.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SSHenry M. Flagler |
| Namesake | Henry Morrison Flagler |
| Operator | Florida East Coast Car Ferry Company |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania |
| Laid down | 1914 |
| Launched | 22 September 1914 |
| Fate | Requisitioned by US Navy, 28 July 1941 |
| United States | |
| Name | USSKeokuk |
| Acquired | by requisition, 28 July 1941 |
| Commissioned | 28 February 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 5 December 1945 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Fate | Sold, 7 March 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Commercial cargo carrier |
| Displacement | 6,150 long tons (6,249 t) |
| Length | 353 ft (108 m) |
| Beam | 57 ft (17 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 278 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Operations: | |
| Awards: | 5battle stars |
USSKeokuk (AN-5/CM-8/CMc-6/AKN-4) was amine andnet laying ship of theUnited States Navy during World War II.
Laid down in 1914 as theSS Henry M. Flagler byWilliam Cramp & Sons,Philadelphia, and renamedSS Columbia Heights in 1940, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 28 July 1941 for conversion to a coastal minelayer, CMc-6. Reclassified as a net layer, AN-5, and named USSKeokuk on 15 August 1941, she was commissioned on 28 February 1942. Reclassified as a minelayer, CM-8, on 18 May 1942, and again as a net cargo ship, AKN-4, in November 1943.
Keokuk clearedDelaware Bay on 7 March 1942 and arrivedNorfolk, Virginia, the same day to commence service as a net layer. She operated out of Norfolk andKey West, Florida, for two months before she was reclassified as minelayer CM-8 on 18 May 1942. Based atYorktown, Virginia, mine depot that summer,Keokuk engaged in high-priority mine laying along the Atlantic coast.
As the war in Europe intensified, the mine layer made preparations for service in theMediterranean. DepartingBrooklyn, New York, on 13 November,Keokuk crossed thesubmarine-infested Atlantic and arrived atCasablanca on 1 December. She remained inNorth African waters for seven weeks laying mines off the harbor of Casablanca. She sailed on 20 January 1943 withconvoy GUS-8, arrivingNew York on 7 February. Following repairs atHoboken, New Jersey,Keokuk sailed on 1 March to commence net-laying exercises out ofMelville, Rhode Island.
During April and May, the minelayer operated with the mine warfare school at Yorktown, Virginia; then sailed to Brooklyn, New York, to join a convoy bound forAlgeria.Keokuk departedBrooklyn on 13 June, arrivingOran, Algeria, 4 July. Two days later she steamed towardGela,Sicily, to layantisubmarine minefields prior to the landing there. During these operations, on 11 July,Keokuk was attacked by six enemy planes; butanti-aircraft fire drove the raiders off. After the successful conclusion of the Sicilian campaign, she operated out of Algeria until sailing for Norfolk, Virginia, 7 October.
Upon completion of a short overhaul,Keokuk was converted to a net layer and, reclassified AKN-4, departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 23 November for thePacific. She arrived atTarawa on 3 February 1944 after a month's stay atPearl Harbor, and immediately commenced net laying operations in theMarshall Islands. She continued this service until 12 April when she clearedEniwetok to load new net atSan Francisco, California.Keokuk returned to Kwajalein on 9 June, and departed two days later to engage in theamphibious assault on Saipan. She arrived in Saipan waters on 19 June and began laying antisubmarine net offTanapag Harbor.
Following the Saipan campaign the net-cargo ship operated out of Eniwetok until 17 July when she once again sailed for San Francisco, California. Upon her return toGuadalcanal on 1 September,Keokuk readied herself for the assault onPeleliu which was needed as a base for the subsequent invasion in thePhilippines. She arrived offKossol Passage on 17 September and continued net laying operations for a month before arriving atManus on 17 October. The next dayKeokuk sailed for San Francisco, California, to undergo repair and overhaul.
The net-cargo ship returned to Eniwetok on 6 February 1945 as the war was approaching its climax.Keokuk departedGuam on 16 February, bound for theJapanese-held volcano fortress,Iwo Jima. She commenced net laying operations four days later, as she played her key role in this courageous undertaking.
On 21 February just prior to sunset while cruising in formation with a group ofLSTs, an enemy"Jill" dived out of the clouds and hitKeokuk on thestarboard side, knocking out most of the starboard20 mm guns battery. The fires were extinguished by 18:50; the ship had 17 killed and 44 wounded in the action.[1]
Upon completion of repairs atLeyte, the net-cargo ship sailed on 19 March toward the last great hurdle –Okinawa.Keokuk arrived offKerama Retto on 26 March to lay antisubmarine nets prior to the invasion. With the invasion well under way, she cleared the battle area 4 April, arriving Saipan 10 April. Then after a two-month overhaul at Pearl Harbor,Keokuk returned to Eniwetok on 2 July to unload net material. As the war entered its final month, she sailed fromUlithi on 25 July, and, after a stop at Pearl Harbor, arrived San Francisco, California, 10 September.
The veteran ship remained there until she decommissioned on 5 December 1945 at San Francisco, California. She was transferred to theWar Shipping Administration on 1 July 1946 for disposal; and sold on 7 March 1947 to theWest India Fruit and Steamship Company ofFlorida.
Keokuk received fivebattle stars forWorld War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.