USS ''Cumberland Sound'' (AV-17) was a in 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 ...

. ''Cumberland Sound'' was launched 23 February 1944 by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.,

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

; sponsored by Mrs. O. A. Tucker; and commissioned 21 August 1944.

Service history

''Cumberland Sound'' was underway on 28 October 1944, bound 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 ...

carrying six planes, passengers, and cargo. After training in the Hawaiian Islands, she sailed for

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

on 1 December. From 13 December 1944 to 1 January 1945 she completed her training at Eniwetok, then loaded spare parts at

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 ...

and arrived at

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

12 January. She operated search patrols from this base until 24 June, then returned to Eniwetok, where until 7 August she tended the seaplanes of Patrol Bomber Squadron 22. ''Cumberland Sound'' rendezvoused with elements of the 3rd Fleet at

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

18 August and sailed to

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, arriving 28 August to set up a

seadrome Edward Robert Armstrong (1876–1955) was a Canadian- American engineer and inventor who in 1927 proposed a series of "seadrome" floating airport platforms for airplanes to land on and refuel for transatlantic flights. While his original concept ...

. She remained on occupation duty, conducting search operations and special flights until 24 November when she headed for the United States. Following a conversion to make it possible for her to accommodate troops, she departed

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

28 December 1945 and embarked returning servicemen at Pearl Harbor, landing them at

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

, 12 January 1946. Assigned to the Operation "Crossroads"

nuclear weapon tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength. Bec ...

, on 19 January, ''Cumberland Sound'' entered the

Long Beach Naval Shipyard The Long Beach Naval Shipyard (Long Beach NSY or LBNSY), which closed in 1997, was located on Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles, approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles Internationa ...

for conversion to a laboratory ship. She served during the atomic tests at Eniwetok until 12 September 1946 when she returned to

San Diego, California 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 ...

. She was placed out of commission in reserve 27 May 1947.

References

External links

*
Photos
by the ship's photographer {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberland Sound (AV-17) Kenneth Whiting-class seaplane tenders Ships built in Tacoma, Washington 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States