a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for "Minesweeper Division."
The Commander of a minesweeper division is known, in official Navy communications, as COMMINDIV (followed by a number), such as COMMINDIV EIGHT.
References
See ...
3, moved east 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 ...
, whence she continued to
Ulithi
Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap.
Overview
Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...
. In mid-March she sortied with Mine Group 1 of the
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
invasion force.
Okinawa operations
Arriving in the Ryūkyūs on the 24th, ''Requisite'' swept the approaches to
Kerama Retto
The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan.
Geography
Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Vill ...
the same day. On the 25th, she extended operations to Keise Shima. The 26th saw her off southern Okinawa. From the 27th through the 29th, she operated off the
Hagushi
Hagushi bay is located in Yomitan, Okinawa. The bay is at the mouth of Hija River. The north side of the mouth of the river has a public beach called Toguchi Beach.
World War II
Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American suppli ...
beaches and on the 30th and 31st she swept off the
Motobu Peninsula
The is a peninsula in the Yanbaru region of Okinawa Island. It is surrounded by Nago Bay to the east, the Haneda Inland Sea to the north, and the East China Sea to the west.Okinawa Island Guide " Nago City / Motobu Town / Nakijin VillageOkina ...
and
Ie Shima
, previously romanized in English as Ie Shima, is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula on Okinawa Island. The island measures in circumference and covers . As of December 2012 the island had ...
. She then retired to Kerama Retto.
''Requisite'' remained in the Okinawa area, employed in screening and sweeping operations until 16 April. A month's respite in the Marianas followed; but by the end of May she was back in the Ryūkyūs. Through June, she continued patrol and sweeping duties off Okinawa. In July she began sweeping in the East China Sea in anticipation of an invasion of the Japanese home islands. Then, in August, she departed for an availability at Leyte. There when hostilities ceased, she returned to Okinawa at the end of the month and in September resumed sweeping operations, this time to clear Japanese waters for the arrival of occupation forces and the resumption of peacetime maritime traffic. Off
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
during early September, she shifted to Honshū at midmonth and during October operated in the Ise Wan area. On in November, she added the responsibility of communications and operational headquarter, CTG 52.8, to her duties and on 17 December she headed back to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
Post-War operations
The ship arrived at
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 ...
on 17 January 1946. The following month, she continued on to the U.S. East Coast arriving at
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 ...
on 21 February. For the next year and a half she operated with the Atlantic Fleet towing targets for training groups. Then ordered inactivated, she proceeded to
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Hous ...
, where she decommissioned and joined the Reserve Fleet on 23 December 1947.
Operations as a survey ship
Recommissioned 15 February 1950, ''Requisite'' was assigned to
hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...
duties. She reported to the Atlantic Fleet for duty on 1 March and for the next three years she spent the winter survey season operating in the Caribbean and the warmer months off
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
and
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
. Reclassified AGS-18 on 18 August 1951, she discontinued her North
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 ...
-Caribbean schedule in the fall of 1954. On 6 October she got underway from Norfolk; and, from 1 November 1954 to 2 February 1955, she conducted surveys from
İskenderun
İskenderun ( ar, الإسكندرونة, el, Αλεξανδρέττα "Little Alexandria"), historically known as Alexandretta and Scanderoon, is a city in Hatay Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
Names
The city was founded as Ale ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. Returned to Norfolk. They went west through the Panama Canal to San Diego, then to Seattle. 1955
''Requisite'' shifted to the northern Pacific. She arrived at her new homeport, Seattle, June 1955-Captain Robert F. Hopkins, in late June and before the end of the month had commenced
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
operations. Arrived Nome Alaska July 3 rd and some of the crew marched in the 4 th of July Parade in Nome. By mid-September she had surveyed routes from
Herschel Island
Herschel Island (french: Île d'Herschel; Inuit languages: ''Qikiqtaruk'') is an island in the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean), which lies off the coast of Yukon in Canada, of which it is administratively a part. It is Yukon's only ...
to Shepherd Bay, taking continuous soundings and compiling bathythermograph information and gathering core samplings every 20 miles. She continued her operations from Seattle until July 1958. Then homeported at San Francisco, California, she remained in the Pacific, ranging from the Arctic to
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
, to
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
until the spring of 1959.
On 1 May 1959, she got underway for
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Arriving on the 23rd, she resumed operations with
ServRon
A Service Squadron (ServRon) was a United States Navy squadron that supported fleet combat ships and US Navy Auxiliary ships. Service Squadrons were used by the US Navy from their inception in 1943 to as late as the early 1980s. At the time of t ...
8, Atlantic Fleet and during the summer operated in the Caribbean. In November, she sailed east for her first survey season in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
. During the 1960–61 season she returned to the Persian Gulf, but remained in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and off
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
during the 1961–62 season. On 1 July 1962, she sailed for
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and a return to survey operations of Greenland, completing that mission in November. In January 1963, she sailed to the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
, operated there through the summer, and returned to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in early November.
Decommissioning
Ordered inactivated she reported to the Philadelphia Group,
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 ...
, on 23 December. She was decommissioned and struck from the
Navy list
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
battle stars
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 ...
*
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945.
The Wo ...
*
Navy Occupation Medal
The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...
*
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...