View source for USS Acadia

{{short description|Tender of the United States Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=July 2010}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Acadia AS-42 USS Fresno LST-1182 1982.jpeg
|Ship image size=300px
|Ship caption=''Acadia'' (top) and {{USS|Fresno|LST-1182|6}} in 1982
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1994}}
|Ship name=USS ''Acadia''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=11 March 1976
|Ship builder= [[National Steel and Shipbuilding Company]], San Diego
|Ship laid down=14 February 1978
|Ship launched=28 July 1979
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=6 June 1981
|Ship decommissioned=16 December 1994
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=13 December 2007<ref>{{cite web| title= Naval Vessel Register |url= {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AD42}} |publisher= US Navy |access-date= 25 February 2012}}</ref>
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sunk as target 20 September 2010
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Yellowstone|destroyer tender}}
|Ship displacement= {{convert|21916|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}  
|Ship length= {{convert|641|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|85|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|24|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=2 boilers, steam turbines, single shaft, {{convert|20000|shp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|20|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=*87 officers
*1,508 enlisted
|Ship armament=*2 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm cannon]]
*4 × [[M2 Browning|{{convert|0.5|in|mm|abbr=on|1}}]]. machine guns
*2 × [[Mk 19 grenade launcher|40&nbsp;mm]] grenade launchers
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities= *Helicopter deck/platform and hangar aft
* Enabling "fly-away" repair team support, as well as resupply and emergency airlifts.
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''''Acadia'' (AD-42)''' was a {{sclass|Yellowstone|destroyer tender}} in the service of the [[United States Navy]], named after [[Acadia National Park]].  She was inactive and in reserve after her 1994 decommissioning at [[Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility]] (NISMF), [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, under maintenance category B, until sunk off Guam during a live-fire training exercise ([[Valiant Shield]]) on 20 September 2010.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Acadia'' was ordered on 11 March 1976, [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 14 February 1978 at [[San Diego]], [[California]], by [[National Steel and Shipbuilding Company]], [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 28 July 1979, [[Ship sponsor|sponsored]] by Mrs. Clarence R. Bryan, wife of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Clarence R. Bryan]], and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 6 June 1981.

== Service history ==

=== 1981–1987 ===
''Acadia'' completed her outfitting at her builder's yard on 6 July and then made the brief trip to [[Naval Base San Diego|Naval Station San Diego]]. After a month clearing details and getting ready, the destroyer tender embarked upon her [[shakedown cruise]] on 7 August. That voyage took her to [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii, and back to San Diego where she arrived on 28 August. When the ship returned to her home port, her crew concentrated their efforts on honing their skills as repairmen; and, except for a few brief periods at sea for underway training and propulsion plant certification, ''Acadia'' spent the rest of the year in port at San Diego.

The destroyer tender began 1982 as a fully operational mobile repair facility of the [[U.S. Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]. She provided her services at San Diego until the beginning of February when she moved to the Naval Air Station, [[Alameda, California|Alameda]]. At the end of the month, she steamed back to San Diego. Late in May, the ship embarked [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]] and [[NROTC]] midshipmen for their summer training cruise. On 14 June, ''Acadia'' stood out of San Diego on her way to Hawaii. The destroyer tender repaired ships of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor from 22 June to 25 July. Returning to San Diego in August, she spent the remainder of the year in the immediate vicinity of her home port. Though she put to sea occasionally for training purposes, the majority of the time, she was in San Diego doing repair work for the fleet.

In December 1982, ''Acadia'' began preparations for the first overseas assignment of her career. On 4 January 1983, the destroyer tender put to sea for a journey to the [[Orient]], the Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa. ''Acadia'' stopped at Pearl Harbor between 12 and 14 January and, after another ten days at sea, arrived in [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa|Yokosuka]], Japan, on 24 January. ''Acadia'' remained at Yokosuka for almost a month then visited [[U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]] before setting a course for the [[Philippines]] on 23 February. The ship entered [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]], [[Luzon]] on 27 February and performed repairs until 3 March when she put to sea for duty in the Indian Ocean. She reached the British outpost on [[Diego Garcia|Diego Garcia Island]] on 13 March and worked at that location for 16 days. On 29 March, ''Acadia'' headed for the east coast of Africa. She visited [[Mombasa, Kenya]] from 4 to 11 April, called at [[Mogadishu]], the capital of [[Somalia]], between 13 and 16 April, and paused overnight at [[Masirah]], an island off the coast of [[Oman]] near the [[Horn of Africa]], on 22 and 23 April. The destroyer tender returned to the base at Diego Garcia on 29 April and spent the next month there repairing warships on duty in the troubled waters of the [[Arabian Sea]] and the [[Persian Gulf]].

