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USS Yellowstone (AD 41)

USS YELLOWSTONE - the third ship in the Navy to bear the name - was the first YELLOWSTONE - class destroyer tender. The four ships in that class formed an own class although they were basically Flight II SAMUEL GOMPERS - class ships.

Decommissioned on January 31, 1996, and stricken from the Navy list on April 7, 1999, YELLOWSTONE was subsequently berthed with the James River Reserve Fleet in Fort Eustis, VA, awaiting final disposal. On December 17, 2014, YELLOWSTONE departed the James River Reserve Fleet after being sold under a domestic disposal contract to ESCO Marine at Brownsville, Texas. She was subsequently taken to Brownsville for dismantling.

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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS YELLOWSTONE. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.

• Click here to view the list.

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• Click here to see which USS YELLOWSTONE memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS YELLOWSTONE Cruise Books:

• Maiden Cruise Book 1981
• Mediterranean Cruise Book 1987
• Mediterranean Cruise Book 1988-89
• Mediterranean Cruise Book 1992

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Accidents aboard USS YELLOWSTONE:

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USS YELLOWSTONE History:

USS YELLOWSTONE, the third United States Navy ship to bear the name Yellowstone, was the lead ship of a new class of destroyer tenders developed during the 1970s to provide mobile intermediate-level maintenance and logistical support to the increasingly complex surface fleet. YELLOWSTONE was built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company at San Diego, California. Her keel was laid on June 2, 1977, and she was launched on January 27, 1979. Her sponsor was Elaine Margaret Davis, wife of Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet. YELLOWSTONE represented a further development of the earlier SAMUEL GOMPERS-class destroyer tenders and was designed particularly to support the new generations of destroyers, guided-missile frigates and nuclear-powered guided-missile cruisers entering service during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Following completion of construction and trials on the Pacific coast, YELLOWSTONE was commissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard at Vallejo, California, on June 28, 1980, with Captain John R. Campbell in command. After completing post-commissioning work, trials and training, she departed the Pacific coast and transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. Norfolk, Virginia, became her homeport and remained closely associated with the ship throughout her active career. Norfolk contained one of the largest concentrations of Atlantic Fleet surface ships and therefore provided a constant requirement for the industrial services carried aboard the new tender.

During the remainder of 1980 and the opening months of 1981, YELLOWSTONE worked to bring her extensive repair organization to full operational readiness. In March 1981, while operating off Florida, YELLOWSTONE collided with the destroyer USS ROBERT A. OWENS (DD 827). Both ships sustained substantial damage, but no fatalities were reported. Repairs were followed by continued preparations for the tender's first major deployment.

Later in 1981, YELLOWSTONE deployed to the North Atlantic in support of the large multinational exercise Ocean Venture '81. The exercise was conducted during a period of renewed Cold War tension and was intended in part to test the ability of United States and allied naval forces to operate across the North Atlantic and protect the sea routes that would have been essential for reinforcing Europe during a major conflict. For YELLOWSTONE, the deployment provided an opportunity to demonstrate the concept of taking extensive intermediate-level repair capabilities into a forward operating area instead of requiring ships to return to established naval bases.

During a three-day anchorage at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, YELLOWSTONE's repair department completed more than 100 jobs under conditions intended to simulate wartime fleet support. The work demonstrated the ability of the tender to service a deployed force from a relatively austere location. YELLOWSTONE was also documented underway in the North Atlantic on September 1, 1981. Following completion of Ocean Venture '81 and associated operations, she returned to Norfolk and resumed tender support for Atlantic Fleet ships.

Captain Harry W. Konkel relieved Captain Campbell on January 22, 1982. During 1982, YELLOWSTONE continued maintenance and logistical support duties from Norfolk while also operating away from her homeport for training and fleet requirements. She was photographed underway off Norfolk during the year and was present at Boston, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1982. The wider strategic environment continued to be dominated by the naval competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, with particular attention given to control of the North Atlantic sea lanes and the movements of Soviet submarines.

