USS Tangier ( AV - 8 ) The second USS " Tangier " ( AV - 8 ) was a cargo ship , converted to a seaplane tender in the United States Navy during World War II . " Tangier " was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 51 ) as " Sea Arrow " on 18 March 1939 at Oakland , California by Moore Dry Dock Company ; launched on 15 September 1939 ; sponsored by Mrs . Joseph R . Sheehan ; renamed " Tangier " ( AV - 8 ) on 3 June 1940 ; acquired by the Navy on 8 July 1940 ; and commissioned in ordinary on that same day , Commander Clifton A . F . Sprague in command . " Tangier " remained at Oakland for over a year , undergoing conversion to a seaplane tender . Finally , on 25 August 1941 , she went into full commission and put to sea on her shakedown cruise . At the completion of shakedown training , she was assigned as tender to Patrol Wing 2 ( PatWing 2 ) , based in Hawaii . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 3 November and moored abaft the former battleship now serving as an anti - aircraft training ship . There , she spent the last month of peacetime caring for her complement of seaplane s . Pearl Harbor and Wake Island . At 07 : 55 on the morning of 7 December 1941 , the first of two waves of Japanese carrier - based aircraft swooped in on the Pacific Fleet , moored at Pearl Harbor . " Tangier " — still abaft " Utah " and commanded by future Vice Admiral Clifton Sprague — was in the fight from the beginning . Her klaxon sounded general quarters three minutes later , and by 08 : 00 her anti - aircraft batteries opened up on the swarm of " meatball " - emblazoned planes . During the ensuing melee , " Tangier " s gunners claimed three enemy aircraft and hits on a midget submarine which had penetrated the harbor ' s defenses . She and another seaplane tender — — shelled the submarine , but the destroyer finished it off with a two - pronged attack , subjecting it to a ramming and following up with a cascade of depth charges . By 09 : 20 , the skies were clear of aircraft , and only the smoke from the burning ships and shore installations remained . " Tangier " began rescuing survivors from the capsized " Utah " . In the air , from the USS " Tangier " , were , among other aircraft , the crew of the PBY - 5 aircraft , Patrol Plane Commander Lieut . ( jg ) Otto F . Meyer , Jr . , U . S . Navy , Squadron 14 : Ens . Sylvan Greene , USNR , second pilot ; Ens . J . M . Eggland , USNR , third pilot ; Novak , J . AMM2c , USN , plane captain ; Wagner , J . E . AMM2c , USN , second mechanic ; Alwin , O . F . RM1c , USN , first radioman ; Shaw , W . H . RM2c , USN , second radioman . While conducting an assigned search mission on 7 December 1941 this aircraft was attacked by a formation of approximately nine enemy aircraft and succeeded with courage — while under fire — to defeat the surprise attack and land safely , only to discover the devastation on land after the bombing of Pearl Harbor . Noteworthy : Sylvan Greene ( later a Lt . Com . in the U . S . Navy ) was honored with an appearance on the fourth radio show of " This is Your Life " , with Ralph Edwards , to describe the events and his contribution in downing the first Japanese aircraft during the surprise attack . During the next few days , it became apparent that the Japanese would soon attempt a landing on Wake Island , a desolate speck in the ocean but a strategic American outpost located almost astride the 20th parallel , some two - thirds of the way from Oahu to Guam and almost due north of the Marshall Islands . By mid - December , " Tangier " was loaded with supplies , ammunition , and equipment for the desperate but thus far victorious defenders of Wake Island . Then , she rode idly at anchor for two days while the aircraft carrier — around which the Wake relief force was to be built — steamed to Pearl from San Diego . " Saratoga " entered Pearl Harbor on 15 December , and " Tangier " departed the same afternoon in company with the fleet oiler and a destroyer division while the carrier refueled . " Saratoga " caught up to the slow - moving little convoy on the 17th , and the task force advanced on Wake . At this point , Admiral Kimmel was replaced by Admiral Nimitz as Commander in Chief , Pacific Fleet . It was an unfortunate time to make such a change for ; in the space of time it took Nimitz to make it from Washington to Pearl Harbor , confusion and indecision reigned in the Pacific . The immediate result was a failure to press home the relief expedition , and this unfortunate combination of circumstances caused the loss of Wake Island and its gallant garrison . On 23 December , after a three - day struggle against overwhelming odds , the defenders succumbed . The relief expedition was ordered back to Oahu . " Tangier " sailed via Midway Island , where she disembarked the men and equipment of Marine Fighting Squadron 221 ( VMF - 221 ) to bolster that island ' s defenses and embarked civilian evacuees . She returned to Pearl Harbor on the last day of 1941 . Coral Sea . On 11 February 1942 , " Tangier " put to sea again and headed , via Pago Pago and Suva , to New Caledonia . She arrived in Noumea on 3 March and relieved " Curtiss " as tender for six PBY Catalina flying boat s . For the next three and one - half months , she performed routine tender services for PBYs flying long - range searches to the north of New Caledonia , almost as far as the lower Solomons . In late April and early May , her group of seaplane s was increased to 12 in anticipation of a fleet action in the Coral Sea . When the battle came to pass , however , her planes had to content themselves with rescuing survivors of the destroyer and oiler , sunk on 7 May by the Japanese who mistook them for a cruiser and carrier , respectively , and of the torpedo ed Greek freighter SS " Chloe " . The search continued until 13 May , days after the end of the crucial battle . Coral Sea was a tactical victory for the Japanese — the U . S . Navy lost more tonnage — but a strategic victory for the U . S . It stopped the southward advance of the " Rising Sun " and set the stage for the American victory in the Battle of Midway by temporarily robbing the Japanese of two of their newest fleet carriers : and . " Shōkaku " was incapacitated by battle damage , and " Zuikaku " lost a high percentage of her veteran aviators . After their rescue operations for survivors of Allied ships lost in the Coral Sea action , " Tangier " ' s planes resumed normal search operations . On 30 May , two of her planes were forced down at sea by fuel shortage , and a third crashed near Mare Island in the Loyalty group . Destroyer went out to aid the two planes . One was refueled and returned safely , but the other could not take off and had to be sunk . The crew of the third plane reached safety at Mare Island . On 20 June , " Tangier " was relieved by " Curtiss " and , the following day , got underway for the west coast . She reached Pearl Harbor on Independence Day 1942 and stood out again three days later . On the 15th , she arrived in San Francisco and immediately began overhaul . 