USS ''Bushnell'' (AS-15) was a in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1943 to 1948 and from 1952 to 1970. She was finally sunk as a

target ship A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used as a seaborne target for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing. Targets may be used with the intention of testing effectiveness of specific types of ammunit ...

in 1983.

History

''Bushnell'' launched on 14 September 1942 at the

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY or MINS) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean and was in service 142 years from 1854 to 1996. It is located on Mare Island, northeast of San Francisco, in Vallejo, Califor ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(USA), sponsored by Mrs. Luther Gibson. The tender was commissioned on 10 April 1943.

1943-1948

On 27 June 1943, she departed for

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, arriving on 3 July. While at the Submarine Base, Submarine Squadron 14 (SubRon 14) was assembled with ''Bushnell'' serving as tender and staff headquarters for the Squadron and Division Staff. ''Bushnell'' remained at Pearl Harbor until September 1943, when she sailed for

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housi ...

to deliver provisions and structural materials. Upon returning to Pearl Harbor in December, she resumed her task of refitting submarines until April 1944. ''Bushnell'' weighed anchor on 27 April for Majuro Atoll,

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

, laden with provisions, fuel, and material. Majuro Atoll soon became a regular submarine operating base, although entirely dependent upon the tender. On 5 February 1945, ''Bushnell'' returned to Pearl Harbor. On 29 May, the tender steamed to Midway to refit submarines arriving there from war patrols. She was thus engaged until the cessation of hostilities. From September–December 1945, ''Bushnell'' continued to act as a repair vessel for submarines throughout the period of demobilization and peacetime reorganization of the submarine force in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

area. In January 1946, she sailed to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

to tend submarines engaged in the occupation of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. This tour of duty continued until April, at which she was recalled to Pearl Harbor for duty with Submarine Squadron 1. ''Bushnell'' operated with SubRon 1 until 24 May 1947. At that time, she sailed to Mare Island for overhaul. Returning to Pearl Harbor on 10 September, she resumed her duties with SubRon 1. In December 1947, ''Bushnell'' returned to Mare Island and reported for inactivation. She was placed out of commission in reserve on 30 April 1948.

1952-1970

''Bushnell'' was recommissioned on 21 February 1952. After intensive training along the west coast, she departed for the Atlantic on 7 May. She transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

on 21 May and proceeded to

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, Florida for duty with SubRon 12. Since that time, she operated from Key West, tending the boats of SubRon 12 as well as conducting brief periods of service at Norfolk and short cruises in the Caribbean. During that time she appeared in the backdrop of the ending of the comedy film ''

Operation Petticoat ''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. The film tells in flash ...

''. In 1965, she suffered a serious fire in some electrical generation equipment – and earned the nickname "the burning Bush". There was only one minor injury in that incident which did not affect operations for long. She returned to Key West in 1967 to continue her service to the submarine fleet. In 1968, she celebrated her 25th year of service. She continued to supply services to SubRon 12 as well as support services to other ships in the Caribbean and Gulf Coast regions. She made regular visits to New Orleans, Mobile, Fort Lauderdale and Kingston, Jamaica. In 1969, ''Bushnell'' was the Navy response ship for

Hurricane Camille Hurricane Camille was a powerful, deadly and destructive tropical cyclone which became the second most intense on record to strike the United States (behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane) and is one of the four Category 5 hurricanes to make ...

. She and her crew rebuilt Pilottown, Louisiana, so that river traffic could again move on the Mississippi. Unfortunately, however, her nickname came to haunt her when in early 1970 a high pressure air line ruptured in the bilge, atomizing the oil and other liquids resulting in an explosion and fire which damaged the ship beyond repair. Her own crew did all of her own decommissioning work (not in a shipyard) in early 1970. She was replaced in Key West by her sister ship . ''Bushnell'' was placed out of commission on 20 June 1970 and was towed to Norfolk where she was turned over to the Reserve Fleet who used her as their new headquarters. She was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 15 November 1980.

Fate

On 31 May 1983, the USS Edenton ATS-1 towed ''Bushnell'' out to sea approximately to 35° 34.7 North, 73° 18.6 West. On 3 June, she was sunk by two MK-48 torpedoes fired by , with in company.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell (AS-15) Fulton-class submarine tenders

Submarine tenders A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food ...

Submarine tenders of the United States Navy

Ships built in Vallejo, California 1942 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships sunk as targets Maritime incidents in 1983