YELLOWSTONE spent much of 1983 servicing ships from Norfolk and maintaining her own readiness for further deployments. Tender operations in homeport could be intensive. Several ships could be secured alongside at the same time while work proceeded on machinery, electrical equipment, electronics, structural components and other systems. Captain Francis W. Boufford assumed command on January 20, 1984. That year brought YELLOWSTONE's second major North Atlantic deployment when she participated in United Effort/Teamwork '84. The exercise extended into northern European and Norwegian waters and involved allied naval forces operating in an area of particular strategic importance during the Cold War. The Norwegian Sea lay between the North Atlantic reinforcement routes and the Soviet Northern Fleet's bases on the Kola Peninsula, while northern Norway itself was central to alliance planning for the defense of NATO's northern flank.

During the deployment YELLOWSTONE supported participating ships with repair work, mobile technical teams and logistics. Contemporary Navy reporting documented more than 150 repairs during one approximately month-long period of the exercise, in addition to work carried out by repair teams sent to other ships and the transfer of parts, supplies, fuel and water. The deployment also took YELLOWSTONE north of the Arctic Circle.

On April 1, 1984, YELLOWSTONE was anchored in Norwegian territorial waters near Tromso with other ships participating in United Effort/Teamwork '84. The operating area, climate and distance from major American naval facilities provided conditions in which a self-contained repair ship was particularly useful. Rather than withdrawing vessels from the exercise for lengthy maintenance periods, technical personnel and material could be concentrated close to the operating force.

After returning from the North Atlantic, YELLOWSTONE resumed work from Norfolk. During the following year, the ship underwent preparations that would shift the center of her overseas activity from northern European waters to the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean had long been one of the principal operating areas of the United States Sixth Fleet, where American carrier groups, surface combatants, submarines and amphibious forces maintained a continuing presence amid Cold War competition, political instability in the Middle East and growing tension between the United States and Libya.

Captain Albert H. Mitchell assumed command on May 10, 1985, and Captain Steven J. Turner Jr. relieved him on July 31. In the autumn of 1985, YELLOWSTONE made her first Mediterranean deployment. The cruise coincided with a significant reorganization of Sixth Fleet support arrangements. USS PUGET SOUND (AD 38), which had served as both a destroyer tender and Sixth Fleet flagship from 1980, was leaving the Mediterranean. YELLOWSTONE deployed to assume PUGET SOUND's principal tender responsibilities at Gaeta, Italy. The command function was transferred separately to USS CORONADO (AGF 11).

The change placed YELLOWSTONE at the center of the Sixth Fleet's forward maintenance system. Gaeta was an important location for this work, but the tender could move to other Mediterranean ports to meet the maintenance schedules of deployed combatants. Her presence allowed destroyers, frigates and cruisers to obtain repairs without returning to the United States. The deployment occurred while relations between the United States and Libya were deteriorating and while instability in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East continued to require a substantial American naval presence.

A particularly well documented repair period took place at Haifa, Israel, during the autumn of 1985. USS AINSWORTH (FF 1090) moored in a nest alongside YELLOWSTONE from October 28 to November 17. Other ships receiving support there included USS CAPODANNO (FF 1093) and USS JESSE L. BROWN (FF 1089). JESSE L. BROWN arrived at Haifa on October 30 and underwent an intermediate maintenance availability with YELLOWSTONE before departing on November 12. Such availabilities enabled a large number of inspections and repairs to be concentrated into a relatively short period while specialists and equipment from the tender were immediately available.

YELLOWSTONE remained in the Mediterranean into 1986. At the beginning of the year, USS DE WERT (FFG 45) underwent an intermediate maintenance availability with the tender at Naples, Italy. The political situation in the central Mediterranean continued to deteriorate during the early months of 1986. United States naval forces conducted operations north of Libya during the dispute over Libyan claims in the Gulf of Sidra, and direct clashes followed in March. American aircraft subsequently struck targets in Libya during Operation El Dorado Canyon in April. YELLOWSTONE's role remained maintenance and logistical support.

