Tulare (AKA 112) - Naval Cruise Book

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TU LARE'S MAIN ARMAM ENT HER LANDING CRAFT In June of 1954 she was taken back to her building yard for Navy uniform. The conversion period lasted from June 1954 to 12 January, 1956 on which date she was commissioned as the USS TULARE QAKA- 112y, our first and, to date, our only post- war AKA, She reported to the Commander Amphibious Force, U,S, Pacific Fleet for duty, and went on her shakedown cruise in 1957 to the South Pacific to serve as a unit of the SEVENTH Fleet. She is pres- ently serving as a unitof'Amphibious Squadron THREE, Amphibious Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. .... -4- ,f V N

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HISTORY SS TLILARE AKA-II2 o v The ineeeptien of Uss TULARE QAKA-1l2y goes back to the period imme- diatelyf,fol1o'wing the outbreak of hostilities in V,Iforea.'2lOn - July 1951, the character- istics ofa new AKA, known as Project 77,5,vej-e eppreved by the Chief of A ' , Naval Operations. These. characteristics were based on the conversion of a Mari- time Commission single cargo vessel. The Evergreen, Mariner hull No. 32, built by the Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp. at San Francisco, was chosen. She had never ,sailed in her civilian capacity before being commissioned in the Navy. . , , 4 ,- Y- 5 ' - rf-1---MH L - -e-- in Y' -V R AMN A K ..k. V. .W 1., . .-,.Y 1-,,.-ey -va-.:,'.,:-eg-:Q-j -,,. ,, : ., , , , ,, ,- , --. , - N ,Q v--H. . -3-'.p,...1 . ' , 5.4 .sf-. iT -'.aI ,f-FT' 'YYY'-' ' A x

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1-44 -.--WTf-..,.-.--- .--i...-.f-. l-..... V -...,-Y- Q V .li ' -Y ,..,.,,.,,.-, m ,.,, --..,. . . COMMANDING FFICER I4 OCTOBER I966 I6 MARCH I968 CAPT. R. D. THOMPSON p... , V, Xfdm . ,, Y. , , -- - ,,.. , A.. N ,,, A ' ' , I V, ., J my 5 -...QA , . ' 'l . Y 'Q' JPY' 'Q' x ' KZVIPV-1fZ'jL Q5 Hvfv,-Z F ff7f33-fl , :f-.'.-12.1141 ,5r -g.gg:q:,g..gv,jf.5 xxjQfZ-:xii ' Captain Robert D. Thompson, a native of Metuchen, New Jersey, graduated from the U,S. Naval Academy in June of 1945. This was followed by Sub- marine school after which he served in successive junior officer billets in the USS BANG QSS 3855, USS SEA OWN QSS 4055 and USS TORO QSS 4225. After attending the U,S. Naval post graduate school he received a degree of Master of Bioradiology in June 1954, and later went on to serve in the USS PIPER QSS 4095 and later to command the USS SARDA QSS4885 and the high speed research sub- marine USS ALBACORE CAGS 5695. Subsequent billets have in- cluded assignments to the Naval Long Range Studies Project, staff of Commander Task fGrou.p ALFA QCommander Carrier Div- ision SIXTEEN5 and Chief Staff Officer on the staff of Commander Submarine Five. in San Diego. Prior to coming to TULARE, Captain Thompson served for one year as Commander Submarine Division THIRTY-TWO, home ported in San Diego. He is married to the former Janice Misell of Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The Thompsons have four sons and three daughters and reside in San Diego.