USS Kenneth Whiting

{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14).jpg |image_caption=USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14) }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag={{USN flag|1947}} |name=''Kenneth Whiting'' |namesake=[[Kenneth Whiting]] (1881-1943), U.S. Navy officer and aviation pioneer |ordered= |builder=[[Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Company]], [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]] |laid_down= |launched=15 December 1943 |sponsor=Mrs. Edna Andresen Whiting<ref name="larchmonthistory.org">Widow's name given at [http://larchmonthistory.org/memorials/individual/Times/19430429WhitingAnnouncement.html ''Larchmont Times'' obituary of Kenneth Whiting, April 1943] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106125315/http://larchmonthistory.org/memorials/individual/Times/19430429WhitingAnnouncement.html |date=2009-01-06 }}.</ref> |acquired= |commissioned=8 May 1944 |decommissioned=29 May 1947 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=yes |recommissioned=24 October 1951 |decommissioned=30 September 1958 |in_service= |out_of_service= |struck=1 July 1961 |reinstated= |fate=Sold, 21 February 1962 |honors=2 [[Service star|battle stars]] (World War II) |notes= }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class= {{sclass|Kenneth Whiting|seaplane tender}} |displacement=*{{convert|8510|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light *{{convert|12610|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full |length={{convert|492|ft|m|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|69|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |draft={{convert|23|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} |power= 3 turbo-drive service generators, 500 kW 450V A.C. |propulsion=*1 × [[Allis-Chalmers]] steam turbine *2 × [[Foster Wheeler]] D-type boilers, 465 psi 765° *Double Falk main reduction gear *1 shaft *{{convert|8500|hp|0|abbr=on}} |speed={{convert|19|kn|km/h}} |range= |capacity=*{{convert|9675|oilbbl|m3}} [[Fuel oil#Bunker fuel|NSFO]] *{{convert|760|oilbbl|m3}} [[Diesel fuel|diesel]] *{{convert|312,475|USgal|L}} [[gasoline]] |complement=1,077 (113 officers, 964 enlisted) |sensors= |EW= |armament=*2 × single [[5"/38 caliber gun]]s *2 × quad [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] AA gun mounts *2 × dual 40 mm AA gun mounts *16 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] AA gun mounts |armor= |aircraft= |notes= }} }} '''USS ''Kenneth Whiting'' (AV-14)''' was the [[lead ship]] of [[Kenneth Whiting class seaplane tender|her class]] of [[seaplane tender]]s in the [[United States Navy]].

== Namesake == [[Kenneth Whiting]] (Naval Aviator No. 16) received flight training from the [[Wright brothers]] at [[Dayton, Ohio]]; and was the first executive officer of the first United States aircraft carrier {{USS|Langley|CV-1}}.<ref name="proceedings">Tate, Jackson R., RADM USN "We Rode the Covered Wagon" ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'' October 1978 pp.62-69</ref> Commander Whiting was credited with many basic tenets of naval carrier aviation, including [[landing signal officer]]s, pilot ready rooms, a darkroom and photo lab to develop movies of carrier landings, and making pilot qualification a requirement for command of an aircraft carrier.<ref name="proceedings"/>

==Construction and commissioning == ''Kenneth Whiting'' was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 15 December 1943 by [[Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]; sponsored by Mrs. Edna Andresen Whiting,<ref name="larchmonthistory.org"/> widow of Captain Kenneth Whiting. ''Kenneth Whiting'' was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] 8 May 1944.

==Service history== ===World War II=== ==== Early operations ==== After shakedown along the [[United States West Coast]], ''Kenneth Whiting'' cleared [[San Diego]], [[California]], on 21 July 1944 and arrived at [[Saipan]] on 14 August 1944 for operations in the [[Mariana Islands]]. Her [[PB2Y Coronado]] [[flying boat]] [[Aviation squadron|squadron]] made reconnaissance flights which provided valuable data necessary to the success of the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] operations. At [[Tanapag Harbor]], Saipan, ''Kenneth Whiting'' used a former Japanese [[seaplane]] ramp to augment her maintenance facilities and increase the availability of planes. She sailed for [[Kossol Passage]] on 20 November 1944, relieving the seaplane tender {{USS|Pocomoke|AV-9}} there three days later. She remained in the [[Palau Islands]] until 5 February 1945.

==== Okinawa ==== Arriving at [[Ulithi Atoll]] on 6 February 1945, ''Kenneth Whiting'' resumed tending seaplanes. On 11 March 1945 while she was still off Ulithi Atoll, [[Operation Tan No. 2|two enemy suicide planes]] attacked the base. One crashed into Sorlen Island, but the second dove into the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Randolph|CV-15}}.