Following completion of her Mediterranean deployment, YELLOWSTONE returned to the western Atlantic and resumed duties from Norfolk. On September 22, 1986, she was involved in another accident while conducting an alongside replenishment off Virginia with the fleet oiler USNS TRUCKEE (T-AO 147). The two ships collided during the operation. TRUCKEE sustained relatively minor superstructure damage, while YELLOWSTONE received an approximately two-foot gash in the hull on her port side. The damage was repaired and the tender returned to service.

Captain Jerry A. Lewis assumed command on November 12, 1986. YELLOWSTONE returned to the Mediterranean in 1987 and again operated as a forward repair ship for Sixth Fleet units. Haifa was among the ports used during this deployment. After completing a visit to Rijeka, Yugoslavia, USS W. S. SIMS (FF 1059) arrived at Haifa on May 30, 1987, and began a tender availability alongside YELLOWSTONE. YELLOWSTONE's repair organization was not restricted to ships physically moored alongside. Specialized mobile teams could be dispatched with tools and replacement parts to vessels located elsewhere. This allowed the tender to support a much wider area than her immediate anchorage and became an increasingly important element of her operations during later deployments.

Captain Robert J. Norman Jr. assumed command on July 15, 1988. YELLOWSTONE again deployed toward the Mediterranean during the second half of the year. On August 12, she was documented underway in the North Atlantic in company with ships associated with the battle group centered on the aircraft carrier USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67), which was proceeding toward the Mediterranean. The deployment occurred during the final phase of the Cold War. Relations between Washington and Moscow were improving, but United States naval forces continued to maintain their established presence in the Mediterranean, while tensions involving Libya and instability elsewhere in the region had not disappeared. For YELLOWSTONE the operational pattern remained one of moving between suitable ports and anchorages and providing concentrated maintenance to surface combatants.

One of the best documented examples occurred at Augusta Bay, Sicily. On October 25, 1988, YELLOWSTONE was anchored there with the nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser USS BAINBRIDGE (CGN 25) and the guided-missile frigate USS McINERNEY (FFG 8) alongside. By November 1, the repair nest included McINERNEY, BAINBRIDGE, USS McCANDLESS (FF 1084) and USS VOGE (FF 1047). The arrangement demonstrated the scale of work that could be undertaken simultaneously, with several different types of combatant receiving industrial, electrical, electronic, structural and supply assistance from the tender.

YELLOWSTONE also operated from other Mediterranean locations during the 1988-1989 deployment. Documentary photography places her at Naples and Gaeta and also records activity connected with Alexandria, Egypt. After returning to Norfolk in 1989, YELLOWSTONE entered another period of maintenance and training. A large steam-powered tender required substantial upkeep of its own. Its propulsion plant, electrical systems, cranes, workshops, accommodation spaces and support equipment had to remain capable of sustaining not only the ship's own crew but the heavy industrial workload created by other ships. The late 1980s also marked a period of rapid change in the international environment. Political reforms in the Soviet Union and the collapse of communist governments in Eastern Europe during 1989 began to alter the strategic assumptions under which YELLOWSTONE and much of the Cold War fleet had been designed.

The developing reduction in East-West tension was soon accompanied by a major crisis in the Middle East. Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The United States and its allies rapidly began deploying forces to the Persian Gulf and surrounding region under Operation Desert Shield, initially to defend Saudi Arabia, enforce international sanctions and prepare for the possibility of removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Captain Edmund L. Pratt Jr. assumed command on August 6, 1990. On August 7, only five days after the Iraqi invasion, YELLOWSTONE departed Norfolk for the Middle East. The deployment became the most demanding sustained repair operation of her active career. Large numbers of American and allied ships were concentrating in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea for carrier operations, maritime interception, air defense, amphibious preparations and other missions. These ships were thousands of miles from their normal United States maintenance infrastructure and could not routinely leave the theater when defects exceeded the capabilities of their own crews.