On 2 June 1983, ''Acadia'' departed Diego Garcia on her way to Pattaya, [[Thailand]]. The ship arrived at Pattaya on 11 June. For the rest of the deployment, she operated in Far Eastern waters proper. From Pattaya, she steamed back to Subic Bay where she provided repair services to ships of the [[US 7th Fleet]] during the latter part of June. During July, ''Acadia'' called at Hong Kong, Pusan in [[Korea]], and at Sasebo, Japan. On 16 July, the destroyer tender stood out of Sasebo on her way back to the United States. She took the usual break in the transpacific voyage at Pearl Harbor between 27 and 29 July and reentered San Diego harbor on 4 August.

''Acadia'' remained at San Diego for about two months after her return from the Orient. Post-deployment stand down consumed the first month, but she got back to work providing repair service during the second. Near the middle of October, the destroyer tender voyaged north to [[Bremerton, Washington]], where she carried on her duties until 4 November. Returning south by way of San Francisco, ''Acadia'' reached San Diego again on 12 November. She resumed repair work at San Diego upon her return and remained so occupied through the end of 1983 and well into 1984. In fact, the ship did not get underway again until late in March 1984 when she put to sea for three days in the southern California operating area. She returned to port on 23 March and resumed repair work until June. During the week of 11 to 18 June, ''Acadia'' made the round-trip to [[Monterey, California|Monterey]] and back. In July, she participated in a midshipman summer training cruise and, in August, carried out refresher training in the local operating area. During the remaining months of 1984, the destroyer tender concentrated on repair work and preparations for her second deployment overseas.

''Acadia'' embarked upon the voyage to the Far East on 5 January 1985. She stopped over in Pearl Harbor from 12 to 14 January and then resumed her journey west. Steaming by way of [[Guam]], the destroyer tender arrived in Subic Bay on 2 February. She conducted repairs there for about a week and voyaged to Hong Kong for a port visit. The ship returned to Subic Bay during the latter part of February and stayed there until 8 March. At that time, she headed for Japan. During March, she called at Sasebo and at the Korean ports of Pusan and Chinhae. On 28 March, the tender returned to Japan at Yokosuka. ''Acadia'' spent the remainder of her tour of duty with the 7th Fleet at Yokosuka carrying out an extremely heavy schedule of repairs on warships assigned to that fleet. On 12 June, she set out upon the voyage home. ''Acadia'' stopped at Pearl Harbor as usual and pulled into San Diego on 3 July. After a month of leave and upkeep, the destroyer tender began preparations for her first regular overhaul. On 16 September, she moved to the former Southwest Marine Shipyard (now owned by [[BAE Systems]], and renamed BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair) in San Diego where she underwent repairs until mid-December.

Holiday leave and upkeep occupied the last half of December 1985, but ''Acadia'' launched into a full schedule of repair services in January 1986. Except for occasional brief periods at sea and a port visit to San Francisco in June, she remained at San Diego until September. Early in the month, she put to sea for refresher training and, on the 28th, embarked upon the passage to Alameda. ''Acadia'' arrived at the Naval Air Station, Alameda, on 1 October and began a busy six weeks of repair work there. The destroyer tender returned to San Diego in the middle of November and spent the remainder of 1986 in preparations for overseas movement.

Although originally slated to deploy in January 1987, ''Acadia'' provided repair services to ships in the San Diego area into the spring. On 14 April, the tender sailed for the western Pacific, and after touching at Pearl Harbor (21 – 22 April) and Subic Bay (8 – 18 May), was en route to Diego Garcia when she was rerouted to the Persian Gulf.

