8 X single 5-inch/38 DP guns 4 X single
3-inch/50 DP guns
The USS Holland (AS-3) was a
submarine tender that
served in
World War II. The
Holland was launched by the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,
Bremerton, Washington,
12 April1926, , sponsored
by Miss Elizabeth Saunders Chase, daughter of Admiral J.
V. Chase, and commissioned 1 June, Comdr. John B.
Earle in command. Holland
arrived in San Francisco from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
on
24 April to become
flagship of Captain J. T. Thompkins, Commander Submarine
Divisions, Battle Fleet. On
24 September she was
permanently assigned to base at
San Diego, California,
tending submarine divisions there with periodic tours to
Panama to service
submarines based at the
Canal Zone. On
5 November1930Holland became flagship of
Captain
Chester W. Nimitz,
Commander Submarine Divisions, Battle Fleet with
additional duty as Commander of Submarine Division 20.
The former command was abolished as of
1 April1931 and Captain Nimitz
retained his flag in Holland
as Commander, of his submarine division, now designated
Submarine Division 12. He left
Holland on
17 June, relieved by
Captain W. L. Friedell. In addition to being the
flagship of Submarine Division 12,
Holland temporarily served as Submarine Force
Flagship (March-July 1933). In June 1935 she became
joint flagship of Submarine Squadron 6 and Submarine
Division 12. This duty continued until June 1941 when
she became flagship of Submarine Squadron 2. On
22 November1941Holland arrived at
Cavite Naval Base,
Phillipines, to service submarines of the Asiatic Fleet.
Due to the air raids in early December 1941,
Holland was hurried out of
Manila Bay under cover of night with her vital cargo of
repair and replacement parts for submarines of the
Asiatic Fleet. Heading south, she escaped unscathed from
two air raids while at Balikpapan, Borneo, then repaired
a battle-damaged submarine at
Soerabaja, Java where
she was joined by two destroyers that gave her escort to
Port Darwin, Australia,
which she reached on
2 January1942 for
round-the-clock operations which included the building
of docks and floats as well as the constant repair and
equipping of ships as well as submarines. On
3 February she was
underway for Tjilaljap, Java, to remove Rear Admiral
Charles A. Lockwood, Jr., and his Asiatic Fleet
Submarine Force Staff to Australia. Her outstanding
service to the Fleet during the first crucial months of
the war brought Holland a
Navy Unit Commendation. While based in Australia,
Holland serviced and
overhauled several submarines before returning for
overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard in late February 1943.
She reached
Pearl Harbor from the
West Coast in June and completed 22 refits and 13 repair
jobs for submarines within the next 11 months. She
shifted to Midway Atoll on
1 June1944 and sailed the
following month directly to support submarines in the
Marianas Islands. Holland
returned to Pearl Harbor late in November to be fitted
out as headquarters ship for Vice Admiral Charles A.
Lockwood, Jr., Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet.
In January 1945 she steamed out of
Pearl Harbor
for Guam where she embarked Vice Admiral Lockwood. By
the close of hostilities,
Holland had given 55 instances of refit to
submarines, provided repair and service to 20 surface
craft and completed various jobs on shore installations.
Vice Admiral Lockwood shifted his Submarine Force Flag
ashore to his new quarters on
Coconut Island in
Apra Harbor on
30 August1945, setting up
operations and communications for the work ahead. This
left Holland ready to
begin a new career as a repair ship (ARG-18). Her value
to the submarine force had diminished with the
commissioning of many new and modern tenders better
equipped to carry on the job of keeping our submarines
in condition for their assaults against the enemy. With
a few alterations she headed for Buckner Bay, Okinawa,
where she embarked Rear Admiral Allen B. Smith,
Commander of Service Squadron 10 and his staff before
proceeding for
Tokyo Bay where she
dropped anchor on
29 September1945.
Holland set
course
6 June1946 by way of
Pearl Harbor
for San Diego where she arrived on 28 June. She shifted to
San Pedro for inactiviation overhaul in the Terminal
Island Navy Yard, then was towed to San Diego where she
was decommissioned on
21 March1947. She was assigned
to the San Diego, Calif., group of the Pacific Reserve
Fleet until her name was struck from the Navy Register
on
18 June1952. Her hull was sold
for scrapping on
3 October1953 to the
Bethlehem Steel Co.Holland earned two battle
stars and the Navy Unit Commendation for World War II
service. This article includes text from the
public domainDictionary of American Naval
Fighting Ships.