''Kenneth Whiting'' cleared Ulithi Atoll on 2 April 1945, received provisions and supplies at [[Guam]] and Saipan, then steamed to [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], where the [[Battle of Okinawa]] was raging. Arriving on 25 April 1945, she immediately commenced combat and search operations. On 11 May 1945 her lookout sighted a group of 29 [[Korean people|Koreans]] waving a [[white flag]] on the beach of Gerum Shima. An armed boat party from ''Kenneth Whiting'' took them into custody for transfer to the [[prisoner-of-war camp]] on [[Zamami Island]]. While at Okinawa, ''Kenneth Whiting'' operated as [[fleet post office]] and as a housing center for aircraft survivors.

At 18:30 on 21 June 1945, five hours after [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Roy Geiger]] declared Okinawa secured, a small group of ''[[kamikaze]]s'' penetrated [[Kerama Retto]]. ''Kenneth Whiting'' shot down a [[Nakajima Ki-43]] ([[World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft|reporting name]] "Oscar"]]), but part of the plane hit her, causing minor damage and wounding five men. However, she continued operations at Okinawa for the rest of the [[World War II]]. During July 1945 her planes flew armed reconnaissance along the coasts of [[Japan]], [[Korea]], and [[China]], locating targets for [[United States Third Fleet]] air raids. World War II ended with the [[surrender of Japan]] on 2 September 1945.

===Post-World war II=== ''Kenneth Whiting'' departed Okinawa on 19 September 1945 and anchored at [[Sasebo, Nagasaki|Sasebo]], Japan, two days later. She then was assigned to China duty, arriving at [[Hong Kong]] on 14 October 1945. Her [[Patrol bomber|patrol bombing]] (VPB) squadron commenced patrol courier service, and continued this until she was relieved 28 November 1945. She arrived at [[San Francisco]], California, on 22 December 1945 with 572 U.S. Navy officers scheduled for release aboard. With the close of the war and the emergence of the [[Atomic Age]], ''Kenneth Whiting'' cleared San Diego on 6 May 1946 to operate with support forces during [[Nuclear testing|atomic tests]] at [[Bikini Atoll]]. She returned to San Diego 30 August 1946; transferred to [[San Pedro, Los Angeles|San Pedro]], Calidfornia, 30 October 1946, and [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] there on 29 May 1947.

=== Cold War and Korean War service === ''Kenneth Whiting'' recommissioned at San Diego on 24 October 1951, and departed for [[Far East]]ern duty 13 March 1952. She arrived at [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]], Japan, on 29 March 1952, where she became the [[flagship]] of the Commander, Taiwan Patrol Force (CTF 72). She visited [[Iwakuni]], Okinawa, [[Taiwan]], [[Subic Bay]] in the [[Philippines]], and Hong Kong regularly until 16 October 1952, when she departed for the [[United States]].

Following overhaul at [[Bremerton, Washington|Bremerton]], Washington, and coastal operations from San Diego, ''Kenneth Whiting'' departed on 2 March 1953 for another deployment to the Western [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], supporting seaplane activities in Japan in the final months of the [[Korean War]]. Hostilities in Korea ended with a ceasefire on 27 July 1953.

After the Korean War, ''Kenneth Whiting'' made annual deployments to the Far East in support of [[United States Seventh Fleet]] activities. During the summer of 1955, she operated in the Taiwan–[[Pescadores]] area in the wake of repeated [[Chinese Communist]] harassment of [[Chinese Nationalist]]-held islands. On 29 March 1957 she arrived at her new [[home port]], [[Crescent Harbor, Washington|Crescent Harbor]], Washington, but departed for another Far Eastern tour on 12 August 1957. She continued operations with the Seventh Fleet until 31 January 1958, when she cleared Subic Bay and headed for Crescent Harbor, which she reached om 10 March 1958.

==Decommissioning and disposal== ''Kenneth Whiting'' decommissioned at [[Puget Sound]], Washington, on 30 September 1958. She was struck from the [[Navy List]] on 1 July 1961 and sold on 21 February 1962 to [[Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation]].

== Honors and awards == ''Kenneth Whiting'' received two [[Service star|battle stars]] for [[World War II]].

== References== {{reflist}} {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/k2/kenneth_whiting.htm}}

==External links== * {{navsource|09/41/4114|USS Kenneth Whiting (AV-14)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenneth Whiting (AV-14)}} [[Category:Kenneth Whiting-class seaplane tenders]] [[Category:Ships built in Seattle]] [[Category:1943 ships]] [[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]] [[Category:Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States]] [[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]