USS Barnegat ( AVP - 10 ) The second USS " Barnegat " ( AVP - 10 ) , in commission from 1941 to 1946 , was the lead ship of her class of small seaplane tender s built for the United States Navy just before and during World War II . She was the second U . S . Navy ship to bear that name . Early career . " Barnegat " was laid down on 27 October 1939 at Bremerton , Washington , by the Puget Sound Navy Yard and launched on 23 May 1941 , sponsored by Mrs . Lucien F . Kimball . " Barnegat " was commissioned on 3 July 1941 with Commander Felix L . Baker in command . For the next three months , " Barnegat " remained at Puget Sound , conducting sea trials and testing equipment , such as her large aircraft handling crane . The “ years of operation of patrol planes in the Fleet and the increasingly important role played by these planes ” had also shown that the " Lapwing " - class converted minesweepers fell “ far short of the characteristics needed ” for mobile tenders to operate patrol planes “ where shore facilities were not available . ” This meant specifications that included a draft that would “ permit entrance into the greater number of small harbors which might be suitable for seaplane anchorages , ” the ability to tend a 12 - plane patrol squadron , high maneuverability , and the ability to contribute to her own defense . Her trials completed by mid - October 1941 , " Barnegat " stood out of Seattle , Washington , on 15 October 1941 and , later that afternoon , retrieved her assigned aircraft , a Curtiss SOC - 1 Seagull floatplane , from Naval Air Station Seattle . On 16 October 1941 , " Barnegat " proceeded south and reached the Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo , California , on 19 October 1941 . There , she loaded ammunition before sailing for the United States East Coast on 22 October 1941 . " Barnegat " called at Acapulco , Mexico , from 27 October 1941 to 29 October 1941 and then sailed for Panama , transiting the Panama Canal on 2 November 1941 . After pausing briefly at Hampton Roads , Virginia , en route , she reached the Boston Navy Yard at Boston , Massachusetts , on 12 November 1941 . More tests and trials kept " Barnegat " busy in the local operating area into the early spring of 1942 . By then , the United States had entered World War II as a full partner in the Allied cause . World War II . North Atlantic operations May – November 1942 . Underway from the Boston Navy Yard on 1 May 1942 , " Barnegat " transited the Cape Cod Canal later that day , anchoring for the evening in $ 3 on the Massachusetts coast . From there , she sailed to Newport , Rhode Island , and moored at the Naval Torpedo Station Newport at Newport on the morning of 2 May 1942 to take on a dozen Mark XIII aerial torpedo es before she headed on to Naval Air Station , Quonset Point , Rhode Island , where she loaded equipment and stores for Patrol Squadron 73 ( VP - 73 ) . on 4 May 1942 , " Barnegat " embarked the squadron ’ s five officers and 117 enlisted men and put to sea that afternoon , bound for Iceland . Along the way , she escorted the steamer SS " Cherokee " to the Sambro Lightship and there turned over her charge to a Royal Canadian Navy escort . " Barnegat " stopped at Argentia , Newfoundland , from 7 May 1942 to 9 May 1942 , and then resumed her voyage to Iceland . She arrived in Reykjavík , Iceland , late on 13 May 1942 . On 14 May 1942 , she moored alongside seaplane tender and unloaded VP - 73 ’ s gear . On 16 May 1942 , " Barnegat " arrived at the Fleet Air Base at Skagafjörður , Iceland , her base of operations for most of the next three months . There she provided not only tender services but salvage and logistic support as well . Between 20 June 1942 and 22 June 1942 , she recovered gear from a Consolidated PBY - 5A Catalina which had been shot down at Kossandr Beach by “ friendly fire ” from ships in Convoy UR 29 . After an interruption to locate and salvage a barge and its valuable cargo of gasoline , she completed the task on 24 June 1942 . While based at Skagafjörður , " Barnegat " also transferred aviation gasoline from tankers to a variety of ships , from Skagafjörður to Hvalfjordur , Iceland , supplying heavy cruiser s and , battleship , and British aircraft carrier in that fashion . She also supplied diesel fuel to the destroyer tender . Later , on 14 August 1942 , she got underway from Skagafjörður to salvage a German Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor reconnaissance plane that had been shot down by a United States Army fighter from Gaetta Light . At the scene , " Barnegat " recovered some flotsam before returning to her moorings . On 5 September 1942 , " Barnegat " s tour in Icelandic waters took on a more Allied flavor as she sailed for three weeks of duty servicing Norwegian Northrop N3PB twin - float seaplane patrol bomber s of the Royal Norwegian Naval Air Force ' s No . 