View source for USS Gardiners Bay

{{short description|Tender of the United States Navy}}
{{Redirect|HNoMS Haakon VII (A537)|the Royal Norwegian Navy escort ship of 1942-1951|HNoMS King Haakon VII}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39) 2.jpg|300px|USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39)]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Gardiners Bay'' (AVP-39) off [[Houghton, Washington|Houghton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], on 18 February 1945, a week after [[ship commissioning|commissioning]].
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=USS ''Gardiners Bay'' (AVP-39)
|Ship namesake=[[Gardiners Bay]], on [[Block Island Sound]], [[Long Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
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|Ship builder=[[Lake Washington Shipyard]], [[Houghton, Washington|Houghton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down=14 March 1944
|Ship launched=2 December 1944
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. George L. Richard
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|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=11 February 1945
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=1 February 1958
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|Ship honors=*Two [[battle star]]s for [[World War II]] service
*Four battle stars for [[Korean War]] service
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Norway]] 17 May 1958
|Ship notes=
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}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Norway
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Norway|navy}}
|Ship name=HNoMS ''Haakon VII'' (A537)
|Ship namesake=King [[Haakon VII of Norway]]
|Ship acquired=17 May 1958
|Ship commissioned=
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|Ship struck=1974
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|Ship fate=Discarded 1974
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=(seaplane tender)
|Ship class=[[Barnegat class seaplane tender|''Barnegat''-class]] [[seaplane tender]]
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=1,766 tons (2,592 tons trial)
|Ship length={{convert|310|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|41|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft={{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (lim.)
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|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=6,000 [[horsepower]] (4.48 [[megawatt]]s)
|Ship propulsion=[[Diesel engine]]s, two shafts
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|Ship speed={{convert|18.2|kn|km/h}}s
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|Ship complement=*215 (ship{{'s}} company)
*367 (with aviation unit)
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|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=[[Radar]]; [[sonar]]
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*3 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] guns<ref group=note>According to [[Lieutenant junior grade]] William E. LaLonde, who was aboard ''Gardiners Bay'' with duties that included assistant [[gunnery officer]] from 14 March 1944 until he left her in [[Shanghai]], [[China]], after the conclusion of World War II, ''Gardiners Bay'' had one 5-inch (127-mm) gun, not three.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}</ref>
*8 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] guns
*8 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] guns
*2 × [[depth charge]] tracks
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=Supplies, spare parts, repairs, and berthing for one [[seaplane]] [[Squadron (aviation)|squadron]]; {{convert|80000|USgal|L}}
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=(training ship)
|Ship class=
|Ship type=[[Training ship]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=*1,766 [[ton]]s (standard)
*2,800 tons (full load)

|Ship length={{convert|310|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} overall; {{convert|300|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} [[waterline]]
|Ship beam={{convert|41|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} 
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|Ship draft={{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} (maximum)
|Ship depth=
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|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=6,080 [[brake horsepower]] (4.54 [[megawatt]]s)
|Ship propulsion=Two [[Fairbanks-Morse]] [[diesel engine]]s, two shafts
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed={{convert|18.2|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=*215 ship{{'s}} company plus 86 [[Commissioned officer|officer]] [[cadet]]s and [[petty officer]] apprentices
*367 total accommodation
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=[[Radar]]
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*1 × 127 mm (5-inch) 38-[[caliber]] [[gun mount]]
*10 × 40 mm [[antiaircraft]] guns
*2 × 20 mm antiaircraft guns
|Ship armour= 
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|}

'''USS ''Gardiners Bay'' (AVP-39)''' was a [[United States Navy]] [[seaplane tender]] in commission from 1945 to 1958 that saw service in the latter stages of [[World War II]] and in the [[Korean War]]. After her decommissioning, she was transferred to [[Norway]], and she served in the [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] as the [[training ship]] '''HNoMS ''Haakon VII'' (A537)''' from 1958 to 1974.

==Construction and commissioning==

[[File:Launch of USS Gardiners Bay (AVP-39) at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, Washington (USA), on 2 December 1944 (19-N-79691).jpg|thumb|300px|left|USS ''Gardiners Bay'' (AVP-39) is launched on 2 December 1944 at [[Lake Washington Shipyard]], [[Houghton, Washington|Houghton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]].]]''Gardiners Bay'' was launched on 2 December 1944 at [[Houghton, Washington|Houghton]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], by the [[Lake Washington Shipyard]], sponsored by Mrs. George L. Richard. She [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] at the [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] at [[Bremerton, Washington]], on 11 February 1945.

