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USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38, Seaplane Tender

"New MSW Crew-mate Carl Musselman (CarlOmaha) shares this fantastic conversion of a vessel that his father served upon, U.S. Navy Seaplane Tender, USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38!"

the vessel...

The first ship of this class of small seaplane tenders was the USS Barnegat AVP-10 which was commissioned in July of 1941. In general, the ships of this class were named after small bodies of water like inlets, bays, and harbors such as Cook Inlet, Biscayne Bay, and Bering Strait. There were thirty-five ships of this class built.

The Barnegat class seaplane tenders were 311’ 8” long, 41’ 1” at the beam, had a draft of 13’ 6”, and displaced 2,750 tons when fully loaded. Their top speed was rated at 18.6 knots and their crew compliment was 215 officers and crew.

The initial purpose of these small ships was to provide supplies, fuel, armaments, maintenance, lodging and meals to seaplane squadron aircraft and their crews in forward, and sometimes remote, operating areas. The shallow draft of these ships allowed them to service the aircraft in sheltered waters such as small inlets, harbors, atolls, and even rivers.




The ships of this class were variously armed, from ship to ship and from era to era, with two 5”/38 enclosed gun turrets on the bow and one 5”/38 open mounted gun on the fantail; one Quad 40mm gun mount aft and at times with one replacing the second 5”/38 gun turret, two Twin 40mm gun mounts amidships, and four to six Twin 20mm gun mounts, and at times with single 20mm gun mounts and/or .50 caliber machine guns.

Although not very fast ships, the Navy and Coast Guard favored them for their shallow drafts and seaworthiness and versatility. Some AVPs were modified as PT-Boat Tenders (AGP), Oceanographic Research Ships (AGOR), Oceanographic Survey Ships (AGS), one was modified to train seaplane pilots, Amphibious Forces Command Ships (AGC), and Command Flagships (AGF). Many were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard and served as WAVPs and high endurance cutters (WHEC).

Many ships of this class were sold to, and served in, foreign navies after being decommissioned and stricken from the US Navy’s list. Some foreign service included Italian, Greek, South Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Philippine navies. The USS Barnegat, herself, was purchased by a Greek cruise line company and was modified and served as a small cruise ship re-named the MV Kentavros.




My father served on the USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38 in 1952 and 1953. He was an Interior Communications Electrician and serviced the ships communication systems, navigation systems and various instrumentation. Dad reported aboard the Duxbury Bay while she was in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth, Virginia in the summer of 1952. It was at this time that the Duxbury Bay’s only 5” gun turret was removed, air conditioning equipment was installed, and she received her first coat of white paint in preparation to serve as flagship for the Commander Middle East Forces, a two-star admiral who’s headquarters was at Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf. My father’s cruise started in October 1952 from Norfolk Naval Base and he returned from the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf in April 1953.




The Duxbury Bay shared this flagship duty with her sister ships, USS Greenwich Bay AVP-41 and USS Valcour AVP-55, until her decommissioning in 1966. The three ships were fondly referred to as “The Little White Fleet” by their crews.