Middle East Service 1949-1966
Greenwich Bay departed Norfolk on 30 April 1949 to assume duties as flagship for the Commander of the U.S. Navy Middle East Force. Every year thereafter she repeated this duty, sailing through the Mediterranean to operate as flagship in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean for 4 to 6 months. In total Greenwich Bay made fifteen Mediterranean deployments. During most of this period, she performed these duties in rotation with two other Barnegat-class ships, USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38) and USS Valcour (AVP-55). These three ships were dubbed the "little white fleet", in reference to the white paint jobs they shared to counter the region's extreme heat.
Ports which Greenwich Bay visited as part of her official duties as flagship included Recife, Brazil; Lisbon, Portugal; and virtually every major Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Red Sea city as well as several African ones. Among them were Malta; Bombay and Madras, India; Istanbul, Turkey; Athens, Greece; Beirut, Lebanon; Mombassa, Kenya; Cannes, France; and Karachi, Pakistan. In addition to operating with foreign naval units in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean, Greenwich Bay performed extensive work in the People-to-People program, particularly in carrying drugs and other medical supplies to Arab and African nations, and operated as an important tool of diplomacy in the region. In her Middle East duties, which were punctuated by local operations and exercises out of Norfolk, Greenwich Bay was visited by many dignitaries, including King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, the Shah of Iran, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and the Shaikh of Kuwait.
In 1950 Greenwich Bay's crew distinguished itself in Bahrain, as Air France planes crashed there on 13 June 1950 and 15 June 1950 while attempting to make early-morning landings on a fog-shrouded airfield. Greenwich Bay sent out a total of six search-and-rescue missions on those two days. On 15 June 1950 one of her launches, containing both her captain and medical officer, succeeded in rescuing nine survivors of the crash. For her heroic actions, Greenwich Bay received the special commendation and thanks of both the Arabian and French governments.
When the Suez Crisis flared up in 1956, Greenwich Bay extended her normal cruise in the Persian Gulf to be able to evacuate American dependents and civilians if necessary. As a result of the blocking of the Suez Canal, she had to return to the United States around the Cape of Good Hope.
Read more about this topic: USS Greenwich Bay (AVP-41)
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