Diamond Head (AE 19) - Naval Cruise Book

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SHIP ' S CHARACTERISTICS Length: 459 ' 3 8 Beam: 63 ' 10 Draft (light): 8 ' 3 4 FWD 13 ' 3 7 8 AFT (loaded): 25 ' 2 FWD 31 ' 3 7 8 AFT Speed: Max 17 knots Full load 16 knots Mosttecon. 10 knots Horsepower: 6,000 shaft h. p. Armament: 2 3 50 cal single mounts Complement: Deadweight: Cargo Deadweight: Officers Warrants C.P.O Enlisted . . 5,427 tons 9,850 tons 12 2 . 16 253

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TTTFl THE HISTORY OF THE USS DIAMOND HEAD(AE-19) Built on a maritime C-2 hull, DIAMOND HEAD 1 was originally laid down as a merchantman on December 12, 1944. On March 10, 1945 the Navy I accepted her for conversion to an ammunition ship (AE). Commissioned on August 9, 1945, DIAMOND HEAD saw only a year ' s service before being retired to the reserve fleet on August 23, 1946. The Korean Conflict was the occasion for DIAMOND HEAD ' S recall. Recommissioned on August9, 1951, she was back on the line the following April. The next fifteen years found DIAMOND HEAD in the Atlantic area. During this time, the ship made nine Mediterranean deployments and many others to :, the Caribbean area and elsewhere. Although her = primary mission has been the rearming of the fleet at sea, DIAMOND HEAD has also performed such unlikely missions as the transporting of jet aircraft, serving as a medical assistance ship, and as an electronics test vessel. Twenty years after she join- ed the Atlantic Fleet, DIAMOND HEAD received orders to go west. On March 16, 1966, she got un- derway for the western Pacific Ocean (WESTPAC). Passing through the Panama Canal early on the morning of March 23, 1966, DIAMOND HEAD got her first taste of the Pacific Ocean. On May 4, 1966, I the ship was on the line in the Tonkin Gulf rearming I daily a steady stream of attack carriers and gun fire I support ships. During both her first two trips on the I line, DIAMOND HEAD transferred more ammuni- I tion than she had during her entire previous career. I Her sixth and last line period ended on November I 2, 1966. On December 19, 1966, DIAMOND HEAD ' arrived home at the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk Virginia, after an absence of over sixteen months. While in Vietnam, DIAMOND HEAD rearmed a total of 194 ships ranging in size from the super-carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN-65) to a twenty-six foot motor whale boat from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter YAKATAT (WVAP-380). After 1967 DIAMOND HEAD resumed her mission of providing bombs and bullets to the ships of the Atlantic Fleet. In ad- dition, she continued to serve the often unpredic- table needs of the Navy in other ways. Once her duties included carrying a fire engine across the Mediterranean. Another time, DIAMOND HEAD returned from Europe to find orders sending her back only a few days later. During this period, the ship received numerous commendations and awards including the Meritorious Unit Citation and the Battle Efficiency E . Enroute to the Caribbean early in 1972, DIAMOND HEAD learned of her planned retirement. Late spring and early summer of 1972 witnessed the careful preparation of the ship for decommissioning. In June, however, an ex- plosion of fleet requirements due to developments in Southeast Asia was the direct cause for DIAMOND HEAD ' S recall. The rest of the summer was spent refitting and equipping the ship for her return to active service. In August 1972, DIAMOND HEAD went back to sea in support of Operation PEGASUS, The CNO ' s high priority organic lift of dependents and household goods to Athens, Greece. After Athens, DIAMOND HEAD got un- derway for Cartagena, Spain, where she began her principal mission-the collection of overage ( retrograde ) ordnance for return to the U.S. After Cartagena, the ship visited Rota, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal; Glen Douglas, Scotland; Palma de Mallorca; Augusta Bay, Sicily; and Soudha Bay, Crete. After a week in Earle, New Jersey, where she offloaded her explosive cargo. DIAMOND HEAD returned to Norfolk on 14 December 1972, where she is again preparing for decommissioning. On 1 March 1973 the commissioning pennant will come down, and DIAMOND HEAD ' S twenty-eight years career will be ended.