USS Duxbury Bay ( AVP - 38 ) USS " Duxbury Bay " ( AVP - 38 ) was a United States Navy " Barnegat " - class small seaplane tender in commission from 1944 to 1966 . Construction and commissioning . " Duxbury Bay " was launched on 2 October 1944 by Lake Washington Shipyard , Houghton , Washington , sponsored by Mrs . R . E . Torkelson . " Duxbury Bay " was commissioned on 31 December 1944 with Commander F . N . House in command . World War II operations . " Duxbury Bay " departed San Diego , California , on 12 March 1945 , called at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and tended seaplane s at Eniwetok and Ulithi Atoll before arriving at Kerama Retto off Okinawa on 29 April 1945 . She supported the United States Third Fleet through service as seadrome control tender , mail ship , movie exchange , and gasoline supply ship for small craft until cessation of hostilities with Japan and the end of World War II on 15 August 1945 . Operations in the Far East 1945 - 1948 . After the end of World War II , " Duxbury Bay " served in the Far East , tending patrol squadrons at Shanghai and Tsingtao in China , Jinsen in Korea , and Hong Kong . She then returned to the United States , arriving at San Francisco , California , on 20 October 1946 . " Duxbury Bay " served another tour of duty in the Far East from 25 February 1947 to 8 September 1947 , operating out of Yokosuka , Japan , and Okinawa . She returned to the Far East for another tour from 2 February 1948 to 27 July 1948 , tending seaplane s patrolling over Chinese territory during the expansion of Communist control in China . Around - the - world cruise 1949 . Departing Long Beach , California , on 17 March 1949 , " Duxbury Bay " headed west on the first leg of a round - the - world cruise . She spent one month as flagship for Commander , Persian Gulf , then moved on to arrive at Norfolk , Virginia , on 3 July 1949 . Exercises in Nova Scotia 1949 . Between 29 October 1949 and 21 November 1949 , " Duxbury Bay " operated as a seaplane tender at Halifax , Nova Scotia , during cold - weather exercises . Middle Eastern and Indian Ocean service 1950 - 1966 . Between 4 January 1950 and early 1966 , " Duxbury Bay " served 15 tours of duty in the Persian Gulf , the Arabian Sea , and the Indian Ocean as flagship for Commander , United States Middle East Force . On average , she made one cruise per year , based in Bahrain , spending the intervening periods in upkeep at her home port of Norfolk and undergoing refresher training at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba . During most of this period the Middle East flagship duty rotated between " Duxbury Bay " and two other " Barnegat " - class ships , and , all eventually painted white and specially fitted for the purpose . " Duxbury Bay " s Middle East service was highlighted by a number of important diplomatic missions . During her 1951 tour , her crew members served on security patrol and as messengers for the Southeast Asia Treaty Conference at Ceylon at which Commander , Middle East Force , represented the United States Department of Defense . She was visited by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in February 1953 and transported him to French Somaliland . Homeward bound during her 1954 - 1955 tour , she sailed by way of Mombasa , Kenya ; Durban , Union of South Africa ; and Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , for good - will visits . During her next cruise , in January 1958 , " Duxbury Bay " joined in flood relief at Ceylon . " Duxbury Bay " paid a special call to Karachi , Pakistan , in December 1959 on the occasion of the visit of President Dwight D . Eisenhower to India and Pakistan . During May 1963 " Duxbury Bay " participated in Project Mercury as a recovery ship for the final Mercury space mission , the Mercury - Atlas 9 mission flown by Leroy Gordon Cooper , Jr . . Decommissioning and disposal . " Duxbury Bay " was decommissioned on 30 April 1966 , only a few months after returning from her last deployment , and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1966 . She was sold for scrap in July 1967 .