Ajax (AR 6) - Naval Cruise Book

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, , t Nea, ' s X Y s ' '1 . ' - - .se , lf ' . fi! . Q ., ' ca The second vessel, USS AJAX IAC-I4J, a fleet collier, retained her original name of SCINDIA until 1 January 1901. SCINDIA was offered for sale to the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American War for S267, 657 by her builder and owner, D. Br, W. Henderson 85 Company, Glasgow, Scotland, and was purchased on 1 May 1898. Built in 1890, she was an unarmored steel schooner having an overall length of 387 feet 6 inches, beam, 46 feet 6 inches, depth, 30 feet, mean draft Cloadedl, 24 feet 8 inches, displacement, 7,500 tons, speed, ll knots, complement, 10 officers and 98 enlisted, and battery, four six-pound guns. When commissioned in the U.S. Navy on 21 May 1898, her commanding officer was Commander E. W. Watson, USN. After her delivery to the Norfolk Navy Yard for repair and installations, SCINDIA was placed in service to the North Atlantic Squadron and during the month of june 1898, was in the Haitian-Cuban area. Returning to Norfolk, she continued her collier service until October, 1898. While attached to the Special Squadron, she made courtesy calls at various ports of South American countries, enroute to the Navy Yard, Mare Island, California. In March, 1899, she reported there for survey on her machinery and boilers and was placed out of commission. The restoration work com- pleted, she was recommissioned 23 December 1899. In the year 1900, SCINDIA circled the globe, routed across the Pacific to Guam, thence to Philippine Islands, to Hong Kong, Borneo, Ceylon, Port Said, Egypt, Gibraltar, Spain, Cardiff, Wales, retracing her route many times for the purpose of taking on and ex- changing cargoes of hemp and coal. ' Known as AJAX from 1 January 1901, she arrived at Norfolk Navy Yard on 1 March and was out of com- mission from March to October 1901. The former operations in the Mediterranean Sea and the Orient were repeated during the next two years. From September 1903, until 30 December 1904, she was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet. On 4 November 1905, AJAX was placed out of service at the Norfolk Navy Yard. Again activated, she served from 20 january 1907 on the East Coast. The next year AJAX made the good will cruise with the Battle Fleet around the world, returning to Hampton Roads in February 1909. She was detached from the Atlantic Fleet and arrived in 4 elf' vNfv Portsmouth as outolwlcf W Atl, service Ol the was pCl' 4 anniaos ammf 1 duties ol Shlmm delivetl- lllducei i lslantlS- law D: sions to Vlaelwf Even dufiiltl W3 uninternmfffi W cooperating F3 manenill' - men and fires E for succesflfl' 3 vessel. .ELSASS Honolulu, Hana: she was ox: of ::: was then deign: Naval Dam: Zi' AIAX was :e::': llth Dnisisn. E ' the Fleet A::1:' Septembe 1923 ti In Febraaj, lender. Aircraft S lvlv 1921, 5,- lliseellaneous AJ ordered relieved gg' lull' 1925 533.3 Cavite og 14 Axi- A

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,ci 4X 1-11 TORY OF USS AJAX USS AJAX KAR-62 is the fourth vessel to bear the name of the famous Greek hero of Homer's Iliad. Ajax, in Greek legend, was the name of two Greek chieftans in the Trojan War. The more important, known also as Telamonius, was the son of Telamon, King of Salamis. In Homer's Iliad he is described as of great stature and colossal frame, second only to Achilles in strength and bravery. He engaged Hector in single combat and, with the aid of Athene, rescued the body of Achilles from the hands of the Trojans. In the Agamem- non, at the instigation of Athene, Achilles' armor was awarded to Odysseus fUlysseusJ. This so enraged Ajax that it caused his death. According to a later and more definite story, accepted by Sophocles as the basis of his drama, this disappointment drove him mad, he rushed out of his tent and fell upon the flocks of sheep in the camp under the impression that they were the Greeks: on coming to his senses, he slew himself with the sword which he had received as a present from Hector. From his blood spranga red flower which bore on itsileaves the initial letters of his name, AI, also an expression of lament. He was 1tl'ie tutelary hero of the island of Salamis, where he had a temple and an image, and where a festival called Aianteia was celebrated in his honor. The first AJAX was a MONITOR class Ironclad steamer built during the Civil War which remained in her country's service for 34 years. The Ironclad AJAX was built for the Navy by Snowden and Mason, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was launched under the name MANAYUNK on 18 December 1864. MANA YUNK was taken to the Naval Station at Mound City, Illinois, and laid up until 1869 when her name was changed to AJAX. On 1 January 1871, she was commissioned with Lieutenant C. L. Franklin in command and reported to the North Atlantic Squadron. Between January and June 1871, she was based at Key West, carrying out coast-defense maneuvers, then ordered to League Island, Pennsylvania, where she was decommissioned and laid up. Recommissioned 13 January 1874, she returned to Key West and served with the North Atlan- tic Squadron until 1876. Between july 1876 and 1878 she was moored at Port Royal, South Carolina. if E .L 4. From 1878 until 1891, AJAX served on the James River. based successively at Brandon, Trees Point and City Point. On 1 july 1898. brief preparations were made to fit her out for service with the Auxiliary Naval Force, but these plans were soon abandoned and AJAX was decomissioned on 1 September 1898. On 10 October 1899, she was sold at a public auction to H. A. I-Iitner's Sons. fi 1 A 5- 2- Y .1 - .1 E, gf- 14-,,-......4. -5 ,X ,- -QPF r' f-A-'r' -- . ,.,, Q ,N - ., ' 'ew ' W H .rJM..L-LLILLQLJM la Hliihllll

