View source for USS Griffin

{{short description|Tender of the United States Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Griffin (AS-13) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), 5 March 1944 (19-N-62744).jpg
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN_flag|1945}}
|Ship name=
|Ship namesake=Rear Admiral Robert Stanislaus Griffin
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=*Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock, [[Chester, Pennsylvania]]
*Converted by Robbins Dry Dock and Repair Company, [[Brooklyn]], New York
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=11 October 1939
|Ship acquired=1940
|Ship commissioned= 31 July 1941
|Ship decommissioned=12 October 1945
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 August 1972
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 9 April 1973
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=Converted [[Type C3 ship]]
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|492|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|71|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|25.8333|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=8,500hp diesel, 1 shaft ([[HMS Archer (D78)#Propulsion|details]])
|Ship speed=17 knots
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=911
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*four single [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] caliber DP gun mounts
*one single [[5"/51 caliber gun]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Griffin'' (AS-13)''', originally ''Mormacpenn'', a [[United States Maritime Commission]] [[Type C3 ship|Type C3]] pre-war cargo ship, was launched by [[Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock]], [[Chester, Pennsylvania]], 11 October 1939. She served briefly with Moore-McConnack, Inc., was acquired by the Navy in 1940, renamed ''Griffin'' (AS-13) and converted to a [[submarine tender]] at [[Robbins Dry Dock and Repair Company]], [[Brooklyn]], N.Y. ''Griffin'' commissioned 31 July 1941.

Her conversion completed in September 1941, ''Griffin'' conducted shakedown off the East Coast and sailed with a sub squadron to [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] 22 November 1941. Recalled to [[Newport, Rhode Island]], after [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]], the ship was assigned to the [[United States Pacific Fleet]], and departed 14 February 1942 for Australia.

''Griffin'' arrived [[Brisbane]] 15 April 1942 to tend Submarine Squadron 5. Early in the war, the United States developed a major submarine base in Australia; and submarines tended by ''Griffin'' struck hard at Japanese shipping while surface forces strengthened themselves for the first Pacific offensives. During this period, ''Griffin'' also repaired badly needed merchant ships. The tender departed Brisbane for the [[Fiji]] Islands 11 November 1942 and 1 December 1942 sailed to [[Bora Bora]] to escort Submarine Division 53 to the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. Arriving [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] 7 January 1943, ''Griffin'' continued north to [[Oakland, California]], arriving 20 January 1943.

After repairs at [[San Diego]], California, ''Griffin'' again departed for the Pacific, sailing 27 April 1943. She arrived Pearl Harbor 4 May 1943 to take up her vital support duties, and remained until 3 January 1944. The ship performed refits, battle repairs, and general upkeep on submarines before sailing to [[Mare Island]] to arrive 10 January 1944.

''Griffin'' returned to [[Pearl Harbor]] 17 March 1944, and departed 8 April 1944 for the great submarine base at [[Fremantle, Western Australia]]. She arrived 8 May and immediately set about servicing the growing submarine fleet. The tender remained at Fremantle until 20 November 1944. During her stay, the crew established a rubber fabrication shop there to address shortages of rubber parts among the submarine fleet. ''Griffin'' then moved closer to the Japanese shipping lanes at [[Mios Woendi]], [[New Guinea]], arriving 9 December 1944. There she tended submarines, surface craft of all kinds, and even lent her repair equipment to shore facilities. ''Griffin'' remained at Mios Woendi until 1 February 1945 when she sailed for [[Subic Bay]], via [[Leyte]].

Arriving 10 February 1945, ''Griffin'' set up one of the first Allied submarine repair facilities in the Philippines since they had been surrendered in 1942. She also helped to salvage damaged destroyer {{USS|La Vallette|DD-448|3}}. Shifting base, the tender sailed 22 March 1945 via Leyte, and arrived in the Hawaiian Islands 10 April 1945. After a brief stay at Pearl Harbor, she departed 10 May 1945 for Midway, arrived 4 days later, and set up another repair facility for submarines. By that time, the submarines supported by ''Griffin'' had practically annihilated Japanese merchant shipping and had played a decisive role in the great Pacific offensive. She remained at Midway until 10 September 1945, then sailed to Pearl Harbor and [[San Francisco]], entering the bay 24 September. Decommissioned at Mare Island 12 October 1945, the ship was placed in reserve. Later she transferred to the Stockton group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained in reserve, in service, tending reserve submarines, until at least 1967.

She was stricken in 1972 and transferred to [[MARAD]]. She was sold in 1973.<!-- More details are probably on PMARS (https://pmars.marad.dot.gov/), but that's been down for months -->

==References==
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g8/griffin.htm}}

==External links==
*{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AS13|title=Naval Vessel Register – AS13}}
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/36/3613.htm NavSource.org USS Griffin]

{{Griffin class submarine tenders}}
{{Type C3 ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin (As-13)}}
[[Category:Type C3 ships]]
[[Category:1939 ships]]
[[Category:Griffin-class submarine tenders]]
[[Category:Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company]]
[[Category:Tenders of the United States Navy|Submarine tenders]]
[[Category:Submarine tenders|United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]