330 Squadron based at Akureyri , Iceland , support evolutions aided by a Norwegian - speaking member of the Ship ' s company who served as interpreter . On 24 October 1942 , " Barnegat " received orders to transport VP - 73 to Derry , Northern Ireland . During the passage , " Barnegat " encountered heavy seas and , at 15 : 41 hours on 26 October 1942 , took a “ rapid , heavy roll to starboard ” while efforts were underway topside to secure depth charge s that had come adrift on deck . A torrent of water cascaded across the fantail and swept Ensign George V . Grabosky and two sailors over the side . " Barnegat " herself had to try to recover her drifting men , since the stiff gale precluded the lowering of a boat . Men on board worked lifelines and tended knot ted lines , grapnel s , and lifebuoy s , as she struggled against the elements to maintain proper position for a rescue . The two enlisted men finally were recovered , but Ensign Grabosky was not found . On 27 October 1942 , " Barnegat " arrived at Lissahally , Ireland , where found another set of sailing orders waiting : She was to participate in Operation Torch , the Allied landings in French North Africa . She got underway again on 29 October 1942 and steamed with British Convoy WS 24 until rendezvousing with Task Force ( TF ) 34 and Convoy UGF 1 . North African operations November – December 1942 . Early on 7 November 1942 , " Barnegat " joined the task force , took her assigned station in Task Group ( TG ) 34 . 8 ( the Northern Attack Group ) , and arrived off Mehedia , French Morocco , that same evening . Assigned to antisubmarine patrol and escort , " Barnegat " took up station inshore of six transports and two cargo ship s whose assault troops were already in the boats . At 06 : 00 hours , nearby destroyer s began bombarding their assigned targets to cover the passage of the troops to the beach . Vichy French batteries returned fire within 10 minutes but , later , shifted their aim to the transports , forcing them to move out to sea . At 07 : 40 hours , soon after the French guns opened fire , " Barnegat " s guns silenced one of them with 11 round s . That work done , " Barnegat " retired seaward to resume screening and antisubmarine duty . On 9 November 1942 , " Barnegat " received orders to ascend the Wadi Sebou to establish an air base at Port Lyautey , French Morocco . On 10 November 1942 , destroyer led steamer SS " Contessa " up the Wadi Sebou to Port Lyautey , where U . S . Army troops landed and took the nearby airstrip . " Barnegat " followed on 11 November 1942 after she secured a French pilot and reached her destination by late afternoon . On 12 November 1942 , she unloaded VP - 73 ' s equipment , setting up Port Lyautey Air Station on the southeastern corner of the airfield . She also established a port directorate and a shipping control office . Later that day , " Barnegat " radioed VP - 73 that the field was ready , and the first plane arrived from Lyeness , England , at 08 : 00 hours on 13 November 1942 . Within hours , most of VP - 73 was in business there , flying their first patrols . " Barnegat " housed and fed VP - 73 until the squadron managed to set up a mess ashore , but VP - 73 was self - sufficient by 24 November 1942 . On 10 December 1942 , " Barnegat " got underway to transport a detachment of French native troops to Casablanca . She reached her destination early on 11 December 1942 and disembarked the troops . North Atlantic operations December 1942 – May 1943 . " Barnegat " received orders to proceed to the United States with Convoy GUF 2A , and she headed homeward on 12 December 1942 . Chronic bad weather plagued the convoy , and it fell to " Barnegat " to escort three stragglers from Bermuda to New York City . One of them dropped astern on 20 December 1942 and was not seen again , but " Barnegat " continued on with the steamers SS " Examiner " and SS " Santa Maria " . Setting course for the Nantucket Shoals lightship early on 21 December 1942 , " Barnegat " pounded heavily in the head seas on the night of 21 – 22 December 1942 , and sprung seams flooded the sound room and some 5 - inch ( 127 mm ) magazine spaces . Ignoring the flooded sound room , additional weight forward apparently giving some advantage in heavy seas , her damage control parties pumped out the magazine spaces . Releasing " Examiner " and " Santa Maria " to a local escort at 23 : 00 hours on 23 December 1942 , " Barnegat " then made for the Boston Navy Yard , arriving on 24 December 1942 . She spent the rest of 1942 receiving voyage repairs at South Boston , Massachusetts . After trials and antisubmarine exercises near Casco Bay , Maine , " Barnegat " sailed on 5 February 1943 for Iceland . Diverted briefly to Argentia on 8 February 1943 , she resumed