==United States Navy service==

===World War II===

''Gardiners Bay'' departed [[Seattle]], Washington, on 1 March 1945 for [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] out of [[San Diego]], [[California]], which she completed on 20 April 1945. She then proceeded via [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]], to [[Eniwetok]] in the [[Marshall Islands]] to tend the [[seaplane]]s of [[Patrol bomber|Patrol Bombing]] Squadron 19 ([[VP-49|VPB-19]]) in a 10-day training period, thence via [[Saipan]] and [[Guam]] in the [[Mariana Islands]] to [[Kerama Retto]], [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], where she arrived on 7 June 1945 with provisions and cargo for [[Fleet Air Wing]] 1.

''Gardiners Bay'' devoted the following weeks to tending planes for various patrol bombing squadrons based on Kerama Retto. Between 30 June 1945 and 17 July 1945 she was [[flagship]] of an [[Air-Sea Rescue]] Unit, utilizing Rescue Squadrons 3 and 4, [[Motor Torpedo Boat]] Squadron 4, and three other seaplane tenders. She accomplished 18 rescue missions while in a state of constant alert that saw her men at [[general quarters]] for 100 hours.

Relieved as flagship by the seaplane tender {{USS|Pine Island|AV-12}} on 17 July 1945, ''Gardiners Bay'' tended the seaplanes of Rescue Squadron 6 at [[Chimi Bay]], Okinawa, until 15 August 1945, the day hostilities with [[Japan]] ended, when she put to sea as part of the screen of the [[United States Third Fleet]] en route Japan.

====Honors and awards====
''Gardiners Bay'' received two [[battle star]]s for service in [[World War II]].

===Post-World War II, 1945-1950===

''Gardiners Bay'' entered [[Sagami Bay]], Japan, on 28 August 1945, shifting on 30 August 1945 to [[Tokyo Bay]] as a part of the Seaplane Base Group of the [[Occupation of Japan|Japan Occupation]] Forces. On 1 September 1945 she became flagship of the Air-Sea Rescue Unit for the Third Fleet with Rescue Squadron 4 based on board. During this service, which extended to 9 January 1946, she helped set up the [[Tokyo Seadrome]] off the [[Yokohama]] Air Station. She was then stationed at [[Nagoya]], Japan, as tender for courier and transient seaplanes, departing on 29 January 1946 for [[Shanghai]], [[China]].  She departed [[Hong Kong]] on 9 August 1946, proceeding via [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]], Japan, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, and Pearl Harbor to the [[Puget Sound Naval Shipyard]] at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], Washington, where she arrived on 28 November 1946 for [[wikt:overhaul|overhaul]].

After fleet exercises along the [[West Coast of the United States]], ''Gardiners Bay'' departed San Diego on 7 April 1947 for seaplane tender duties in the [[Caroline Islands]]; Mariana Islands; Okinawa; [[Qingdao]], China; and Yokosuka. She returned to Seattle on 4 October 1947, made a cruise to Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands between 15 January 1948 and 5 June 1948, and made another cruise to [[East Asia]] between 15 March 1949 and 14 December 1949 which included seaplane tender operations at Guam; Yokohama, Japan; [[United States Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]], Japan; Okinawa; and [[Manila]] in the [[Philippines]].

===Korean War service===

The [[Korean War]] broke out on 25 June 1950, and ''Gardiners Bay'' departed San Diego on 27 June 1950 for the first of four long tours supporting [[United Nations]] forces in [[Korea]]. She established a seadrome at [[Iwakuni]], Japan, tending 17 [[PBM Mariner]] and eight [[Royal Air Force]] [[Short Sunderland]] [[flying boat]]s for search and [[reconnaissance]] in the [[Tsushima Strait]] and [[Yellow Sea]] area, shifting in September 1950 to [[Inchon]], Korea, where she established an advance base for seaplanes making [[naval mine]] reconnaissance runs off the northwest coast of Korea. In October 1950 she established another seadrome at [[Chinhae]], Korea, basing there to tend [[United States Seventh Fleet]] aircraft conducting reconnaissance until 16 April 1951.

