USS Kenneth Whiting ( AV - 14 ) USS " Kenneth Whiting " ( AV - 14 ) was the lead ship of her class of seaplane tender s in the United States Navy . Captain Kenneth Whiting , USN . " Kenneth Whiting " was launched on 15 December 1943 by Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation , Seattle , Washington ; sponsored by Mrs . Edna Andresen Whiting , widow of Captain Kenneth Whiting . Kenneth Whiting ( Naval Aviator No . 16 ) received flight training from the Wright brothers at Dayton , Ohio ; and was the first executive officer of the first United States aircraft carrier . Commander Whiting was credited with many basic tenets of naval carrier aviation , including landing signal officer s , pilot ready rooms , a darkroom and photo lab to develop movies of carrier landings , and making pilot qualification a requirement for command of an aircraft carrier . Early Operations . " Kenneth Whiting " was commissioned 8 May 1944 with Commander R . R . Lyons in command . After shakedown along the West Coast , " Kenneth Whiting " cleared San Diego on 21 July 1944 and arrived Saipan on 14 August for operations in the Marianas . Her PB2Y squadron made reconnaissance flights which provided valuable data necessary to the success of the Allied operations . At Tanapag Harbor , Saipan , " Kenneth Whiting " used a former Japanese seaplane ramp to augment the maintenance facilities and increase the availability of planes . She sailed for Kossol Passage on 20 November , relieving the tender there three days later . She remained in the Palau Islands until 5 February 1945 . Okinawa . Arriving Ulithi on 6 February , " Kenneth Whiting " resumed tending seaplanes . On 11 March while she was still off Ulithi , two enemy suicide planes attacked the base . One crashed into Sorlen Island ; but the second dove into the aircraft carrier . The seaplane tender cleared Ulithi on 2 April ; received provisions and supplies at Guam and Saipan ; then steamed to Okinawa , arriving 25 April and immediately commencing combat and search operations . On 11 May her lookout sighted a group of 29 Koreans waving a white flag on the beach of Gerum Shima . An armed boat party from the tender took them into custody for transfer to the POW camp on Zamami Shima . While at Okinawa " Kenneth Whiting " operated as fleet post office and a housing center for aircraft survivors . At 1830 , 21 June , five hours after Major General Roy Geiger had declared Okinawa secured , a small group of " kamikazes " penetrated Kerama Retto . " Kenneth Whiting " knocked down a Ki - 43 " Oscar " but part of the plane hit her , causing minor damage and wounding five men . However , she continued operations out of Okinawa for the rest of the war . During July her planes flew armed reconnaissance along the coasts of Japan , Korea , and China locating targets for 3rd Fleet raids . " Kenneth Whiting " departed Okinawa on 19 September and anchored at Sasebo two days later . The tender was then assigned to China duty , arriving Hong Kong on 14 October . Her patrol bombing ( VPB ) squadron commenced patrol courier service , and continued this until she was relieved 28 November . She arrived San Francisco on 22 December with 572 Navy officers scheduled for release . With the close of the war and the emergence of the Atomic Age , " Kenneth Whiting " cleared San Diego on 6 May 1946 to operate with support forces during atomic tests at Bikini . She returned to San Diego 30 August ; transferred to San Pedro 30 October ; and decommissioned there on 29 May 1947 . Cold War Service . " Kenneth Whiting " recommissioned at San Diego on 24 October 1951 , and sailed for Far Eastern duty 13 March 1952 . She arrived Yokosuka , Japan , on 29 March to assist U . S . naval forces in resisting communist aggression in Korea . The seaplane tender operated out of Iwakuni until 16 October when she sailed for the United States . Following overhaul at Bremerton , Washington , and coastal operations out of San Diego , " Kenneth Whiting " sailed on 2 March 1953 for another WestPac deployment , supporting seaplane activities out of Japan in the final months of the Korean War . After the war , " Kenneth Whiting " made annual deployments to the Far East in support of the 7th Fleet activities . During the summer of 1955 , she operated in the Formosa - Pescadores area in the wake of repeated Communist harassment on Chinese Nationalist - held islands . On 29 March 1957 she arrived at her new home port Crescent Harbor , Washington , but sailed for another Far Eastern tour on 12 August . She continued operations with the 7th Fleet until 31 January 1958 when she cleared Subic Bay , Philippines , and returned to Crescent Harbor , 10 March . " Kenneth Whiting " decommissioned at Puget Sound 30 September , and was struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1961 , and sold on 21 February 1962 to Union Minerals & Alloy Corp . " Kenneth Whiting " received two battle stars for World War II .