USS Onslow ( AVP - 48 ) USS " Onslow " ( AVP - 48 ) was a United States Navy " Barnegat " - class seaplane tender in commission from 1943 to 1947 and from 1951 to 1960 . Constructioning and commissioning . " Onslow " was laid down on 18 May 1942 by Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton , Washington . She was launched on 20 September 1942 , sponsored by Mrs . W . W . Fitts , and commissioned on 22 December 1943 with Commander Alden D . Schwarz in command . World War II operations 1944 - 1945 . After shakedown , " Onslow " departed the United States West Coast on 19 March 1944 . She stopped at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and Majuro before reporting for duty with Task Group 57 . 3 at Kwajalein . The seizure of Ujelang . On 20 April 1944 , " Onslow " was given the task of seizing Ujelang , a small island in the Marshall Islands occupied by Japanese troops . Embarking troops of the United States Army s 111th Infantry Regiment she rendezvoused with minesweeper USS " YMS – 91 " on 21 April 1944 . On the morning of 22 April 1944 , 160 soldier s were put ashore to capture the island . They met resistance at the center of the island from 18 entrenched Japanese soldiers , who were killed , with no American casualties . During this time , " Onslow " came under attack by a twin - engined Mitsubishi G4M " Betty " bomber , which she drove off with 5 - inch ( 127 mm ) antiaircraft fire . Operations at Kwajalein and Eniwetok . " Onslow " returned to Kwajalein on 25 April 1944 and spent the next six weeks there engaged in seaplane tending duties . She then was sent to Eniwetok , arriving there on 10 June 1944 . Supporting landings on Saipan . On 15 June 1944 , in company with destroyer USS , " Onslow " escorted sealane tender USS to Saipan . While on this passage she rescued a downed fighter pilot who was adrift in a raft , off Saipan . On 18 June 1944 , three days after the initial landings on Saipan , " Onslow " took up duties tending the seaplanes of Patrol Squadron 16 ( VP - 16 ) . On the morning of 10 September 1944 , two Japanese swam from Saipan and succeeded in climbing aboard one of the moored seaplanes undetected . They proceeded to blow the plane up with hand grenade s , and " Onslow " dispatched a boat to assist the planes crew . The boat was driven back under fire , but two additional boats joined in and they were then able to reach the plane and kill the boarders . However gunfire set the plane ' s fuel ablaze , destroying it , although its crew was saved . Operations in the Palau Islands . " Onslow " and seaplane tenders USS " Pocomoke " , , , and departed Saipan on 12 September 1944 to participate in the invasion of the Palau Islands . At noon on 16 September 1944 the formation entered Kossol Passage . The five ships tended seaplanes there under adverse conditions that included floating mines , dangerous coral heads , and rough water , not to mention the presence of enemy airplanes and submarine s . On 13 November 1944 , " Onslow " sped out to recover a Martin PBM Mariner flying boat down at sea with engine failure and towed it to Ulithi Atoll . She then returned to Kossol Passage . On 12 January 1945 , three Japanese midget submarine s entered the harbor , and the ships spent the day dodging coral heads trying to ferret out the elusive little submarines . One of the midget submarines was sunk ; the other two escaped . Operations at Saipan . On 17 January 1945 , " Onslow " moved to Ulithi Atoll , and on 19 January 1945 she steamed for Guam . She then spent two months at Saipan beginning on 20 January 1945 , providing services to CASU 48 bowser boat s and the crews of two crash boat s . Supporting the invasion of Okinawa . On 23 March 1945 , " Onslow " got underway for the invasion of Okinawa . Along with seaplane tenders USS " Yakutat " , , and , she escorted seaplane tenders , , and USS " Chandeleur " from Saipan to Kerama Retto , arriving there on 28 March 1945 . Upon anchoring , the ships began to lay out a seadrome and by 29 March 1945 , were operating on a regular schedule with 60 PBM Mariner seaplanes . " Onslow " s work at Kerama Retto was more difficult than ever before . Many of the seaplanes were damaged by the Japanese or by heavy seas . Because of their frequency , it became necessary for the seaplane tenders to ignore Japanese air raids at times . On one occasion " Onslow " assisted in shooting down a Japanese fighter which was making a dive on her . Beginning about 1 June 1945 , many of Japanese troops isolated on the small islands off Okinawa began coming to the beaches to surrender . When they did , " Onslow " notified the proper commands and often furnished shallow - draft boats to assist the U . S . Army in picking up the surrendering Japanese . On 6 August 1945 , " Onslow " received orders to escort " Chandeleur " to Eniwetok via Saipan . She transferred all patrol squadron personnel and equipment to seaplane tender and departed Okinawa . Hostilities with Japan ceased and World War II came to an end on 15 August 1945 , the same day she entered port at Eniwetok . Honors and awards . " Onslow " earned four battle star s for her service in World War II , for : Peacetime service 1945 - 1947 . With the end of the war , " Onslow " took up duties as part of Operation Magic Carpet , the return of U . S . military personnel overseas to the United States . She embarked military personnel at Eniwetok and transported them to Pearl Harbor and the United States West Coast . " Onslow " remained active for some time following the end of the war , participating in occupation duties in East Asia until 10 January 1947 , when she returned to the United States for inactivation . She was decommissioned in June 1947 and placed in reserve . Korean War service 1951 - 1953 and peacetime service 1953 - 1960 . " Onslow " was reactivated in January 1951 to serve in the Korean War . She operated on a rotational basis , finishing four tours in the Western Pacific prior to 1955 . During these tours , she spent most of her time in Iwakuni , Japan , tending seaplanes . She also provided services during the initial establishment of the Naval Air Station there in 1952 . " Onslow " earned one battle star for her service in the Korean War , for Korean Defense Summer - Fall 1952 13 May 1952 – 22 May 1952 and 17 June 1952 – 27 June 1952 Between 24 June 1955 and 3 April 1956 , " Onslow " had a long tour of duty on the U . S . West Coast , homeported at Alameda , California . Following this she began another Western Pacific tour , serving as the station ship in Hong Kong until August 1957 . Returning to the United States again , " Onslow " provided services for various commands on the U . S . West Coast , with interim periods for upkeep and training . Final decommissioning . " Onslow " was decommissioned for the second and final time on 22 April 1960 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1960 . She was sold on 18 October 1960 to the Philippine Presidents Line , Inc . , for use as a commercial ferry . Still in service as a ferry in the Philippines in 1975 , the former " Onslow " was among the ships that the U . S . Navy hired to assist in the evacuation of refugees from South Vietnam upon the collapse of that country at the end of the Vietnam War in April of that year .