On her second Korean tour, which lasted from 12 September 1951 to 9 April 1952, ''Gardiners Bay'' supported aviation patrol units at Okinawa, Iwakuni, and Manila.

''Gardiners Bay'' spent her third Korean War tour, which lasted from 10 July 1952 to 26 January 1953, largely as station ship off the [[Pescadores]] and at Okinawa. She took time out from this duty in October 1952 for participation in [[Exercise Surprise]] off the coast of [[French Indochina]], testing communications between [[headquarters]] and ships and aircraft of the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], and [[France]].

''Gardiners Bay''{{'}}s fourth Korean War tour, which lasted from 3 April 1953 to 12 December 1953, was spent in tending amphibious patrol planes at Chinhae, [[South Korea]], and on stations in the Pescadore Islands, the [[Philippine Islands]], Okinawa, and Japan. The Korean War ended during this tour, on 27 July 1953.

====Honors and awards====
''Gardiners Bay'' received four battle stars for service in the Korean War.

===1954-1958===

After returning from her fourth Korean War tour in December 1953, ''Gardiners Bay'' made three cruises to support U.S. Seventh Fleet operations in the [[Pacific]], from 7 July 1954 to 22 November 1954, from 28 August 1956 to 14 February 1957, and from 10 June 1957 to 16 November 1957. She spent these cruises largely on seaplane tending stations at Okinawa, at Manila, and in the Japanese ports of Iwakuni, Sasebo, and Yokohama.

''Gardiners Bay'' returned from her last cruise in U.S. Navy service on 16 November 1957, arriving at [[Alameda, California|Alameda]], California. She was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] on 1 February 1958.

===Awards===
During her career with the U.S. Navy, ''Gardiners Bay'' earned the following awards -

*{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with two [[battle stars]]
*[[File:World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[World War II Victory Medal]] 
*[[File:Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|106px]] [[Navy Occupation Medal]] with "ASIA" clasp
*[[File:China Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[China Service Medal]]
*[[File:National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|106px]] [[National Defense Service Medal]]
*{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} [[Korean Service Medal]] with four battle stars
*[[File:United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|106px]] [[United Nations Service Medal]]

==Royal Norwegian Navy service==
[[File:Norwegian training ship KNM Haakon VII (A537) off Washington D.C. (USA), on 9 March 1970 (K-81807).jpg|200px|right|thumb|HNoMS ''Haakon VII'' (A537) at [[Washington, D.C.]], on 9 March 1970, just after departing the [[Washington Navy Yard]]. She is at the mouth of the [[Anacostia River]] and about to enter the [[Potomac River]].]]''Gardiners Bay'' was transferred to [[Norway]] on 17 May 1958 under the [[Military Assistance Program]]. After undergoing conversion and rearming, she was commissioned into the [[Royal Norwegian Navy]] as the [[training ship]] '''HNoMS ''Haakon VII'' (A537)''' (in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], '''KNM ''Haakon VII'' (A537)''').

Conducting naval [[cadet]] training cruises, ''Haakon VII'' visited ports all over the world during her 16 years of Royal Norwegian Navy service.

===Final disposition===

''Haakon VII'' was stricken and disposed of in 1974.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g1/gardiners_bay.htm}}
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-g/avp39.htm Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Gardiners Bay'' (AVP-39), 1945-1958]
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/norway/haakon7.htm Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: Norwegian Navy Ships: ''Haakon VII'' (Training Ship, 1958-1974)]
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/43/4339.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive AVP-39 Gardiners Bay]
*[http://navalwarfare.blogspot.com/2007/08/uss-gardiners-bayhaakon-vii.html Naval Warfare: Examining ships that have made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History: USS Gardiners Bay/Haakon VII]
* Chesneau, Roger. ''Conway{{'}}s All the World{{'}}s Fighting Ships 1922-1946''. New York: Mayflower Books, Inc., 1980. {{ISBN|0-8317-0303-2}}.
* Gardiner, Robert. ''Conway{{'}}s All the World{{'}}s Fighting Ships 1947-1982 Part I: The Western Powers''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983. {{ISBN|0-87021-918-9}}.

{{Barnegat class small seaplane tender}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardiners Bay (Avp-39)}}
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Barnegat-class seaplane tenders]]
[[Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Norwegian Navy]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Training ships of the Royal Norwegian Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built at Lake Washington Shipyard]]