[[File:USS Acadia (AD-42) with USS Stark (FFG-31) alongside.jpg|thumb|USS ''Acadia'' with {{USS|Stark|FFG-31|6}} in port]]
An [[Iraq]]i [[Mirage (aircraft)|Mirage]] F.1 had attacked and severely damaged the [[guided missile frigate]] {{USS|Stark|FFG-31|2}} on 17 May 1987. The crippled ship had limped into [[Bahrain]], where ''Acadia'' was dispatched soon thereafter. Between 1 and 27 June, ''Acadia'' provided berthing, messing, and repair services to ''Stark'', "doing what she [''Acadia''] was designed to do, providing forward deployed support and battle damage repair..."

=== 1987–1994 ===
[[File:USSAcadia.jpg|thumb|''Acadia'', with {{USS|Oldendorf|DD-972|2}} and {{USS|Curts|FFG-38|2}} alongside, and a sea-going tug on the other, November 1990]]
On 5 September 1990 the ship departed San Diego for the [[Persian Gulf]] during [[Gulf War#Operation Desert Shield|Operation Desert Shield]] and [[Operation Desert Storm]]. She was responsible for the first reload of shipboard [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk missiles]] outside the continental United States while pierside in [[Mina Jebel Ali]]. The reload recipient was the 

This was the first wartime deployment of a mixed male-female crew on a U.S. Navy combat vessel with just over one-third of her crew being women. During this time, the ship was branded as the "love boat" when 36 of the crew's women (about 10%) discovered that they were pregnant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rissman |first=Rebecca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxjPDAAAQBAJ |title=Women in War |date=2016-08-15 |publisher=ABDO |isbn=978-1-68077-490-0 |language=en |page=71}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/30/us/36-women-pregnant-aboard-a-navy-ship-that-served-in-gulf.html | work=The New York Times | title=36 Women Pregnant Aboard a Navy Ship That Served in Gulf | date=30 April 1991}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Campbell |first=D'Ann |title=Combatting The Gender Gulf |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/222837238 |access-date=2024-09-09 |journal=Minerva |volume=10 |issue=3 |page=13 |date=1992 |id={{ProQuest|222837238}} |via=ProQuest |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{efn-ua|''The Washington Times'' incorrectly characterized all 36 as having become "pregnant while deployed".<ref name=":0"/><ref name="auto">{{Cite news |date=15 June 2004 |title=Pregnant troops leave the war; Central Command not counting |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/jun/15/20040615-115647-8125r/ |access-date=2021-03-14 |work=The Washington Times |language=en-US}}</ref>}} They were transferred off the ship due to a navy rule that required pregnant women be stationed within six hours of an [[obstetrician]].<ref name="LA Times">{{Cite news |last=Zamichow |first=Nora |date=1991-04-27 |title=10% of Women on Navy Ship Return Pregnant |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-27-me-466-story.html |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Nine of the women had been already but unknowingly pregnant when the ship left port and five more were transferred in while unknowingly pregnant. The final 22 either became pregnant with a fellow crewmember, despite a prohibition on sexual relationships while deployed, or while on shore leave when the ship stopped in Hawaii, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="LA Times"/> A US Navy spokesperson at the time defended the ship's crew, noting that the ship's "pregnancy rate [was] lower than the civilian average—16%—for the age group of 20 to 24 year olds, and it [was] about half what the Navy would expect to see among its female population".<ref name="LA Times"/>

On 30 October 1990, the [[amphibious assault ship]] {{USS|Iwo Jima|LPH-2}} sustained a catastrophic mechanical failure when a high-pressure steam valve burst. This cost the lives of ten of her crew but repairs kept her fully operational for [[Operation Desert Storm]] after six weeks of repairs by ''Acadia''.

On 18 February 1991, the [[guided missile cruiser]] {{USS|Princeton|CG-59|2}} struck two influence [[Naval mine|mines]] in the Persian Gulf just forward of her after {{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on|0}} [[gun mount]] during Operation Desert Storm, resulting in a cracked [[superstructure]], a jammed [[Port and starboard|port]] [[rudder]] and leaking port shaft seal. Despite severe damage to her [[stern]], her forward weapon systems and [[Aegis combat system]] were back online within 15 minutes. ''Princeton'' remained on station for 30 hours until relieved. Repairs performed by ''Acadia'' in the Mina Jebel Ali near [[Dubai]] took five weeks, after which ''Princeton'' returned to the [[United States]] under her own power for additional repairs. ''Acadia'' returned to San Diego at the end of her deployment and received the [[Navy Unit Commendation]] for her service during the Gulf War.

