USS Everglades (AD-24)
Encyclopedia
USS Everglades (AD-24) was one of four Klondike
USS Klondike (AD-22)
USS Klondike was one of four destroyer tenders built at the tail end of World War II for the United States Navy. The lead ship in her class, she was named for the Klondike River in the Yukon Territory, Canada, which was the scene of the gold rush of 1897...
class destroyer tender
Destroyer tender
A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved .Due to the increased size and automation of...
s built at the tail end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. The vessel was named for the Florida Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
.
Everglades was launched on 28 January 1945 by the Todd Shipyard Corporation, San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, sponsored by Mrs. Anne E. Richardson, and completed on 23 May 1946. Never commissioned, she was turned over to the San Diego Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet for inactivation on 15 May 1947. United States embroilment in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
occasioned activation of Everglades, who commissioned for the first time on 25 May 1951, Captain Thomas M. Brown commanding.
Service history
Following shakedown and training exercises, Everglades transited the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, for duty with Destroyer Force Atlantic. She played a vital part in keeping the Navy ready, repairing Norfolk-based destroyers and servicing ships in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
or the Mediterranean where she made four extensive cruises through the end of 1960. Everglades removed aircraft wreckage from the Palomares Incident for dumping in the Atlantic.
Everglades was decommissioned in January 1970 at Charleston, S.C.; struck from the Naval Register, 24 May 1989, and laid up at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility
A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility is a facility owned by the U.S. Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate...
, Philadelphia where she was used as a support ship. Everglades was transferred to MARAD, 2 July 1990 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Sold, 4 September 1991 to A. L. Burbank Ship Brokers, Ft. Lee, NJ, for scrapping in Alang, India. Removed from Philadelphia Naval Shipyard Reserve Fleet, 14 December 1991. Arrived January 1992.