_underway_at_sea%2c_circa_in_the_1960s.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Rankin |
| Namesake | Rankin County, Mississippi |
| Ordered | July 1944 |
| Builder | North Carolina Shipbuilding Company,Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Laid down | 31 October 1944 |
| Launched | 22 December 1944 |
| Commissioned | 25 February 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 21 May 1947 |
| Recommissioned | 22 March 1952 |
| Decommissioned | 11 May 1971 |
| Reclassified | LKA-103, 1969 |
| Stricken | 1 January 1977 |
| Motto | "Ready Now" |
| Honors & awards | 1battle star (World War II) |
| Fate | Sunk as a fishing & diving reef offStuart, Florida, 24 July 1988 |
| Badge | _insignia%2c_in_the_1950s_(NH_64702-KN).png) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Tolland-classattack cargo ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m) |
| Beam | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Propulsion | GE geared turbine drive, single propeller, 6,000 shp (4.5 MW) |
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Range | 17,000 miles |
| Boats & landing craft carried | |
| Capacity | 380,000 ft3 (11.000 m³), 5,275 tons |
| Complement | 62 officers, 333 men |
| Armament |
|
USSRankin (AKA-103/LKA-103) was aTolland-classattack cargo ship in service with theUnited States Navy from 1945 to 1947 and again from 1952 to 1971. She was finally sunk as anartificial reef in 1988.
USSRankin was named afterRankin County, Mississippi. Herkeel was laid down on 31 October 1944 atNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Co. inWilmington, North Carolina. She waslaunched 52 days later on 22 December, andcommissioned inCharleston, South Carolina on 25 February 1945.
Rankin was laid down on 31 October 1944 as Maritime Commission hull 1702 byNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Company,Wilmington, North Carolina.Rankin was launched on 22 December 1944, sponsored by Mrs. L. C. Freeman. The ship was acquired by the Navy on 25 January 1945, and ferried to theCharleston Navy Yard for conversion to an AKA. She was commissioned on 25 February 1945, less than four months after her keel was laid.
Following an Atlantic shakedown,Rankin steamed on 26 March 1945 in company withTollberg (APD-103) for thePanama Canal Zone. Joining thePacific Fleet on 1 April, she loaded Marine Corps replacement equipment at San Francisco and steamed independently forHawaii on 17 April. Intensive training in shipboard procedures and amphibious techniques followed. She then took on 5,000 tons of Army ammunition atHonolulu and, in company withTolovana (AO-64), steamed on 25 May forUlithi. Escorted byEnright (DE-216), she unloaded her cargo atOkinawa. During her 17 days at theBattle of Okinawa, the ship faced more than 100 air raids bykamikaze. All ammunition was offloaded between air raids.
Rankin departed Okinawa on 28 June 1945 in convoy forSaipan. There she offloaded her boat group and then steamed independently for San Francisco, arriving on 20 July. After taking on landing craft, she put in atSeattle for repairs. Hostilities ended during loading operations, her ammunition was offloaded, and the ship sailed for thePhilippines, arrivingManila on 9 September.
Assigned to TransRon 20,Rankin steamed forLingayen Gulf. En route, she touched atSubic Bay, contributed landing craft to the boat pool there, and then commenced taking on equipment of the 25th Army Division from theSan Fabian beaches.
The squadron got underway for Japan on 1 October. After riding at anchor for nearly three weeks while the approaches toNagoya, southernHonshū, were cleared ofmines, the squadron entered that port on 27 October.Rankin embarked Navy personnel there, took on inoperable landing craft atSamar in the Philippines, and sailed for home, arriving San Francisco on 25 November.
The ship visited China and Japan during 1946 and early 1947.
The ship returned home, and on 10 March 1947.Rankin was decommissioned on 21 May at San Francisco and entered the Maritime Commission'sNational Defense Reserve Fleet atSuisun Bay, California.
Rankin was recommissioned on 22 March 1952 at theTodd Shipyard,Alameda, California. Following shakedown, the ship transited thePanama Canal to join the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet. Operating out ofNorfolk, she commenced a lengthy second career of support for amphibious training operations along theEast Coast as well as in theCaribbean andMediterranean.
Medal of Honor recipient Capt. (later V.Adm.)Lawson P. Ramage took command of the ship on 11 April 1953, serving until 19 July 1954. On 4 October 1956, Capt. (later Adm.)W.F.A. Wendt took command.
On 11 September 1957, Capt. (laterR.Adm.)John Harllee relieved Capt. Wendt. On 18 July 1958,Rankin was among theamphibious forces which landed 5,000 U.S. Marines inLebanon, in response to a request from the Lebanese Government for assistance in averting civil war.