1943 . " Tangier " completed overhaul in September and , after loading aviation equipment at the Alameda Naval Air Station , departed San Francisco for Pearl Harbor , Suva , and ultimately Espiritu Santo , where she arrived on 28 February 1943 . There , she unloaded her stores and commenced tending seaplanes . She continued routine operations until 12 August , when she got underway for Pearl Harbor . " Tangier " made Oahu on the 28th . In September – October , she made two voyages from Pearl Harbor to American Samoa and one to San Diego , before returning to Espiritu Santo on 6 November with a load of aviation cargo . On the 14th , she headed back to the U . S . , arriving in San Diego on 3 December for another yard overhaul . 1944 . On 21 February 1944 , " Tangier " again headed west . She reached Espiritu Santo on 8 March and — after a four - day layover — continued on to Brisbane , Australia , where she became the flagship of the Commander , Aircraft , 7th Fleet , on 21 March . Two days later , she headed north to support General MacArthur ' s advance up the back of the New Guinea " bird . " After stops at Milne Bay and Langemak Bay , she dropped anchor in Seeadler Harbor , Manus , on 31 March . She remained there for three months , tending her Catalinas as they supported the landings at Wakde , Noemfoor , and Biak and generally supported the 7th Fleet ' s advance . On 31 July , she moved to Woendi Anchorage located just off Biak , at the head of the New Guinea " bird " . " Tangier " conducted seaplane operations from there until 19 September , when she got underway for Morotai . The tender arrived off Morotai on the 21st , and supported the invasion — undergoing intermittent air attacks — until 1 December , when she headed back to Manus . She anchored in Seeadler Harbor again on 5 December . " Tangier " visited Woendi again on 22 – 23 December then sailed for the Philippines . She entered Kossol Roads in the Palaus on Christmas Day and departed again the following day . On 29 December , she arrived in San Pedro Bay , Leyte Gulf , and began operating her seaplanes from there . For almost a month , her charges supported various operations in the Philippines . These included the Lingayen invasion and air strikes on the numerous smaller islands of the archipelago . In fact , their primary mission appears to have been air - sea rescue work in support of the air strikes . 1945 . On 24 January 1945 , " Tangier " departed Leyte and headed for Lingayen Gulf , arriving three days later . Her Catalinas and Mariners conducted night barrier patrols of Luzon Strait and the South China Sea along with night searches and anti - shipping flights along the China coast in the vicinity of Formosa . On 12 February , the seaplane tender moved to Mangarin Bay , Mindoro , to run day searches over the South China Sea as far north as the coast of French Indochina and Hainan Island . She concluded operations from Mangarin Bay on 7 March and headed for Subic Bay , Luzon . She arrived there on the following day and departed on the llth . " Tangier " anchored in Cabalitian Bay , off Cabalitian Island , on the 12th and commenced seaplane operations . For the next three months , her planes flew searches and antishipping missions over the South China Sea in the direction of Hong Kong , Swatow , and Formosa . The seaplane tender exited Cabalitian Bay on 17 June and arrived in Subic Bay the following day . Soon thereafter , she moved to Manila Bay , departing there on 25 June . On the 27th , she stopped at San Pedro Bay ; then continued east toward the U . S . She reached Pearl Harbor on 10 July and San Francisco on 20 July . She was overhauled at the Moore Dry Dock Co . and then ordered back to the Far East for occupation duty . On 24 September , she exited San Francisco and headed back across the broad Pacific . Sailing via Adak , Alaska , she reached the vicinity of Yokosuka during the second week in October . After two months of occupation duty in Japan , " Tangier " moved to Kowloon Bay , China in December for air - sea rescue , patrol , and courier duty . In January 1946 , she returned to Japan for another brief tour of duty with the occupation forces . Late in February , she moved from Sasebo to Okinawa , where she remained until late March . Post - war and fate . On 22 March , " Tangier " set sail for the U . S . She made a brief visit to Pearl Harbor in early April and transited the Panama Canal in mid - month . She reached Norfolk , Va . on the 29th and Philadelphia , Pa . on 1 May . Following a short voyage back to Norfolk and to Yorktown , Va . , the seaplane tender returned to Philadelphia on 11 May to prepare for in - activation . By January 1947 , " Tangier " was out of commission , berthed with the Reserve Fleet at Philadelphia . On 1 June 1961 , her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register , and on 17 November she was sold to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation for scrapping . She was then resold by Union Minerals in 1962 to the Sea - Land Service shipping company , converted into a car carrier / container ship and renamed SS " Detroit " . In this capacity she served until December 1974 , when she was finally scrapped at Valencia , Spain . Awards . " Tangier " earned three battle star s during World War II .