YELLOWSTONE established forward support operations from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea. Jeddah provided a suitable location from which ships operating in the Red Sea and associated areas could receive intermediate-level repairs and logistical assistance. YELLOWSTONE's workshops repaired machinery, electrical and electronic equipment and structural components, while the ship's supply organization provided replacement material and other services. Medical, dental and technical capabilities aboard the tender also supplemented those available on smaller combatants.

The scale of the effort was substantial. During approximately seven months on station, YELLOWSTONE completed more than 10,000 repair jobs for 30 United States and coalition ships. Tender and repair-ship personnel were capable of providing services to as many as five ships alongside or nearby at the same time. Women were serving as members of YELLOWSTONE's ship's company during the deployment and performed duties as part of the repair and support organization in the theater.

The transition from Operation Desert Shield to Operation Desert Storm occurred on January 17, 1991, when coalition air operations began against Iraq after Iraqi forces failed to withdraw from Kuwait. United States Navy carrier aircraft participated in the air campaign from both the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, while surface combatants conducted strike, escort, air-defense and maritime-interception missions. YELLOWSTONE remained at Jeddah performing maintenance and logistics work required to keep these ships operational.

In February 1991, USS PUGET SOUND arrived in the Red Sea area and relieved YELLOWSTONE in the principal tender role at Jeddah. YELLOWSTONE then began the return passage toward the United States. Her support work did not end immediately upon leaving Saudi Arabia. During the westbound passage through the Mediterranean, the tender provided specialized technical assistance, including radiological instrument calibration support to naval units in the eastern Mediterranean and at Souda Bay, Crete. Carrying out the work aboard a naval vessel avoided some of the logistical complications associated with moving specialized equipment through foreign territory.

The coalition ground offensive began on February 24, 1991. Kuwait was liberated within days and offensive operations were suspended on February 28. YELLOWSTONE was already on the return leg of her deployment by the time the principal combat phase ended. She arrived at Norfolk on March 23, 1991. Her Desert Shield and Desert Storm service resulted in a Navy Unit Commendation and other campaign recognition associated with operations in Southwest Asia.

After the deployment, YELLOWSTONE entered a period of leave, maintenance and restoration of readiness. The ship and her crew had operated for more than seven months in support of one of the largest American naval concentrations since the Vietnam War. At the same time, the strategic circumstances facing the Navy were changing rapidly. The Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, and the United States began reducing a fleet that had been structured largely around Cold War requirements. YELLOWSTONE nevertheless remained operational and returned to Mediterranean duties. During 1992, the developing wars in the former Yugoslavia were creating a new requirement for naval forces in the Mediterranean and Adriatic. International sanctions, surveillance operations and the broader political crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia increasingly occupied ships of the Sixth Fleet.

During late May 1992, USS DAHLGREN (DDG 43) entered an intermediate maintenance availability with YELLOWSTONE. The event was one of the many shorter maintenance periods that formed the tender's routine work and allowed deployed combatants to receive repairs without returning to a naval shipyard. YELLOWSTONE later crossed the Atlantic for another Mediterranean deployment and arrived at Genoa, Italy, on October 9, 1992. Captain Ronald C. Berning assumed command on October 17. The cruise took place in an operating environment very different from the Mediterranean deployments of the mid-1980s. Soviet-American naval competition was no longer the central issue, while the disintegration of Yugoslavia had created continuing political and military instability close to NATO territory. United States and allied naval forces were operating in and around the Adriatic in connection with United Nations sanctions and other measures related to the conflict.

Following the deployment, YELLOWSTONE continued Atlantic Fleet duties during 1993. On November 16 and 17, 1993, the salvage ship USS GRAPPLE (ARS 53) conducted an emergency tow of YELLOWSTONE from the Virginia Capes to Norfolk. The tender was brought safely back to port and subsequently returned to operational condition.

