Louisiana's Military Heritage:

     Vessels named USS SABINE

USS SABINE

Two ships have had the honor to bear the name of SABINE, a river which forms the southwestern border of the State of Louisiana.

The First SABINE (August 23, 1858 ~ 1877):

Placed back into commission on August 30, 1860, she was ordered to join the Atlantic Blockading Squadron on September 09.  During the War Between the States, SABINE was actively employed along the East Coast searching for Confederate raiders.  She participated in the relief and reinforcement of Fort Pickens, Florida, in April of 1861, under the command of Captain Adams.  On November 02-03, 1861, she assisted in the rescue of 500 Marines and the crew of the chartered troop transport GOVERNOR during a violent storm off of the South Carolina coast.  In March of 1862, SABINE was engaged in the search for USS VERMONT after the ship-of-the-line had been badly damaged by a storm while sailing to Port Royal, South Carolina.  In October of that same year, she joined the hunt for the Confederate raider CSS ALABAMA.  Later, in June of 1863, she would also hunt CSS TACONY.  The SABINE returned to New York for blockade duty with the North Atlantic Squadron until ordered in August of 1864 to Norfolk as a training ship for Navy apprentices and landsmen.

Following the conclusion of the war, SABINE was transferred to New London, Connecticut, to continue her service as a training ship until 1868.  During 1869 and 1870, she conducted midshipman training cruises to European and Mediterranean ports.  In 1871, she was repaired at Boston and, from 1872 to 1876, she served as a receiving ship at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  In 1877, she was laid up until sold on September 23, 1883, at Portsmouth to J.L. Snow of Rockland, Maine.

Ship's Statistics

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The Second SABINE (September 25, 1940 ~ February 20, 1969):

Early in 1942, SABINE supported carrier task forces that carried out raids against Wake Island and the Gilberts.  On April 10, she joined the task force built around USS HORNET (CV-8) and USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) which steamed to within 700 miles of the coast of Japan and launched U.S. Army bombers commanded by Lt. Col. James Doolittle.  They bombed Tokyo, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Kobe.  This daring strike surprised the Japanese and helped to boost American morale.

In May of 1942, SABINE provided at-sea refueling for ships in the South Pacific near New Guinea and Australia.  In June, she serviced destroyers and cruisers on Aleutian Patrol off Kodiak, Alaska.  August of that year found her in southern waters again where, in company with USS SARATOGA (CV-3), she played an important role in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.  During September, she supported ships in and around New Caledonia, the Solomons, and the New Hebrides.  By October, she was busy providing fuel for warships engaging Japanese forces in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.  SABINE returned to the United States for two brief periods in January and July of 1943.  The rest of her time, up to November of that year, was spent on fueling operations in the South and Central Pacific.

When the assault on the Gilbert Islands commenced on November 19, 1943, SABINE was busy refueling the carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers that were supporting the landing forces.  During the Gilbert operation, the "sea going service station" concept emerged.  SABINE and other oilers were assigned designated station areas.  Individual combatant ships were sent to these areas in accordance with a preplanned schedule, rather than steam in groups to the areas where each might lose hours waiting for her turn alongside the oiler.  Other oilers shuttled between the station areas and Pearl Harbor, which was replenished by a vast fleet of Merchant Marine tankers.

In January, February, and March of 1944, SABINE operated with Task Force 58 supporting carrier raids on the Palaus, the Carolines, and the Marshalls.  She was detached on April 22 but, after a voyage to Pearl Harbor, arrived at Majuro Atoll on May 18 ready to rejoin TF 58 for the coming Marianas campaign.  The force sortied on June 06 and SABINE supported the landings on Saipan and Guam and subsequent operations in the Marianas until returning to Pearl Harbor on August 14.  She participated in the invasion of the Palaus during September.  In October, she supported the assault forces at Leyte and subsequently provided fuel during follow-up operations in the Philippines.  From March through June of 1945, SABINE assisted in the Okinawan campaign.  July and August were spent supporting 3^rd Fleet strikes against the Japanese home islands.  Japan surrendered in mid-August and SABINE anchored in Tokyo Bay on September 18, 1945.

Activated as USNS SABINE (T-AO-25) by the MSTS on November 15, 1956, at San Diego, she was commissioned on December 10.  Following operations under the MSTS, she was again placed out of commission and in reserve on November 13, 1957.  Berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Beaumont, Texas, she was not struck from the Navy list until January 14, 1959.

SABINE was reacquired by the Navy in 1961 and towed to New York for refitting.  She recommissioned on December 14, 1961, and rejoined the Atlantic Fleet, homeported at Mayport, Florida.  During the Cuban Missile Crisis, she was active in the naval quarantine late in 1962.  She also participated in operations during the political crisis of mid-1965 in the Dominican Republic.  The remainder of the time, during these years and those which followed, SABINE was busy in local operations, training exercises, and deployments to the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.  In October of 1968, she was ordered to report to Philadelphia to begin deactivation.  For a third time in her long career, SABINE was decommissioned on February 20, 1969, and she joined the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On January 22, 1970, SABINE was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and berthed with the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet in Virginia.  She was struck from the Naval Register on December 01, 1976, and disposed of by MARAD on August 01, 1983.

SABINE earned ten battle stars for World War II service.

Ship's Statistics

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All information on USS SABINE courtesy of the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,

the Naval Historical Center, and NavSource.

All photos courtesy of the U.S. Navy unless otherwise noted.
 

**Copyright 1997-2006 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**