Operations
The ships entered service between 1941 and 1946, and all but three of them were commissioned in time to participate in combat actions in World War II. The motor torpedo boat tenders served in the Pacific during the latter half of the war, while the seaplane tenders saw service in virtually every theater in which the United States Navy operated during the war.
The combination of the post-World War II downsizing of the U.S. Navy and the decline of the seaplane and motor torpedo boat in U.S. naval operations meant that all but the newest ships decommissioned in 1946 and 1947. Those that did stay on in service as seaplane tenders decommissioned between the mid-1950s and 1960s, some seeing service in the Korean War (1950–1953). The last unit did not leave U.S. Navy service until 1973.
However, the ships proved versatile and durable, and had long second lives postwar. One became a specialized flagship late in her life. Some became oceanographic and hydrographic survey ships, either in U.S. Navy, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, or Greek service. Eighteen were transferred to the United States Coast Guard – where they became known as Casco-class cutters – between 1946 and 1949 for service mostly as weather reporting ships, a role they played until the late 1960s and early 1970s; some of the Coast Guard ships saw service in the Vietnam War, and one survived as a cutter until 1988. A number of the units of the class were transferred to foreign navies, including those of Ethiopia, Italy, Norway, the Philippines, and South Vietnam, for use as patrol vessels and training ships, and a few saw commercial service as cruise ships in Greece. The murky information available on a unit incorporated into the Vietnam People's Navy after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975 suggests that she remained active until at least 2000 and may remain active today; even if reports of her longevity are inaccurate, it should be noted that the last member of this large and long-lived class of ships did not leave service until 1993, when the ship transferred to Italy was decommissioned by the Italian Navy.
Read more about this topic: Barnegat Class Seaplane Tender
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