In the summer of 1993, ''Acadia'' conducted [[sea trials]] which earned her two [[Battle E]]s for [[warship]] preparedness prior to her pending deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf. In early November 1993 she got underway with a crew of around 1,500 was now half female. ''Acadia'' proceeded to Hawaii, then to Guam for supplies before setting course for [[Hong Kong]]. Plans called for her to visit [[Singapore]] and then the Persian Gulf, but because of ongoing tensions in [[Mogadishu]], [[Somalia]], ''Acadia'' received orders to divert to Somalia way to her way to the [[United Arab Emirates]]. She encountered [[Typhoon Kyle]] in the [[South China Sea]] before she called briefly at Singapore for mail and personnel exchange. She then set out for [[Bali]], conducting ''Acadia''′s last crossing of the [[equator]] en route. ''Acadia'' visited Bali for rest and recreation, her crew's last scheduled time ashore for over a month.

''Acadia'' arrived off Mogadishu during the first week of December 1993. Upon arrival, a [[Seaman (rank)|seaman]] from the Boats and Cranes Division of the Deck Department was knocked overboard while lowering the ship's stairwell. The waters were known to be [[shark]]-infested as [[fishing vessel]]s and [[fish factory ship]]s frequently dumped their byproducts in the ocean. Fortunately, the seaman was rescued quickly by rescue swimmers and a small boat ''Acadia'' launched.

''Acadia'' delivered overdue medical, dental, supply, and repair services to [[United States Marine Corps]] and U.S. Navy personnel that in Mogadishu by conducting boat runs operated by the Boats and Cranes Division. Many of the U.S. personnel ashore had been without running water for days or weeks and obviously were worn out by their duties ashore. To brighten the spirits of U.S. personnel ashore, ''Acadia''′ crew created a [[choir]] to perform for [[Christmas]], adding comical flare by rewording the "[[Twelve Days of Christmas]]" to reflect their time underway and presence in Mogadishu. The ship continued to support personnel at Mogadishu until 30 December 1993, when she got underway for the [[Strait of Oman]] and the United Arab Emirates, where she operated in support of U.S. Navy surface ships and [[submarine]]s for three weeks. Her final voyage home involved calls at Hong Kong; [[Sasebo]] and [[Yokosuka]], [[Japan]]; [[Guam]]; and [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], before arriving a San Diego in mid-April 1994. After their return, ''Acadia'' and her crew received the [[Joint Forces Armed Expeditionary Medal]] and a bronze star on their [[Southwest Asia Service Medal]].<ref>Barrett, Brenna. Crewman. Boats and Cranes Division, 1992-1994. Testimony.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=March 2021}}

==Decommissioning and fate==
[[File:US Navy 100920-N-6720T-182 The_Yellowstone-class destroyer tender Ex-USS Acadia (AD 42) lies on her starboard side off the coast of Guam as a guide.jpg|thumb|Ex-USS ''Acadia'' lies on her starboard side off the coast of Guam]]

On 16 December 1994, ''Acadia'' was [[Ship commissioning#Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] and laid up at the [[Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility]] (NISMF), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  She was struck from the Naval Register on 13 December 2007 and used as a target off Guam as part of a day-long bombardment of ordnance delivered from naval aircraft and ships during exercise [[Valiant Shield]] on 19–20 September 2010.<ref name="NavSource">{{cite web| title= NavSource Online |url= http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/03/0342.htm |publisher= NavSource Naval History |access-date= 23 October 2013}}</ref> She sank on 20 September 2010.<ref>[https://alert5.com/2010/09/24/ex-uss-acadia-sunk-as-live-fire-target-during-valiant-shield-2010/ "Ex-USS Acadia sunk as live-fire target during Valiant Shield 2010," alert5.com, 24 September 2010 Accessed 30 June 2023]</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist-ua}}

== References ==
* {{DANFSNVR}}
{{reflist}}
{{Clear}}
{{Yellowstone class destroyer tender}}
{{2010 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acadia (AD-42)}}
[[Category:Yellowstone-class destroyer tenders]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Gulf War ships of the United States]]
[[Category:1979 ships]]
[[Category:Tenders of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Destroyer tenders of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean]]