Currituck (AV 7) - Naval Cruise Book

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U.5.S. CURRITUCK AV-U The present USS CURRITUCK was built by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, she was launched on September ll, 1943, and commissioned as the first of the CURRITUCK class Seaplane tend- ers on june 26, 1944. The 15,000 ton vessel is 540 feet long and 70 feet wide. During her war tour CURRlTUCK5served as flagship for Commander Air, SEVENTH Fleet, carried aviation supplies to foriward areas , and participated in the liberation of Leyte in the Philippines. It was during Leyte that she first came under fire and had to defend against numer- ous air attacks. After the japanese surrender in 1945 CURRITUCK remained in the Pacific for occupation services. She returned to the United States' west coast in December of 1945, where for the next 18 months she took part in fleet operations, She was placed out of commission at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in the summer of 1947. CURRITUCK remained inactive until August 1951, when she was again commissioned. Dur- ing her second tour she was primarily in the Atlantic and her operations were largely confined to the Virginia Cape and Caribbean areas except for a tour of duty with the Sixth Fleet in the Med- iterranean. Once again in 1957 CURRITUCK was placed out of commission, this time however, to under- go extended overhaul and modernization. Cn August 20, 1960 CURRITUCK was placed in com- mission and proceeded to her new home port, San Diego, California, to join her sister ships as arunit of NAVAIRPAC. CURRITUCK is presently on her second deployment to the Western Pac- ific where she serves as flagship for Commander Taiwan Patrol Force.,

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THE FIRST CURRITUCK The name CURRITUCK is derived from the Coratank Indian word meaning Wild Geese. Two ships of the Navyhave been named for the Currituck Sound which is located between Virginia and North Carolina. The first U. S, S, Currituck was commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1862 during the Civil War. A screw-steamer, she was 120 feet long and mounted an armament of one 20-pounder and four 32-pounder guns. Enroute to her assigned duty with the Potomac Flotilla, Currituck was ordered to tow MONITOR from New York to Hampton Roads , Virginia as soon as possible to put a stop to the depredations of the Confederate MERRIMAC. Currituck arrived with her tow on 8 March and assumed her duties with the Potomac Flotilla. She spent her entire service in the Chesapeake Bay and tributary waters performing guard and picket duties. During the war she was credited with the capture of eight vessels and several assists. She was decommissioned and sold in the summer of 1865. Cmnt I 2

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ROBERT WILKS WINDSOR , jr. was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1918. He was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1941 and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1943, During World War II he served in the USS Colorado and the destroyer USS Mc1.anahan. I-Ie also served as Commanding Officer of Composite Squadron Sixty-eight in the USS Sham- rock Bay in the Pacific area. After the war Captain Windsor served on various staffs and attended the Combat Information Center School and the Naval Air Test Pilot School. While on his second tour at the Naval Air Test Center in 1956, Captain Windsor set a new national speed record flying an F8U Crusader 1015 miles per hour over a fifteen kilometer course in the Mojave Desert. For this feat he was awarded the Thompson Trophy. Captain Winds or reported to the USS Currituck from duty on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. I-Ie was Commanding Officer of the Currituck from April 1962 until February 1.963. Among his decorations he holds the Distinguished Flying Cross. I . P PAUL JOSEPH KNAPP was born in Mason City, Iowa on Ijuly 1916. I-Ie attended Loras Col- lege in Dubuque, Iowa and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in june 1938. I-Ie entered the Naval Aviation Cadet program that same year and was designated a Naval Aviator in November 1939. During World War II Captain Knapp served with Bombing Squadron Two in the USS Lexington and participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea. For his part in that engagement he received the Navy Cross. I-Ie later served as instructor at the Naval Air Station, Alameda, California and as Commanding Officer of three successive squadrons. After the war Captain Knapp attended the General Line ' School and the Armed Forces Staff College and served in various assignments ashore and afloat. In 1959 he attend- ed the Naval War College and later served on the Staff of Carrier Division Five. Prior to reporting to the Currituck, Captain Knapp served on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Air Advanced Training at Corpus Christi, Texas as Chief of Staff. I Captain Knapp assumed command of the Currituck in February 1963. 4