her voyage to Iceland the next morning . Despite cautious steaming through pack ice , she reached Reykjavík on 13 February 1943 . Late in February , " Barnegat " returned to Boston for repairs to her engines , degaussing gear , and radar . After a brief call at Quonset Point , she loaded aviation gasoline for Argentia at Boston on 8 March 1943 . Upon completion of this cargo run , she returned to Boston and Quonset Point before she again underwent repairs for her temperamental engines . The operations of January and February continued well into the spring of 1943 . The ship transported men and cargo between Boston , Argentia , and Quonset Point . She also served briefly as a target during exercises held off Block Island and escorted the tanker SS " Sabine Sun " from Argentia to Boston late in April 1943 . World War II South Atlantic operations June 1943 – May 1944 . After installation of YG homing equipment , QC sonar , and other gear , " Barnegat " left Boston on 31 May 1943 . She took part briefly in local exercises , then headed south on 6 June 1943 . She reached Norfolk , Virginia , on the morning of 7 June 1943 , but on 15 June 1943 cleared the Virginia Capes for Brazil . Steaming via Bermuda , " Barnegat " reached Natal , on Brazil ' s northeastern coast , on 26 June 1943 . Reporting for duty with Fleet Air Wing ( FAW ) 16 , " Barnegat " relieved seaplane tender in servicing Admiral Jonas Ingram ' s United States Fourth Fleet planes assigned to cover convoys from Brazil to Trinidad . Her arrival coincided with the opening shots of a local German submarine " " blitz " " against coastal shipping ; the day before , the German U - boat " U - 513 " had torpedoed the steamer SS " Venetia " . Underway again on 28 June 1943 , " Barnegat " dropped down the Brazilian coast and moored at Recife , Brazil , on the morning of 29 June 1943 to start yet more repairs alongside destroyer tender , an old Iceland comrade . Those repairs done , " Barnegat " made a brief trip north , touching at Natal and Recife before returning south with the tanker SS " Gulfport " . Stopping at Bahia , Brazil , on 9 July 1943 , the pair continued south and reached Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , on 13 July 1943 . Her presence there having been dictated by the recent rash of sinkings by U - boats in the region , after taking a load of gasoline from " Gulfport " , " Barnegat " departed Rio de Janeiro on 17 July 1943 for Florianópolis , Brazil , less than in a straight - line distance from Rio de Janeiro , as part of the temporary measures to meet the U - boat threat . Two Martin Martin PBM - 3C Mariner flying - boat patrol bombers of Patrol Squadron 74 ( VP - 74 ) also were sent to Florianapolis . Anchoring on 18 July 1943 , " Barnegat " was ready to receive the two planes when they arrived less than four hours later . Operations commenced on the morning of 19 July 1943 . At 07 : 02 hours , PBM - 3C " 74 - P - 5 " , flown by Lieutenant , junior grade , Roy S . Whitcomb , took off from San Miguel , Florianópolis , on an antisubmarine sweep . The patrol proceeded uneventfully until the radar operator reported a contact at 13 : 55 hours . As Whitcomb looked at the " sharp blip " on his own radar scope , the second pilot called his attention to something to starboard . Whitcomb recognized the object as a surfaced U - boat and sent his crew to battle stations . Soon , their quarry , " U - 513 " , saw the attacking plane and began to take evasive action . Whitcomb ' s PBM - 3C dropped six depth charges and caught the U - boat in a starboard turn . The U - boat absorbed the full impact of at least two direct hits ; two depth charges straddled the submarine and two others struck her deck . Within moments , observers in the Mariner saw " rising boils and [ a ] brown stain on [ the ] water . . . " " U - 513 " was no more . Seeing 15 to 20 men struggling in the oily water , Whitcomb circled the scene and dropped life belt s and two life rafts to the " U - 513 " survivors , while informing " Barnegat " of the kill . " Barnegat " proceeded swiftly to the scene , arrived there in less than four hours , and began a search . At 19 : 15 hours , she sighted a life raft with seven men on board and closed to pick them up . The first man came on board at 19 : 30 hours and the last boarded 20 minutes later . Among them she counted the " U - 513 " s 28 - year - old commanding officer , Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger , the ace awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross for sinking the British aircraft carrier off Gibraltar in November 1941 as commander of the German submarine " U - 81 " . The gathering darkness prevented " Barnegat " from locating more survivors , and she finally ceased her efforts shortly after midnight . Although she returned then to San Miguel