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so: :mrs arid was f -u:.:r'atn1 worlr com- L: jeg-y:,I7tT 1899. ln ...M 3 glibc. routed H my Philippine mr: fffifr- Pm Said' Ni Wu, fffracing her ,Q n-iw!! gn ex' 51:1 Bi YJ, :g0l,s?.t3ml lcom- . euro .iLri'frm. .3-' Tue formCf fm:ctfSg'LnC me Orient mils , Ffom gh if Jmfmwnbe,1905. at O: .Norf0ll4NaVy 'fm' K it 20 lanualy irffg made the .174 'Nagy 1909. She niizuild arrived ll' M -k. Portsmoutlf1fiiNew Hampshirel Navy Yard in J une and was out of service until 30 April 1910. After two years of service on the Atlantic Station and Caribbean, AJAX was permanently assigned to the Asiatic Fleet as an auxiliary, arriving at Manila 30 April 1913. Her routing duties of shuttling from coaling places to bases of delivery, included Guam, Hawaiian Islands, Philippine Islands, Japan and China coasts, with occasional diver- sions to Vladivqstok, Siberia, and to Rangoon, Burma. Even during World War I, -1,917-1918, her visits were uninterrupted, with the exception of occasions, when cooperating with the Army she transported drafts of men and stores. Early in the war she was commended for successfully having towed the interned German vessel, ELSASS, the long distance from Samoa to Honolulu, Hawaii. From 20 April to 17 October 1921, she was out of commission at Cavite, Philippines, and was then designated as Receiving Ship for the 16th Naval District. While serving in that duty in 1923, AJAX was temporarily reassigned as Tender to the 18th Division, Submarines, Asiatic Fleet, and used at the Fleet Anchorage, Chefoo, China, returning in September 1923 to Cavite as Receiving Ship. In February 1924, AJAX was reassigned as Tender, Aircraft Squadrons, Asiatic Fleet, and on 1 July 1924, her classification was changed to Miscellaneous Auxiliary AG-15. In June 1925, she was ordered relieved of all duty and was decommissioned 8 July 1925, stricken from the Navy list, and sold at Cavite on 14 August 1925, to S. R. Paterno. .fi f i 1 ,. ,I -Y , f The third AJAX has been overlooked for mdgy years and is not included in The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. This AJAX Was 3 124-foot auxiliary ketch purchased 12 October 1917 in an unfinished condition. She was completed early in 1918 and placed in commission 16 February 1918. After four days as AJAX, her name was changed to ROCKPORT by General Order 3371 dated 20 February 1918. This vessel was assigned to the First Naval District, where she performed patrol duty in the Boston Section. She was decommissioned 28 February 1919 and sold at public auction 16 September 1919 to Thomas S. Longridge for S17,000. liar. Thegiiirih anliiiflesent AJAX, KAR-61, the second of the VULCAN class of fleet repair 'ships, was com- missioneg on 30 October 1943 and sent as quickly as possible-10 the support of Allied Naval Forces in their marc M oward Japan. USS AJAX fAR-62 was built by the L s Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation at San Pedro, California. Her keel was laid on 7 May 1941 and she was launched on 22 August 1942. Mrs. Isaac C. johnson, wife of Rear Admiral Isaac C. J ohn- son, USN, served as the ship's sponsor. Commander john L. Brown, USN, assumed command when AJAX was placed in commission on 30 October 1943. A brief fitting-out period at San Pedro was follow- ed by a short shakedown cruise, during which stan- dardization runs were made and operational training conducted. Because of the great need for the ship in connection with scheduled operations in the Central Pacific area, the shakedown cruise was curtailed and AJAX was ordered to report to Commander Service Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor. Arriving Pearl Harbor on 16 December 1943, she attracted con- siderable attention since she was the first of the new fleet repair ships to join the Pacific Fleet.