Late in 1993 and early in 1994 YELLOWSTONE prepared for another Mediterranean deployment, which became her final major overseas cruise. The deployment lasted approximately four months and again placed her in support of Sixth Fleet ships during continuing operations associated with the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. International naval forces were enforcing sanctions and maintaining a substantial presence in the Adriatic, creating continuing demand for forward maintenance. The workload during this deployment was exceptionally heavy. YELLOWSTONE's crew devoted 119,088 man-hours to repair work. More than 3,400 individual jobs were completed during 17 major alongside repair availabilities. In addition, 45 fly-away repair teams were dispatched to provide specialized assistance away from the tender.

YELLOWSTONE returned to Norfolk in May 1994. Captain Ronald C. Bogle became the ship's final commanding officer on June 1. Although YELLOWSTONE remained fully commissioned, the Navy was reassessing the future of large destroyer tenders. The fleet was shrinking rapidly as numerous Cold War-era cruisers, destroyers and frigates were decommissioned. Maintenance policy was also changing. Greater use of shore facilities, contractors, deployable technical teams and other forms of logistical support reduced the requirement for a large tender to deploy routinely with or close behind surface forces.

The effects of this policy became particularly evident during 1995. YELLOWSTONE had been scheduled to deploy to the Mediterranean on May 25, 1995, to assume duties after USS SHENANDOAH (AD 44), which returned to Norfolk on May 17. As part of an effort to conserve operating resources, however, the Navy cancelled YELLOWSTONE's planned Mediterranean deployment. Instead, YELLOWSTONE remained at Norfolk in surge status. Her repair organization continued to provide support and could dispatch assist teams when emergent requirements developed. Forward-deployed ships were increasingly supported by resources already available in theater together with fly-away teams dispatched from the continental United States. Other maintenance facilities and support ships, including the submarine tender USS SIMON LAKE (AS 33) at La Maddalena, Sardinia, contributed to the network available to Sixth Fleet units.

The decision not to deploy YELLOWSTONE was part of a broader reduction in the destroyer-tender force. USS ACADIA (AD 42) had already been decommissioned in December 1994, while USS CAPE COD (AD 43) followed on September 29, 1995. The large manpower requirements of the ships and the declining number of surface combatants requiring their particular type of support made the class increasingly difficult to justify within the smaller post-Cold War fleet.

USS YELLOWSTONE was decommissioned at Naval Station Norfolk on January 31, 1996, with Captain Bogle as her final commanding officer. She had served for a little more than fifteen and a half years. Following decommissioning, YELLOWSTONE was placed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Navy did not initially discard all possibility that recently retired tenders might be required again. Two ships of the YELLOWSTONE-class were placed in reduced operating status and were associated with a reserve program intended to retain a capability for reactivation. Naval Reservists trained in specialties including repair, communications, supply, medical and dental support, while the Military Sealift Command was responsible for the lay-berthing, maintenance and potential operation of the ships. The approximately 2,000 reserve billets associated with this concept applied to the two tenders involved in the program rather than to YELLOWSTONE alone.

The anticipated requirement to reactivate YELLOWSTONE did not materialize. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on April 7, 1999. On April 6, 2000, the former tender entered the Maritime Administration's James River Reserve Fleet near Fort Eustis, Virginia, on a reimbursable-custody basis. MARAD formally accepted title to YELLOWSTONE for disposal on July 28, 2001. The former tender remained in the James River Reserve Fleet for more than another decade. On December 17, 2014, YELLOWSTONE departed the James River Reserve Fleet after being sold under a domestic disposal contract to ESCO Marine at Brownsville, Texas. She was subsequently taken to Brownsville for dismantling.

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USS YELLOWSTONE Image Gallery:

The photos below were taken by me and show the YELLOWSTONE laid up on the James River, Va. On the first photo she's seen between the never completed oiler HENRY ECKFORD (T-AO 192) and her sistership CAPE COD (AD 43). Photo number two shows her stern with her name on it. Both photos were taken on October 30, 2010.

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