Bay to resume operations , she had not heard the last of " U - 513 " . At 11 : 30 hours on 22 July 1943 , her other plane , " 74 - P - 7 " , reported sighting a life raft with survivors on board . Underway shortly after noon , " Barnegat " proceeded to the scene and at 16 : 45 hours reached two rafts which had been lashed together . These 18 men - - Chief Engineer Harold Van R . Forest of the recently sunk merchant ship " Richard Caswell " along with 11 men of her crew and six members of her Naval Armed Guard detachment — were clinging to the raft . Ironically , " Richard Caswell " — torpedoed on 16 July 1943 — had been " U - 513 " s last victim . " Barnegat " returned to San Miguel Bay at 21 : 59 hours on 22 July 1943 but remained there only overnight , getting underway early on the morning of 23 July 1943 for Rio de Janeiro . Reaching that port at 11 : 00 hours on 24 July 1943 , she was held incommunicado until her prisoners could be transferred to authorities ashore on the morning of 25 July 1943 . Once that happened , " Barnegat " shifted to another berth and disembarked the 18 men from " Richard Caswell " . Over the next few days , " Barnegat " remained at Rio de Janeiro . While she was there , Trinidad - bound Convoy JT 3 departed under mixed air cover of both the U . S . Navy and the Brazilian Air Force . Among the planes so tasked , the PBM - 3C that had sunk " U - 513 " carried out a routine antisubmarine sweep in advance of the convoy when its radar raised a contact . This proved to be " U - 199 " , a Type IXD U - boat on her maiden war patrol and " U - 513 " s collaborator in the recent campaign against Allied shipping . " U - 199 " increased speed , and her quartermaster put her helm over to starboard . Confusion reigned below , however , as some of her forward tanks were flooded for an emergency crash dive . The Mariner attacked at 07 : 18 hours , and " U - 199 " opened fire as soon as the seaplane came into range . The Mariners machine guns swept the decks , while the plane straddled " U - 199 " with a stick of six bombs that showered the submarine with tons of spray . After landing her two remaining bombs close aboard without sinking the submarine , the plane radioed for assistance . Though badly shaken , " U - 199 " tried to repair her damage and clear the area , but she could not evade her pursuers . A Brazilian Lockheed Hudson bomber responded to the Mariners call for help and attacked , followed shortly by a Brazilian PBY Catalina , which administered the " coup de grace " . Informed at 09 : 58 hours that the U - boat had been sunk , " Barnegat " hurried to the scene led by another PBM Mariner . She spotted life rafts at 11 : 38 hours and , by shortly after noon , had picked up five officers and seven enlisted men , among them " U - 199 " s commanding officer , 28 year - old Kapitänleutnant Hans Werner Kraus , also a decorated U - boat commander and former executive officer to the U - boat ace Gunther Prien . In the post mortem on the attack , VP - 74 ' s commanding officer , Commander Joseph P . Toth , singled out " Barnegat " , for her “ usual good performance . . . in recovering the survivors ” of the sunken U - boat . Once again , " Barnegat " anchored in the harbor at Rio de Janeiro with her prisoners - of - war held incommunicado until they could be taken ashore . Between 05 : 20 and 05 : 40 hours , " U - 199 " s men disembarked under heavy guard , en route to the airport and a speedy trip to the United States for a thorough interrogation . " Barnegat " remained in Brazilian waters into the spring of 1944 , operating at Bahia , Recife , Natal , Fortaleza , Fernando de Noronha , Sao Luiz , and Florianópolis . As before , she hauled freight , transported men and gear , and tended patrol planes of Fleet Air Wing 16 ( FAW - 16 ) . Her only time out of Brazilian waters came when she briefly conducted tending operations at Montevideo , Uruguay , from 13 March 1944 to 16 March 1944 . Another break in her routine came on 29 November 1943 and 30 November 1943 , when she patrolled off the entrance to the harbor at Bahia to cover the arrival of a task group formed around battleship during " Iowa " s return at the conclusion of her part in transporting President Franklin D . Roosevelt to the Teheran Conference . North Atlantic operations May 1944 – January 1945 . " Barnegat " wrapped up her work in Brazilian waters , at Sao Luiz , on 12 May 1944 and departed for the United States that afternoon . Steaming via Bermuda and Norfolk , she arrived at Boston on 24 May 1944 . Following voyage repairs and alterations at the Boston Navy Yard , she sailed to Norfolk in early July 1944 and then made passenger and freight voyages to Bahia Praia and Horta , Azores , and to Casablanca , before returning to Norfolk on 16 August 1944 . On 7 September 1944 , " Barnegat " departed Norfolk and proceeded to Eastern Bay , in Maryland at the mouth of the Patuxent River , where she laid out a seaplane operating area , placing mooring buoys and seadrome lights to prepare for training operations with Patrol Wing 5 ( VP - 5 ) . She worked with these aircraft over the next two weeks and returned to Norfolk on 23 September 1944 . Returning to transport duties soon thereafter , she again sailed for the Azores and Morocco on a voyage that also took her to Bristol , England , late in October 1944 . She returned to Norfolk on the morning of 9 November 1944 and spent the remainder of that month and the first half of December 1944 at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , undergoing repairs . Underway on 14 December 1944 , " Barnegat " reached Bermuda on 16 December 1944 and occupied the next few days training with Patrol Bombing Squadron 107 ( VPB - 107 ) and Patrol Bombing Squadron 125 ( VPB - 215 ) of Fleet Air Wing 9 ( FAW - 9 ) in practice fuelings , rearmings , and general servicing . Then she got underway on 29 December 1944 in company with destroyer to return to Norfolk , and reached Norfolk on 31 December 1944 . She then spent a month getting repairs to hull damage suffered at Bermuda . Pacific operations February 1945 – August 1945 . " Barnegat " departed for the Canal Zone on 5 February 1945 . She arrived at Coco Solo , Panama , early on 11 February 1945 and relieved seaplane tender . For the next few months , " Barnegat " served in constant " ready duty " status , prepared to get underway , often within an hour . Her Central American service comprised tending patrol planes and transport duty . She supported the advanced naval air base at Baltra Island in the Galapagos Islands , making several trips there from the Canal Zone and remaining at such picturesque spots as Aeolian Cove and Tagus Cove on Isabella Island , tending Patrol Bombing Squadron 74 ( VPB - 74 ) aircraft . She also visited Bahia Honda , Colombia , and Limon Bay , Panama . " Barnegat " established an independent air base at Tagus Cove , enabling the patrol bombers to extend their coverage farther off the coast of South America than previously possible . There , she provided fuel for the planes , deployed lighted mooring buoys , billeted and fed the crews , provided bomb s and bomb - loading crews , kept crash and fueling boats in the water at all times to fulfill all of the squadron ’ s needs . Occasionally , " Barnegat " also carried out salvage and rescue operations out of Coco Solo , participating in a search for a lost Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter pilot in March 1945 and assisting some downed PBM Mariners in June 1945 . Postwar career . The end of hostilities with Germany in early May 1945 and with Japan in mid - August 1945 altered neither the tempo nor the scope of " Barnegat " s operations , for she remained busy at Coco Solo into September 1945 , making only one brief visit to the United States — at Miami , Florida — between 18 September 1945 and 22 September 1945 . After returning to Coco Solo on 26 September 1945 , " Barnegat " operated there into October 1945 , sinking discarded PBM Mariner hulls at sea with gunfire on 6 October 1945 and 15 October 1945 . She then transited the Panama Canal on 19 October 1945 , en route to Baltra Island , arriving there early on 22 October 1945 . " Barnegat " carried out practice operations with Patrol Bombing Squadron 201 ( VPB - 201 ) at Tagus Cove until 31 October 1945 , when Patrol Bombing Squadron 204 ( VPB - 204 ) arrived for training . Shifting to Aeolian Cove on 8 November 1945 , " Barnegat " sailed for the Canal Zone the next day . She transited the Panama Canal on 14 November 1945 , returning soon thereafter to Coco Solo to dispose of more junked PBM Mariner hulls by gunfire between 19 November 1945 and 26 November 1945 . Relieved by seaplane tender , " Barnegat " set course for the United States on 11 December 1945 and reached the Naval Repair Base , Algiers , Louisiana , on 15 December 1945 . Shifting on 17 December 1945 to a berth alongside destroyer escort , " Barnegat " spent the remainder of 1945 there . In January 1946 , she moved on to Orange , Texas , arriving there on 14 January 1946 . Decommissioning and disposal . Decommissioned on 17 May 1946 , " Barnegat " saw no more active service . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 23 May 1958 . She was transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal . Commercial service . The Maritime Administration sold " Barnegat " in 1962 to the Greek cruise ship line Kavounides Shipping Co . , Ltd . Renamed MV " Kentavros " she operated on cruises out of Piraeus , Greece . Finally , she was scrapped at Eleusis , Greece , in 1986 Awards . " Barnegat " received one battle star for her World War II service .