In early March 1959Rankin departed Norfolk for a six-month cruise to the Mediterranean as part of theUnited States Sixth Fleet. Acruise book was published to commemorate this trip.
From 1959 to 1968,Rankin deployed periodically to the Caribbean withAmphibious Squadron 10, a fast amphibious squadron withVertical Envelopment capabilities. Operating regularly in the Caribbean, she repeatedly called atPuerto Rico, theVirgin Islands, Haiti,Jamaica, andCuba.
During theCuban Missile Crisis of October and November 1962, occasioned by the discovery of Russian intermediate-rangeballistic missiles in Cuba,Rankin operated in the force which was marshaled in Cuban waters, prepared for any eventuality. In January 1963,Rankin departedNorfolk withPHIBRON 10 and various components of the 2nd Marine Battalion. In late February, she visitedSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic, in company withBoxer (LPH-4) for the inauguration of presidentJuan Bosch. For this service,Rankin received commendations from vice-presidentLyndon B. Johnson. She returned to Norfolk on 7 March. In April, as a result of the unstable political situation in Haiti, the ship proceeded directly to a position off that country and patrolled in theGulf of Gonave for thirty-one days until tensions eased.
Navy Cross recipient George C. Cook took command ofRankin on 16 July 1963. She subsequently had a yard period atNorfolk Naval Shipyard. Refresher training atGuantanamo Bay followed early in January 1964.
Capt. (laterV.Adm.) William T. Rapp took command on 22 August 1964.Rankin participated in exercise "Steel Pike I" off the Spanish coast 28 September through 3 December. Upon returning to Norfolk, she underwent a tender availability withAmphion (AR-13), after which she resumed coastal training and readiness operations, and deployments with the Caribbean Amphibious Ready Squadron.
During squadron exercises in April 1965,Rankin participated in theDominican Republic Intervention. Arriving off the coast of Santo Domingo,Rankin and other ships of PhibRon 10 commenced the mass embarkation and evacuation of over 1,000 refugees and U.S. civilian nationals. As a result of this operation, theRankin and all her personnel were awarded theNavy Unit Commendation by theSecretary of the Navy.
In October 1966,Rankin was called on to render relief to the disaster area ofCayes-Jacmel, Haiti, afterHurricane Inez caused massive damage to the island. The men ofRankin unloaded tons of food, medical supplies, and building supplies to help the stricken people. After her regular overhaul period in 1967,Rankin returned to operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean with Amphibious Squadron Ten.
Deployed to the Caribbean from March to July 1968,Rankin visitedSan Juan,Guantanamo Bay, Panama,St. Thomas,St. Croix,Aruba andJamaica. In August 1968, Rankin participated in exercise "Riverine 68", which was designed to demonstrate to Marine and Naval Forces the latest methods of combating jungle warfare. In November 1968, Rankin was reassigned to Amphibious Squadron Four. In December, she participated in theApollo 8 Moon Orbital Flight as a secondary recovery ship in the U.S. Navy Recovery Force south ofBermuda.
Effective from 1 January 1969,Rankin was redesignatedLKA-103 and reclassifiedAmphibious cargo ship. In late July, she took on Marines and equipment and deployed to the Mediterranean, returning to Norfolk on 13 December. Another cruise book was produced to commemorate this trip.
The new year, 1970, brought with it a period of operations off the eastern seaboard, and another July-to-December Mediterranean deployment, also memorialized in a cruise book, with theSixth Fleet.Rankin returned toLittle Creek on 14 December 1970.
Rankin was decommissioned for the second and final time on 11 May 1971 at Little Creek.
On 24 July 1988, the ship was sunk as an artificial fishing and diving reef, six miles off the coast ofStuart, Florida. She rests on her starboard side at a depth of 130 feet at27°12.148′N80°06.087′W / 27.202467°N 80.101450°W /27.202467; -80.101450.[1]
The following is a video showing the current state of the wreck underwater.
As a result of her service during World War II,Rankin was entitled to wear the ribbons associated with theAmerican Campaign Medal, theAsiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with one star, theWorld War II Victory Medal, theNavy Occupation Service Medal with an Asian Clasp, theNational Defense Service Medal, and theChina Service Medal.
During the eight years after her 1952 recommissioning,Rankin won theBattle Efficiency Award six times, including an unprecedented five straight from 1956 to 1960. By special order of Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet,Rankin sailors were authorized to wear a Gold E on their arms, and the ship wore a Gold E on her stack. In 1958,Rankin simultaneously held every award available to a ship of her class: the Battle Efficiency Award (the White E), the Engineering Red E, the communications Green E, gunnery awards for both her40 mm batteries and her5 inch mount, the Assault Boat Coxswain Award, and theMarjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award. She was awarded theArmed Forces Expeditionary Medal for her service in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1988 | |
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| Other incidents |
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