Allied Warships

USS Pelias (AS 14)

Submarine tender of the Griffin class

NavyThe US Navy
TypeSubmarine tender
ClassGriffin 
PennantAS 14 
Built bySun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down8 May 1939 
Launched14 Nov 1939 
Commissioned5 Sep 1941 
End service14 Jun 1970 
History

Acquired by the USN in 1940 and converted to a submarine tender
Commissioned as USS Pelias (AS-14) on 5 September 1941
In commission in reserve on 6 September 1946
Out of service, in reserve on 21 October 1950
Decommissioned on 14 June 1970
Stricken on 1 August 1972
Sold to be broken up for scrap on 1 October 1973

 

Commands listed for USS Pelias (AS 14)

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and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Cdr. William Wakefield, USN5 Sep 19411 Apr 1944 (1)
2T/Cdr. William Alexander Swanston, USN1 Apr 1944

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Notable events involving Pelias include:


6 Aug 1942
USS Sailfish (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Voge, USN) arrived at Albany from Fremantle. She was escorted in by USS Whippoorwill (T/Cdr. C.A. Ferriter, USN). Between 8 and 23 August 1942 she was taken in hand for a tender refit by USS Pelias (T/Capt. W. Wakefield, USN). (2)

21 Oct 1942
Around 1740H/21, HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN) departed Fremantle to make rendezvous with USS Pelias (T/Capt. W. Wakefield, USN), HMAS Cessnock (A/Lt.Cdr. T.S. Marchington, RANR(S)) and USS Whippoorwill (T/Cdr. C.A. Ferriter, USN).

Rendezvous was affected around 0830H/23.

Around 1500H/23, HMAS Cessnock and USS Whippoorwill parted company to proceed to Albany.

USS Pelias and HMAS Adelaide arrived at Fremantle around 2000H/24. (3)

24 Nov 1942
USS Searaven (T/Cdr. H. Cassedy, USN) ended her 5th war patrol at Fremantle. She was then taken in hand for a refit by USS Pelias (T/Capt. W. Wakefield, USN). Refit was completed on 15 December 1942 and from then until 18 December 1942 and exercise programme was carried out. (4)

1 May 1943
Around 1830H/1, the submarine tender USS Pelias (T/Capt. W. Wakefield, USN), destroyer HrMs Tjerk Hiddes (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Kruys, RNethN), minesweeper USS Whippoorwill (T/Lt. C.L. Knopp, USN) and the auxiliary patrol vessel USS Isabel (T/Lt. F.D. Buckley, USN) departed Fremantle to establish an advanced base at Exmouth Gulf. (5)

3 May 1943
Around 2300H/3, the submarine tender USS Pelias (T/Capt. W. Wakefield, USN), destroyer HrMs Tjerk Hiddes (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Kruys, RNethN), minesweeper USS Whippoorwill (T/Lt. C.L. Knopp, USN) and the auxiliary patrol vessel USS Isabel (T/Lt. F.D. Buckley, USN) arrived at Exmouth Gulf from Fremantle. (5)

13 Mar 1944
Around 1345H/13, the submarine tenders USS Orion (T/Capt. C.S. Isgrig, USN) and USS Pelias (T/Capt. W. Wakefield, USN) departed Albany to return to Fremantle. They were escorted by the light cruiser HMAS Adelaide (A/Capt. J.C.D. Esdaile, OBE, RAN). The submarine rescue vessel USS Chanticleer (T/Cdr. R.E. Hawes, USN) was also with them.

They arrived at Fremantle around 1000H/16. (6)

Sources

  1. http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/as14.htm
  2. Patrol report of USS Sailfish for her 5th war patrol + War diary USS Whippoorwill for August 1942
  3. Report of proceedings of HMAS Adelaide for October 1942
  4. Patrol report of USS Searaven for her 5th war patrol
  5. File 2.12.03.2100 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands) + War diary of USS Pelias for May 1943 + War diary of commander US naval forces Western Australia for May 1943
  6. Report of proceedings of HMAS Adelaide for March 1944

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